Uncharted 4 Review: A Thief's End

One last, exciting adventure.

Version tested: PlayStation 4.

There is a time when any self-respecting videogame saga must come to an end, and this happens when with a new chapter you would risk pulling too hard and falling into repetition or superficiality. Of course, there are software houses that have preferred to continue to offer the usual heated soup for almost a decade now, but fortunately there are still some Developers (the capital S is wanted) who have the balls to say "enough, we got the best out of this. series, the time has come to close it by dedicating ourselves to something new ”. And let's be honest: you can count on your fingers those who have the courage to do so. It is true, turning the page and working on a new IP when you have huge success on your back can be very difficult and just as risky, but it is often the best path to take.

In this small circle of developers there is also Naughty Dog, which so far has never disappointed the expectations of fans and has always been able to propose original and high-level stories. With the first chapter of Uncharted released in 2007, the Santa Monica studio marked the birth of one of the best video game series ever made. Now, in 2016, this hugely successful saga has come to an end with Uncharted 4: End of a Thief, a definitive closure of the franchise that was greeted with great displeasure by fans and the developer himself but which, probably, was the best choice to finish with a flourish. Obviously, questioning the work of Naughty Dog would be almost crazy given the quality of each of its titles and I already imagined that all the expectations of the players for this final chapter would have been amply satisfied.

Well, I'm not just here to praise thelatest adventure of Nathan Drake with no valid arguments, so I can start my (undoubtedly positive) review.

Pro deus quod licentia

The incipit of the Uncharted 4 plot remains the traditional one of its predecessors, with Nathan and his crew always looking for treasures, ancient places and hidden truths. In this chapter, the goal of the historic company will be the search for Libertalia, a legendary colony founded at the end of the seventeenth century, and the treasure of pirate Henry Avery. Compared to the previous chapters, however, the story begins and evolves in a different way using a few but brilliant and interesting twists that, inevitably, convey the desire to continue to find out what happens.

Through a long prologue, in fact, Naughty Dog makes the new key character of this adventure enter the scene very well, such Samuel Drake, Nate's older brother. And it is precisely around this figure that the whole story revolves, which is not reduced to being the umpteenth journey of our favorite treasure hunter but which, on the contrary, puts us in front of a more sober production, without the presence of strange creatures or magic varies.

Taking it slow and exploring the settings in search of the many collectable present, I took approx 15 hours to complete the game. A very good duration considering today's standards, and I must also admit that I have never felt a sense of boredom or repetitiveness. This is not because there are continually action-packed game phases, but because of the masterful work done by Naughty Dog: it is not uncommon during the adventure to spend a good half hour just climbing ancient ruins and rock walls or drive a jeep in the middle of Madagascar, without there being anything to particularly move the scene. Despite this apparent flatness, we do not realize these "poor" phases: whether they are the beauty of the settings, the vastness of some areas that can be freely explored or the possibility of reaching certain places via alternative routes, the only certainty I have is that the Californian developer has been able to shape these moments in a way so as not to make them sound monotonous. Chapeau.

Digna factis recipimus

The gameplay of this fourth chapter has remained practically unchanged compared to its predecessors, and as far as I'm concerned better that way, so as not to change the cards too much by distorting the true essence of Uncharted that has established itself over the years. Obviously, Naughty Dog has made some improvements and changes in several respects: the hand-to-hand combat system, eg, turns out to be more dynamic and varied, although it is not possible to counterattack directly but it is necessary to "wait" for the specific taken by the enemies. The grappling hook, instead, it debuts in this episode and is a gameplay element that plays a vital role during our climbs and raids. Even the settings are much more accurate and have more elements that can be destroyed in a realistic way (thanks to the new PlayStation 4 hardware, of course), which during the shootings often force you to change shelter to avoid leaving your feathers.

I have to say that Artificial Intelligence of the opponents and of our travel companions is definitely satisfying. In my first run, I selected the Medium difficulty and often found myself evaluating my actions well during the fights, as the enemies try to trick us or flush us out with grenades. The same goes for our adventure partners, who aren't there to make an impression but know how to help us out.

But what I particularly appreciated is how the developer, in a way, wanted to give players a freedom of choice in the approach to the various fights. This means that most of the time we are not forced to face groups of enemies with all arms, but we can also count on a solid stealth component which allows entire areas to go unnoticed. Obviously, the puzzles, distributed in a balanced way for the duration of the adventure and challenging at the right point, without ever being frustrating or impossible to solve. Also very pleasant are the easter eggs present in the game and the bonuses that are unlocked once the story is over.

Finally, for lovers of competition there is also the multiplayer online, which offers three main game modes (Team Deathmatch, Pillage and Control) and 8 different maps. It is then possible to play the Trials mode, in which we must cooperate with other users to eliminate all the enemies in a series of tests, in fact, of increasing difficulty. As always, we can customize our characters from clothes to gear and unlock new content by spending money obtainable by winning matches or completing daily challenges. The multiplayer itself knows how to keep those who have completed the adventure busy; moreover, in the coming months numerous free updates will be released that will therefore expand the online experience.

Sic forecourt magna

Since there is no canonical translation of this sentence, I will understand it as "Thus small things are born great", and I think there is no better motto than that of Sir Francis Drake to describe the mammoth work of Naughty Dog staying on the subject, especially in the technical sector of Uncharted 4 which reaches levels never seen before on PlayStation 4. Some of you will think "Well, there is also The Order: 1886 that is not joking", but we are talking about two titles as technically similar as they are different in everything else. The Ready at Dawn game-movie was deliberately made with a cinematic and linear style to showcase the power of Sony's latest console while sacrificing, in a sense, much of the actual gameplay. Uncharted 4, on the other hand, is a vast and long-lived title created as a video game, and consequently it must meet the needs of most players.