Now Playing: Uncharted: A Thief’s End

I picked up the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on Steam during the winter sale. I was originally going to play and review A Thief’s End and The Lost Legacy expansion together but, after finishing End, I didn’t want to jump straight into Legacy. The plan now is to return to and review the expansion separately at a later date.

Uncharted: A Thief’s End is my first Uncharted game. I’m obviously familiar with the series in terms of its popularity, but I’ve never actually played any of the games before. I wasn’t sure jumping into A Thief’s End which is the fourth and (final?) game in the series was the best idea.

But I’m pleased to say that the game does a pretty decent job of establishing its characters and their history for a new player. I never felt like I was missing important context or information and I felt the game did a pretty remarkable job of investing me in this story and these characters despite this being my first Uncharted game.

It’s rare I can just say a game has a really good, well written story and characters, but that’s exactly what A Thief’s End delivers. I was totally engaged by the plot and really came to care about the fate of these people thanks to the great dialogue and perfect VA. Despite the sometimes crazy, over-the-top situations, the game always felt very grounded from a character perspective.

The story, the way the narrative unfolds, the characters and their dialogue – these are easily the strongest parts of the game. It’s a fun, old-school pirate treasure hunt but it’s also a clever and I think worthy finale for the character of Nathan Drake – if indeed it is his last adventure. Now, because I’ve not played the other games, maybe I’m not the best person to judge but I don’t think fans of the character will be disappointed by how his story ends.

So it gets the story right, but what about the gameplay? I must admit, A Thief’s End doesn’t get off to the most compelling start. Although I was engaged by the story, the actual gameplay felt rather lacklustre. The levels are balanced between a combination of exploration and combat and that balance just didn’t feel quite right during the early chapters of the game.

The exploration sequences were either too short or too long, and the combat sections were spoiled by some bland, unexciting environments. I wouldn’t say any of it was bad. It was all fine, but nothing special. Thankfully, the game picks up significantly once you reach Madagascar a little under half way through the game.

That’s when the gameplay of A Thief’s End really starts to live up to the excellent story. The levels are much better paced in terms of both exploration and combat. The balance between the two is pretty much spot on. The puzzles become more complex and enjoyable.

The environments feel better designed for the action, and then you throw in some excellent cinematic action sequences on top. Madagascar is the point where A Thief’s End goes from being okay to play, to pretty damn fantastic. It’s just a shame the previous chapters are kind of dull in comparison.

Visually, A Thief’s End looks pretty damn good. The character models and their animations are all great – aside from the odd times when Nathan’s limbs twist at odd angles when you’re climbing. The environments are also great. There’s a good selection of weapons although the enemy selection is a little repetitive. It’s certainly not the best third person, cover based shooter I’ve played, but it’s engaging enough and it does the job.

You know, I don’t really have much more to say about A Thief’s End. It’s a game I’m very impressed with and I really don’t have any real complaints aside from those somewhat weak (but certainly not bad) opening levels. But, once you’re through those, the game picks up significantly and delivers an extremely enjoyable adventure.

I really hope they bring the Nathan Drake Collection to PC now. I’ve heard the earlier games are not as good as this one but I’d really like to go back and see how this series progressed from the beginning. If you’ve not played Uncharted before, be sure to pick this one up and try it out.

8/10