Years Later, Uncharted 4 Remains An Exceptional PlayStation Exclusive Worth Revisiting

There’s a reason why Sony’s PlayStation has established a huge identity for itself over the years, releasing multiple top-tier exclusives and blessing the industry for the time to come with the likes of God of War, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us, and multiple others. But if there’s one first-party title that I keep going back to despite having played the majority of PlayStation’s A-tier line-up, it’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

I’ll even go as far as calling it the best linear action-adventure PlayStation exclusive, all thanks to the visual cinema it puts on display, all the while featuring an exceptional combat system, a great story filled with twists and turns, and, of course, the perfect ending any fan could ask for. If you own a PlayStation 5, this is your cue to lock in on that remastered version, because, oh boy, doesn’t that one run butter smooth?

Let’s dive into all of the various things that made Uncharted 4 special, making it stay relevant even to this day despite coming out about 8 years ago.

A Lot To Love And Nothing To Hate, Featuring Nathan Drake

Games like Uncharted 4 are why I have immeasurable respect for the Santa Monica-based Naughty Dog, the proud creator of The Last of Us IP, among other noteworthy works in the name of Crash and Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. That’s why you can see the expertise glaring out when going through the different adrenaline-infused missions of Uncharted 4, which seemingly does a fantastic job at telling Nathan’s story from when he was a wee little one.

So what exactly does Uncharted 4 bring to the table? For starters, impeccable combat.

Cinematic Combat At Its Finest

I kid you not, Uncharted 4 is heavenly bliss for those who love cinematic gameplay. Expect no musou, 50-enemies-at-one-time stuff from this one. The title likes to take its time with enemy placement, strategizing with the numbers of the opposition to deliver a memorable experience for anyone on the other end of the screen. The following footage shared by a fellow gamer on Reddit showcases a glimpse of what you can expect from Uncharted 4.

Calling this just slick would be a massive understatement. Feast your eyes.

Uncharted 4 and the Peak of Cinematic Combat [Video]
by inPS4

Peak Video Game Physics

And it’s not just the combat or gunplay where Uncharted 4 shines. One part of the title’s gameplay that stands out exceptionally well is how it handles in-game physics. It pushed the horizons of what was possible on the PlayStation 4 back in the day and if someone were to boot it up for the first time today, they wouldn’t be able to believe that the game had come out almost a decade ago.

Uncharted 4 is SUCH an upgrade.
byu/sirtoppenhat inuncharted

Naughty Dog released a 7-minute video in 2016, talking about Uncharted 4’s development in a behind-the-scenes format, and let me tell you this: It’s beautiful. It’s like the franchise evolved over time with blood, sweat, and tears, rather than just pushing out a blockbuster with no emotional value involved.

Defining The Action-Adventure Standard For Modern-Day Gaming

You see, Uncharted 4 has set the bar so high here, that it’s downright unlikely that any other action-adventure that’s not employing an open-world formula gets to topple the quality offered by it. Sure, you’ve got Ghost of Tsushima, which is cinematic action at its peak as well, but this final iteration in the Uncharted franchise is put together more coherently, where there are no complaints about repetitious combat or monotonous exploration that can often get dull.

As far as I see it, a successor to the greatness of Uncharted 4 has been a long time coming, and let me tell you what: It’s still not here 8 years later! We’ve got an array of first-party PlayStation titles up until now, but none of them have been able to scratch that type of itch for me that the game at hand has been able to do so.

What’s Next For The Franchise?

Unluckily, there’s nothing concrete to cling onto for now, but certain rumors and leaks have been getting my hopes up as of late. To begin with, it was reported earlier this year that a remake of the first Uncharted game, titled Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, is in development. According to the rumour’s source, this isn’t guaranteed to happen, but according to the evidence shown, work continues on the project.

To all the people who say Uncharted 4 was a great ending to the series, it was. Now I want more.
byu/VonDiesel2000 inuncharted

In December 2022, though, word on the street revolved around the Uncharted series receiving the full reboot treatment. That would bring new characters to the forefront of the IP, with Naughty Dog only chiming in to assist an “unspecified developer” working on the project. This was a fair bit of time ago, so I can’t really confirm whether it’s something that’s still in active consideration or not.

In any case, the purpose of the piece is to highlight the legacy of one of the best PlayStation exclusives in the business, and why you should give it an honest shot bar none. Let me know your thoughts about the game down in the comments ahead.