Uncharted The Lost Legacy

This game was reviewed on Playstation 4.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is the 5th main and latest game in the Uncharted franchise. Originally planned as DLC for Uncharted 4 The Lost Legacy released as a stand-alone title in 2017 this time around focusing on fan favourite Chloe Frazer from the 2nd and 3rd titles and is the first game not to feature the series main protagonist Nathan Drake.

The story focuses on Chloe Frazer and the relationship between her and Uncharted 4's side villain Nadine who has been hired by Chloe to help obtain the Tusk of Ganesh. The opposition this time around is the leader of an Indian militia called Asav who is looking to find and sell the tusk to help fuel his side of a civil war. Although this game is around half the length as your average Uncharted game its surprisingly full of content even going so far to include one of Uncharted 4's open-world sections to explore. Not only is the game full of content with a lot of easter eggs pointing at Chloe's previous appearances in the franchise but also the story again is really well written with Asav being genuinely threatening and the relationship between both Chloe and Nadine being uneasy at best for most of the game. The final third of the game also sees you fighting alongside Sam Drake much to Nadine's dismay after the events of the 4th game. I feel like this was somewhat fan service but equally was a welcome surprise to see another established character from the series.

Since the game was originally going to be a DLC for Uncharted 4 the gameplay is almost exactly the same with a couple of minor additions. Before most combat areas and even within some you will find crates that Chloe can unlock with a very basic lock-picking mechanic this will grant you anything from ammo and grenades to special or silenced weapons. This is a really welcome mechanic as this installment as well as the 4th really tried to push stealth gameplay so the potential to pick up a silenced weapon if you can sneakily unlock one of these crates is always worth it. The only other real change is the optional item you can obtain in the games 'open-world' chapter. This item is called the Queen's Ruby and once obtained will start flashing and making the controller vibrate when you are near a collectible treasure of which there are 68. This item is only really going to be important for players who want to 100% the game but equally, is a cool addition and you do have to go through a lot of effort to obtain this item when you could easily skip over it. This links back to this game overflowing with content as this item/side quest wasn't a necessary addition but one that works really well and is something that most players will obtain at least on their first playthrough even if they aren't going to go after all of the treasures.

Upon first hearing about The Lost Legacy I must admit I had my doubts. An Uncharted game not led by Nathan Drake didn't make much sense to me. I was happy to be seeing Chloe again especially after her absence from Uncharted 4 however I wanted to see her with Nate, not as the main protagonist. I was massively proven wrong here and The Lost Legacy quickly became one of my favourite Uncharted titles due to its refined gameplay and entertaining story. Nadine was a questionable and slightly boring character in the 4th game but in this one, she really comes into her own adding a lot of depth to both her backstory and personality the same also goes for Chloe but since this game was based around her that was already expected. The only really negative thing I have to say about the title is its use of Sam Drake. Unlike Chloe and Nadine, his character wasn't really developed and as said previously I feel like it was more fan service than anything else which is sad really as he is a character that they could have really built up but since the rest of the game shines in comparison I don't tend to dwell on this one negative instead I just enjoy Sam's inclusion for the humour he brings.

Overall Uncharted: The Lost Legacy wasn't a big chapter for the franchise but was much more than a DLC and at its core was just a really fun, unexpected addition to the series and since right now we don't know when we'll be getting another Uncharted title I feel like fans should cherish the addition we got with Lost Legacy.

Thank you Naughty Dog for creating this 10-year journey and making it a truly amazing and diverse experience

Kane Oakes