Platinum #135 - Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End

Platinum Difficulty Rating - 5/10

By now, what you can expect an Uncharted trophy list to look like, could very well easily be listed as one of life's guarantees.

Through 4 instalments of the title, and a game that has continued to go from strength to strength throughout the years, it's a perfect example of how more things change, the more they stay the same.

Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End is the first venture into the Playstation 4 era after 3 previous appearances on the Playstation 3, as you control Nathan Drake on another quest to risk his life in the name of uncovering the hidden treasure of his ancestors.

The plot begins with Drake seemingly in retirement from his previous escapades. He has now settled down with Elena, but still in admittance of missing the thrills that come with adventure and the excitement that risking his life in the name of treasure provides. He is unexpectedly visited by his brother, Samuel, who allegedly dies in the early stages of the game during a prison break that Drake was successful in escaping from.

Samuel explains that he survived and also eventually escaped too, but his escape was aided by druglord Hector Alcazar. This was not a freebie and would come at a cost. Alcazar knew that Samuel had intel on a pirate called Henry Avery and the whereabouts of his hidden treasure, and demands that Samuel finds this treasure as payment for his escape, or face the consequences.

So naturally, he turns to Drake, his treasure hunting brother, and convinces him to scratch the adventure itch and go on a quest for the hidden treasure of Henry Avery.

The plot is fairly standard by this point, but it's easy to follow and the cast of characters that compliment it are great. Nathan Drake is still a likable main character, and he is supported by a strong cast. Sullivan and Samuel accompany Drake on his quest and their dry humour mixed with sometimes serious conversations about the perils they face is a great adventure dynamic.

On the other side, Rafe and Nadine also make for intriguing protagonists - Rafe was present with Drake and Sam in the prison break, and his active decision to leave Sam for dead adds great revenge vibes to the plot. Rafe has enlisted help from Nadine to track down the same treasure to paint a clear picture that there is competition for this prize and heightens the element of jeopardy for Drake's journey.

The gameplay hasn't ever changed though, and remains the same here. Snappy and responsive melee controls combined with solid gunplay mechanics make for excellent combat scenarios, and the pacing of the game is as erratic as ever. 

Uncharted is mostly known for it's brilliant set pieces and they are standout again here. You go from perilously platforming the face of a cliff, to sneaking through guarded jungles, to solving a clock tower puzzle, to a chase sequence on the back of an armoured car, to fighting through a shipwreck in an abandoned cave. The production value and sheer explosiveness of these scenes is some of the best you'll see in any game, and they're no exception in Uncharted 4.

The graphics also excel in every way possible, and the attention to detail is superb. Environments are colourfully vibrant and full of life, weather effects pop off the screen and the cinematics look like Hollywood blockbusters. The graphical power of Uncharted has always been it's strongest suit, and this remains the case in Uncharted 4. 

The trophy list is the largest it's been for any Uncharted title, with 56 trophies in total, including the Platinum trophy.

The "Charted! - Crushing" trophy, awarded for Completing the game in crushing mode, is a staple of this series, and returns for the fourth consecutive instalment. I said in the Uncharted 3 review that Crushing mode isn't what it used to be, and the challenge had been notably lowered since the first 2 games. So, with that said, how does it stack up here? Probably somewhere inbetween in all honesty. The combat-centric parts of this game can be hellacious, as enemies spam grenades at you behind cover and, in a bizarre gameplay decision, the developers took out the mechanic that allows you to throw them back. 

However, there's a much bigger emphasis on stealth than there has been previously, which can help you get through some larger portions of the game unscathed. This is still frequently an all guns blazing action adventure, and some of these spots have the potential to cause you problems if you don't tackle them properly. In the earlier Uncharted titles, you had no choice but to gun your way through these segments, and the development of stealth gives you a viable route away from gunfights. It's still just as easy to die compared to how it was before, but your options are no longer limited to just throwing up a prayer and getting by with trial and error - But it will still kick your ass if you give it a chance to.

As was the same in Uncharted 3, you also have the option to play the game in Crushing mode straight off the bat. Before Uncharted 3, you had to beat the game to unlock it, and the main reason I opted to go straight in for Crushing difficulty was due to the fact there are trophies in this list tied to playing through the game with other goals attached to them. Checkpoints are generously scattered across the 22 chapters, and you can beat this game on Crushing mode in around 20-25 hours, depending on personal experience.

For beating the game on Crushing difficulty, you'll unlock an additional 4 trophies for a difficulty stack of 4 other lesser difficulty levels.

Technically, you could beat this game in just one playthrough, now that it isn't a mandated requirement to unlock Crushing, and there is probably someone out there that has beaten this game in Crushing mode, with a 70% shot accuracy rating and all in under 6 hours, but that someone isn't me.

The "Sharpshooter" trophy, awarded for Completing the game with 70% shot accuracy or higher, makes it's debut in an Uncharted title. This is simply a test of in-game management, and 70% is a high threshold for such a trophy.

You'll need to make sure you're monitoring this religiously, and the statistics screen can be pulled up within the pause menu at any time, allowing you to check your shot accuracy percentage as you progress through the game. This is the key point to acknowledge here - A really crucial tool. This trophy would be significantly harder to earn if this was not present, and you were playing through the game blind to this statistic.

The key here is to avoid automatic weapons. Their high rate of fire can seriously affect your shot accuracy, and in turn, significantly hurt the percentage of shots that hit their target. It is fundamental to stick to single shot handguns, rifles and snipers and remain disciplined to this throughout the entire playthrough.

The reason I wouldn't recommend going for this trophy in tandem with Crushing mode is purely because Crushing mode is way too brutal to limit your arsenal to single shot weapons. This will significantly handicap you in combat-centric situations that may rely on automatic weaponry to get you out of.

There will be a certain margin of error that will allow for correction of your accuracy, should you need it, but you'll also reach a point in the game where you won't be able to claw this back if you're not careful and end up falling too far behind. I would also recommend using stealth wherever possible to bypass portions of the game that can also be handled with gunfights.

Finally, you can play through this trophy on a lower difficulty level. If you choose Explorer, which is the easiest difficulty, lock on aim is enabled as standard. This means the majority of your shots should land but you'll need to be sure that you're not over-firing once you finish an enemy. If you keep a constant eye on the statistics screen, you should be OK.

Outside of this, there isn't anything else notable here. There is a Speedrun trophy, also making it's Uncharted debut, awarded for beating the game in under 6 hours. I've recently earned The Evil Within Platinum trophy, which also contained a Speedrun trophy, and this just reinforced my dislike for them. I personally don't see much satisfaction in attempting to beat a game within specific time constraints, and although it can be realistically achieved within one sitting, it's not something I consider a satisfying experience.

Uncharted is no stranger to collectibles, mainly treasures, and there are 9 trophies awarded for collecting a variety of collectibles scattered throughout the game. In addition to 109 treasures, there are now also a host of new types of collectibles to also obtain throughout the game. These include 25 journal entries, 23 journal notes and 36 optional conversations - A total of 193 collectibles. They're no different to any standard collectible venture. You'll need a guide and they're very missable, but you can use Chapter Select to go back through to grab anything you may have missed and every collectible listed above is tracked for each chapter, so it's very easy to know which ones you're missing if necessary.

There are also 5 online trophies present within this list, denying it from being a purely Single Player experience. I did manage to get all of these within a single sitting, and they give off the impression that they're mainly there to encourage interaction within the Multiplayer element of the game. They're nothing compared to what comes later from the experience the Survival Mode DLC brings, but that's already been covered separately. 

One final thing to mention; The game now incorporates an Encounter Select option, as well as a Chapter Select option. There are alot of trophies in this list for completing Chapter-specific tasks, or require some extent of kill-farming, and Encounter select allows you to pinpoint very specific stages in the game you can replay at will. This is a great addition for grabbing any of these trophies because you don't have to play through entire chapters in order to reach the point you need to reach for the opportunity to earn the trophy. It's an excellent feature.

Ultimately, I feel like somewhere in-between on the variance scale of Uncharted games is where Uncharted 4 should land. Crushing difficulty became notorious in the first couple of games, but it slightly drops off a bit in comparison here. It isn't as easy as Uncharted 3, mainly because of the heavier emphasis on stealth, which will allow you to surpass gunfights if you want to. This approach will give you a reprieve that did not exist in previous titles.

The forced combat segments on Crushing will still give you a hard time though, and the newly introduced Accuracy and Speedrun trophies re-instate a necessity for multiple playthroughs of the game for the majority of players, despite the ability to choose Crushing difficulty from the outset.

The rest is fairly easy, and the game provides significant support to the player when it comes to tracking trophies. A comprehensive statistics menu that provides totals for cumulative-based trophies, clear signposting of collectibles in the chapter select menu and the ability to pick up from very specific parts of the game through Encounter select to aid in minimising unnecessary replay.

It's around a 40-50 hour Platinum, which is possibly one of the lengthiest Uncharted games to date, but it's fair, balanced and supportive. 

Notable Trophies -

Charted! - Crushing - Complete the game in crushing mode.
Sharpshooter - Complete game with 70% or higher shot accuracy.

Hardest Trophy -

Charted! - Crushing

Complete the game in crushing mode.

DLC #189 - The Evil Within - The Executioner

If you told me we'd be treated to a piece of DLC from The Evil Within that allowed us to play as the Keeper - A spiked-hammer wielding juggernaut who uses brute force to dispatch foes - You'd have good reasons to feel intrigued.

It was a premise that was mildly fascinating before I knew anything about the actual content within, and despite having a couple of sturdy hands to play, it sadly falls a little bit flat for a few reasons.

Set within the Victoriano Estate, you control the Keeper, an enemy from the main game who you frequently encounter throughout. The very loose story is based around tracking down your daughter, who is lost in the STEM and is calling for help to be saved. This is unrelated to the first 2 DLC packs, so the story is completely standalone.

The plot is very explicit in it's lore. A number of test subjects occupying the STEM are holding the Keeper's daughter back, and the only way to free her is to go round various rooms within the Victoriano Estate killing these subjects - Which turn out to just be regurgitations of various characters and bosses from the main game.

It effectively just boils down to being a gauntlet mode. You progress through the environment slaughtering enemies until you reach the end, and that's pretty much it. The lack of depth is very obvious and it's about as linear of an experience you'll get.

You can find a little bit of additional novelty through being able to earn memory tokens from defeating enemies. These are used to unlock different weapons, of which there is a healthy selection. However, tactically, all I found myself doing was upgrading the hammer to the highest damage level and wailing on every enemy that stood in my way, so the game does a poor job of promoting the arsenal it provides you. The only reason I had to use anything else was to fulfil some of the Torment requirements, tied to a separate trophy which requires you to fulfil each of the 18 different Torments.

The handling of the Keeper also leaves a bit to be desired. I don't expect him to be fluid. He's a big, clunky character by nature, but the movement feels overly sluggish and combat is very basic. You have a single attack button to use your equipped primary weapon, and you can also use a dash attack, but it feels like every fight you get into is reduced to dumbed down, button mashing thanks to the limited move set. I just didn't find it that compelling or fun.

There are 10 trophies available, which I earned across 3 separate playthroughs of the episode. You will need an initial, casual playthrough, which serves 2 main purposes.

Firstly, the "I Might Close Early" trophy, awarded for Purchasing all items in the Shop, requires a fairly large sum of memory tokens that will need to be accumulated across multiple playthroughs in order to unlock all 10 available weapons. This includes a couple of rewards which can only be purchased in New Game+ mode.

Secondly, you'll need to unlock New Game+ mode for the purpose of a couple of other trophies. The "Cruel and Unusual" trophy, awarded for Completing all Torments is one of these. Torments are specific challenges you can fulfil alongside natural progression and Torment 18 requires you to beat the final hidden execution chamber, which is only available in New Game+ mode.

Further to this, there's also a hidden trophy for opening up a secret portal to a special boss battle, which is also exclusive to New Game+ mode.

The third and final playthrough was reserved for the "I've Got Box of Steel" trophy, awarded for Clearing The Executioner without taking any damage. On paper, this reads like it should be fairly challenging, but there are a couple of things to be aware of that can make this task much less troublesome.

The most important point is the fact that, any time you take damage from an enemy, you can just reload your most recent save point, and this won't negate progress towards the trophy. You can easily clear with trophy within 30 minutes, so your last save point will never be too far back.

The winning tactic is to just load up the rocket launcher and kill everything with a small handful of rockets. It makes light work of most bosses you'll encounter. The rocket launcher also allows you to dispatch enemies whilst maintaining a safe distance at all times and you'll also be able to take full advantage of the unlimited ammunition unlock, since you've beaten the mode a couple of times already. Load it up, spam the rockets without worrying about running out of ammo and it's a fairly fool proof method when you run it this way.

You are also allowed to bypass hidden execution chambers. If the trophy required you to clear these without taking damage too, we would have a significantly harder challenge on our hands, but this is not the case. It only took me 26 minutes and 57 seconds to run through the whole episode without taking any damage using this method.

With 3 playthroughs, this brings together a total completion time of around 4-5 hours. I definitely preferred the story-driven DLC. This just felt a little bit token and, despite being an interesting idea, just got in it's own way a bit with the execution. At least it was an easy completion though.

DLC #188 - The Evil Within - The Consequence

I really dislike that feeling of coming away from story-driven games that make you feel like you've taken one step forward and another step back when it comes to the closure of a plotline.

All the answers I've been dying to find across both story-based DLC packs for The Evil Within are ultimately found in The Consequence but they come at the expense of new questions that pop up in their place.

Do we get a reasonable conclusion to Juli Kidman's role in the plot? Yes. Is there substantial development on the significance of other characters such as Ruvik and Leslie? Yes. Do the introductions of newer protagonists make sense? Yes.

By those metrics, it's a resounding success, but it also couldn't help itself but to leave a few extra carrots dangling out at the conclusion of the DLC that leave the story open-ended and up for further speculation. I know there's a sequel to the game, and that should make me both naturally intrigued and not terribly surprised at the same time, but after a full title and 2 pieces of DLC content, I'd like to believe that's enough to at least see some sort of true ending. It's a touch disappointing, and as usual, I won't delve any deeper for spoiler purposes. It was still a fun ride that was well worth the time investment, despite the frustrations of a cloudy conclusion.

The trophies also follow the exact same format for this episode as they did for The Assignment, so there isn't a whole lot to elaborate on.

You'll be able to unlock 6 of the 10 trophies on offer through completing the additional 2 chapters, along with the 4 chapter-specific trophies that come with this - These are much more cryptic in comparison to those in the Assignment, and I did have to look up the solutions to a couple of them, to make sure I grabbed them on my Kurayami run of the episode. They're not difficult, but I would probably never have worked them out without a bit of guidance.

The gameplay is mostly the same, which makes sense for a piece of DLC that is a part 2 continuation, but there are a couple of noticeable shifts.

The flashlight is a big focus within the Assignment, and it still is here, but there's a segment at the very beginning where you lose it and have to navigate a maze in order to reach a generator switch to restore power. You're given access to glow sticks instead, which you can toss around to help light the way. It's a small change, but I felt it was a nice way to maintain the freshness of the experience.

There's also a return to combat within the Consequence too, with Kidman being provided access to a firearm during a couple of segments throughout the episode. Again, a good change of pace to keep things fresh, and it's nice to be able to call upon some combat gameplay, which I always maintained was a strong suit of the game.

Again, there are 3 trophies awarded for gathering the collectibles throughout the episode. These include 3 Personal Files, 8 Research Documents and 8 Letter Scraps, all of which are scattered out throughout the 2 chapters. Letter Scraps are collected in the same way again, obtained through solving the puzzle on a Keeper box and then using the 8 scraps to piece together a hidden note.

Finally, another run of completing the game in Kurayami mode is required under the same conditions as before. It actually seems like there's a much greater reliance on light sources here than there was in the Assignment. I think it's because you have more combat-heavy segments in the Consequence, and fighting off hordes of enemies in pitch darkness is a tricky case of alternating between reloading your gun and flicking on your flashlight to make sure you're tracking enemies and not missing too many of your shots.

I actually think they missed a trick by making Kurayami mode New Game+ content, rather than being available from the outset. Navigating an environment in pitch darkness with just a flashlight is a great premise for a Survival Horror experience - but not so much when you already know what's coming because you had to play through it once in order to unlock it. It would have been great to be able to play the episode in Kurayami mode straight off the bat, and properly experience that extra level of fear that comes with the unknown of darkness.

It's a slightly shorter experience than before, clocking in at around 4-5 hours. Some of that may be down to the experience of knowing what to do to tackle the exact same set of trophies replicated from the Assignment, which always makes planning and strategy easier.

"Where Do We Go From Here?" - Awarded for Clearing Chapter 4, "A Ghost is Born". Should have seen another cliffhanger ending coming.