"Uncharted: The Lost Legacy": a real "Uncharted", even without Nathan Drake
17.8.2017
Translation: machine translated
Given that Nathan Drake has given up treasure hunts until further notice, two old acquaintances will play the leading role in "The Lost Legacy". The new duo are just as good at giving and taking blows as the former main character. There's just one complaint.
Sunken temples, forgotten treasures and a chatty duo. The basic plot of "Uncharted: The Lost Legacy" remains faithful to the series. The "Uncharted 4" expansion works without the main game and is set after the events of "A Thiefs End". In this adventure, however, former main character Nathan Drake passes on his turn. In his place, you'll be piloting another old acquaintance: Chloe Frazer. The passionate adventurer made her first appearance in "Uncharted 2", where she gave Nathan no rest.
The dynamic duo
Like Nathan, Chloe rarely goes on adventures alone. Nadine Ross stands by her side. She's no stranger either. She played the role of adversary in Nathan's last adventure. She wasn't the meanest, but she did make life very difficult for the charming treasure hunter in her role as a hired mercenary. In "The Lost Legacy", she forms an unexpected and very promising duo with Chloé.
Chloé is the more humorous of the two, she likes to improvise and is a little more relaxed. Nadine on the other hand is more direct both verbally and with her right hook. The interactions between them feel genuine and I enjoyed listening to their conversations. However, they don't exude as much charm and humour as Nathan and his sidekick. As a result, the emotional attachment isn't the same either. This certainly also has something to do with the shorter playtime.
A brilliant result
As usual in the 'Uncharted' series, you embark on an epic journey in search of a missing treasure. Naturally, you're not going it alone. A warlord named Asav has the same idea. He also sends you his henchmen, whom you decimate by the dozen. This time, you'll be travelling a little less around the world than before. You'll mainly be roaming the mountains of India while a civil war rages in the country.
The setting is beautifully introduced and the graphics show their best side from the very first minute. In particular, if you turn on HDR mode, you can expect some stunning lighting effects. Visually, 'Uncharted' has always been a real feast for the eyes. In the middle of the game, when you're driving around in a jeep, you feel as if you've been on these adventures before. The swampy jungle setting quickly bored me. Fortunately, later on the scenery is a bit more varied. Overall, the world of "The Lost Legacy" impresses with fluid character animations and strikingly detailed environments. Monkeys play on your car when you briefly step away from it, vases roll across the floor and break if you accidentally knock them over and with the heat and humidity, hair sticks to your face realistically.
Usual gameplay
The gameplay hasn't changed much, except that you can occasionally pick locks. Chloe and Nadine prefer to sneak around a bit more discreetly than Nathan, but they too are regularly involved in shootouts. Admittedly, there aren't as many opponents as usual. However, for the first time, I opted for automatic targeting to get rid of them more quickly. With it, the gunfights are actually quite fun. Grappling hooks, winches, etc. are also reused. The game is also packed (with a handful) of ingeniously designed puzzles.
As a whole, the game is linear. Except in the middle of the game. There, you'll be driving around in a jeep on relatively good terrain. However, this has an artificial feel to it and finding your way around can be partly annoying. I was relieved when I got through this stage. Still, dashing about with the manoeuvrable jeep over hill and dale does put one in a rather genuinely good mood.
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Conclusion
"The Lost Legacy" is an "Uncharted" in its own right. With fantastic locations to discover, interesting puzzles to solve and plenty of frantic action to experience. Even though I didn't feel the same empathy for Chloé and Nadine as I did for Nathan Drake, I enjoyed accompanying them on their adventure. And even though, for the fifth time, it's basically the same thing again, you won't be bored for a moment during the 5 to 8 hours of gameplay.
The game was tested on a PS4 Pro with an HDR TV and will be released on 23 August exclusively for the PS4.
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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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