I've just finished a replay of Uncharted 4! I was a little hesitant about replaying this game, because I have such negative feelings about the 'Nate has a brother' retcon, but in the end I'm glad I did; I had a good time!

Unfortunately, I still hate Sam Drake, so I'm going to divide this post into two sections: grumbling about Sam, and my other thoughts on the game. That way, it's easy to avoid my negative thoughts if you're a big fan of Sam! (And also easy to read my negative thoughts exclusively if you're only here for my complaining, I suppose.)

To start with, here are my Sam-related complaints:



Look at Sam, outright lying to Nate to drag him away from his wife and back into danger, because he wants cash and knows he'll only hook Nate in by pretending there's an imminent threat to his life. The worst. Nate even goes 'look, I know people who can help you' and Sam goes 'no, it has to be you specifically.' I can't believe this game retconned in a boring arsehole who nearly broke up my OTP for his own selfish reasons and then asked me to like him.

(I realise I like a lot of fictional arseholes and I don't really have a leg to stand on here. But, man, I resent this guy more every time I play this game.)

Maybe I should do a rewrite of Uncharted 4 where Nate tells Elena that Sam's life is in danger, she joins them on their adventures ('it's too dangerous' 'well, if it's dangerous I'm definitely coming; who else will save your ass?'), and then she just decks Sam in the face when it comes to light that he's been lying to them.

I was looking down over the edge of a cliff in Madagascar and Sam wandered behind me, almost pushing me off it! I knew he couldn't be trusted.

I'd forgotten Sam takes Nadine hostage and tries to shoot her in the head. No wonder she absolutely loathes him in Lost Legacy.

I wonder what Elena and Sam's relationship is like after this game. He made an extraordinarily bad first impression. The first thing she learns about him is 'hey, this is my brother, I lied to you and ran off into danger because he needs this treasure to save his life'; the second thing she learns is 'turns out Sam's life wasn't in danger at all; he deceived me into endangering myself because he wanted cash'. And then, shortly after she and Nate save Sam at great risk to themselves, Sam runs off after the treasure, forcing Nate to save him again.

Maybe Elena eventually warms to Sam; who knows? But I imagine there's a substantial period of 'I am reluctantly tolerating you because you're Nate's brother and Cassie's uncle and Sully's husband'.

(At the end of the game, she says goodbye to Sam with 'it has been... an experience getting to meet you' and offers him a handshake instead of a hug.)

I'm torn between 'I'd love it if Naughty Dog made another Uncharted spinoff game' and 'but I have a terrible feeling Sam might be the protagonist, and I'd be so filled with resentment in that case'. Another Chloe game would be great; I'd take a game with Cassie as the protagonist, too! If there's a Sam-centric Uncharted game... well, I'll probably play it, but I'll be so annoyed the whole time.

(Or maybe I'd play it, come to like Sam and be very embarrassed that I spent so much time complaining about him. Who knows?)

Uncharted 4 is a good game. It's well made, and I enjoyed playing it. But I'm not sure it's a good ending to the main Uncharted series, because it focuses so heavily on a character who was never previously part of that series. I think I'd probably feel the same way even if I liked Sam.

I came away from it with more positive feelings this time, though! I still haven't warmed to Sam, but I like Uncharted 4 overall more than I remembered.



And here are my other notes on the game, which are broadly much more positive!



When Nate's diving at the beginning, he repeatedly goes 'no, it's fine' when he's advised to surface for a fresh oxygen tank. He's just compelled to risk his life, even when there's no need to.

Nate and Elena's wedding photographs remain the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Nate talks to Elena when she's not there - he picks up the travel guide in her office and says, 'Oh, is this what you're working on?' to himself - and it's unbearably cute.

That whole sequence with Nate and Elena eating together and playing Crash Bandicoot just explodes my heart. I'd forgotten how Elena tries to encourage Nate to take the Malaysia job because she's concerned about his happiness! They get on so well, they really care about each other, and I'm glad it's clear that, even if Nate's restless, it has nothing to do with Elena herself; he loves her and he's glad to be with her, absolutely and without question.

I'd also forgotten how Nate complains that falling down a pit in Crash Bandicoot kills him. 'That's not realistic. I would've climbed back out.' Beautiful.

I'm still sort of impressed that I started shipping Nate/Elena before I even started liking Nate. I was shipping them in the first game; I warmed to Nate in the second. The truest test of chemistry: do I ship the pairing even when I only like one of the characters?

I died in the prison escape 'flashback' that's actually just a bullshit story Sam's spinning for Nate, which seems odd. 'And then I breathed my last, whispering the name of my beloved little brother,' Sam presumably says, before realising he's slightly overdone it.

I'd forgotten Uncharted 4 has a pickpocketing mechanic that shows up exactly once and requires you to zoom in and hold focus on a waiter's butt for several seconds.

Sam: Is this what you've been up to while I've been away? Jumping around ruins?
Nate: Well, yeah. That and getting shot at. Blown up. Punched. Kicked.
Sam: All right, all right, I get it.
Nate: Knifed. Drugged.

I love that Nate acknowledges and resents how much these games fuck him up.

I've just realised you can see Nate's wedding ring on his finger when he's climbing around!

Love that Nate's response to 'Wait, do you have a trampoline?' is 'I wish.' Nate is a man who understands the finer things in life.

Sam, while a load of guys shoot at us: Is this how it always is for you?
Nate: No! Well, kind of. Yeah. Yes, definitely.

Elena hears that Nate's work is delayed and offers to fly out to keep him company, because she is the best. It's really upsetting to see Nate lie to her.

Love that Nate stops to pet the lemur in the market and then doodles lemurs all over his journal.

I was always confused by Elena's disapproval of Nate's adventuring in Uncharted 3 and 4, given that she's more reckless than he is in the original Uncharted. Come to think of it, though, she saw her camera operator shot in Uncharted 2, then nearly died when Flynn blew himself up in front of her, which might reasonably have put her off a little.

'I ruined my marriage, drove my best friend away, and now my brother's gone missing. But, on the plus side, there's no one around to tell me I'm an idiot.' Oh, Nate.

I am, predictably, a fan of the sequence where Nate washes up on the island in the storm, alone and soaked to the skin and so fucked up it's a struggle to keep moving.

'Way to go, Nate. Piss a girl like that off. Idiot.' Nate wholeheartedly believes that his wife is really cool, and it's very sweet. (He's right.)

I enjoy the running joke of how every bridge Nate encounters breaks, culminating in Nate yelling 'I HATE BRIDGES' as their car plunges into the river.

'I made a promise that I was done with that life.' 'We both did.' I'm glad the game acknowledges that Elena also loves adventure and risk-taking, and it cost her something to give it up as well; it's not just Nate who misses it.

Nate and Elena are such a good team. It's a delight to watch them working together. I still love that, when they're in the midst of battle, Nate will sometimes lift Elena up to kick the enemy in the face.

After Nate and Elena tumble down the slope in the midst of explosions, Nate immediately, automatically moves to shield Elena from potential debris with his body. He doesn't have time to think about it; it's just how he's programmed to react.

I'm not a big fan of Elena playing dead after those explosions, however briefly - it's such a cruel thing to do that I find it hard to believe of her - but it does lead to a nice little scene between her and Nate. I love how flirty she immediately becomes after narrowly escaping a load of exploding mummies. Both Nate and Elena are turned on by danger; it's part of what draws them to each other.

Pleased to report that this game lets you spend more time with Elena than I remembered! I remembered her joining the adventure very late in the game, but you get a few chapters in her company. (I still think this game could have done with more Elena, but frankly every game could do with more Elena.)

I'd forgotten Nate says 'I love you' to Elena just before going after Sam! Romantic 'I love you's in fiction rarely affect me much, but this one does get me in the heart a bit, as (I think?) the first time we've heard it between them in four games. I'm sure it's not the first time Nate's said it, but it's the first time we've been privy to it. The fact that they've already been married for years somehow makes it more impactful.

I like that Nate and Elena end up going 'okay, it was a mistake to give up adventure; we both love it; let's just find a way to have more controlled, legal adventures that don't get us killed.' It's a nice way to end their story.

Got weirdly emotional wandering around their house in the epilogue. My OTP are still together after all these years and all their struggles! Look at the life they built for themselves!

From the scorekeeping notes on the fridge and Sully's letter, it seems like Cassie and Sully are in the habit of playing backgammon with each other, which is pretty cute.

Sully's letter, incidentally, still really makes it sound like he and Sam are married, as does Cassie's 'Oh, cool, Sam and Sully are coming to visit!' and her fond 'Look at these two' when she sees their photo.

What a beautiful place to live. I can't believe Cassie can open her front door and run straight out onto the beach.

Love that Elena canonically kept her surname; it was my headcanon, and I was delighted to have it confirmed in this game!

I also love that Cassie picks up Drake's decoding device and immediately identifies it as sixteenth-century, because, like her parents, she is a big nerd.

'Nice, uh... gun holster, Dad?' cracks me up.

I hope Cassie knows how extremely goddamn cool her parents are. She definitely seem to have a good relationship with them, from what little we see of it!



When people ask me what pairings I ship without specifying a fandom, Nate and Elena are the first characters to come to mind. I love them, and it’s been great to reacquaint myself with them by replaying this series!