I finished the game late last night.
All in all, A Thief's End was a wholesome end of the 9-year Uncharted experience. (#s "I kept expecting a death of the main character, and felt relieved that it didn't happen. But I can't help shake this feeling that the ending was just a bit too saccharine, or all too perfect. Maybe I just expected a more grim ending from Naughty Dog since TLOU.") In any instance, it's the ending the fans and devs would want for the ever-relatable man that is Nathan Drake.
Story
From a story point of view, I have this feeling that UC4 gave us everything we wanted at the cost of not giving us anything we expected. Plot twists were not as gripping in the 2nd and 3rd counterparts, but what it lacked in raw twists it made up for in thematic content. The elevator ride in "for better or worse" and the pre-epilogue scene on the dock where Sam and Drake talk about the "emptiness" they feel after finding treasure really struck a chord with fans of the series, but could fall on deaf ears for players closer to the ESRB rating. That's the beauty of Naughty Dog games - the story is there, but if you don't want to believe in it you can always rest on its gorgeous visuals, smart AI, and phenomenal game mechanics.
The game is rife with callbacks to previous parts of the series, which all felt right. I missed Chloe and Cutter, but with how they laid the story out it just didn't make sense for them to be there. I did, however, note a deficiency in Vitamin Sully – I didn't feel that there was a candid moment between the two until the very end, and I would have thoroughly enjoyed a level where it was just the two of them like the Chateau in UC3. Perhaps then they could have talked about the animosity between Sully and Sam, and finally told me about the goddamn Peru story Nate and Sully have been teasing since the third game.
The new characters all made sense and served a purpose in the narrative. It's understandable why fans of the series are unnerved by Sam. He hasn't existed since this game, and it's strange that he wasn't mentioned in the past three games. On paper, he feels like a shoved-in story gimmick. But tasteful uses of flashbacks and candid moments in prison in that first act (~the first 5 chapters) sold me on their kinship. The fact that Drake left his brother to die while Rafe pushed him forward in the Jailbreak was an undervalued moment in the game that lead Drake to the treasure even though he was content with letting Rafe at it – he didn't want to lose his brother again. It was also great to see the hard-headedness of the Drakes riff off of eachother, and how they developed from tots to full-fledged treasure hunters.
Elena's presence as Drake's wife and faithful companion really makes her the best new old character. The exchanges they share throughout the series cements her position for countless lists describing best female characters and power couples for years to come. For the past 3 games, Elena and Drake have shied away from being romantically involved. I truly felt that her double role as a supporter of Nate's crazy schemes and now a woman who is unapologetically protective of her husband creates a richer character experience that is leagues more dimensional than her presence in any other part of the series.
Nadine's presence was brief, but purposeful. She was a gun for hire, and acted like it. Rafe, on the other hand, could have been a better constructed genre. ND knows how to make story-rich characters, but I feel like if they had deviated from the pulp action genre of one-sided antagonists it would have been much harder to endure the sword fight. Instead they just created an entitled rich boy with a sadisticly violent edge. His disregard for the lives around him other than his own instantly makes him dislikeable, and I found myself pumping my fists after the thrilling end of the sword fight (a punishing boss fight on Crushing, as it should be!)
Visuals/Mechanics
The game is as beautiful as it can get on a PS4. I found myself spending a considerable amount of time in Photo Mode. I enjoyed the controlled exploration in Madagascar. The outback and island levels had a controlled sense of an open world that I've yet to see it do in the franchise, which made the vistas all the more breathtaking. Aside from holding down the share button every other second, the climbing mechanics were fluid and surprisingly dynamic at parts. For example, the focus of climbing wet rock in Marooned added to the pacing of the story. The grappling hook and piton were also welcomed additions, and never got old despite their limited purposes.
Aside from the story and visuals, the most noticeable change in the series became the finnessed shooting mechanics. Its crosshair and reticle feedback were highly responsive, and made getting kills highly satisfying. It certainly complimented UC4's broad range of weapons and HIGHLY intuitive AI. Fights were fair, and always kept me on my toes - I couldn't just expect to camp out in a corner and take everyone out. On Crushing, I did feel that the guards had a few too many grenades to throw, and with near-perfect accuracy. Stealth mechanics were also enjoyable, and helped considerably on the higher difficulties. I feel that the enemies you had to tear up were not diverse enough, and I expected more mini-boss fights.
Despite these small gripes, ND made the absolute best of the PS4 platform by crafting the best levels and visual sets I've ever seen on a console. Even though I was displeased with how much this game had "sold out" (wayy too obvious product placement in the game, Uncharted coins, and a seasons pass), a few minor plot grips and a lack of variety in enemies or bosses, it was a phenomenal send-off to the series and did UC2 proud. This will be a prime contender (if not the obvious winner) for GOTY.