CHENNAI: One day, you will find the right game: a game so perfect that you don’t stop playing it till it is over. So immersive, that you forget that the air around you is 8 degrees more than your body temperature, and everybody’s problems, including your own, are non-existent. Well, nihilism is not really the way to go, but I suppose it’s ok spending just 12 waking hours in this state of bliss.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s end is just as bit as enthralling as its previous versions. The story moves smoother than any movie or book. It revolves around the myth of Henry Avery, an astute pirate, who formed the pirate utopia called Libertalia to hide 400 million in treasure. Of course, Nate and his pals have to find it before the enemy does. There is a lot of Nate’s own past involved in the story and I won’t divulge since they are spoilers. The detailing, though: you can even see Nate’s perfect hair ruffle and every leaf of the plants and trees sway with the wind. Identifying an interesting trend in the series – in ‘Drake’s Deception’ we explore the deserts; in the path to Shambhala, there’s an awful lot of snow. In Thief’s End, there are storms, ships, and a lot of water. Though I didn’t play the game, I took my PlayStation controller and watched the complete playthrough on YouTube, and mock pressed buttons.
You know how it is, once it is over, the feeling of emptiness is overwhelming; the story and characters are in your mind at every waking moment, and even haunt you in your dreams. It is like they say, being in love. Worse, because you can play the game again but you’ll never feel like you did when you played it the first time.
A solution is playing another game, as a rebound! To slowly remove the obsessive need to ‘obliviate’, without taking up too much time. From Uncharted for PS4, to The Last Door for iOS and Android: a point-and-click horror adventure in extremely low resolution and lighting. It provides a nice contrast to Uncharted, and since you are already sad on finishing the game, this Lovecraft-ian journey will alleviate the emptiness.
The game features terror in pixelated art and eerie Victorian music which will leave you saying “I’ve had enough. Reducing my gaming quota to 5 hrs per week, henceforth”.
(The writer is an economics graduate who spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)