Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
When I wrote about returning to Uncharted 4 a few weeks back, I had noted that although Nathan's story had seemingly ended I was looking forward to how Naughty Dog would expand upon the universe they had spent a decade plus building. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is that extension, and it proves there is still treasure to be found in this franchise.
This time around you’re in control of Chloe Frazer, a standout character from the second game, with Nadine Ross from A Thief’s End tagging along as your main companion. The two are on a hunt through the mountains of India for the Tusk of Ganesh while trying to stay one step ahead of Asav, a warlord leading an insurgent group against the country’s government.
If I’m being honest some of the details of the plot were lost on me. It’s not that it isn’t good - it’s solid B-tier action movie fare - but the main attraction for me was getting to know two characters that were previously on the periphery. Chloe’s archetype will be most familiar to those who have gone on adventures with Nathan, but her sarcasm and edge are enough to make her feel distinct. Yet, it’s by setting the game in India that Naughty Dog gets the most out of the character. Chloe’s relationship to the central location helps to bring the game’s theme of legacy to the forefront both on the micro and macro sense. There’s a motivational pain just beneath the surface that I couldn’t help but root for her to get through.
I also enjoyed watching her bounce off of Nadine who is, in my opinion, the more interesting of the two due to the fact that she’s so different from the usual protagonists of the franchise. Her tough external demeanor makes it all the more sweet as you watch her walls slowly break down across the course of the game. It’s the performance by Laura Bailey that makes this character pop out and grab you.
All of this is built on the same solid foundation found in Uncharted 4. If you enjoyed the gameplay of that title or any of the previous entries you’re bound to enjoy this one. But there are a few differences worth calling out. First is a new lock-picking mechanic that’s a fun way to break up the more frantic gameplay at first, but in moments where you have to crack open a storage container to take down an enemy vehicle in the middle of a fight is when it really clicked for me. Alternatively, the game essentially gets rid of the crate dragging mechanic used to reach a higher point in the environment. I hadn’t realized how tedious they could be, but felt it the few times it showed up early on.
There’s also an expanded chapter in the game that is more open world than you’d expect in an Uncharted title. It’s an experiment that exposes some of the game’s design limitations. You end up riding around a large monotonous brown-red landscape that has no incentives for exploration in order to get to three extremely similar towers. It was the one part of the game that I could feel it losing my interest.
Otherwise the game makes great use of its shorter run time (it’s about half the length of Uncharted 4). As someone who has been trying to play more games for fun and to write about, having a shorter entry in this style of game was great, but it did leave me wanting just a bit more. As I said before, I liked Chloe and Nadine as the new protagonists, but the shorter runtime leads to some personal growth moments in-game coming quicker than you would normally expect. And while the game engages with some of the nuance of these characters, you can tell there are complexities that have to be left unexplored in order to wrap up on time.
After my time with The Lost Legacy I would be more than happy to continue to dive into those ideas with these characters. I’m not sure if Naughty Dog even desires to return to this world or if these AA entries into their exclusive franchises was a one-off Sony initiative, but I’d love to see more offshoots like this. Using the engaging template of the Uncharted franchise to write character dramas is right up my alley. And I think you’ll find it worth your time too