BurtonReviews Uncharted the Lost Legacy: Not Many of Us Out Here

(Image sourced from https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/uncharted_the_lost_legacy_announced_coming_in_2017)

 

While Uncharted 4 is technically the last mainline Uncharted game, and a perfectly tied bow to wrap up the series it was, with a world so exciting, a franchise so recognisable, and characters so loveable, did you really think that would be the last we saw of the treasure hunting, badguy shooting, quip hurling Uncharted series. Yeah me neither, and just a year after the release of Uncharted 4, a bite-sized mini-venture is released staring the sexy and fierce Chloe Frazer instead of the usual unlucky sod of a protagonist Nathan Drake. So should the series be branching off into side stories of their secondary characters, or was it best for Naughty Dog to leave Uncharted to its 4 game main plot. Only one way to find out, here we go.

(Image sourced from https://www.unchartedthegame.com/en-us/games/uncharted-the-lost-legacy/)

In Lost Legacy Chloe is on the hunt for the horn of Ganesh, but with a rebel Indian army led by the fanatical Asav, Chloe must enlist the help of someone who has had their own experience with dealing with armies, hell she even used to lead one, of course I am talking about Uncharted 4 villainess Nadine Ross. A gorgeous Indian jungle to explore, bad guys all wearing the same uniform to shoot, and a priceless treasure wrapped in mystery to find, yep looks like we’ve got a classic Uncharted game on our hands.

The first and most obvious point I am going to make, just as everyone who has ever written about an Uncharted game makes, is how goddamn stunning this game looks. From the luscious green landscapes of the Indian jungle that are bustling with flocks of birds cruising the sky line and the odd explosion caused by moi, to the dusty and forgotten catacombs of an ancient city that has the intricate and beautiful architecture to make anyones jaw drop to the ground; the Uncharted series and Naughty Dog have got impeccable visuals down to a science at this point and it was a genuine pleasure to partake in another of their all-you-can-eat visual feasts.

Another aspect of their games that they have down to a science is the incredible work they do with their vast sea of colourful and loveable characters. And in this game its no different, all the returning cast don’t miss a beat, they are exactly who we all fell in love with, the cool, a little bit selfish, but always badassly capable Chloe Frazer, and the hard as nails no fuss Nadine. Seeing these two very different Uncharted characters interact and ultimately unite for the first time is another one of this game’s many treats. The dynamic between the two grows and blossoms beautifully in no small part due to the expertly written dialogue that had me laughing along with the two at one moment, then feeling their heartbreak the next.

(Image sourced from https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/17/16159328/uncharted-the-lost-legacy-review-ps4-playstation-4-naughty-dog)

But this game isn’t only a vehicle to allow us to see our favourite characters again, but it also greatly advances the characters in important and impactful ways. Chloe’s debut in Uncharted 2 had her as the cool other love-interest of Nate’s life, but here she elevates above that as we get to learn a great deal about her back story and really get to see what makes her tick and go on such dangerous but rewarding adventures day in and out. Nadine also gets this treatment, as she is elevated from badass scary secondary villain to complicated and angry mercenary who is just trying to sort out her life and see where she belongs in this world after the Drake brothers so completely destroyed her last.

And what made the script jump off the page and the character development so compelling was due, in no small part, to the excellent acting on show from the returning cast. Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer knocks it out of the park once again and here is allowed to add another layer on top of the always wise cracking Aussie with attitude, in Lost Legacy Black is able to show a more vulnerable side of the hot shot treasure hunter and really lets you identify with this woman still stuck in her father’s shadow. And Laura Bailey’s return as Nadine Ross is wonderful as ever, her gruff straight-woman bounces perfectly off of the wilder Chloe and her change in accent wholly immerses you into her character.

And what also helps to bring these performances to brilliantly to life is the astounding facial animations being put on screen. The line between reality and virtual is eroding away every single day and Naughty Dog’s graphical work is on the forefront of this erosion. Every slight brow quiver, every sly smirk at a good joke, very intense glare from an off-his-rocker villain is beautifully and realistically captured and presented on screen adding to this game’s blockbuster action movie feel.

(Image sourced from https://desktopwallpapers.us/2017-game-uncharted-lost-legacy-4k/)

But this is a game after all and not a movie, so how is it to actually play Uncharted the Lost Legacy?

Well Uncharted has always had 3 core tenants of gameplay, 3^rd person shooting, bombastic set pieces, and exploration. The latter is what you will spend most of your time doing as Uncharted for the first time in the series has a semi-open world where you can explore it in any order and complete the tasks in it however you would like. The non-linearity of this area and its clever in game mapping system of Chloe literally having to mark all you’re objectives on her map with a pencil, made this area of the game feel extremely immersive, having the freedom to do what you want, when you wanted puts you directly in the drivers seat, literally, and makes every decisions you make, path taken, and treasure found feel like your will, your achievement, and your adventure.

And exploring for those treasures doesn’t feel drawn out like it did in many sections of Uncharted 4, but instead a great relief from the nonstop action of the other segments of the game, a time where you and the characters can cool off, talk about what the hell has just happened and get to know each other better through highly entertaining interactions and gossip talk whilst driving your trusty jeep. It was this that made the exploration one of my favourite parts of the game.

But when you do have to un-holster your gun and get ready to perform 10 headshots in a row, there’s no time for talking, only a lot of kabooming. The gunplay in Uncharted is, as always, smooth and precise. Like riding a bike for the first time after a long break, I quickly slumped back into cover and was running around luckily landing headshot after headshot before jumping off a ledge to flatten an unsuspecting foe and then roundhouse kicking his grieving friend. The action is fast, fun and makes you feel like a lucky action hero stumbling from cool move to awesome execution as you make up the battle strategy as you go along.

(Image sourced from https://wallpapersite.com/games/uncharted-the-lost-legacy-chloe-frazer-nadine-ross-8854.html)

This fast and fun feeling is continued and pumped full of experimental steroids when it comes to Uncharted’s third pillar of gameplay, the iconic and heart-pounding set pieces. Whilst in Uncharted 4 the set pieces on offer felt way too short and underwhelming, here the series is back with big, eye widening unstoppable riots of destruction that just seem to be getting worse ad worse so all you can do is get up and run screaming for something to please not blow up in my face. From crumbling ruins, to high octane car battles, to a return to Uncharted’s best set piece: the dismantling of a moving train filled with bad guys; Lost Legacy brings in a lot of elements of past Uncharted explosion-fests and puts a new intense lick of paint on them to keep them feeling fresh and utterly exciting,

And one of the main reasons the set pieces feel so intense is because of the compelling plot and utterly hateable villain Asav. Not only is this game’s quest to find Ganesh’s horn intriguing and filled with some great historical twists and turns, but the force the plot puts you up against, Asav and his rebel army trying to start a civil war for dominance in India, is so evil and arrogantly self righteous that you cant help but want to put a snarky wrench into their plans. Usman Ally’s performance as Asav is a vicious delight to watch, every time he walked on screen not only were more interesting nuggets about his character and motivations dropped, but so were chunks of his mask of civility to a point where the raging monster was unleashed and all you wanted to do was punch it back into it’s place. It’s this entertaining evolution of the character, and his unforgivable goals that made him perfect as a villain and a great driving force for you to get through all of these impossible to survive set pieces, just so you could see the look of disappointment on his uppity face.

Overall Uncharted the Lost Legacy was a true delight to play. Each section of the game highlighted what is best about the Uncharted series, and never outstayed its welcome in this relatively short 6-8 hour campaign. The characters were utterly compelling, the plot intriguing, and the action like you were enacting an action movie and the set pieces astoundingly exciting.

Uncharted the Lost Legacy = 9.5/10

Why not check out my YouTube channel, BurtonReviews, where I upload awesome gaming montages put to badass songs or scores every Sunday. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUfnyezvQsVsDgN3TGRh1Q