Greatness from pretty-good-sized beginnings

Yeah, Uncharted 4 is a narrative tour-de-force, a showcase of gameplay innovations - even if some, like piton-climbing, were clearly cribbed from Ms. Croft - and an incredible visual treat.

The only thing it's "missing" is a varied collection of disparate set-piece events. Not to disparage its action sequences, which do have some very high "highs," from an auction heist to a clock-tower climb and a street chase -- but few of them have that "postcard moment" feeling; perhaps because so many of the game's environments look similar to one another (dank caves filled with dead pirates).

And maybe there could've been better maintenance of the childhood-flashback storyline; although as it is, the mansion burglary is a very effective narrative punctuation-mark.

But, even if it's not as good as I think it "could have" been, it's clear that A Thief's End is an excellently-entertaining game and an extremely satisfying end for Nate.

Which won't stop me from looking forward to whatever full-sized adventure comes next: whether that's a spin-off with Sam and Sully doing shady shit, a prequel with Young Nate getting into trouble, or a sequel that builds up a new generation of treasure hunters.

Better than: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Not as good as: I'm hoping a hypothetical follow-up might be.
In 2017 I said Lost Legacy had "one of the best [puzzles] I can remember from any Uncharted game": but on revisiting A Thief's End, I really don't think anything can beat this game's pirate sigil puzzle.

Progress: Finished on Explorer, again.