You’ll want to play Uncharted 4 for a bunch of reasons. Among them: its more expansive areas, slick puzzles and superb gunplay. But something I wasn’t expecting to care about is how beguiling this game cane be—and you can see why in my latest TIME Plays video above.
As I wrote in my review: “Naughty Dog’s known for bringing processors to their knees, but what the Santa Monica-based studio accomplished here—less a show of raw power than of painterly engineering—verges on sublime.” More:
Light off nearby taro fronds or distant vines dims and brightens as clouds pass in front of the sun. Jungle-choked ruins rise crookedly from cliff side foundations like a floating Atlantean paradise. Mist-cloaked mountains frame gobsmacking panoramas that might as well be National Geographic-inspired oil paintings. Foregrounds and backgrounds coalesce in visual pageantry that shouldn’t be possible on 2016-era tech. Nothing you’ve played—on any platform, including PC—approaches what Uncharted 4 looks like.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- Robert Zemeckis Just Wants to Move You
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- Why Vinegar Is So Good for You
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Write to Matt Peckham at matt.peckham@time.com