I played this as a part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection on PS4. I finally completed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune last year and felt that it was an average-to-good game that seemed interesting mostly as a prelude to something great (based on the series’ critical and popular acclaim).

Among Thieves is a significant improvement over Drake’s Fortune in a number of ways. Firstly, the settings and storyline are much more varied: the world of Drake’s Fortune was fairly monotonous, the bulk of it feeling rather like an overlong final level, while Among Thieves delivers a truly rollicking, globe-trotting adventure. Among Thieves’ story is still Hollywood-style silliness, but it’s good fun, and there are enough genuinely amusing, heartfelt, and exciting moments to outweigh the clichés. (I had hoped for more character development, though; the characters still feel strongly like archetypes rather than well-drawn individuals, so I don’t feel especially connected with them—but they’re enjoyable to spend time with.)

The gameplay of Among Thieves is also more balanced than that of its predecessor (in my opinion): while the bulk of the action is still cover-based shooting, it feels more harmoniously interspersed with the platforming, chase, and puzzle sections. The shooting sections also feel more pleasingly designed in themselves, with none of the occasional monotony or spiritless difficulty that dragged down Drake’s Fortune.

The game is clearly designed for broad appeal, with Normal difficulty providing a gentle challenge without any serious impediments. There were a few sections in Drake's Fortune where I felt almost stuck, having to seriously (and rather pleasurelessly) consider my strategy and/or use of ammo. I had to retry a number of areas in Among Thieves, some necessitating tactics slightly more nuanced than just ducking behind a convenient cover-point and blasting baddies full of lead,* but nothing really called for especial skill, accuracy, or strategising.**

For me, this was actually a good thing, because I don’t need more than a mild-to-moderate challenge to enjoy combat-based games. It’s a great game for those who enjoy some shooting, but mostly as a part of a broader experience—i.e. the action component that doesn’t overwhelm the adventure—and who don’t care for things like scarce ammo or interminable shootouts.

I must give credit to Bluepoint’s and Naughty Dog’s art departments, as this remastered version looks excellent despite Among Thieves being over a decade old. It’s aging well. (The cutscene graphics and animation, especially, look remarkably good for their time—coming from that era of characters with darting, glassy eyes, deep in the uncanny valley.)

I had a great time with Among Thieves—I don’t know if it’s really “one of the greatest video games ever made,” as claimed in its Wikipedia article, but it’s got fun and largely robust mechanics, great level design, agreeable aesthetics, and an enjoyable story. I’m looking forward to playing Drake’s Deception.

[*] Albeit that tactic, especially in a couple of the latter sections of the game, was simply grabbing a GAU-19 in time to mow down the final round of Shambhala guardians.

[**] For this reason, anyone proficient at shooters who enjoys a challenge might want to set the difficulty to Hard or greater—although I haven’t personally tried the higher difficulty settings, and probably never will, because I’m crap at shooting.