Finished: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017) | 4.0/5.0
Developers: Naughty Dog
This was a fun weekend playthrough, but I regret exploring such a strong entry in Naughty Dog’s catalog far sooner. “Lost Legacy” may be more of an extension of 4 in terms of raw gameplay, but it’s combination of clever puzzles and ND’s signature writing and voice work made this truly work on its own, and god DAMN I love these characters.
What works:
I absolutely love what they’ve done with Chloe. She was always the “hot girl” to Drake in the mainline series, and despite being charming and funny, she did lack the depth of Elena who ended up stealing his heart in the end. I’m sure it helped keep the competition between the two down to a minimal, but it was pretty obvious who had the legs for such a romance. So they really made her “bad girl” persona an inherent character flaw, and it was rewarding seeing her grow and develop through her selfishness over the course of the campaign. Nadine is given far more material here too compared to her appearance in 4, and honestly I found her to be a complete badass.
Puzzles are usually a mixed bag in the series, but they were really fascinating and difficult enough to twist my brain a few times. Shooting is solid and set pieces are what we’ve come to expect from the franchise, but the last chapter revisited a popular train chase from the beloved second game and they completely beefed up the excitement. Hopping convoys and dodging mini guns is enhanced with the grapple hook mechanic from 4 and I was utterly delighted by all the intensity. Stealth is as strong as it ever was, with mistakes being my fault nearly 100% of the time. I’d argue that these portions are more dynamic and tighter than those in Sony’s own Metal Gear Solid franchise, but you all aren’t ready for that conversation.
What doesn’t:
The more open-area design was introduced in the last game, and despite its added versatility in firefights, the less linear environments made me feel like I was constantly shot at from all sides with little ability to ever find good cover. On normal difficulty, I found some sections to be almost brutal and I have no idea how the crushing difficulty will be fun at all. Linearity is not a bad word in my vocabulary, so I would have preferred more encounters with a wall at my back. Similarly, the open world portions with the car felt too much like a chore. Luckily the length of that bit is down to whether or not you want to find all the collectibles.
Overall:
I questioned giving this a higher score for a while there, but the lack of anything truly new makes this more a solid addition to the fourth game than a legendary new entry in the franchise. Naughty Dog’s staple attention to their characters and the writing puts many television shows and movies to shame, and I honestly teared up in a few moments just because I felt so connected to the story being told and the culture they so elegantly explore. A particular moment with elephants left me in awe, and anyone that remembers the giraffes in “Last of Us” know exactly what I’m talking about. This is another winner in Naughty Dog’s repertoire, and I can only hope they revisit this series in the PS5 generation.
Developers: Naughty Dog
This was a fun weekend playthrough, but I regret exploring such a strong entry in Naughty Dog’s catalog far sooner. “Lost Legacy” may be more of an extension of 4 in terms of raw gameplay, but it’s combination of clever puzzles and ND’s signature writing and voice work made this truly work on its own, and god DAMN I love these characters.
What works:
I absolutely love what they’ve done with Chloe. She was always the “hot girl” to Drake in the mainline series, and despite being charming and funny, she did lack the depth of Elena who ended up stealing his heart in the end. I’m sure it helped keep the competition between the two down to a minimal, but it was pretty obvious who had the legs for such a romance. So they really made her “bad girl” persona an inherent character flaw, and it was rewarding seeing her grow and develop through her selfishness over the course of the campaign. Nadine is given far more material here too compared to her appearance in 4, and honestly I found her to be a complete badass.
Puzzles are usually a mixed bag in the series, but they were really fascinating and difficult enough to twist my brain a few times. Shooting is solid and set pieces are what we’ve come to expect from the franchise, but the last chapter revisited a popular train chase from the beloved second game and they completely beefed up the excitement. Hopping convoys and dodging mini guns is enhanced with the grapple hook mechanic from 4 and I was utterly delighted by all the intensity. Stealth is as strong as it ever was, with mistakes being my fault nearly 100% of the time. I’d argue that these portions are more dynamic and tighter than those in Sony’s own Metal Gear Solid franchise, but you all aren’t ready for that conversation.
What doesn’t:
The more open-area design was introduced in the last game, and despite its added versatility in firefights, the less linear environments made me feel like I was constantly shot at from all sides with little ability to ever find good cover. On normal difficulty, I found some sections to be almost brutal and I have no idea how the crushing difficulty will be fun at all. Linearity is not a bad word in my vocabulary, so I would have preferred more encounters with a wall at my back. Similarly, the open world portions with the car felt too much like a chore. Luckily the length of that bit is down to whether or not you want to find all the collectibles.
Overall:
I questioned giving this a higher score for a while there, but the lack of anything truly new makes this more a solid addition to the fourth game than a legendary new entry in the franchise. Naughty Dog’s staple attention to their characters and the writing puts many television shows and movies to shame, and I honestly teared up in a few moments just because I felt so connected to the story being told and the culture they so elegantly explore. A particular moment with elephants left me in awe, and anyone that remembers the giraffes in “Last of Us” know exactly what I’m talking about. This is another winner in Naughty Dog’s repertoire, and I can only hope they revisit this series in the PS5 generation.