The Uncharted franchise played a big role in defining my love of video games growing up so I was excited to play the one main entry that I hadn’t yet completed. The Lost Legacy is a comparably short entry in the franchise, taking me around five and a half hours to complete, although it is still a standalone title and not an expansion.
The Lost Legacy brings back an apparently beloved character from the original trilogy, Chloe, who I admittedly do not remember much of as I haven't played those games in ages. Additionally Nadine, who was introduced in Uncharted 4 acts as Chloe's sidekick now. While I know that there were many complaints about Nadine's character, I personally do not mind her all that much. I think many complaints were based on Nadine’s actions in the previous installment which I do not really remember much (that’s a common theme here I guess). Regardless I think both characters are fine although they are a bit under developed and never feel like fully fleshed out characters. Part of this is likely due to the short runtime as there is just not as much time to develop these characters and the relationship between the two.
The story is a typical Uncharted treasure hunt but is remarkably generic. The villain is the sort of generic bad guy that is evil because he wants power and the motivations behind both parties are either dull or not explained very well. You have your arcade-like shootouts, puzzles, and big set pieces that the Uncharted franchise is well known for as well as a large open world section. The open world section is similar to that of Uncharted 4’s where you get to explore the level in a vehicle and can find treasures and clear outposts along the way. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the Uncharted franchise is very well suited for these large and open areas as there is really no incentive to explore other than to find meaningless treasures.
The combat in these games has never necessarily been all that great. Maybe it’s the result of my maturing, but I found the shootouts to be a bit tedious and repetitive after awhile . It really comes down to just shooting until you run out of ammo and then picking up another weapon to repeat the process until everyone is dead. It’s not necessarily a bad time but it certainly gets old after a little while.
While there are certainly parts of the game I didn’t enjoy, there is still a lot to like. The introduction of new characters is refreshing even if they are not as fleshed out and interesting as I would have liked. Chloe and Nadine have some fun banter and although obvious Nadine’s arc through the story is enjoyable. I also particularly enjoyed the introduction and finale levels. The environment in the introduction looks fantastic and I thought it was a fun way to get the ball rolling. The set piece at the end feels a bit generic but is a pretty thrilling experience. All in all the game works out as a pretty standard Uncharted experience, which is to say an enjoyable time. At this point I think the series has kind of exhausted itself and needs to bring something new to the table in future installments.
The Lost Legacy brings back an apparently beloved character from the original trilogy, Chloe, who I admittedly do not remember much of as I haven't played those games in ages. Additionally Nadine, who was introduced in Uncharted 4 acts as Chloe's sidekick now. While I know that there were many complaints about Nadine's character, I personally do not mind her all that much. I think many complaints were based on Nadine’s actions in the previous installment which I do not really remember much (that’s a common theme here I guess). Regardless I think both characters are fine although they are a bit under developed and never feel like fully fleshed out characters. Part of this is likely due to the short runtime as there is just not as much time to develop these characters and the relationship between the two.
The story is a typical Uncharted treasure hunt but is remarkably generic. The villain is the sort of generic bad guy that is evil because he wants power and the motivations behind both parties are either dull or not explained very well. You have your arcade-like shootouts, puzzles, and big set pieces that the Uncharted franchise is well known for as well as a large open world section. The open world section is similar to that of Uncharted 4’s where you get to explore the level in a vehicle and can find treasures and clear outposts along the way. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the Uncharted franchise is very well suited for these large and open areas as there is really no incentive to explore other than to find meaningless treasures.
The combat in these games has never necessarily been all that great. Maybe it’s the result of my maturing, but I found the shootouts to be a bit tedious and repetitive after awhile . It really comes down to just shooting until you run out of ammo and then picking up another weapon to repeat the process until everyone is dead. It’s not necessarily a bad time but it certainly gets old after a little while.
While there are certainly parts of the game I didn’t enjoy, there is still a lot to like. The introduction of new characters is refreshing even if they are not as fleshed out and interesting as I would have liked. Chloe and Nadine have some fun banter and although obvious Nadine’s arc through the story is enjoyable. I also particularly enjoyed the introduction and finale levels. The environment in the introduction looks fantastic and I thought it was a fun way to get the ball rolling. The set piece at the end feels a bit generic but is a pretty thrilling experience. All in all the game works out as a pretty standard Uncharted experience, which is to say an enjoyable time. At this point I think the series has kind of exhausted itself and needs to bring something new to the table in future installments.