Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016)

I started Uncharted 4 back in 2021. About 4/5ths of the way through I reached a combat section I couldn’t get through, so I dropped the game. Fast forward to the end of 2025 and I get in the mood to replay the first Uncharted, which led to the second and third. And all throughout that time the specter of Uncharted 4 hung over me; what would I do after the third game? Well, given how consistent the controls for the first three games were I decided I would jump back into my old save file and try again.

And yeah. I got through those final chapters. I can finally say I’ve played 4 to end credits. While I’d forgotten a lot of specifics about the plot, I remembered the important things: Drake lying to Elaina, the long lost brother, and pirates. And the ending still made me cry. I didn’t know how much I needed that emotional resolution until I got it.

Jumping back into the end game right after playing the three preceding games does highlight some big differences. They DID switch up some controls (don’t ask how often I threw grenades while trying to reload lol), and weapon drops now have a pin-style marker when you go to loot instead of just glistening on the ground. But the guns feel great—perhaps the best they’ve felt in the series—and the parkour elements just as smooth as expected.

But the important thing is the emotional closure Uncharted 4 brings to the characters, especially Nathan and Elaina. Because it’s those two who made the series as compelling as it is.

Finally, after two years approximately, I finished all four uncharted games (yes except Lost Legacy). It was a long ride, but I'm sure if I played these all in a row I would've burned myself out. Review can contain some mild spoilers if you haven't played any of the games, about red thread story/character development.

Narrative

Drake has settled down and lives with Elena, living a peaceful life and having a boring job. Nate seems happy, he's done with his adventuring days. Then suddenly his long lost brother shows up. He is in trouble, he owns some druglord a lot of money. So he asks Nate if he can please help him find the treasure of captain Avery, it's his final hope. Nate reluctantly accepts, and there they go on their adventure to find another treasure. Elena doesn't know though, she thinks he's on some job in Malaysia.

Gameplay

This game is pretty much like the previous instalments, but a little heavy on the climbing. It consists every level of the same formula. Climb some stuff, find some thing, MAYBE do a puzzle (about 3-4 puzzles in the entire game). Fight a bunch of boring enemies, escape sequence, proceed. This exact same thing repeats in most levels. Which is fine I guess. Climbing is incredibly easy, takes zero effort. Sometimes it's not 100% clear where to go but most times it is. Gunplay is meh. They introduced stealth as well, they shouldn't have. It's badly implemented. The only thing you can really do is grab enemies from tall grass where you hide. No distracting or stuff like that. I preferred to just run in guns blazing. The odd puzzle I did run into, very easy. You basically just get the answer in your notebook.

Setting

It's set in various different jungles and towns around the world. All locations are incredibly beautiful. There is of course also a lot of caves and underground sections. The levels are all well designed and graphically amazing. A lot of detail. Also the music in certain sections was great. Really a strong part of the game.

Other

I mean nothing to really say here. No bugs I encountered or anything.

Conclusion

I almost dropped this game. Around the half way mark, I was so tired of repeating the same thing over and over. Especially the gun fights were so boring and repetitive. It absolutely didn't help that the brother, Sam, is not a likeable character and not fun to be around. But then my darling angel Elena saved the day. Just when I was about to quit, Sam disappeared and I got to play with Elena together again. Much better, she is a fun character. The gun fights were still there of course, but the better character interactions in between really saved the day. And the final chapters have some really cool parts. So in the end, I did think the game overstayed it's welcome a bit in the middle part. I wouldn't have minded if they compressed that somewhat. But all in all I did have fun, and it is a really stunning game. But Uncharted 2 still reigns supreme for me.

Alright so I have played the Uncharted games so many times and I absolutely love them. I have spent so many hours playing them and I have had so much fun. I mean I still remember when a friend of mine first-lent me Among Thieves and I just played the whole thing in three days and imminently went out and bought Drake's Fortune and Drake's Deception. And I have played Drake's Deception like 5 times. I adore these games and I think that after God of War this is my favorite series of games. So now that I finally bought a PS4 (I know, I was late only 7 years) I imminently went out and bought this (and the new God of War). And I am so happy to say that it was worth the anticipation of these four years.

First of all, I know that this is a 2016 game, but it is my first PS4 game, so let me just say that I was mind blown by the graphics here. The views and the places were gorgeous and the facial characteristics and movements were so damn realistic and emotional. And all that led to some of the best action sequences I have ever played. Oh my God. I had so much fun playing this game. I was hooked and certain sequences were just brilliant and I loved how certain of them were set up much earlier in the game. Also it has probably the best car chase I have ever played. The difficulty was just as much as it should, so not to get tiring, but not to easy too.

The mechanics were great. I loved the add of the rope and how you could use a small knife to climb at certain mountains. Also I can't remember if it was on the previous games, but the marking mechanic was really damn useful. I loved the stealth way and all that and I absolutely loved how it could be either that or shooting or both. Also you could climb and find your way through different paths and that made it all feel much more real and Explorer-like.

The story was so damn interesting and the characters were damn interesting and their chemistry was just perfect. I loved Nate's and Sam's relationship and they worked perfect together, but I absolutely loved Nate's and Elena's relationship and their back and forth was absolutely perfect. I loved each and every arc and Sam's character actually had much more than what I originally thought.

Now what I am really glad with is how it ended. This game not only had to have a nice ending of your own, but also it had to conclude nicely the arc of four games. And for me it really delivered. The ending closed every character's arc perfectly and so beautifully. The creators realised and understood perfectly how each character's story should end and they went even further. The Epilogue was actually kinda bittersweet, knowing that you won't see these characters again, but their lives went on so beautifully that I absolutely loved it.

Certainly my favorite Uncharted game and I adored it so much. The action sequences were brilliant, the characters' arcs were beautiful and it got emotional without getting cheesy or anything. Also damn the voice-acting was so damn good. One hell of a franchise ended on such a high note.

They’ve really honed what is good about the Uncharted games, the graphics and voice acting are superb, the storyline simple enough with a Hollywood flair.

Overall like others in the series solidly entertaining, but extremely on the rails with no option for any sort of customized play. The combat is a little clunky, which is why it lost a star for me, but otherwise great game

This is a beautiful game. The characters are beautifully animated, the maps are varied and gorgeous and the scenery is astonishing. The writing is also very good, with believable characters, interesting plot and a solid structure. Exploration mechanics are well-crafted, allowing the likeable characters to climb, jump, swing, drive (and climb and jump some more) around the exquisite areas.

And then there's the shooting. It's...ok.It's something that very similar to all the previous games in the series, maybe all decent games of the genre and frankly, for me, it was a bit tedious and repetitive. I felt like the shooting sequences were either time-wasters used to pad-out sections of the game (like when approaching that Scottish cathedral) or punishment for mangling sneaky bits. I assume it's a personal taste thing, but for me I was more relieved when finishing those than joyful.

These sections also clash stylistically with the advneture-ahoy, movie-like qualities of most of the game. Mowing down dozens of enemy soldiers (without repercussions)? Fighting armored mini-bosses? Very tonally awkward. I'm left to wonder whether the Story Mode is the way these games are meant to be played.

All in all, a rewarding experience, with some actual human emotional beats. Recommended.

The good:

• Superb acting, some of the best I've experienced.
• Absolutely gorgeous, probably the prettiest game I've ever played, the different settings - cities and old ruins, jungles, etc. will make you just want to stop and stare for a little bit for each one. Best character animations I've seen in a video game to date.
• Really liked the controls, great third person shooting. Driving was also a joy, it felt much easier to me than for GTA V.
• Like an interactive action movie. If you ever wanted to know what it's like to actually BE Indiana Jones, this is it. It combined the thrill of an action/adventure movie with the addictive feeling of a book you don't want to put down. However, it's arguable that you feel more invested in the main character and the story than you would in either medium because you are actually participating in it.
• Good story, by the end I felt attached to the characters and wanted to spend more time with them. I may even get the Uncharted Collection just so I can have more of the Nathan Drake experience
• The game manages to lead you where to go, but not in an obnoxious way, every decision you make feels natural. Whenever you make a discovery, about what you should do next, you always feel like it was your decision, even though the game obviously led you there.
• Liked the mix of climbing, easy puzzle-solving and action.

The not-so good (for me at least)

• It was a little cutscene-heavy for my personal tastes
• Some of the story/dialogue was a little cheesy.
• Agree with the IGN critique that the last third of the game was a little bloated, I found myself getting impatient for the end.
• Bad guys are a little bullet spongy, but I guess you are too so it evens out.
• Didn't care for the epilogue chapter, but understand the need to wrap things up tidily for those who have been longtime fans of the series.

This was a respectable end to the series. It was a bit odd that the treasure had no supernatural element to it, but not so much it hurt the story. It was fun to see Nate as a retired treasure hunter living the normal life only to have his brother pull him back in. I didn't care for Nate's brother. He doesn't have the same charm Nate or Sully pulls off, he completely wrecks the continuity put forth in the 3rd one, and I have an irrational dislike for Troy Baker. Sully is still my favorite character and he shines in this game. This also had my favorite villains so far. They are much more fleshed out and Rafe does have a natural charisma to him. The pirate treasure hunt is a fun plot to follow, if not totally original, and the scenery was beautiful at all locations, from Scotland to Madagascar.

The climbing is decent, the puzzles are fun, I do miss the ability to unlock other character skins to play as for a second playthrough.