Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review – A Great Standalone Adventure

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is set sometime after Uncharted 4 with Nate’s former love interest (and resident treasure hunter), Chloe Frazer teaming up with Uncharted 4 villain Nadine Ross. Without spoiling too much, Chloe and Nadine venture deep into the mountains of India to recover the legendary Golden Tusk. Chloe is in it to uncover the iconic treasure (and fulfill a family legacy) whilst Nadine is in for the ride, in order to rebuild the sunken Shoreline empire.

I must say, I was a massive fan of Nadine in Uncharted 4. She was one of the better villains in the Uncharted franchise and she doesn’t disappoint here. On the other hand, I know that I’m in the minority but Chloe didn’t grab me in Uncharted 2. In The Lost Legacy, however, I was absolutely intrigued by her backstory and her topsy turvy relationship with Nadine Ross.It’s clear that there’s a power struggle throughout the entire game and it lends itself for some interesting narrative and gameplay mechanics. There’s a constant clash between the two that manifests in each of them constantly trying to get the upper hand on the other. For instance, Nadine will constantly attempt to get the last hit to prove that she’s stronger, or insist that she wants to drive when you take the wheel. The other thing worth noting is that Nadine is thankfully helpful as an A.I partner. She’ll help find certain clues, solve puzzles and even take the wheel of the car to pull down doors with the wicked winch (yes, it’s back).

It goes without saying that the Uncharted games have always been beautiful games and The Lost Legacy does not disappoint. It’s a much more colourful game than previous entries in the series. Starting out in the dark streets of India with neon lights glistening through your screen to uncovering luscious plant filled areas of rural India. This is one of those games that make you feel justified in your investment of a PlayStation 4 Pro + 4K TV (if you have them).The Lost Legacy started out as a smaller DLC piece and ended up becoming a standalone game of its own. Whilst it plays very similarly to Uncharted 4, there are some new additions that are appreciated (and don’t make it a bad game by any stretch) but are questionable in their necessity.

For instance, from the onset of the game, Chloe has a smartphone that she is prompted to take photos with along her journey. Now, it doesn’t detract from the experience at all, but it honestly doesn’t add anything either. Similarly, Chloe can lock-pick her way into new areas and eventually open crates that will give her better weapons and projectiles. Unfortunately, the mechanic for lock-picking is one that I’ve seen many times before and honestly felt like a chore after the second or third time. It’s not something I think the game needed and one of my favourite things about Uncharted in the past has been the simplicity of the gameplay.

The other major addition in The Lost Legacy is the open-world portion of the game (which takes place in India’s Mountainous Western Ghats). It’s worth noting that this goes far beyond the open-world portion of Uncharted 4. You’ll spend several hours in this area completing puzzles and exploring various corners of the area. There are also 11 Hoysala Tokens which (for the first time) have made Uncharted feel like a treasure hunting game with a purpose.

Whilst I appreciated the change up in gameplay (and exploring rather than shooting my way through the world), I felt like the game wasn’t equipped for an open-world experience. I was too often opening my map to see where I needed to go next which was a surprisingly clunky experience. The map was always sluggish to open and opening it would instantly bring my car to a stop (even if opening for only a brief second).

Thankfully, the things that have always made Uncharted great are here in full force and stop any of these new additions from fully detracting from the experience. The gun fights are as dynamic as ever and the puzzles had me scratching my head, providing a sense of satisfaction when I’d finally complete them.