Please go and play this before the Indie game cycle starts. You know, the one where people go "Oh, this extremely popular highly praised indie game sucks actually" and then dog pile everyone who genuinely likes it for like 2-3 years, before eventually the same people turn heel and say "Oh no wait, it IS good" because now disliking the game is the norm, and there's no way they can like or dislike something without spiting someone else.

Seriously, its insane how this happens every single time. It happened with Minecraft, it happened with FNAF, it happened with Undertale, and I feel like there's a good chance that it'll happen here.

I really do hate to write about online fandom wars or whatever, but regardless of those games' quality, it absolutely ruined a lot of online discussion about them in my eyes. So go play this while it's still fun, it's absolutely worth it.

EDIT: Because I was dumb and forgot to mention it, obviously you're allowed to dislike the game. My main point was please just don't be a dick about it regardless of your opinion. I mainly wrote this whole thing because I'm fucking sick of basically all online discourse in general lol

Understands that the true Dark World is adulthood and that Time will mold us all into adults, whether we want it to or not. Collect your spiritual trinkets if you want some illusion of choice, but those in charge are pulling up the strings of your playpen from the shadows. Seven years will pass and the apocalypse will arrive with droughts and flames and frozen wastes, the leaders and heroes of youth rendered useless against the unstoppable forces of evil, leaving you to pick up the pieces. Masterpiece. You had to be there. Each playthrough allows you to see your past gaming selves as Young Link; you now naively see yourself as the more capable and wise Adult Link who is too embarrassed to use the boomerang. A Nintendo game that forces you to grapple with mortality and innocence and the cycle of fathers and sons in ways that grim Atlus JRPGs about demons could only dream of. Godlike!!! Majora's Mask stans will talk about their little stories that they write down in their little bomberman notebook or whatever, but it was all in here too - you just didn't have a checklist or trinkets to reward you for engaging with the material. Gameplay is still rock solid (on Nintendo's first try!!), but you come to this thing for mood, atmosphere, text, subtext. OCARINA OF TIME BABY

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