On the morning of the game's 3rd day, I went to go interrogate a woman who was an alleged rape victim. As I was approaching her door, I thought to myself, “well it's 7:30 in the morning, now's probably not the right time for talk about rape”, but I decided to proceed anyway, thinking the writing wouldn't know how to account for something like the in-game timer. I was wrong. Granted, it didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, but it left a strong impression. The writing in Disco Elysium is meticulous as hell.

It really feels like every conceivable scenario was accounted for, which is an incredible achievement considering the game’s large cast and the sheer number of ways that you can approach any given situation. Disco’s world is dense, chaotic, and brought to life by some of the most genuinely human characters I’ve come across in a game. Most of your play time may be spent sifting through text, but I gladly slurped all of it up, desperate for any window I could find into the lives of these people.

The game has a very strong political bent to it of course, and despite it’s obvious far-left bias, it’s unafraid to show all corners of the political spectrum as being made up of flawed people, without ever devolving into some kind of enlightened centrist bullshit. And all of it’s high minded political talk is presented tastefully, never feeling pretentious or preachy, and always with a strong sense of humour about itself.

Going into mild spoiler territory from here on out, but part of what makes Disco’s politics so compelling is that it doesn’t fall victim to the common RPG trope that places you at the center of the universe. You’re free to align yourself politically however you’d like, but you’re delusional if you think you’re going to get to reshape the world in your image. How the hell is a literal police officer going to usher in a communist utopia? Instead, Disco Elysium presents us with the harsh reality: The wheels of history were set in motion centuries before we were born, and any change we’re actually capable of enacting is imperceptibly small on a cosmic scale.

Much in the same way that you as a player only have a week to set Martinaise straight, we as humans are only given a few decades to try and correct the mistakes of every generation before us. Naturally, plot threads are going to go unaddressed, and problems unsolved. Nothing we can do about it. It’s easy to fall into a nihilistic idiot doom spiral after thinking about it for too long, but Disco Elysium isn’t advocating for that. After all, wallowing in nihilism is what caused this whole mess to begin with. Interestingly, its ending doesn’t necessarily seem to be optimistic about the future either. It’s only a reassurance that the world is gonna keep turning for at least a little bit longer, so you might as well stick around and see what happens.

Uncharted 4 is a near perfect end to the series. The three games before it all led to this, and its a very satisfying conclusion. The story is great and it is very fun to play, there's not really much more you could ask from a game.

Firstly I really love the story in this. There are a lot of parallels between Nate, his brother Sam and the antagonist Rafe as well as the story of Libertalia - a long lost pirate utopia - and how obsession and greed can cause you to lose sight of what's really important. Uncharted has never been known for great villains, but I think Rafe is undeniably the most compelling one, even if in the end he's a bit underused. Nadine is also quite the badass, and I look forward to seeing more of her again when I replay Lost Legacy. Sully makes yet another return, and while I wish he was in the games more than he is, he's still one of the most lovable old bastards in gaming. The addition of Sam is great, it does lead to a few inconsistencies from previous games but him and Nate play off of each other very well. But what really sells this game for me is the relationship between Nate and Elena. Its been a budding on again off again thing across the series, but now they're married and attempting to lead a simple life. The interactions between them are fantastic, and the exploration of who they are, through their highs and lows is what makes this game so good for me as well as such a fitting conclusion especially with its wholesome ending. This is all brought together because of the really incredible performances by the entire cast across the board. The attention to detail and facial expressions add so much. The graphics are beautiful and help bring each character to life, while still sticking to the charm of the older games. Naughty dog is always great at writing banter and I think the dialogue in this is their best work yet, even moreso than The Last of Us, but some times when characters don't say a thing at all is when they say the most, which again is just another testament to the quality and care put in by everyone involved. Impressive all around, zero complaints in this department.

The gameplay is a big improvement too. I never had any problems with the shooting in this series but most can agree its a step up from the original trilogy. The melee combat in this compared to what they tried to introduce in 3 is like comparing getting fucked in the ass to getting fucked in the ass with lube. Its a night and day difference, and even if its not always viable it just feels so much better. They also do what every good sequel should do, and add in a grappling hook which adds both to standard traversal and combat. There's also a lot less linearity in this game that the others. There's a lot to explore, and quite a few open ended levels that are a good change of pace. There's also the return of the outright fantastic set-pieces the series is known for, and In my opinion the entirety of Chapter 12 is the absolute best part of the series. It showcases all of Uncharted's strengths and is a joy to play the whole way through, even ending with a fantastic story beat contrasting all the fun you just had. Anyone wants to know what this series is all about, show them that sequence.

Alas, as every game goes, it is not perfect. There are a few things that drag this game down. The climbing is fun for the most part, but there are a few chapters, namely the one taking place in Scotland that just go on way too fucking long. There's always great banter between characters, and the long segments are usually rewarded with a fun action set piece, but there is at least 3 or 4 sections in this game where you do nothing but climbing or puzzling for entirely too long, and instead of helping the pacing like it should it destroys it. I don't know why these sections are so long, it's one of the only things that stops this game from being perfect in my eyes. Adding onto this is just the sheer abundance of collectibles. If you like getting trophies like I do, I implore you to not bother looking at the trophy list until you've finished your first playthrough. This game has a legitimately absurd amount of collectibles that if you go out of your way for will make the slow moments of this feel like an eternity.

Despite a few complaints, I hope this review gives a good idea bout the overall quality of everything about this. No game is without its flaws, but Uncharted 4 more than makes up for that.

Playthrough Time - 12 hours 4 minutes
Nancymeter - 95/100
Game Completion #101 of 2022
August completion #21