Thankfully there are plenty of them. Cutscenes and puzzles were pretty enjoyable too. I dont hate the rest, just didn't enjoy them enough to want to replay the game on Crushing like I did with 2&3. Also, screw the speedrun throphy.
You just dodge until the game prompts you to press square. There is no point in moving around the room or pressing the attack. Its a qte disguised to look like more.
Oh yeah, this.. There was a way to get the trophy by playing the first and last chapter, but they fixed this exploit in 1.04 No way am I doing a speedrun in under 6 hours. My first playthrough took me 18 hours xD
Agreed. The platforming was great in this. I honestly think people want platforming to be some actual death defying exercise where you can die off of the littlest shit. Have any of you actually played I Am Alive? The entire game revolves around you managing your stamina to climb shit and let me tell you, that had to be one of the worst mechanics I've ever seen in a game. Trust me, it's terrible.
And one last thought, maybe it's my age (30ish), but the story and underlying themes of marriage, longing for "one last adventure", their "normal life," brotherly bonds, ect... Really ALL hit home, and really really made the entire game something special for me. Probably the BEST PS4 game I've ever played. And I don't see how another game could top it for my personal GOTY. I'm ready to start it back up again and Platinum it, just as the first Uncharted was my very first Platinmum, way waaaay back on the PS3.
I agree. The story was really good and spoke to the human condition which was a first for me in a game.
Not even The Last of Us which I think is a perfect thematic fit for a game has pulled me in that way.
Finished it after 15 hours. Overall I liked it but at the same time I'm a little bit disappointed.
Pros:
- Perfect execution (no bugs, very few slowdowns, overall a very smooth experience)
- Sound,music and visuals
- Rope mechanics are a lot of fun in combat
- Combat overall very improved (running around, swinging, stealth and shooting is fun)
- Best story in the series
- Perfect voice acting
Cons:
- Animations are prioritzed - controls feel "floaty"
- Mediocre pacing. Walking/driving sections are too many and too long
- Overall gameplay isn't great. Climbing isn't a challenge, puzzles are simple and the only activities are picking up treasure and notes. Coupled with the pacing, the game can be downright boring in some chapters
- Bigger areas are "useless" in walking sections. There is no point in exploring if you can't do anything. You can see it as a pro in combat scenarios
Verdict:
I would love Uncharted 4 as a movie (directed by 90s Spielberg). But the pacing and gameplay make it a worse experience than Last of Us and Uncharted 2. Still a great product, but I expected more. 3.5/5
I Platinumed all the Uncharted games, this will be the first Uncharted that I wont. I just finished the game and man o man what an dissapointment.
It just didnt click with me.
- I never felt drawn into the story because all the shifts in the timeline (you get sucked in and suddenly next chapter is in another timeframe) You lose focus of the story
- What an dissapointing closure with
Nadine
litterly close the door and leave without a trace.
- And the pace? Come on.....I just got so irritated of all that jumping, swinging and Climbing. It came so far I was rushing trough the levels because it went so annoying slow.
- Gunfights are so dissapointed, there were only two realy great ones. The rest was such an letdown
- Last boss.....wow. What was that man
In my opinion the worst Uncharted made, I dont have the patience to Platinum this, not worth it.
I Platinumed all the Uncharted games, this will be the first Uncharted that I wont. I just finished the game and man o man what an dissapointment.
It just didnt click with me.
- I never felt drawn into the story because all the shifts in the timeline (you get sucked in and suddenly next chapter if in another timeframe) You lose focus inof the story
- What an dissapointing closure with
Nadine
litterly close the door and leave without a trace.
- And the pace? Come on.....I just got so irritated of all that jumping, swinging and Climbing. It came so far I was rushi g trough the levels because it went so annoying slow.
- Gunfights are so dissapointed, there were only two realy great ones. The rest was such an letdown
- Last boss.....wow. What was that man
In my opinion the worst Uncharted made, I dont have the patience to Platinum this, not worth it.
You just dodge until the game prompts you to press square. There is no point in moving around the room or pressing the attack. Its a qte disguised to look like more.
On Crushing you die in one hit and his attacks are much faster and completely random - it would be a cool boss fight to win the first attempt, as it flows nicely and has decent breaks with them fighting eachother, but after a few attempts and the realisation that it's just going to be luck, it gets annoying. I found the entire game easy on Crushing, but the boss fight pissed me right off.
I finished it last night, and had so much fun with it. Got a little teary eyed towards the end.
I'm not sure if it's better or not than U2, since I feel they're quite different.
I didn't have any problem with the pacing - I enjoyed taking in the views, and hopping around places. When climbing, I even tried pressing X as little as possible, since I enjoy just gripping the next hold (?) with the analogue stick.
I also didn't want it to end already as many people are saying. I wonder if that has something to do with me playing this game every night for about 2 hours, so I just took my time with it.
The combat is top tier. Soooo many options. There was a fight in chapter 17 I think, where you can approach it from so many different angles. Left, right, above - incredible and so much fun. There were no restrictions whatsoever.
I played it on Normal, and even then I felt it posed quite a challenge. I wish there'd be an option to remove the black and white dying screen, since the game is too beautiful. I'm sure there's another, better way to tell the player he's about to die, but I doubt they'll address that :/
I loved the boss fight. I know it doesn't use any gameplay mechanic, but I truly don't mind. U2 did that, and I found it awful and tedious. Here I was taken away by the scenario, the animations - I was really into to it, and on my toes.
Great game, no doubt. I kinda have a craving to buy the collection, and play all 3 games...
When you change the formula, people will be pulled in, and people will be pushed out. I understand the complaints about the game, it isn't perfect. For me I still rank UC2 the best, or at least my favourite. Closely followed by 4, I just figured it's the last game, the 4th in the series, do whatever you want.
To be honest I didn't want another game after 3, 3 ended really well and I felt satisfied with where we left the characters. When they announced 4, I was worried it was going to undo what they accomplished character wise, and make me tired of the series. So I'm glad they made the changes, and i'm glad they didn't try to copy the previous games, now I have finished the series on a high with even more closure than I expected. I'm actually sad to leave the characters behind, and I can't ask for more than that.
Just finished tonight and still marinating on everything that happened.
Right now I can confidently say it's better than Uncharted 1 and 3, but not as good as The Last Of Us. Other than that, I'm still thinking about it. I think from Chapter 10 on, it's the best Uncharted game ever, but I did note that I was getting somewhat bored before that, the slow build of the game may really be a mark on this game overall.
Agreed. The platforming was great in this. I honestly think people want platforming to be some actual death defying exercise where you can die off of the littlest shit. Have any of you actually played I Am Alive? The entire game revolves around you managing your stamina to climb shit and let me tell you, that had to be one of the worst mechanics I've ever seen in a game. Trust me, it's terrible.
I enjoyed the platforming but I think they missed a big opportunity to make it more engaging.
They introduced the rope, piton and slide and fail to ever really combine them in interesting ways.
The best platforming sequence in the entire game is as you make your way down to Avery's ship. You rope swing onto a wall, pull out your piton, then jump from one slide to another as you make your way down.
It combined all those elements in quick succession. Unfortunately this happens in chapter 21 out of 22. It's too late.
Again, I enjoyed the platforming and the pace of the game overall but I definitely think they could have done more.
Felt the sense of nostalgic emptiness when the credits rolled that you only get when you were seriously immersed in a story and its characters and you're sad that your adventures with them are at an end.
my likes:
* the game's super platinum-able (as opposed to TLoU). The encounter / chapter select gives you quick access to certain areas, the multiplayer trophies are "spend 2 hours playing the multiplayer (including the trials) - which are no challenge whatsoever"
* the characters, the story, the spectacle
* the visuals were rather breathtaking
* thankfully no stealth segments where being detected would result in an instant fail state.
my dislikes
* some puzzles were super pointless. There wasn't a single time, where finding a box to climb on was anything than a hassle. The box wasn't hard to find in any of those cases and simply slowed down progression for no challenge whatsoever.
* there were too few actual riddles imho. Like, why add the "you have to ring the bells in this certain order" in the belltower, when the climb kind of naturally dictates all but one bell.
* like ... 30% too much of pointless climbing
It's stunning. Hope they bring an insane set-piece in the DLC, I feel like this entry was lacking in that regard, aside from the one we are talking about.
Well, I finally started playing this after a long delay caused by DOOM.
Maybe I shouldn't be playing this right after DOOM.
Oh well, time for Nate to climb things while scripted to almost fall at random points, shoot at random guys, run while things explode around him, pause for witty one-liners and banter on the radio, and admire the scenery. It's time for Uncharted.
Wrapped up last night. What a disjointed mess. This entry achieves a weird combination of treading more physical, mechanical, and emotional ground than any of the previous entries, but still ends up feeling the thinnest and most unfinished of the entire series.
Middle to late game and ending spoilers:
Chapter 12 finally makes the open environment feel like exploring. Sadly, this is the only part of the game that really achieves this. After some more of the same from 13 to 15, the Chapter 16 trainwreck hits. I appreciated the plot, but it really underscores just how poorly the game handles tension and buildup. The Sam twist was predictable, although not as dark as I expected, but to transition from finally getting interesting to another pacing slog was just about the dumbest thing they've done storytelling-wise since the beginning of the series.
Chapter 17 was basically a slightly more interesting rehash of chapter 10, then the game basically coasts along until Chapter 20 when it suddenly remembers it's Uncharted, and the really quite excellent stealth combat approach is abandoned for the last 3 chapters as it's back to the dull cover-shooting antics interspersed with forced mobility and bullet sponge encounters that are the trademark of the first 3 games.
The game wraps up with the most anti-climactic finish of the series, worse I think than even UC3, with a boss fight that feels roughly like what would happen if you tried to strip down Godhand for smartphones. I'm still on the fence as to whether the numbskull fistfight at the end of UC3 or this is the worst way to end either game.
Ultimately, the game just never felt like it knew what it wanted to be. Part an homage to the series, part an homage to Naughty Dog's other work, part open world, part setpieces, never fully feeling committed to justifying any of it.
The best parts of the game are where you choose how to approach a combat situation and then scramble to make the most of it - something done so much better and with so much more tension in TLoU, but still as to make the best parts of this game largely not feel like Uncharted at all. The worst parts of the game are the parts which also aped TLoU's worst qualities - walking around looking at scenery. However, in TLoU there was always tension, anticipation. There is none of that here. You always know you can survive an ambush, you always know something is going to crumble and you'll have to go jump around safely for another 30 minutes, seemingly for its own sake.
The Uncharted formula doesn't lend itself well to padding. The only justification for the mind-numbing traversal of the series was that it made the most sense to bookend setpieces and give a pause to combat without interfering with the pacing. In this entry, the traversal itself interferes with the pacing, and it leaves you cold and unsatisfied, and in the worst cases, bored. No game that had this much effort and care put into it deserves to end up boring.
For all its best intentions and massive production values, UC4 feels incomplete. It's an odd product that is so obviously not a combination of first ideas, not (just) a cash grab, and makes an honest attempt to not be a cynical spoon-fed experience, but somehow ends up feeling less cohesive and nearly as unsatisfying as any of the above. It almost feels as if an attempt was made to address the critics of the series while not turning its back on long-time fans, and the result is something that fully satisfies neither camp.
Ultimately the pacing is called out as the game's main flaw as it is the net result of all of the game's offenses. More stealth encounters, more enemy variety, more puzzles, leaning more heavily on the rope and less on walking along walls for half of Chapter - these things would have improved the whole experience enormously I think. I'd go so far as to say less also could have been more. Heavily editing individual chapters - even without providing more of them with greater variety to make up the difference - might have made a stronger game.
Good post, agree with a lot of what you said, especially the bolded. Also think the game has an identity crisis.
Even though I get the complaints about ch16, I still liked it, as I was intrigued to find out what happened to
their mother
. Its timing/placing is baffling though, coming just after the calm ch15.
Wrapped up last night. What a disjointed mess. This entry achieves a weird combination of treading more physical, mechanical, and emotional ground than any of the previous entries, but still ends up feeling the thinnest and most unfinished of the entire series.
Middle to late game and ending spoilers:
Chapter 12 finally makes the open environment feel like exploring. Sadly, this is the only part of the game that really achieves this. After some more of the same from 13 to 15, the Chapter 16 trainwreck hits. I appreciated the plot, but it really underscores just how poorly the game handles tension and buildup. The Sam twist was predictable, although not as dark as I expected, but to transition from finally getting interesting to another pacing slog was just about the dumbest thing they've done storytelling-wise since the beginning of the series.
Chapter 17 was basically a slightly more interesting rehash of chapter 10, then the game basically coasts along until Chapter 20 when it suddenly remembers it's Uncharted, and the really quite excellent stealth combat approach is abandoned for the last 3 chapters as it's back to the dull cover-shooting antics interspersed with forced mobility and bullet sponge encounters that are the trademark of the first 3 games.
The game wraps up with the most anti-climactic finish of the series, worse I think than even UC3, with a boss fight that feels roughly like what would happen if you tried to strip down Godhand for smartphones. I'm still on the fence as to whether the numbskull fistfight at the end of UC3 or this is the worst way to end either game.
Ultimately, the game just never felt like it knew what it wanted to be. Part an homage to the series, part an homage to Naughty Dog's other work, part open world, part setpieces, never fully feeling committed to justifying any of it.
The best parts of the game are where you choose how to approach a combat situation and then scramble to make the most of it - something done so much better and with so much more tension in TLoU, but still as to make the best parts of this game largely not feel like Uncharted at all. The worst parts of the game are the parts which also aped TLoU's worst qualities - walking around looking at scenery. However, in TLoU there was always tension, anticipation. There is none of that here. You always know you can survive an ambush, you always know something is going to crumble and you'll have to go jump around safely for another 30 minutes, seemingly for its own sake.
The Uncharted formula doesn't lend itself well to padding. The only justification for the mind-numbing traversal of the series was that it made the most sense to bookend setpieces and give a pause to combat without interfering with the pacing. In this entry, the traversal itself interferes with the pacing, and it leaves you cold and unsatisfied, and in the worst cases, bored. No game that had this much effort and care put into it deserves to end up boring.
For all its best intentions and massive production values, UC4 feels incomplete. It's an odd product that is so obviously not a combination of first ideas, not (just) a cash grab, and makes an honest attempt to not be a cynical spoon-fed experience, but somehow ends up feeling less cohesive and nearly as unsatisfying as any of the above. It almost feels as if an attempt was made to address the critics of the series while not turning its back on long-time fans, and the result is something that fully satisfies neither camp.
Ultimately the pacing is called out as the game's main flaw as it is the net result of all of the game's offenses. More stealth encounters, more enemy variety, more puzzles, leaning more heavily on the rope and less on walking along walls for half of Chapter - these things would have improved the whole experience enormously I think. I'd go so far as to say less also could have been more. Heavily editing individual chapters - even without providing more of them with greater variety to make up the difference - might have made a stronger game.
Well, I finally started playing this after a long delay caused by DOOM.
Maybe I shouldn't be playing this right after DOOM.
Oh well, time for Nate to climb things while scripted to almost fall at random points, shoot at random guys, run while things explode around him, pause for witty one-liners and banter on the radio, and admire the scenery. It's time for Uncharted.
it has no supernatural elements like 1 and 2.
But i also hated how nobody ever acknowledged that those thing happened. Like seriously, nobody had PTSD about meeting zombie-like creatures and giant indigenous people who protect the source of immortality?
Finished the game last week and was a little disappointed but i felt the same way about The Last of Us, and after playing it multiple times TLOU is now my favorite game.
Just thinking back on the game it is one hell of a ride, still prefer TLOU because of the more grittier tone and there are some hiccups but still it has to be one of the best games i have played in recent years and a good end to a perfect franchise.
Agreed. The platforming was great in this. I honestly think people want platforming to be some actual death defying exercise where you can die off of the littlest shit. Have any of you actually played I Am Alive? The entire game revolves around you managing your stamina to climb shit and let me tell you, that had to be one of the worst mechanics I've ever seen in a game. Trust me, it's terrible.
I'm not sure what the current example of fun yet challenging (as in deadly) climbing is?
Assassins Creed is like Uncharted, 'overly safe'. I guess a fully-realised climbing sim (ala The Climb on Oculus VR) is what's needed to fulfill this requirement (which I might not be against mind you, I would like to see near 100% realistic occasional climbing experiences in TLOU2 for example with pitons, safety etc).
And don't say Mario or any platformer as those games have no aspect of realistic climbing.
I'm not sure what the current example of fun yet challenging (as in deadly) climbing is?
Assassins Creed is like Uncharted, 'overly safe'. I guess a fully-realised climbing sim (ala The Climb on Oculus VR) is what's needed to fulfill this requirement (which I might not be against mind you, I would like to see near 100% realistic occasional climbing experiences in TLOU2 for example with pitons, safety etc).
And don't say Mario or any platformer as those games have no aspect of realistic climbing.
For Mirrors Edge universe those mechanics are perfect. You are basically a parkour ninja. Good example. But they don't fit any 'grounded' experiences like TLOU or Uncharted.
I'm not sure what the current example of fun yet challenging (as in deadly) climbing is?
Assassins Creed is like Uncharted, 'overly safe'. I guess a fully-realised climbing sim (ala The Climb on Oculus VR) is what's needed to fulfill this requirement (which I might not be against mind you, I would like to see near 100% realistic occasional climbing experiences in TLOU2 for example with pitons, safety etc).
And don't say Mario or any platformer as those games have no aspect of realistic climbing.
I enjoyed the platforming but I think they missed a big opportunity to make it more engaging. They introduced the rope, piton and slide and fail to ever really combine them in interesting ways.
The best platforming sequence in the entire game is as you make your way down to Avery's ship. You rope swing onto a wall, pull out your piton, then jump from one slide to another as you make your way down
.
It combined all those elements in quick succession. Unfortunately this happens in chapter 21 out of j22. It's too late.
Uncharted might be too automated for some, but Naughty Dog didn't even make use of what little new mechanics they introduced. Scotland mixes the slide with regular platforming well, but it's not enough really.
Personally I have never played an Uncharted game. Would be great if they'd release all games on PC though bc it looks like a fun and interesting story game that I would love to play.
Yeah. The piton and combination of all the various moves was done too late. The combination of tools seems like the fun way to do slow-paced and potentially deadly climbing.
I thought they hit a really good balance with the platforming. I don't really want anything more skillful in terms of platforming in fear that it would hurt the flow of combat (when movement is involved) because I used that quite extensively in my combat encounters.
Uncharted might be too automated for some, but Naughty Dog didn't even make use of what little new mechanics they introduced. Scotland mixes the slide with regular platforming well, but it's not enough really.
What are you talking about? The game has numerous occasions where you have to slide and use the rope or use the rope then the piton and vice versa. I really dont get what kind of missed opportunity you are talking about. They used all the tools and mechanics of climbing in different combinations in numerous occasions.
Also keep in mind like we said many times, climbing has to be functional during combat. It is an essential part of the combat and it creates some amazing scenes. If ND made climbing hard and challenging it would be one hell of ab irritating game during combat...
What are you talking about? The game has numerous occasions where you have to slide and use the rope or use the rope then the piton and vice versa. I really dont get what kind of missed opportunity you are talking about. They used all the tools and mechanics of climbing in different combinations in numerous occasions.
Also keep in mind like we said many times, climbing has to be functional during combat. It is an essential part of the combat and it creates some amazing scenes. If ND made climbing hard and challenging it would be one hell of ab irritating game during combat...
I just disagree with you. Sure the rope is incorporated fairly early on but there's no particularly imaginative scenarios involving it's use and the piton is acquired far too late to get much screen time.
I don't want the climbing changed, and I had no problem with the platforming sections or the pacing in general, but I don't think they combine all these elements together to create any interesting scenarios.
Like I said, chapter 21 (I believe) brings all these elements together fairly quickly and it worked well.
This isn't Price of Persia, I don't want complex, death trap-filled rooms, but I feel we could have gotten more than we did, just my opinion though.
I agree with Fletcher in terms of combination. I don't mind the platforming in the game, but it's not as synergised as it could be. Chapter 21 is really where it shines.
Personally I have never played an Uncharted game. Would be great if they'd release all games on PC though bc it looks like a fun and interesting story game that I would love to play.
Slight port-begging aside, the video doesn't really tell us anything new, been on a media blackout till I finished the game this morning this has been a thing since the internet get every joe-schmoe a voice. Not surprised at all, with ND's rep, Uncharted's huge following and the Sony fanbase in general.
I thought they hit a really good balance with the platforming. I don't really want anything more skillful in terms of platforming in fear that it would hurt the flow of combat (when movement is involved) because I used that quite extensively in my combat encounters.
But if the traversal is simple so that it works well during combat, what does that mean for all the traversal without combat, or without any puzzle elements or elements of discovery?
