Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End — Meet the Drakes

There was significant pressure on the shoulders of Naughty Dog’s developers as they were working on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. It was planned to be the final installment in the series for most of the established Uncharted cast, so the team knew the game had to deliver harder than previous installments, and realized the characters they’d developed over several games needed a fitting end — a thief’s end, perhaps. They were also under pressure to match, if not surpass, the mostly-superlative Uncharted 2, a height sequel Uncharted 3 couldn’t reach.

It didn’t help when the game went through development hurdles, which resulted in the creator and producer and director departing, and the game being significantly retooled from its original vision.

The high expectations are the reason why Uncharted 4 has a lot of, well, everything. It’s stuffed to the brim with more character development and presents a conclusion for the franchise’s most important characters. It also has more platforming, and the combat scenarios have more thought put into them. But as I played through it, I realized that bullet points that sound good on the surface don’t always transfer into a fantastic game. Its attempts to overachieve sometimes work against the experience.

With the need to wrap up any loose ends and tell a story of finality about protagonist Nathan Drake came the need for more story overall. There’s an increased focus on cutscenes and dialogue this time around. A good amount of that is dedicated to introducing Sam Drake, Nathan’s older brother, who brings Nathan out of his semi-retirement after marrying and settling down with Elena and on an adventure with him to find the treasure of notorious pirate Henry Avery. The duo ventures to several worldwide locations to search for clues and the treasure itself, and they’re all a sight to behold.

Directors Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley worked on The Last of Us prior to this title, and it shows through how they tried to incorporate narrative elements from that game to make this a more dramatic and emotional experience. The problem is how that contrasts with previous installments, which had no qualms in adhering to the tone of popcorn flicks. It’s more jarring when they combined them with the set pieces and general stunts no human without serious training should be able to accomplish or survive, so the fusion doesn’t work out.

The increased level of narrative elements weren’t enough to help Sam Drake, who isn’t well developed, and the game doesn’t provide enough incentive to care about his crusade. The intention to combine the ambitious storytelling with the need to develop the game quickly after it was rebooted took its toll.

There’s also an increased focus on exploration and discovery, an element that sounds good for an Uncharted game, thanks to its penchant for presenting picturesque environments. This also involves more climbing and puzzle-solving elements. There’s no problem with adding more exploration in a bubble, but the issue is how they’ve supplanted the combat scenarios this time around, and how some sections go on for a little too long. Its balance is still better than the first game’s, which focused more on action and contained an unrealistic amount of chest-high walls, but the tables have almost turned here.

Two aspects in particular don’t help with this change. One issue is how it adds more exploration, yet keeps many mechanics from previous games, including the nearly-automatic jumping. These work for platforming locations in short bursts, but this starts to feel monotonous over the course of a longer game. There are also sections that rely on the same gimmicks over and over again, which feel like they were extended to pad the game’s length.

Also, two locations involve driving for long stretches, sections which often involve figuring out the next direction to travel in, which can be a little tough in a game with no marker. They reminded me of the driving sections in Half-Life 2, which had a similar issue in feeling like they went on forever. The character banter while driving helps with this, though it’s sporadic. But the fact that the environments are mostly empty of other humans and wildlife makes them feel even longer.

It’s funny how the stunts inside and outside of cutscenes are still as unrealistic as they were in previous installments, since the combat scenarios are actually more realistic. Instead of sending waves of enemies for Nathan and his cohorts to gun down in multiple encounters, most scenarios start with enemies coming to an area to look for them. Given the odds, since the number of soldiers looking can sometimes be in double digits, it’s often more prudent to take them down stealthily. While previous games had stealth elements, they’re more important here thanks to enemies also being faster and more precise than in previous installments.

The combat enhancements are great, which is why I was disappointed about how there are less encounters here compared to previous installments. This makes it even more clear how the development team wanted this installment to at least somewhat drift away from its popcorn movie-like origins. This isn’t to say it’s not impossible to blow your way through several trained militia soldiers after enemies are alerted, but it’s harder than it used to be in order to push the player to consider other options. I’m glad they decided to make another game that uses these combat scenarios more.

Say, I sound pretty down on this game! Especially if you compare this review to my mostly-positive reviews for the last three installments. It’s because my expectations were higher for this game thanks to it being the final chapter for the established cast, and it wasn’t out of the ordinary to expect it to deliver harder than it does. Again, Uncharted 4 shows how too much ambition can work against a game, when the slower moments aren’t balanced as well with the faster-paced ones as they could have been.

None of this is to say it’s a bad game. In fact, it’s actually a pretty good one, and I don’t regret my time playing through it. It shows that uneven pacing can cripple a game.

If there’s one aspect of Uncharted 4 that’s flawless, it’s the dazzling presentation. Each location is a sight to behold, whether viewing them up close or seeing other environments from afar. It’s enough that I wish it was one of those “if you see a location, you can go there” titles, though the graphics wouldn’t have been anywhere near as pristine if this was open world. The game also inherited the excellent motion capture techniques and superlative voice acting from other Naughty Dog titles, with the character models being well animated so as to avoid the dreaded Uncanny Valley.

In terms of its story, Uncharted 4 is a fitting conclusion for the tale and character arcs started with the first game. I just wish the developers could have taken the time to fine-tune its overall balance more, which shows how a rushed development can hamper a title. But again, it’s good that they had a smaller team that made a game mostly bereft of these problems with The Lost Legacy, so it’s nice to know that the series will be in good hands — if they plan on continuing it from here.