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Writer's pictureArielle Danan

An Addict, A Thief, A Tale Of A Lifetime: Uncharted 4 Review


Intro: Uncharted 4 Is a third person action-adventure game that brings Nathan Elena, Sully and newfound brother Sam to forefront of the game and its story, for a new journey for players to embark on. Nathan, former thief now family man has to make the choice, sacrifice his family and safety for fool’s gold, or remember that every hero's tale ends, one way or another.

A New Kind Of Thief: Nathan Drake, thief turned family man and paper pushing deep diver comes back once again to go on a journey that will test him in ways he never thought. Going through this title and seeing how Nathan has grown as not only an individual, but as someone who was addicted to the lifestyle of being a thief, being that person who needed just one more hit to survive. Finding out Nathan has a brother and seeing through the many cinematic cut scenes, shows just how steeped and enriched in history his life was, it all made sense to why Nathan became who he was. The storytelling in this game is unlike any other, it’s so natural and flows with the rhythm of natural dialogue. In games (normally) dialogue has a start and stop rhythm to it that seems almost unnatural. With the uncharted games conversations flow how they normally would in real life discussions. There are interruptions; there are stutters, stops and starts in speech patterns etc. Naughty Dog encapsulated reality in a video game.


A New Dawn For Gaming: When we see Uncharted 4, whether that is on the PS4, or The Legacy of Thieves collection for the PS5, we are seeing leaps and bounds made in technology that were made possible by the technology of the PS4. The cut scenes in Uncharted 4 don’t have a fade to black beforehand, with the new tech that the PS4 brought to the table it allowed for a seamless movie-like flow of the cut scenes within the actual game play. Not only this, but the chapters in how they were broken up, and the controls as a whole were a lot better and more easily approachable. The controls (especially on the PS5) felt more dynamic than any uncharted game I ever played. They were smoother, less clunky and Nathan like the little magnet he is clung to areas in the environment how I cling to my coffee.


The Art Of Addiction: Sam Drake is a fascinating character that brings this story together in such a menacing beautiful way. Sam creates a suspicious untrusting aura from the get-go that made me think “he’s on to something” when seeing who he is from his childhood all the way to almost the end of the game, it's clear that he represents the personality type of an addict. Getting Avery’s treasure is the next high and he would rather be dead then not see it through. Through Sam’s eyes and experiences, he is the victim, the struggling rescuer of treasures from lands afar, the lone wolf that did it all on his own. From everyone else’s perspective, he’s the desperate kid that wants help but doesn’t know how to ask for it. Sam, in is desperate attempts to search for riches neglects the very people who save him, and this as a guiding point for the story is so organic and natural that you don’t really question the chaos of it. we just accept it because Uncharted is full of those unexpected moments that make gaming worthwhile.



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