Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review — Nathan Who?

It’s time to officially throw away the notion that you can’t have an Uncharted game without Nathan Drake. Naughty Dog is adamant in proving that even without our beloved wise-cracking everyman, they could just as well create a compelling experience through the lens of another. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy explores this idea through Chloe Frazer, a supporting character turned protagonist in a gripping new adventure that gives both Nathan Drake and Lara Croft a run for their money.

STORY

The story takes place after the events of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, focusing its attention to Chloe Frazer, one of Drake’s most fan-favored supporting characters since Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The story follows Chloe on a treasure hunt for the Tusk of Ganesh in the mountains of India amidst an ongoing civil war. Joining her on this ‘job’ is Nadine Ross; the badass chick that beats the living heck out of Sam and Nate in UC4.

Lost Legacy explores a totally different side of Nadine and Chloe; a more vulnerable side that the two draw out from one another. The dynamic between these two gals is really fun to watch, as the circumstances of their partnership and convictions for finding the Tusk steadily unfolds after each chapter. This type of pacing really does well in fleshing out these two characters and add further depth to their already diverse personalities.

The storyline in The Lost Legacy is a compelling one. Even with just a handful of central characters, not one of them misses the mark. The game also features who I think is arguably one of the most compelling villains the series has ever had. And though the story might be shorter than we’re used to, the narrative builds up at a steady pace, leading up to a finale that’s so insanely satisfying that I impulsively set my controller down to clap my hands together as the credits begin to roll.

GAMEPLAY

Everything within the Uncharted gameplay formula is in Lost Legacy with the main difference being that it seems to focus more on the puzzle-solving and exploration aspects of the core gameplay. Immediately after finishing the prologue sequence, you’re thrust into a lush jungle landscape with just Nadine, a 4×4, and a map. The lack of any kind of waypoint or objective markers made exploration feel authentic. There’s quite a bit to do in the winding open-world area of Lost Legacy, leading up to its more linear second half.Puzzles in Lost Legacy are a blast to solve. They’re intricately crafted but aren’t too elaborate that it yanks you out of the immersion.

Combat and movement wise, It still looks and plays like Uncharted, but since you’re playing as Chloe and not Nate, her move-sets are slightly different. For starters, She’s nimble and a lot quicker on her feet, making stealth takedowns easier to achieve. She also has the ability to pick locks, primarily used for unlocking crates that may contain treasure and special munitions. Even her attacks are visually different; where Drake prefers throwing the full weight of his fists, Chloe favors swift and precise roundhouse kicks when dishing out punishment. Lost Legacy also offers a slew of new weapon types, with enough combat encounters to be able to test em all.

Uncharted 4′s multiplayer and survival modes are also packed-in with Lost Legacy, letting players who, for some insane reason, own Lost Legacy but not Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The game also includes some interesting new DLC content for use in multiplayer.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

As Chloe and Nadine make their way into an ancient ruin, Nadine points at an awesomely intricate structure in which Chloe responds “You know… at this point, I’ve run out of words.“. Having played all past Uncharted games (including Uncharted: Golden Abyss), I couldn’t agree with Chloe more. Fortunately, Photo Mode makes a welcome return, with some added new kinks like being able to change the expression on Chloe’s face, to sometimes hilarious effect.

As what I think we’ve all come to expect, the visuals for Lost Legacy is nothing short of spectacular. I could try to be more critical and say there are some slight visual inconsistencies in terms of quality, but then I’d just be forcing it. The game doesn’t really take you anywhere outside the confines of India’s Western Ghats, but I found the available set pieces aesthetically pleasing enough to even complain.

Perhaps the best part about Lost Legacy is the exhilarating cinematic gameplay sequences. These dynamic sequences are so jaw-dropping that I consider some of them to be the best ones in the entire series yet, including Uncharted 4. There’s a ton of amazing set pieces and action sequences in Lost Legacy that are just too good to pass up. Take my word for it.

VERDICT

Don’t mistake Uncharted: The Lost Legacy as just a passable expansion. Though it’s a smaller package overall, there are strong elements in Lost Legacy that rival even the best moments in all Uncharted history. It the definitive proof that Uncharted is not bound by the exploits of Nathan Drake alone. Uncharted: Lost Legacy unlocked a craving for the adventurer in me, a hunger that can only be sated by value-meal-sized servings of Standalone spin-offs for the rest of Uncharted’s cast.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is available on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4.

[This review was written based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher]