Developer : Naughty Dog
Release date : May 10, 2016
Synopsis :
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the fourth main entry in the Uncharted series. Set several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, players control Nathan Drake, a former treasure hunter coaxed out of retirement by his presumed-dead brother Samuel. With Nathan’s longtime partner, Victor Sullivan, they search for clues for the location of Henry Avery’s long-lost treasure. A Thief’s End is played from a third-person perspective, and incorporates platformer elements. Players solve puzzles and use firearms, melee combat, and stealth to combat enemies. In the online multiplayer mode, up to ten players engage in co-operative and competitive modes.
Development of Uncharted 4 began in 2011, soon after the release of Uncharted 3. It was led by creative director Amy Hennig and game director Justin Richmond. Development was hampered in 2014 due to Hennig and Richmond’s departure from Naughty Dog; they were replaced by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. The team sought to incorporate elements of open-world gameplay, with larger levels to encourage free-roaming exploration and combat. The relationship between Nathan and Elena was central, and Naughty Dog attempted to humanize them more than in previous games. A Thief’s End was released in May 2016 for the PlayStation 4. It was the first Naughty Dog game developed specifically for the PlayStation 4. The team took advantage of the hardware to process larger dynamic environments.
Following its announcement in November 2013, A Thief’s End was widely anticipated. The game was acclaimed by critics, praising its gameplay, narrative, emotional depth, visuals, and multiplayer. Several reviewers found the game a worthy conclusion to Nathan’s story. Considered one of the greatest video games ever made, it won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications, critics, and award ceremonies. With over 15 million copies sold, it is the highest-selling Uncharted game and one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. A standalone expansion, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, was released in 2017. A remastered version, alongside The Lost Legacy as part of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, was released in January 2022 for PlayStation 5, and will be released later in 2022 for Windows.
Several years before the events of the first game, Nate and Sam hunt for the treasure of pirate Henry Avery, who plundered a fortune during the 1695 Gunsway heist. Alongside Rafe, the Drake brothers infiltrate a Panamanian jail to access the former cell of Avery’s first mate, where Nate discovers a hollow St. Dismas idol. When the prison warden who aided them demands a cut, Rafe impulsively kills him, triggering a frantic escape. Nate and Rafe successfully escape, but Sam is shot by guards, presumed dead.
Fifteen years later, following the events of the previous game, Nate has retired with his wife Elena but misses the excitement of his old life. He is visited by Sam, who survived the gunshots and has spent the intervening time incarcerated. He explains that he escaped with drug lord Hector Alcazar, who demands that Sam find Avery’s treasure or be killed. Nate agrees to help Sam, lying to Elena that he has accepted a salvaging job in Malaysia which he had actually refused. Aided by Sully, the Drakes steal a duplicate Dismas idol from an illegal auction in Italy, bringing them into conflict with South African mercenary boss Nadine Ross and her employer, Rafe, who is still searching for Avery’s treasure. A map inside the idol leads the Drakes to St. Dismas’ cathedral in the Scottish Highlands. There, they discover a hidden temple and a map highlighting King’s Bay in Madagascar.
In King’s Bay, the Drakes and Sully learn that Avery, Thomas Tew, and ten other pirate captains pooled their treasures. Following clues to a tower in the city, Nate uncovers a map to Libertalia, a fabled pirate utopia founded by the other captains. The group returns to their hotel to find Elena waiting. Upset at Nate’s deception and the appearance of Sam, whom Nate had never mentioned, Elena leaves. Nate sends Sully after her. The Drakes follow the map to an island and discover Libertalia. They find evidence of a civil war; the founders stole the city’s treasure and moved it across the island to New Devon, an extravagant and well-fortified town built for them. The brothers are cornered by Rafe, who reveals that he released Sam from jail two years ago and that Sam’s Alcazar story is a lie, he actually double-crossed Rafe to resume the search with Nate. Deciding that he needs Sam, Rafe prepares to shoot Nate; Sam shields him, but Nate is knocked off a cliff and falls unconscious.
Elena rescues Nate, who reveals his past: as teenagers, he and Sam discovered that their mother, a brilliant historian, was researching Libertalia. The boys, after nearly being caught by cops due to breaking into the house of the person associated with their mother, decided to start new lives by changing their surname to Drake to honor their mother’s theory about Francis Drake’s descendants. In New Devon, Nate and Elena learn that Libertalia descended into conflict over the treasure. Tew and Avery poisoned the other founders and absconded with the hoard, but Tew betrayed Avery.
The group rescues Sam and convinces him to escape with them, but he soon decides to pursue the treasure. Following Sam’s trail, Nate finds Avery’s treasure-laden ship in a cavern. Having collected a large amount of treasure, Nadine refuses to risk more of Avery’s traps, but Rafe coerces her by bribing her men. Aboard the ship, Sam triggers a trap, starting a fire and pinning him beneath rubble. Nate confronts Rafe and Nadine in the ship hold, where the skeletons of Avery and Tew lie, having killed each other over the treasure. Nadine betrays Rafe and leaves him with Nate and Sam to die. Rafe challenges Nate to a sword fight. Nate drops a bundle of treasure on Rafe, killing him, and frees Sam. The pair return to Sully’s plane, and the group escapes.
Sam and Sully team up for a new job while Nate and Elena return home. Elena explains that Sam recovered some of the gold and gave it to her. Realizing that they both need adventure in their lives, she buys the salvage company for which Nate worked, installing Nate as the owner, and plans to revive her old exploration show. Years later, Nate and Elena have become successful salvagers. After their teenage daughter Cassie (Kaitlyn Dever) discovers relics from their adventures, Nate decides to tell her their story.
Source : Wikipedia
