Nathan Drake has a brother. That is the plot device that sets Uncharted 4: A Thief's End into motion. The once orphaned and alone boy Drake who sought a father figure in Victor Sullivan and, after three adventures, settled into a life of domesticity with Elena Fisher, has more family than we knew. And more than he knew, as Sam Drake, a ghost of Nate's past, comes back into his life after 15 years of absence.
It's a pretty big plot point on which to hinge a fourth, rider entry -- the end of Nathan Drake's story -- onto a series that was summed up pretty effectively as a trilogy five years and a new PlayStation ago. The ghost of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, remembered less fondly in retrospect than the first two games, hung over A Thief's End, too. Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley returned from The Last of Us to completely take over for series director and writer Amy Hennig, who was absent the duo on Uncharted 3 and is no longer at Naughty Dog.