Uncharted 4 is "truly next level", says tech analysis report

News by Brenna Hillier Contributor

Published on May 9, 2016

Uncharted 4 is the true next-gen, apparently.

Uncharted 4 is "truly next level", says tech analysis report

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is the next-generation game you've been waiting for since Mama Sony and Papa Microsoft got a gleam in their eyes.

That's according to a new report from the tech heads at Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, who say Naughty Dog's latest is the best thing to come out of this generation so far.

"With the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, we finally have a game that meets and exceeds our most optimistic pre-launch expectations," the report said.

"We've seen a number of current-gen consoles games delivering some remarkable visual achievements, but Naughty Dog has truly pushed on to the next level. Simply put, Uncharted 4 is the technical powerhouse we've been waiting for."

The key to the game's achievements is Naughty Dog's latest in-house development engine, which counts "physically-based rendering, pre-computed global illumination, comprehensive physics simulation, superior artificial intelligence" and more among its many sterling qualities.

The report goes into detail on highlights from the experience, drawing especial attention to "the best image quality we've seen in a console game to date", character rendering, character performance, real-time cut-scenes, environments, materials and textures, audio, artificial intelligence, screen-space reflections, light shafts and water effects. According to Digital Foundry, in each of these areas Naughty Dog has met and then raised the bar.

It isn't all gushing delight, though; the report noted the game's loading, photo mode and shadow quality are below expectations, and pointed out that the finished game did not meet the standards set by the 60 FPS demo shown at E3 2014. Unfortunately, over-promises from E3 demos is something we've started to expect.

In any case, it's well worth a read - if not surprising coming from the team that pushed the PlayStation 3 far beyond anybody's expectations, over and over again. Check out the video below or visit the link above for the full report. If you're interested, Digital Foundry also ran a frame rate stress test to see if Uncharted 4 maintains 30 FPS while lathering the screen in beauty.