Yes, we’re running a little late to the party. But it’s finally here, Uncharted The Lost Legacy Review. Can the franchise really continue without series protagonist Nathan Drake?
What started out as an expansion add-on to the phenomenal Uncharted 4, ended up being a full-fledged standalone behemoth of a title. Naughty Dog pulls out all the stops with this game and it really shows. It feels less like an expansion and more like a continuation of the Uncharted series. So let’s dive straight into Uncharted The Lost Legacy Review. And don’t worry there are no spoilers in here.
The Story
Uncharted The Lost Legacy takes place after the events of Uncharted 4. Nathan Drake, series protagonist is out of the game, so this time we follow Chloe Frazer from previous titles and her reluctant partner Nadine Ross from Uncharted 4. The game kicks off with Chloe in the middle of a civil war-torn India. With the help of Nadine, they plan on stealing an artifact that will help them find the mythical Tusk of Ganesh from a General called Asav. From there, it’s the standard Uncharted adventure affair. Though this on does something rather different. There’s far less bombast than previous installments. Sure there are those set-piece moments, but you could basically count them on one hand. It’s a far more grounded story with a lot more emotional weight as the story progresses.
Not to mention the phenomenal voice acting from all the cast members, including a rather nice cameo which I won’t spoil for you. If anyone had doubts about Chloe being able to hold her own as the lead, put them to bed right now. I love Chloe to the point that I see this franchise going forward with her and Nadine. Their interplay is the best part of this story. Chloe is a quick whip with the mouth and jumps head first without proper planning. While Nadine is the exact opposite. Stoic, and tactical to a fault. Never smiles and always taking everything seriously. These two act a counters to each other and it works beautifully. More so than dare I say, Sully and Drake. This Uncharted adventure is by far one of the very best, and it doesn’t even feature the charming Drake.
The Gameplay
This game absolutely shines in its gameplay. You could argue that it’s no different to previous Uncharted games. You’d probably be right, but then again, the Uncharted formula is something that works and works very well. However, Naughty Dog decided to do something a little different this time around. They basically opened up the game world and turned it into a semi-open world…erhh….game. It’s still linear sure but it gives you the added benefit of letting you tackle the main objectives as you see fit. Add to that exploration yields some rather surprising discoveries.
The gameplay is evenly split into exploration, puzzle solving and of cause, third-person shooting. All these elements come together in a brilliantly fun game. Naughty Dog has basically perfected the action-adventure genre. This is the benchmark by which all other games in the genre will be judged. Well, by me at least. The only criticism I can level the game is that some of those “handhold breaks and falling” moments have become completely predictable. Not to mention the annoying…you have to do this sort of puzzle three times trope. Honestly, it’s played out and I’d really like to see that die in future games. But honestly, I’m nitpicking at this point, the game is huge fun.
The Graphics
The graphics are okay. Wait?? What am I saying? The visuals in this game are gorgeous and breathtaking. There is an obsessive amount of detail in this game. They put in stuff in the game that most gamers will probably not even notice. But it’s there none-the-less. The character models and animations are just as top notch as in Uncharted 4. To truly appreciate the graphics of this game, you need to be playing this on an HDR enabled TV. Luckily for PS4 gamers, you don’t need to have the PS4 Pro to enjoy HDR.
Unfortunately, you do need a compatible TV. However, if you do have the TV though, your eyes will be in a drug-fueled eye candy ecstasy trip. It’s beautiful in absolutely every single way. Best part, you can play around with the camera mode and take some rather fantastic glamour shots to show off to your Xbox gamer buddies. You know, just to rub it in their faces that they won’t be experiences all this goodness…ever!
The Conclusion
I asked right at the beginning if the Uncharted series would be able to continue without Nathan Drake. After experiencing The Lost Legacy, I have to say without a doubt! In fact, I love the dynamic between Nadine and Chloe far more than Nathan and Sully. It’s more grounded and far more believable for it. The game has truly some truly emotional moments that none of the previous games could come close to. If you still haven’t bought this game yet, you are doing yourself a massive disservice. It’s one of the very best titles of 2017 and is absolutely worth every penny.
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