Spoiler alert: If you haven't played "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End," I suggest holding off on this article until you finish the story! (Unless you enjoy spoilers.)
GOTY: Game Of The Year is given to the best of the best of video games, and history has proven that the winners of this yearly title receive phenomenal reviews, and have huge replay value.
Even though we're past the halfway mark of 2016, and still have the holiday season for game releases, Naughty Dog gave us our holiday gift early this year in the form of "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" back in May. Sure, it didn't have a heartbreaking moment occur in the first ten minutes of gameplay (I'm lookin' at you, "The Last of Us"!), but that doesn't mean that I didn't shed a tear or two (or a dozen) upon finishing its main story.
Taking place three after the events of "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception" ended, we see our favorite sarcastic protagonist, Nathan Drake, now living a semi-normal life with his wife, Elena. He's retired from the life of adventure, but the players are quick to learn that he may or may not miss the life he once knew. We're also introduced to Nathan's long-lost brother, Samuel, and the adventures soon begin once the two are reunited.
"Uncharted 4" is filled with beautiful scenery, humorous dialogue, along with many new features. One feature in particular that I enjoyed was the upgraded stealth mechanics. Although there are many players who prefer the 'shoot first, ask later' aspect of video games, I prefer the 'work smarter, not harder' aspect—you know, score the trophy for stealthy making your way across certain parts of the game. It was safe to say that the first title of the series on the next-gen system was well worth the wait!
I remember the evening of the Playstation 4's release, seeing a teaser trailer for "Uncharted 4". My heart raced the moment I realized what game they were previewing, and knowing that whenever it came out, it would be well worth the wait! When I finally did get my hands on the game—and you know darn well that I purchased the Libertalia special edition!—that I couldn't wait to explore all that I could in the world that Naughty Dog presented to its players.
But "Uncharted 4"'s finest moment came during its final epilogue and cut scene. After Nathan's final battle with Rafe, and the Drake brothers are reunited with Sully and Elena, we are given another chance to beat Elena's high score on "Crash Bandicoot." However, it's not Nathan playing, its—a mystery girl?
After a little searching, we figure out that it's Nathan and Elena's daughter. She soon uncovers the truth behind her parents' past, and it leads to the final moments of the game where I needed to break out my box of Kleenex.
As we watch Nathan walk with Cassie and hear him telling her how it all started, along with Elena following close behind, I felt my eyes watering. Yeah, I admit it. I cry at certain video games. Who doesn't? I was hit with a mixture of emotions, at the same time I was happy yet sad that I finished the story. Excited for the fact that I could now try again at a higher difficulty to challenge myself, but saddened at the fact that I would never play this masterpiece again for the first time. The biggest emotion was knowing that this could truly be the final piece of the "Uncharted" puzzle, knowing that never again would I see Drake, Sully, and Elena go off on crazy adventures.
My fingers, toes, arms, and legs are all crossed in hopes that Naughty Dog will decide to keep the series going with a prequel game. Maybe see Nate and Sully in their early years?
When a game is filled with intense gameplay, heart-wrenching scenes, an amazing story and multiplayer, replay value, and not to mention amazing sales, it's automatically a contender for GOTY. Although we still have a few months left of 2016, it'll be interesting to see if any game of this year can beat out "Uncharted 4."
