Dissecting The Characters Of Uncharted 4

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End pushes players to unearth one of the greatest pirate treasures of all – Henry Avery’s stash, worth an estimated two to four hundred million dollars. For thrill-seeker Nathan Drake, Avery’s haul has been somewhat of a white whale. He’s chased it before, but has come up with nothing to show for his efforts. He abandoned his quest to find it, and recently put treasure hunting behind him altogether, settling into a life or normalcy with his other love, Elena.

He removed himself from the dangers of looking for dead men’s gold for approximately three years, until his brother Sam showed up. Sam is Nathan’s long-lost brother – a sibling he thought died many years ago. Sam’s surprising return comes with a hope: a new clue that could lead to the location of Avery’s haul. It also brings a price: coming out of retirement and turning his back on his family.

We don’t know how Nathan is lured away from his domesticated life – either by his own volition or by another means linked to his brother – but he plunges back into his old adrenaline-seeking self, and travels with his brother by boat to a small island off of Madagascar.

Through another series of events Naughty Dog is keeping shrouded in secrecy, Nathan and Sam find trouble on the high seas, leading to their boat crashing and the brothers being thrown overboard. They are separated by the harsh ocean currents. We learn that Nathan washes ashore with no knowledge of his brother’s location. A tropical storm blankets his vision and prevents him from searching until the rain ceases. Nathan's only option is to seek refuge in a cave. He has no equipment or means of contacting anyone. He doesn’t even know if Sam is still alive.

He knows one thing: He’s in the right place. He’s on the island he believes holds Avery’s treasure and the fabled pirate colony called Libertalia.

Whenever Naughty Dog’s scribes talk about Avery’s gold, the line ‘every treasure has its cost’ is delivered soon after. The cost, from what we know, will likely be personal to Nathan. Is part of that equation Sam? Elena? Could it be Sully? What about Nathan himself?

Naughty Dog hasn’t revealed much in terms of character development, or even who the key players of Uncharted 4 will be, but has dropped a few names and hints that give us an idea of who Nathan might be up against and adventuring with.

From the reunion with his brother, the strain of being away from his wife, and the race to find Avery’s riches before a band of rival treasure hunters do, Nathan’s life sounds like a whirlwind of chaos. He clearly isn’t going into this hunt with confidence, or people he can trust.

Over the next few pages, we’ve assembled all of the information we know about each of the characters in Uncharted 4, and also cast our own speculation as to how some of the series' familiar faces may be involved.

Up next... Nathan and his brother