A small but more sizeable than expected spinoff using Uncharted 4's engine. It was nice to have Chloe back and giving Nadine some needed growth after her story abruptly ends in 4. The gunplay segments build on the parts that Uncharted 4 did well and while some of the puzzles were nothingburgers there were some solid ones that made me think and were better than base Uncharted 4.

Of course while the story is fun it is pretty by the numbers especially for Uncharted standards, I liked Chloe and Nadine growing to trust each other but it was played in a very cliche and rushed manner at times. Also the one chapter where it's a massive area you can explore while was really cool initially really overstayed its welcome and Uncharted's gameplay style is just simply not designed for open-ended exploration in this way,

Perfect proof that Uncharted does not need Nathan and Sully to be great.

Might be a hot take, but I don't think the series should end for good here.

Of course give it another few years to rest and let Naughty Dog do something else, but Uncharted is a franchise you could just keep going and it would always be nice to return to.

I'd be fine either way, though.

It was quite a surprise to get a game this extensive and good just a year after Uncharted 4. It didn't launch at full price but it really is a full game. In terms of length, it's longer than the first Uncharted game. The strengths of Uncharted 4 are all there. It's got great gunplay with plenty of traversal options, good characters and storytelling, fantastic visuals and jaw-dropping set pieces. The Lost Legacy does offer a pretty big 'wide-linear' area that gives you options on which order to tackle the main objective and even presenting you with a side quest which is new for this series. I really enjoyed exploring this area. Chloe is a very entertaining character and they do a great job at showing her growth in this game over her more selfish persona in Uncharted 2. She still shows selfish tendencies in this game but she's clearly growing as a person. Nadine is less interesting but the budding friendship between the two is nice. Getting to the fabled lost city so early did feel a little ungratifying to me since it feels like something you always have to really work towards but I know some prople do appreciate the tighter experience Lost Legacy offers compared to Uncharted 4. That final set peice though really is something. It feels like a celebration of Uncharted giving a mix of the convoy chase from most of the games with the jeep chase from 4 and the train segment of 2. If this is last thing to happen in Uncharted and it will be for the foreseeable future if Sony ever reboot the series, it is a hell of note to go out on. It's absolutely worth playing for yourself.

I've always liked Lost Legacy a lot. It combines all the great changes and improvements that Uncharted 4 brought to the Uncharted formula, but with the structure and pacing being more in line with the OG Uncharted trilogy. And on top of that, you have an entirely new main character dynamic to experience: Chloe's charismatic treasure hunter veteran presence clashing against Nadine's pragmatic straightforwardness. Now, this is 4th time I finished this game, and I'm still loving it as much, if not more than before.

I appreciate the small steps that ND took to add more spice to U4's gameplay, like the silenced weapons, or the lockpick-able safes spread all over. And then you have the open world section early on, which feels like a game inside a game because of how well-made it is, despite being relatively small and self-contained. Not to mention how well designed all the encounters are. There's a lot of interesting terrains and traversal mixed in these fights; I distinctly remember one where you are approaching enemies by way of multiple large pillars, so you can try closing in unseen by climbing through the longer paths, or just snipe away from afar if you have the means.

Then in the center of it all, the dynamic between Chloe and Nadine is just so fun to see. The girl talk between these two is so refreshing, in the grand scheme of things. There really is a future for the series beyond Nate, and I'm glad that ND explored this unlikely pairing of characters instead of something more predictable, like Sam and Sully. In a way, it only proves how flexible the Uncharted formula is.

And the most significant feeling I had during this playthrough is the fact that I do like Asav as a villain more than before. He's not quite the most memorable or well-written villain in the series, but I absolutely love the scenes where he goes on the offensive and fights our ladies head-on. Nadine described him as being more than what his exterior shows, and I feel like the game did show a bit of that, although he still needs way more screen time.

Also, the sequence at the end of the game is simply breathtaking. It's somewhat underrated because of how much it takes from their previous biggest set pieces, but it's definitely the most technically impressive set piece in the series. It's an incredible vertical slice of the Uncharted series as a whole, and it's a pretty poetic way to end it all.

Lost Legacy is not the gigantic leap forward that is Uncharted 4 (and it wasn't meant to be), but on all fronts, it is a great Uncharted game. I would put it as the 3rd best in the series. It is a cool and good thing that ND and Sony didn't just pump out a bunch more of these games and potentially bring down the series' reputation; the respect they have for one of their most successful series should be an example for everyone else. But man, I would love a new one someday, especially since its been 7 years hiatus, and there's barely anyone else that makes these sort of action adventure games these days. At least we have Indy filling the void soon-ish!

After finishing this, I have now officially beat every Uncharted game but man, I’m really bummed I didn’t play this when it released in 2017 because this is how you end a decade long series!

This is almost as perfect as an Uncharted game can get! The Lost Legacy delivers a great story, great treasures, great puzzles, a stunning world, amazing and breathtaking action sequences that put you on the edge of your seat and two characters that have a lot of depth and value to them. Nadine and Chloe are a dynamic duo here and it was so badass to see this iconic team up!
I absolutely loved just about every minute of this game. Uncharted 4 is one of my all-time favorite games and my favorite Uncharted game so with this being an expansion to that was a treat and an amazing way to end the legacy of the world’s greatest thieves story-line.

I truly hope the Nathan Drake saga or this game ever gets touched or continued. This is as perfect of a story ending any fan or anyone could ask for.

Well done, Naughty Dog!

Final Fight 👍
Open world chapter 👎
Claudia Black 👍
Troy Baker 👎
The dog gives and takes

The downside of playing so many video games in rapid succession is that I forget loads of details about previous games I have played. One of the reasons I started writing these reviews was to help jog my memory in the future of my feelings about the game to help trigger my memory. Since completing ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief's End’ I have probably played over 100 games, so my memory of that game was very minimal. I remember there being female characters in the game but couldn’t tell you their names or anything about their back story. Regardless, playing an Uncharted game with Chloe and Nadine was a lot of fun.

Starting off as a DLC for Uncharted 4, then moving to a stand alone game, ‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’ is a short game with Nadine and Chloe from previous entries in the series being the main protagonists. Straight away I loved Chloe’s character, I loved how witty, direct and smart she was. People like myself are of course going to draw comparisons with Lara Croft but I much preferred Chloe’s character over Lara’s. I love the dynamic between the two lead characters, it’s not like they are best friends, they are with each other through necessity and their relationship grows over time, with its ups and downs. Naughty Dog are well known for their incredible motion capture work and this game was no exception, even down to the micro-expressions on character’s faces like Chloe (played by Laura Bailey) twisting her tongue in her mouth while she is feeling happy and smug about something.

The gameplay is pretty much the same as the previous instalments in the franchise however I did play the PS5 remaster which provides better visuals and performance as well as utilising PS5’s DualSense controller. The updated visuals are breathtaking and I was in complete awe of it all. The feedback on the controller is my favourite use of the DualSense since ‘Astro’s Playroom’. When firing a gun in the game, the controller gives off a clicking feeling like the bolt of the gun firing back. I couldn’t tell if it was the speaker doing this or the vibration motors themselves, or both. I do remember the stealth being more satisfying and easier to achieve in previous games whereas in this game the stealth was lacking, this caused me to take the approach of going hell for leather in each area with Asav’s men. The gun combat is really fun with an array of guns to experiment with, however I was not a fan of the hand-to-hand combat as I struggled to get to grips with dodging at the right time then attacking. The climbing is great as always however I did notice Chloe will die from falling from certain heights that other games wouldn’t bat an eyelid at. Nadine is an AI character that will run alongside you as you move through each area, she is a great help with puzzles and combat but can sometimes block you from moving through a doorway.

Despite being very similar to previous Uncharted games in many ways, there is a semi-open world area in ‘The Lost Legacy’ where you can drive a 4x4 around the 3 different objectives as well as collect 11 medallions to unlock a treasure bracelet. There are many other types of treasure to find but all you get as a reward for those is an achievement, so, fuck that.The area felt like Uncharted’s equivalent to ‘Bowser’s Fury’. I say semi-open as you can travel around freely but it’s quite a linear area with 1 or 2 paths between locations and it can be an absolute pain to navigate so I wasn’t really enamoured by this area, but it could very well be a sign of things to come for any future games in the franchise.

Storywise, it’s the same cliched “Adventurer goes to get a precious item, they have a rich person with an army also trying to get the item and they fight it out” as you often see so I wouldn’t say the story of this game is its strongest point however it does add more lore to each character's back story and relationships with one another. So on the whole, it does more story wise for the Uncharted universe than it does on its own.

As for the sound design in this game, I loved it, sound effects such as gunfire echo perfectly in the temples you visit throughout the game giving it a cinematic feel.

I had so much fun with this game, normally I’m all for shorter games and not ones that overstay their welcome. ‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’ comes in at around 8 hours of playtime and for the first time in ages I would have liked it to have been longer. I do hope we get more games with Nadine and Chloe in the future as they are a good duo and I would like to see their friendship grow.