Finished my 4th playthrough the other day and yeah, this game still slaps. I played on Crushing and outside of spending far too long on the final boss, I found the difficulty to be pretty much perfect (on The Nathan Drake Collection mind you, I’ve heard the original PS3 version suffered from its own share of balancing issues).

It’s crazy to think how much of an improvement this title was over Drake’s Fortune; despite both games being almost identical in terms of mechanics, the way that Among Thieves uses these systems places it in an almost entirely different genre. While Uncharted 1 kept its platforming and puzzle sections independent from its predominantly third-person shooter design, its sequel instead blends its 3D-platformer elements with the standard gameplay of ‘Gears of War meets Tomb Raider’ to create some truly jaw-dropping set-pieces (and also some more memorable puzzles thankfully). I’m not even saying that Drake’s Fortune is a terrible game, Resident Evil 4 had revolutionized the design of 3rd person action-adventure titles only 2 years prior after all, and the original Uncharted is still a fairly enjoyable romp today despite all of its dated aspects. But all someone has to do is play through the train sequence (which boggles my mind how Naughty Dog even got that to work), or the frantic, snow-covered car chase in Tibet, to understand the quality difference between the two games.

While Uncharted 2’s plot doesn’t quite match the emotional power of The Last of Us, it makes up for it with its charming cast, excellent voice acting, and witty dialogue. Whether it be the lovable rogue Nathan Drake, the confident and ever-so-cool Chloe Frazer, or the anti-Nathan found in the character of Harry Flynn, the characters in this game are just plain likable. While there are plot-holes, and the primary antagonist is a little cliched, it all functions well with the self-aware tone of the game, and is again, a major improvement from the mostly barebones story and underdeveloped villains from the first game. My only major complaint really would be that one of the best characters in the series, Victor Sullivan, is dropped from the story pretty early on – I would have liked to have seen more of him.

When broken-down to its basics, this game isn’t actually all that special; it is still Gears of War with an Indiana Jones coat of paint, like the first game. But its about how these lesser parts are used to create something larger, and between all the things I already mentioned, as well as the outstanding visuals and camera angles, Among Thieves still holds up after all these years.

After just completing my first run of this game in roughly 30 hours, I can safely say that I at least enjoyed this game more than Naughty Dog's previous game, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End; a game whose general consensus made me feel like a borderline insane person for not enjoying. While that game had Nathan Drake go through dull stealth sections with all the depth of a kiddie pool, Last of Us 2 instead uses its 'hide-and-seek with guns' style of combat encounters to expand on the tense gameplay of the original. The crafting system allows for the creation of equipment such as explosive arrows, pistol silencers, and trap mines, allowing for more skilful takedowns of enemies – this combined with the more open, organically-designed levels, as well as how excellently-animated the whole thing is, all helps to create Naughty Dog’s most immersive game to date. Basically, the game makes killing people into something really fun, which is both its greatest strength, and one of its biggest weaknesses.

That’s not to say the gameplay is flawless however, and considering this is such a long game, there were definitely moments where the pacing would suffer, and my interest would wane. Both sections of the game that take place in “Seattle Day 1” are very slow to get started; there are too many moments where the player is forced to either scavenge the environment and look for supplies for far too long, or partake in some pointless walking section that could’ve just been a cutscene. On the topic of player agency, it’s another setback for the game; you might find yourself getting really excited to take on an army of rival survivors in battle during one section, only to realize it’s literally impossible for the player to actually beat them, and it was scripted so that your NPC teammates are the ones to bail you out.

The story is easily TLOU2’s most divisive aspect, and unlike the first game, which contains my personal favourite story in a video game, I have some really mixed feelings towards it. The story presented here is of a much smaller scale compared to the world-altering stakes of the first one, and as a result, it is harder to be as emotionally invested, when the goals of the player and the characters are not aligned. The game is driven by the themes of revenge and violence, and has a lot to say about them, but ultimately, I found its messaging ineffective – I never identified with Ellie’s ruthless quest for vengeance, so I never felt prompted to self-reflect on my own attitudes towards these ideas. On the other hand, I was so engrossed in the development of these characters, as the voice acting and dialogue is some of the best in the industry. Also, the music here, like the first game, is excellent, and really excels in bringing out a lot of the emotion.

Between the many, customizable difficulty settings, and the ability to upgrade and use all the fancy gear I acquired on my first playthrough in New Game+, I can definitely see myself returning to this game in the near future. Despite not being known for its replay value, I often find myself jumping back into a game like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, as in spite of its linear nature, I know that game will always be an enjoyable journey from start to finish. I only wonder if my thoughts towards this particular sequel will remain the same.