Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: August 22, 2017
MSRP: $39.99
ESRB: Teen, PEGI 16
Players: 1 (Singleplayer Campaign) / 2-10 (Multiplayer)
Available Platforms: PS4 (Reviewed on PS4 Pro)
Genre: Action-adventure, Third-Person Shooter
If you have played previous Uncharted games you are no stranger to the insane production value, impeccable writing, top notch visuals / voice acting of this series. The Lost Legacy is no exception. It’s just as high quality as Uncharted 4. The key difference is that Nathan Drake is out of the picture and the story a bit shorter. We are playing as Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross this time. The game is set in India, where Chloe and Nadine are after a treasure called the “Tusk of Ganesh” in the Western Ghats.
One of my concerns was that the story might feel forced — this being part of the Uncharted 4 season pass but Nathan Drake not being part of it. I can say Chloe getting her own story is absolutely justified. Over the course of the game we learn more about her past and family. It all comes together really well and makes sense why they would want to tell Chloe’s story through a separate campaign. I won’t spoil the details here.
A playthrough without collectibles takes roughly 7 hours. With collectibles it can be considerably longer, depending on whether you look for them by yourself or use a collectible guide. There are 145 collectibles scattered across the 9 chapters, prologue and epilogue. It’s a real collectible fest with treasures, photo opportunities, optional conversation, lockboxes, and hoysala tokens. The collectibles are part of Uncharted’s charm, though.
Chapters vary greatly in length. The prologue consists of 30 seconds of gameplay. The first two chapters can also be done in a matter of minutes. One thing I noticed in the early game is that the cutscenes are a little bit “cut off”, or there were big gaps between the chapters. The early story didn’t “flow” like the rest of the game.
In chapter 4 the game really opens up. That’s when we reach the Western Ghats and it’s the biggest Uncharted level to date. The Western Ghats is a huge open world level that you traverse via Jeep. Walking would not be feasible because it’s that big of an area. This level also has the most secrets and a whopping 54 collectibles to find. Driving in the jeep is quite satisfying. Particularly with the controller vibration turned on you get a nice rumble when driving through muddy water. This very diverse level can take up half of your playthrough time if you explore thoroughly and collect everything. As always the environments are beautiful-looking with jungles, wildlife and waterfalls. After chapter 4 the game returns to a linear path.
Chloe and Nadine always have funny chats along the way. It’s something Uncharted 4 did really well, too. This way the car rides don’t get boring. They use this time to reveal more backstory. There’s always an interaction between the characters. Not a single moment of boredom in this game.
However, I would highly recommend you play the other Uncharted games first. Without them some conversations about side characters, references to Nate, or even Nadine’s entire backstory would be a mystery to you. There are no flashbacks and no “the story so far” explanations. You can get through it without ever having played Uncharted and still get the gist of it. But to be honest, if this were my first Uncharted I would wonder what all the fuss is about.
You are probably familiar with Uncharted’s third person combat. There are a few new weapons but other than that no real changes. The combat has been fantastic since the first game, no need to mess with it. Between action and combat you get the occasional climbing and puzzle sections. The puzzles were okay, not hard, but they required a bit of toying around.
Auto-Aim is unlocked from the beginning and after beating the story you unlock cheats. This includes infinite ammo, bullet speed move, weapon select and more. It makes crushing difficulty a joke but it’s up to you whether to enable these things or not.
The complete Multiplayer and Survival mode from Uncharted 4 are also included with the standalone version of The Lost Legacy.
I’m glad Naughty Dog kept their humor with this game. The trophies are entertaining and have funny names. For example, the trophy “Your Prize” has you climb to the tallest point in the Hoysala Empire. Then your actual prize is a cutscene of Chloe doing Yoga. There are a bunch of other funny trophies like that, even Marco Polo made a return. The platinum is easy and fun to obtain.
Overall, The Lost Legacy is a fantastic addition to the series but not quite as spectacular as previous games (in comparison: Uncharted 4 was a 10/10 for me). That’s okay though, it’s technically DLC after all.
| Gameplay *Overall Enjoyment Factor, Fascination with Game World, Level Design, Variety, Playability, User-Friendliness (Ease of Use / Readability / Controls / in-game Tutorials / Menus) |
| 10/10 If you loved previous Uncharteds you will love this too. Builds exactly on what made Uncharted 4 unforgettable. Entertaining dialogues and constant interaction between the characters keep things interesting, also good job on the voice acting. |
| Story/Multiplayer *Quality of the Singleplayer Story, Cutscenes and/or Multiplayer Modes (whichever is available). If a game has no Story or no Multiplayer it won’t be rated (thus no negative effect on score). |
| 8.5/10 Even with Nathan Drake gone it’s still fun and feels like the Uncharted we love. One thing I noticed in the early game is that the cutscenes are a little bit “cut off” or there were big gaps between the chapters. The early story didn’t “flow” like the rest of the game. Previous games did it a little bit better. |
| Technical Aspects *Graphics, Texture Quality, Character Details, Lighting, Weather Effects, Animations, Loading Times, Number of Loading Screens, does it run smoothly |
| 10/10 Gorgeous visuals and landscapes. Driving through the Western Ghats is fun, the biggest and best-looking level in Uncharted to date. |
| Value *Amount of Content, Production Quality, Replay Value, is there enough content to justify a purchase |
| 8/10 For $40 you get a story that lasts around 7 hours. If you go for the platinum trophy (find all 145 collectibles, beat crushing difficulty, and do all trophies) it will likely be around 15 hours. It’s not particularly long but for a (standalone) expansion that’s still a respectable length and the production value is great as usual. They threw in Uncharted 4’s Multiplayer for free which sweetens the deal a little. |
| Trophies/Achievements *Rates how much fun the Platinum / 1000 Gamerscore is to achieve: Are trophies fun to do? Do trophies restrict freedom of gameplay? Missable trophies? Multiple playthroughs required? Luck-based trophies? Pointless farming/grinding? Glitched Trophies? Are stats/trophies tracked correctly? |
| 10/10 Naughty Dog always makes the best lists. Collectibles to find, highest difficulty to beat, and some inventive miscellaneous tasks and challenges you would otherwise not have tried. The trophies make this game a better experience, that’s how it should be. |
| Extraordinary Score Increase or Deduction *Reserved for extraordinarily good or bad features that the other categories don’t cover (such as game-breaking bugs). This score is directly added/subtracted from the final score. |
| Nothing |
VERDICT:
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is a fantastic addition to the series! Chloe and Nadine make a good team – they are always interacting with each other and making funny comments, leaving no room for boring moments. I’m thrilled the franchise can go on, even if Nathan Drake is out of the picture.
FINAL SCORE:
9.3/10
Played on PS4 Pro (Version 1.02). Bought the EU Retail Version (a review copy was sent but didn’t arrive in time). Finished two Playthroughs (Explorer + Crushing), found all Collectibles, earned the Platinum Trophy.
For more on how reviews are scored, check out the Review Policy.