5/5 ★ – peacebrendanp's review of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves.

What a wonderful love letter to the whole Uncharted series. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, takes all of the good parts of the Uncharted series, and elevates them. It trims away all the fat. It even turns-in the supernatural elements of the series past, for a myth that is far more grounded, and all the more tantalizing. This element is given great motive for Nathan and Sam, through a story that is bombastic, intriguing, and emotional. The whole game is far more grounded, from it's gameplay to it's movement. The climbing is more organic, fun, and precise. The combat is all the more natural and fun. Every gun shoots differently, and every punch lands with weight. Stealth is an actual mechanic here, as opposed to an idea. And, every shoot-out is built-up, and earned. As opposed to endless waves of enemies, that create one-note shooting galleries, you get a slow-burn of puzzles, platforming, and combat-engagements that build towards a grand shoot-outs and big set-pieces. The addition of the grappling hook, while the most arcade element here, adds so much flair to platforming. Every jump feels high-stakes, and the sense of scale is greater than ever here. They even added a climbing piton, which adds an extra layer to climbing. If I had to levy any sort of criticism against the game, it would be in regards to the fist-to-fist combat. It feels so good, and organic, but I can't help but feel it is missing one essential component. I wish there were a way to parry regular punches, or that there was a dodge mechanic similar to that of The Last of Us: Part II. Despite that, you can still roll away from punches, so there is a dodge, it just doesn't look as "cinematic" as I would want. It's a really small critique, and doesn't hurt the overall package here. I guess, while I am on criticisms, I do also wish there were an upgrade system, but even then, that might bloat the package here. This is a straight forward story, with a clear vision of simple, yet effective, mechanics. And, it delivers. The soundtrack is easily the best of the series, feeling grand when it needs to be, and soft and beautiful in-between. The story feels the most "Speilberg-ian" here. It feels more like an Indiana Jones story, with a strong touch of The Goonies, given the pirate theme. It works so well here. I love the unraveling of the story, both the story that takes place with the characters, and the meta story that took place amongst the legendary pirates. A lot of the side-collectibles actually tie into the grander story at play, whether it be the treasures or the notes you can find. I thought of another criticism, which is consistent amongst almost all modern Naughty Dog games. That is, the optional dialogue events. They sometimes will disappear, with only 0.5-seconds to engage in them. And, when they are gone, they are gone. I play these games pretty slowly, so I found it frustrating when I couldn't engage with an optional dialogue that I wanted to. Again, not a big complaint, but one that makes platinuming these games a frustration (in addition to the other trophies). Regardless, Uncharted 4 is such an achievement. It's easily, one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. It's fun and engaging. It contains a very well done boss finale, that is extremely cinematic. With plenty of little nods to the series, as a whole, I can't think of a better "end-cap" to the series than this. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy deserves a nod here as well. I have only played it once, so I didn't remember anything about it. It essentially takes all the mechanics of the base-game, and just gives you more. The opening takes place in an urban setting, which was awesome to see. The game is essentially, then, divided into two separate parts. The first part is like the other open-world sections in Uncharted 4, but expanded upon. There's a tower to track points-of-interest in the world, which consists of one side-activity and three main activities. The open-area is big, and beautiful. However, while it's geography does feel more reminiscent of that of India (where the game takes place), it is very familiar to the Madagascar level in Uncharted 4. Not a negative per se, this aspect of the game just doesn't do anything crazy or new. They also added a lock-picking mechanic, but I wish it felt better. Those lock-picks do provide weapon drops, and, there are even more and different weapons than what was in Uncharted 4. It's a small touch, but a nice one. There are even some weapons that are nods to the weapons that exist in the original Uncharted trilogy. The open-section of the game then turns into a more traditional Uncharted experience, with chapters that denote a change in setting and experience. The game goes pretty straightforward from this point on, and has some really beautiful locations. There is even a train-redux level, a la Uncharted 2, which culminates into a pretty cool finale. The Lost Legacy gives a nice amount of background and character motivation to Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross, with Sam Drake making an appearance to provide some comic relief. This is probably my biggest complaint with this entry. The pacing feels fine, but specifically with some leaps in the progression of the relationships between the different characters, it feels a bit off. On that same note, the writing and moments here feel pretty corny and cliche. Regardless, The Lost Legacy is probably on par with Uncharted 2, in terms of rating and feeling. I wanted to touch on villains here. This series deals with very one-dimensional villains. With Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy, however, they introduce villains that have depth and believable motivation. It's not saying much, but Rafe Adler is by far the best villain that exists in the Uncharted series. He has connections to the Drakes, he has a backstory that supplies him motivation, and he's a little twisted, which gives him that extra dimension and drive to be blinded by greed and glory. Asav, who is the villain in The Lost Legacy, is not as intriguing of a villain, but definitely holds his own. He has this dark aura around him, and his presence is felt in every scene. All-in-all, what a fantastic package. Both of these games are wonderful, with Uncharted 4 taking around 13-hours to complete, and The Lost Legacy taking around 7-hours to complete. Uncharted 4 alone is a substantial game, that perfects Uncharted as a concept, and fully delivers in it's execution. While I don't think it's a perfect game, I can't help but think it's a perfect experience as an Uncharted game. The Lost Legacy holds it's own in this department too, providing an experience that feels slightly different, yet still fun and impactful (even though that impact is a little less than Uncharted 4). The PS5 Dualsense features here are a nice addition as well. After completing Uncharted 4, it's hard to really picture this series continuing. There are some nods that the series could continue if they wanted it to. But, honestly, it feels like it should stop here. What I would love to see from the series, is a remake and reimagining of the first three games, but even then, I find it hard to imagine that happening without large tonal shifts taking place, which could lessen the impact of the fourth game. Either way, what a great package and a great time to be had here. Console Played On: PS5 (PS5 via Legacy of Thieves Collection) Game Played: 05/2024 - 05/2024 Review Written and Published: 05/22/2025