I spoke at length about the things a good finale should do in my review for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and one of those ideas is that the end should bring about retrospection and thoughts of the beginning and what brought us, the characters, and the narrative to this point. Uncharted 4 successfully does this in many ways, offering snippets of Drake’s adventures throughout the series in a number of forms, but one of the most stunningly artistic looks back at the series comes in the form of the game’s opening credit sequence.
Showing a number of ink blots appearing on a yellowing parchment that seems to represent Nate’s journal, the ink bleeds and sketches to form images from Nathan Drake’s adventures, all the way from the first moment we join him as he opens Sir Francis Drake’s empty coffin, to the touching finale of Nate and Elena together at the end of Uncharted 3. The imagery is set to a haunting new version of Drake’s Theme, the usual Uncharted theme music that most fans will immediately recognize. The credits appear about an hour into the game, and sequentially they act as a sort of filler, telling the story of what Drake has been up to since the emotional events that immediately precede them (yes, the first hour or so of the game is actually a flashback of sorts to set up the character of Sam as Nate’s brother).
Stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle as we continue to bring you more coverage of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End all throughout launch week and beyond.
Uncharted 4 - Everything You Need To Know
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Uncharted 4 - Everything You Need to Know
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Welcome Back, Drake
Officially revealed in 2014, Uncharted 4 is set three years after its predecessor. The game follows Drake's journey as a retired fortune hunter who is thrust back into the world of thieves. We're told that the protagonist will travel the globe as part of his "greatest adventure" that will put his physical limits and resolve to test. Check out the following story trailers for more:
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Is this the End?
Probably. At least for Drake, it is. Naughty Dog has said that Uncharted 4 will be the "end of an era" for the studio as it brings Drake's story to a close. However, the team also reiterated on several occasions that Uncharted 4 might just be the last game in the series. More recently, Creative Director Neil Druckmann said that although it might be a bad business decision to end the series, it's really hard to do a sequel after this one.
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Bowing Out in Style
Naughty Dog has said that Uncharted 4 has a "very specific" ending that's "very definitive" to the franchise. The developer believes people will be discussing it for a long time and in fact, Uncharted 4's ambitious ending is one of the reasons the game was delayed (the other reason being a considerably high worldwide demand requiring extra manufacturing time).
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A Roller Coaster Ride
Naughty Dog's Bruce Straley has said that Uncharted 4 is going to be a "roller-coaster ride" thanks to its pacing and story. Gameplay-wise, the developer is going "deeper and richer" with its mechanics so with all things considered, players can expect to be "really immersed" in the game.
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Sam
Drake's older sibling, Sam, is set to appear in Uncharted 4. According to Naughty Dog, Sam is five years older and more reckless than Drake - who he feels is better at everything.
In the upcoming title, Sam shows up and reveals that his life depends on him finding an artifact from Henry Avery.
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Dialogue Options
At PSX 2015, we were shown a trailer (below) briefly telling the story of Nathan and Sam. We noticed a few dialogue options, which Naughty Dog later explained will only appear in a few spots as a "nod to fans."
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The Cast & the Controversy
Sam is voiced by none other than Troy Baker and new character Nadine Ross is voiced by Laura Bailey. Voice actor Robin Atkin Downes also confirmed his involvement in Uncharted 4.
Two of Naughty Dog's casting decisions ended up stirring some controversy. The first controversy involved Nadine, a black character, being voiced by Laura Bailey, which the developer later clarified. The second controversy involved the replacement of Harry Flynn voice actor, Steve Valentine, which allegedly came down to the parties not being able to reach an agreement.
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Key Features
Naughty Dog has promised that Uncharted 4 will showcase the power of the PS4. Its key features include dynamic gameplay, expansive environments, vehicles that you can drive, and an all new multiplayer mode. For details on each of the features that this blockbuster adventure will bring, click here.
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Frame-Rate & Resolution
Uncharted 4's single-player mode will run at 1080p/30fps whereas its multiplayer will run at 900p/60fps. We're also told that the game will include a Photo Mode.
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Multiplayer
Uncharted 4's multiplayer will come with quite a few new features and systems including Sidekicks, Mysticals and Grappling Hook, all of which were shown off in the beta. For more information on these systems, click here.
At launch, the game will have Ranked mode, Command mode, Team Deathmatch, Plunder, Warm Up Playlist and Trials - all of which are detailed here.
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Multiplayer Plunder Mode & Preview
Just ahead of the game's release, Naughty Dog announced a Plunder mode for Uncharted 4's multiplayer, which is a take on Capture the Flag. Although it appeared in the previous two games as well, the studio has made a few tweaks to this one including changing it to a 4v4 experience as opposed to 5v5.
PSLS' Jowi got his hands on the Plunder mode at PAX East 2016, and offers his impressions here.
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Free Multiplayer DLC and Roadmap
Naughty Dog has said that all future modes, maps, and gameplay items will be added at no additional cost. Players will be able to unlock everything by simply playing and earning in-game currency called Relics.
For further details on how to earn Relics and to see a multiplayer roadmap for future content, head over here.
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No Dedicated Servers
Uncharted 4's multiplayer won't have dedicated servers. Naughty Dog didn’t go into detail about how the game would react to a host dropping out, but did confirm that matches would remain 5v5 for a maximum of 10 players at one time. The developer also said that it's considering adding vehicles to the multiplayer mode at a later point in time.
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Multiplayer Gameplay
Check out some multiplayer gameplay footage below from Paris Games Week 2015 and the beta that ran last December:
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Micro Transactions
Yes, Uncharted 4's multiplayer does come with micro-transactions called Naughty Dog Points, which will be available at launch. However, the developer has assured fans that nothing will be gated off. Community Strategist, Arne Meyer, explained that it's just a way for Naughty Dog to be able to maintain the multiplayer service but nothing will be locked behind a paywall and the micro-transactions won't affect gameplay.
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DLC
Naughty Dog has said that The Last of Us made the developer consider making story DLC for Uncharted 4 because it worked really well for the survival horror title. Although no details have been revealed yet, we're told that it'll probably be in the same vein as The Last of Us: Left Behind. However, Naughty Dog doesn't want to mess with the story too much as Uncharted 4 itself is "very conclusive."
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Game Length
It'd be no fun if Drake's final adventure was a short one, right? Well, you don't have to worry about that. Naughty Dog has said that Uncharted 4 is the longest game in the series and the most varied in terms of locations. So buckle up!
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Can't Get Enough?
Here's 16-minutes of gameplay featuring Nathan, Sam and Sully on the plains of Madagascar. Gameplay starts at 0.45 and if you're trying to avoid spoilers, we suggest muting the video first.
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E3 2015 Preview & Extended Demo
Last year at E3, Naughty Dog treated us to an awesome 14-min extended demo, which you can check out below. Additionally, PSLS' Anthony got his hands on the game, a preview of which you can read here. Rest assured, it looked stunning!
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Teen Rating Explained
ESRB has awarded Uncharted 4 a Teen rating because the game features blood, language, use of alcohol and tobacco, and violence. A detailed explanation is available here.
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Pre-Order Bonuses
Pre-ordering Uncharted 4 at GameStop will net you a multiplayer booster pack and the Phurba Dagger Taunt. Amazon pre-orders come with the Snow Camo weapon customization and the Desert Drake outfit multiplayer customization. And pre-orders via PlayStation Store will receive the Uncharted 4 Dynamic Theme and the Desert Weapon customization.
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Collectors Editions & Triple Pack
Uncharted 4 comes with a $79.99 Special Retail Edition, a $119.99 Libertalia Collector's Edition and a $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition which includes the Uncharted 4 Triple Pack that costs $24.99 on its own. For details on each, follow this link.
The Triple Pack includes access to single-player story add-on and two multiplayer packs that will unlock these items.
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Themed Consoles
On May 10, Uncharted 4-themed consoles will be available for sale in both the US and UK. The US version will include a 500GB PS4 whereas the UK version will include a 1TB system. Both packages will contain Gray Blue systems with a silk-screened image of Drake, and matching DualShock 4. Follow the embedded links for further details on each.
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Trophy List
Thanks to copies of Uncharted 4 leaking two weeks ahead of its release, the game's trophy list has been revealed. Although 17 of them are hidden, the rest of the list can be found here.
Beware of spoilers!
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Install Size & Day-One Update
Thanks to the same leaks mentioned earlier, Uncharted 4's install size (disc) and the size of its day-one update have also been revealed. Install size is 50GB and update 1.01 is almost 5GB. Patch notes reveal that the update adds multiplayer support, bonus features, and Encounter Select.
