Uncharted 4 Review

uncharted-4

For three entries now, the Uncharted series has established itself as the best in the video game industry at spectacle and set-pieces. What Naughty Dog achieved over the last console generation was largely unmatched, and their blend of explosive action, great dialogue, and tight mechanics is carried forward in their latest, and supposedly final, Uncharted title. But despite its similarities in form, Uncharted 4 is operating on a different level than its predecessors. After their landmark title The Last of Us, Naughty Dog was no longer content to simply do action movie tropes very, very well. For the final entry in the series, they really want to say something about Nathan Drake, his relationships, and his addiction to adventure. What they accomplished is not only more spectacular than most of Hollywood’s biggest summer films, but far more substantive and meaningful as well.

This approach does come with a price. Uncharted 2 is perhaps one of the greatest games of all time, largely because of how brilliantly paced and constructed it is. No sequence feels like it outstays its welcome, and the transitions between the various types of gameplay are perfectly orchestrated. But because story is so important to Uncharted 4, and because Naughty Dog really wants to nail every element of the series one last time, the game’s segments can run longer than in previous games. This has led to complaints from a number of game critics, particularly due to the game’s first and final acts.

Personally, I thought Uncharted 4’s pacing worked perfectly. The game is definitely less propulsive than the last two entries, but it’s all in service of excellent storytelling. Naughty Dog uses the gameplay of these early segments to set up major plotpoints and to establish the current psychological states of the central characters. One could argue that an early chapter that takes place inside of Drake’s home is long and uneventful, but by the time I reached the end of the game, it was one of the moments that stuck with me the most.

There’s also the sense that certain chapters run longer than in earlier games because the developers, the player, and the characters are all aware that this is the last hurrah. The biggest action sequences and the smallest character interactions are really allowed to breathe, and the more relaxed pace acts as an opportunity to let the moments sink in. While experiences may vary, I personally never found myself thinking that the game needed to move forward more quickly. If you just live in the moment, you will enjoy Uncharted 4 much more.

Many who have complained about the pacing have also overlooked how excellent the sequencing of events are. Naughty Dog is smart enough to realize that they need to build to their biggest setpieces, and that if the entire game is turned up to 11, then none of it really stands out. The chapter-to-chapter experience is always dynamic, fluctuating nicely between quiet moments of exploration and giant gunfights. Even when exploration or more shooter-oriented sections run long, they are constantly switching up the context of the gameplay with puzzles or environmental tweaks that have an actual impact on the player’s experience.

Again, though, the pacing is almost irrelevant because of how thoroughly the narrative dominates the game. While the story itself is probably not quite as unique or mature as The Last of Us, the storytelling is just as strong. In this regard, Naughty Dog is largely without equals in the industry. Not only is there a strong attention paid to character and motivation here, but lots of thought was also put into theme.

Uncharted 4 engages heavily with the notion of balancing family with ambition. It frequently serves as a cautionary tale about how our need to fulfill our passions is often more powerful, and more corrupting, than the most fabulous of treasures. The writers at Naughty Dog intentionally draw our focus toward these themes not only in the game’s cutscenes, but in the notes and memorabilia the player collects throughout the game. The relevance of the game’s thematic approach reaches far into the past, as we learn about the self-destructive actions taken by the pirates who set the story in motion and the explorers who sought out their riches. Such an approach could feel heavy-handed if these elements were constantly re-iterated within the main narrative, but as collectible backstory, it just makes the game feel more complete and fleshed-out.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least talk about Uncharted 4’s visuals. This is, quite simply, one of the best-looking video games ever made. Despite running on the Playstation 4, with its relatively modest hardware, the title looks better than just about anything on a high-end PC. Part of this is due to the game’s artistic design, which is gorgeous, but there’s a level of detail in every environment that places Uncharted 4 in a league of its own.

In a game featuring absolutely beautiful vistas in nearly every level and technically mind-boggling set-pieces, somehow even the smallest and most inconsequential locations are fully-featured. Books, shelves, desks, and all manner of standard household items are meticulously detailed and present, and while you eventually just take all of these details for granted, it lends the game a sense of reality that is unlike anything else out there.

I’ll get into spoilers below, but if you have any intention of playing Uncharted 4 (and if you have a Playstation 4, you absolutely should), avoid reading them or any other details about the game online. This is the best game of the current console generation, a nigh-perfect end to the Uncharted franchise, and a singularly wonderful experience in and of itself.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

 

 

 

 

One thing that I loved about Uncharted 4’s story is how subtly it undermine’s the player’s expectations. The early chapters of the game consistently set you up to expect certain outcomes based on past narrative experiences, only to subvert them later. Take, for instance, the first flashback sequence, in which Sam visits Nathan in the orphanage. At the end, Sam takes off on his motorcycle, promising Nathan that he’ll be back. Nathan doubts this, and the game’s subsequent jump to the future is meant to give us the idea that the two separated from that point on. But after Nathan tracks down the cross and finds his clue, he returns to his brother, who was working with him the whole time. This is all to set up the moment in which Sam is shot and Nathan leaves him to die. We’ve spent the last hour or so of gameplay believing that Sam had abandoned us, when, in fact, we abandoned him.

The game is also very good at utilizing fan service without making it feel cheesy or forced. Much has been made of the Crash Bandicoot inclusion, which is wonderful in and of itself, but my favorite throwback has to be the attic scene. It’s essentially nothing BUT fan service, but because our appreciation of the sequence coincides with Nathan’s sense of nostalgia, it manages to bring us closer to the protagonist.

This attempted union between Nathan’s emotional state and the player is a continual goal. There was quite a lot of discussion before the game released about the new dialogue options, which are actually pretty inconsequential. However, they’re very well-utilized. My particular favorite is when Elena is talking to Nathan about her day, and Nathan is spacing out at a painting of a pirate ship, dreaming of the great pirate treasure his brother and he had always wanted to seek, but never did. Afterward, when she asks him what she was talking about and the player is forced to choose an answer, it startles us and places some of the guilt of Elena’s disappointment on us. It’s yet another way to make us engaged in the personal stakes of the story without giving us direct control of the narrative.

Finally, one thing that I noticed which may or may not have been intentional is how Uncharted 4’s structure almost works as a mirror-image version of The Last of Us. While The Last of Us begins by giving us control of our daughter, takes her away from us, jumps forward in time, forms a new family unit, and ends with us lying to our new family in a misguided attempt at protecting them, Uncharted 4 begins with us lying to our family in a misguided notion of protection, has us reunite with long-lost family, and ends by giving us a new character in the form of a daughter who we get to play as.

I could probably reflect on this game chapter-by-chapter and have something to say about how each one contributes to crafting the narrative, but I’ve gone on long enough. To be succinct, Uncharted 4 has one of the best-told stories in the history of the medium.

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