The journey I began with Nathan Drake since I've been giving these games a try since February finally wraps up.
The stories of these games didn't completely live up to the endless praise I always heard about it, but it still overall was a solid story as the acting, visuals and earnestness of it all kept you immersed in it's characters and world. I thought it was at least a step-up from 3 and delivering a satisfying conclusion to his character. It's worth applauding that the introduction of his lost brother who hasn't been mentioned a single time in the previous games was handled well. There's great moments of acting and you begin to connect with these characters you've spent the in thanks to the amazing acting and convincing motion capture/ facial expressions. It still does try a little too hard to be emotional just slowing the pace down and taking a long time before you get back into gameplay, like the scenes with a younger Nate and Sam, the first one was fine for reintroducing the mechanics and their relationships. However the second time was just really boring and went on too long, I would've appreciated dialing these back a little
It did however feel like another rehash of the previous games even with the promise of something much more darker toned and challenging for an older Drake. The Uncharted villains have always been the sour spot of their stories, Rafe had some potential for being a better villain but the way his character is wrapped up made him revolve to a one dimensional angry rich kid which was lame, Nadine just disappears and doesn't have a complete storyline, even with Lost Legacy bringing her back this felt unsatifying. The tension feels non existent as the same ridicolous plot armor on a story trying to be more grounded and dark, while it was well presented it didn't feel like it's consequences really justified the whole thing besides setting the stage for a new adventure for Drake to embark on. I'm usually not too hard on the story for videogames like this but when they spend extended downtime feeding you a story you're supposed to take more seriously then I'll critique it harder.
This is still visually one of the most gorgeous games on the market and it's been seven years since it released. The character models and the environments are so life-like that it's pretty insane how so few games have been able to keep up with bar it set. There's some great setpieces here especially the chase in the streets of Madagascar which dynamically changes between different scenarios. It does feel like the other setpieces however are much more automated and don't reach the heights of the last two games.
Finally getting to the gameplay, it's still very similar to the previous games but has an added stifness to it to emphasize his older age. The grappling hook is a really cool addition and adds some more manouverability to the climbing, combat and puzzle sections though by the end of the game it doesn't really do anything new with it so it loses it's innovation.
The puzzles in this game are a lot more simplified than the previous trilogyThe shootouts were solid but their sense of pacing was a mess. The game hardly attempts to keep things fresh in the encounters unlike Uncharted 2 which was excellent in elevating the combat encounters as the game went on unlike this one where most of them felt the same. When the game finally begins to include more dynamic maps for combat and more varied weapons it's pretty much the last hour and it's over quickly after that. It's a shame because the shooting and the animations are so much better than the previous games and while it was still fun it's own right there was more potential to really push it further.
Another repetitive aspect of this game is the traversal, the climbing segments went on for way too long and the amount of times I had to wander around for some vague wall that lead to another box you had to climb was really pushing it by the end. The game's levels are created to be much more open which really did add to a sense of immersion and scale and was a pure joy to but it often lead to me wandering off from where I needed to go, it feels like it clashes with the linear structure of the game at times.
It may seem like I'm going too hard but I did fall for a bit of overhype expecting a masterpiece. I still think its overall a well polished and fun shooter with fantastic presentation and a flawed story that still kept me immersed with great acting and characters.
The stories of these games didn't completely live up to the endless praise I always heard about it, but it still overall was a solid story as the acting, visuals and earnestness of it all kept you immersed in it's characters and world. I thought it was at least a step-up from 3 and delivering a satisfying conclusion to his character. It's worth applauding that the introduction of his lost brother who hasn't been mentioned a single time in the previous games was handled well. There's great moments of acting and you begin to connect with these characters you've spent the in thanks to the amazing acting and convincing motion capture/ facial expressions. It still does try a little too hard to be emotional just slowing the pace down and taking a long time before you get back into gameplay, like the scenes with a younger Nate and Sam, the first one was fine for reintroducing the mechanics and their relationships. However the second time was just really boring and went on too long, I would've appreciated dialing these back a little
It did however feel like another rehash of the previous games even with the promise of something much more darker toned and challenging for an older Drake. The Uncharted villains have always been the sour spot of their stories, Rafe had some potential for being a better villain but the way his character is wrapped up made him revolve to a one dimensional angry rich kid which was lame, Nadine just disappears and doesn't have a complete storyline, even with Lost Legacy bringing her back this felt unsatifying. The tension feels non existent as the same ridicolous plot armor on a story trying to be more grounded and dark, while it was well presented it didn't feel like it's consequences really justified the whole thing besides setting the stage for a new adventure for Drake to embark on. I'm usually not too hard on the story for videogames like this but when they spend extended downtime feeding you a story you're supposed to take more seriously then I'll critique it harder.
This is still visually one of the most gorgeous games on the market and it's been seven years since it released. The character models and the environments are so life-like that it's pretty insane how so few games have been able to keep up with bar it set. There's some great setpieces here especially the chase in the streets of Madagascar which dynamically changes between different scenarios. It does feel like the other setpieces however are much more automated and don't reach the heights of the last two games.
Finally getting to the gameplay, it's still very similar to the previous games but has an added stifness to it to emphasize his older age. The grappling hook is a really cool addition and adds some more manouverability to the climbing, combat and puzzle sections though by the end of the game it doesn't really do anything new with it so it loses it's innovation.
The puzzles in this game are a lot more simplified than the previous trilogyThe shootouts were solid but their sense of pacing was a mess. The game hardly attempts to keep things fresh in the encounters unlike Uncharted 2 which was excellent in elevating the combat encounters as the game went on unlike this one where most of them felt the same. When the game finally begins to include more dynamic maps for combat and more varied weapons it's pretty much the last hour and it's over quickly after that. It's a shame because the shooting and the animations are so much better than the previous games and while it was still fun it's own right there was more potential to really push it further.
Another repetitive aspect of this game is the traversal, the climbing segments went on for way too long and the amount of times I had to wander around for some vague wall that lead to another box you had to climb was really pushing it by the end. The game's levels are created to be much more open which really did add to a sense of immersion and scale and was a pure joy to but it often lead to me wandering off from where I needed to go, it feels like it clashes with the linear structure of the game at times.
It may seem like I'm going too hard but I did fall for a bit of overhype expecting a masterpiece. I still think its overall a well polished and fun shooter with fantastic presentation and a flawed story that still kept me immersed with great acting and characters.