Uncharted: The Lost Legacy review - Step aside, Nathan Drake

The fifth instalment in the highly acclimated Uncharted series, The Lost Legacy, is proving a critical hit for developer Naughty Dog.

Unlike previous games in the franchise, which have Nathan Drake as the protagonist, The Lost Legacy is fronted by gritty treasure hunter Chloe Fraser.

Fraser, a former love interest of Drake’s, teams up with ex-mercenary Nadine Ross to hunt down the Tusk of Ganesh in India while the country is engulfed in a fictional civil war.

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It may be the last entry into the action-adventure series, says Polygon, as Naughty Dog is keen to work on other ideas.

So would The Lost Legacy be a fitting send-off for one of the best franchises on the PlayStation?

The Week reviews Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

It’s amazing to see how the Uncharted franchise has gone from Tomb Raider-rivalling adventure game to a genre-defining blockbuster in less than a decade.

The latest addition to the popular series proves that you don’t need the series’ long-standing protagonist Nathan Drake to have an adrenaline-fuelled adventure.

Much like the previous episodes, Lost Legacy is packed with stunning scenery and ancient buildings to explore. This is where the game really shines, as Naughty Dog has filled every nook and cranny with immense levels of detail.

Many players will be too busy trying to solve puzzles or looking for collectibles to appreciate this attention to the little stuff, but it injects life into the game world and makes you feel as though you’re actually there.

The characters are equally well designed. The game’s protagonist and her sidekick, Fraser and Ross, are both returning characters to the franchise.

The pair are brimming with personality and they frequently talk to each other, revealing the reasons they got into the treasure hunting business - which makes you want to listen to every line of dialogue and watch every cutscene.

One of the few gripes we had with the game is that you don’t always feel in control of your character. Although the world you explore is vast, the game always finds a way putting you on the right path - even if it has to do so by force.

This is common practice in games, but adventure titles such as the Tomb Raider series do a better job at making you feel like you’re in control.

Nevertheless, Lost Legacy is another stunning entry into the Uncharted series and a must-have for any PlayStation 4-owning wannabe treasure hunter.

What the critics had to say

While IGN argues that “no one” should play the game “without first playing the rest of Naughty Dog’s epic adventure series”, it says The Lost Legacy works as a stand-alone adventure that can be enjoyed by series newcomers.

And although it feels like an extensions of Uncharted 4, rather than an all-new title, says the website, Naughty Dog has refined “some of the more tedious mechanics” of the old game and even makes witty references to them.

“There’s plenty of light humour throughout”, says The Guardian, usually in the form of “action movie-style one-liners”.

The relationship between Fraser and Ross “is entertaining from the start but develops over the course of the game”, the newspaper says, adding that it “is far more satisfying than the actual plot”.

The Lost Legacy will have players “laughing, smiling, furious, exhilarated, tense, thrilled, relieved and moved” in the space of its ten-hour story, says Trusted Reviews, but that's what makes the series so appealing to its fans.

“If this is Naughty Dog’s last Uncharted – and it leaves its options open – then The Lost Legacy is going out on a high”, the site says.

Where to find it

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is available exclusively on the PS4 and costs £24.99 on Amazon.