I know. I know it’s late, but… 

I have excuses. Good ones! Yes, Uncharted 4 came out at the start of May. But first of all, E3 took up the last two Geeks and Gamers columns; in addition to that, I had no time at all to play new games due to planning (and panicking ) for my wedding.

Then there was the problem of my now wife. She is the PlayStation fanatic in our household and more than that, the biggest fan of all things Uncharted. Married life would not have got off to a good start if I had played her most anticipated game of the last 3 years either before or without her. So, upon returning from the honeymoon, we prepared snacks to see us through a marathon gaming session, put the disc into the console and settled in for the long haul.

I must start by saying that Uncharted 4 is one of the best games I have ever played in my 25 years of gaming, and has taken a spot in my top 10 of all time (not an easy accomplishment, be assured). To try and show how good I found the game; usually, I try to skip the end credits to see what lies beyond them. If I find that I can’t, I get annoyed. In Uncharted 4, you cannot skip the end credits, but I sat through them not minding at all. They’re nothing special, just white text on black background. But every name on the screen for those 10 minutes or so deserved to be there and to have your attention. That’s how much I, personally, appreciated the work that went into this masterpiece.

That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but what it does do right really plasters over the minor bad points. What are the bad points? For one, the game is a little short. If you don’t want to find all of the collectibles, and just follow the path to finish the game, you could do so in 12-15 hours. There are a few puzzles, and most are a little too easy to solve (for hardened gamers, at least). These are small grumbles however, and as the old saying goes, ‘’less is more’’. So what, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, makes it one of the best games ever?

It’s been just under five years since the last installment of Uncharted, so the team at Naughty Dog has had a long time to develop and polish this, and that polish shows. The attention to detail is stunning, from the writing, following the characters’ previous stories and history, the new storyline, to the visuals. You can visibly see that the characters have aged in the most subtle of ways. Not to mention the Easter eggs (hidden nods in the game to other things)…without spoilers, an early scene in the game between Nate and his wife that involves a small contest between them will leave you open mouthed and grinning insanely!

The environments are flawless, and sprawl for miles in the foreground with no lag or pop up, running at a constant 60fps. You are taken to multiple locations during the game, my personal favorite being rural Scotland. Having been there in real life, they completely nailed the look and feel of the area, including the weather! Such things in the game like water, cracks of light, the way mud builds on the wheels of Nates 4×4 as he drives, the leaves on trees, everything looks beautiful. The game works much like the previous ones, with solid controls in both combat and in general navigation. Climbing is a huge part of Uncharted and the game controls make it smooth to clamber up oversized objects and jump around with ease.

It goes without saying that I recommend you buy this game if you have a PS4. If you don’t have a PS4, I even recommend you buy one especially for this game, it’s that good. But I also recommend, while playing that you explore everything it has to offer. Take your time to go and find the hidden treasures scattered around, interact with the optional environment objects, search around and just take in all the game has to offer. You will extend your playtime, but even better you will immerse yourself in the amazing story and world that Naughty Dog has created, and you owe that to yourself, as well as them.