The champion of PlayStation exclusives returns for its final outing under the Naughty Dog banner. The Uncharted series has always pushed and stretched the capabilities of its hardware in terms of looks. Its titular Drake has consistently nailed the loveable, roguish scamp archetype and the gameplay has always been as addictive as the storytelling. Can ‘A Thief’s End’ deliver on its past successes whilst also rounding out with a fitting conclusion? I wouldn’t bet against it.
As the majority of you will know by now, the story of Nathan’s once lost brother ‘Sam’ is the anchor of the narrative. His disappearance and occlusion from the previous games in the series is dealt with in a respectable manner and fortunately, didn’t come across as too forced or unbelievable. Before Drake’s inevitable adventure begins though, we get a glimpse at a retired Nathan and Elena. Gone are the days of jumping from cliff to cliff, perilously hanging by your fingertips, whilst of course being shot at. Instead, things have slowed down drastically; with the closest thing to combat being taking cover in the attic beside collected treasures of the past, whilst shooting at hanging targets with a sarcastically sounding toy gun.
It’s a slow start to the game, what with all the exposition, character relationships and motives to set up, but it’s honestly something I enjoyed. You’ll learn more about Nathan’s past, younger, life in a few early chapters than the entirety of the Uncharted back catalogue put together. During these measured, more deliberate sections that are spaced sporadically throughout the game, you’ll often be able to interact with items and people too, giving a much deeper feeling of immersion. Short, humble scenes such as watching Nathan and Elena playfully interact in such an engaging and believable way, really helps give it a cinematic feel in a way that no other game has. Besides, nothing has put a grin quite so daft on my face in a while, than revisiting my favourite Wumpa fruit collecting marsupial, in one of the best throwback references I’ve ever seen.
As pacing dictates however, it’s of course not all about leisurely strolling through areas looking for collectibles and optional conversations. The Uncharted series has always been fairly good with regards to breaking up the action and set pieces with a little cliff face clambering. A Thief’s End expands further on this by adding more variance to the mix. On top of the expected shooting, climbing and puzzle sections, there are also chapters that feature large open areas to explore with a vehicle that includes all aspects of the game. The car handling felt unexpectedly solid and helps feature in some newer variations of puzzles due to its included winch too.
Another new gameplay feature is your grappling hook which, sadly, you can only use at certain, preordained locations. It does however add an occasional tenseness to the climbing sections where at points, you’ll slide down a shingled incline and be forced to grapple to safety at the last minute. Something to note, is that swinging on the rope never feels cumbersome or obscured in some way by the camera; if I’m honest, I’m struggling to think of a game that last left me with that impression.
In terms of the more combat oriented sections of the game, Uncharted fans of the past will be pleased to know that the gunplay feels improved, yet still features that familiar feeling of you not being a soldier with perfect accuracy. Frustratingly the dreaded ‘heavy’ enemies are still present; however thankfully, they’re in a much less frequent abundance. Due to the grappling hook, and the much more varied settings you’ll fight in, combat is now much more focused on movement and flanking. You’ll rarely find a spot that you can just stay in and pick off enemies from afar, in part due to the inclusion of some destructible cover, and also due to the constant need for ammo (especially on the higher difficulties).
Enemy AI can be a little hit and miss depending upon the situation. When you’re in full gun raging combat they’ll flank, get advantageous positions and utilise their weaponry properly. However if you take the newly implemented stealthy route, making use of tall grass and marking enemies, they won’t bat an eyelid that their best buddy who they’d been chatting with, has suddenly disappeared into the undergrowth. It’s not the most convincing by a long way, but it does work well within the game. Especially so when you get seen at the last minute, and have to immediately prepare for the onslaught of reinforcements. Losing track of your attackers can be difficult, but it’s certainly possible to begin your stealthy streak again and slowly work through the ranks. Either that or just enjoy running from cover to cover in a blind panic hoping to god you find a grenade or two. Both ways are fun.
Once you’ve run through the 15+ hours it’ll take to get through the campaign, and spent way too long creating masterpieces in the excellent ‘photo mode’, there’s also the solid multiplayer offering to sink your teeth into. Featuring modes like team deathmatch and twists on capture the flag, it features both ranked and unranked playlists depending on how serious you want to take it. It might not be the real draw of an Uncharted game to a great many people, however it can be fun using ‘Mystical’ power ups to either aid teammates or hinder the enemy. It runs smoothly, and at a high frame rate too. Even better news is that according to Naughty Dog, all future multiplayer maps and modes will be included at no future cost, which is certainly nice to hear.
It wouldn’t be an Uncharted game without impeccable voice acting and script work either. Alongside series mainstay Nolan North who, once again, nails the charismatic feel of Drake, Troy Baker does an excellent job as his brother Sam. The general mockery the two indulge in with each other is surpassed only by Emily Rose’s performance as Elena alongside Nate in some of the early scenes.
From the first time, all those years ago, when a certain Mr Drake first stood knee deep in water; then having only the submerged parts of his clothing appear wet, I was convinced of the boundary pushing studio. Over the years, the series has consistently been at the forefront of animations, attention to detail and wonderfully detailed expanses. Thankfully, they seem to be stuck in their ways. Before the narrative, action scenes or even any aspect of gameplay begins, you’ll of course notice the graphics. Vistas, weather effects, explosions, they’re all outstanding, but they didn’t leave an impression in the same way that the subtle facial animations between Nathan and Elena did. The small, realistic expressions between the two as they were talking are simply akin to nothing I’ve seen before in a game. It looks incredible.
A Thief’s End is one of seemingly few, ‘must own’ titles on the PS4. The story, character relationships, pace driven gameplay and astounding graphical and sound design make for an epic journey. There are a few niggles, such as the roll/dodge being also mapped to the cover button, and that maybe a few too many cliff ledges and bridges collapse along the way. But aside from those, it’s everything and more you’ve come to expect from the franchise and studio; Nathan Drakes’ final chapter couldn’t have ended much better.
