5/5 ★ – pinksteady's review of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

Another incredible Uncharted adventure Considering this was pitched as a ‘add-on’ game in terms of its size/length, this game blew me away. Partly because it continues to do what Uncharted 4 did so brilliantly, and partly because of the new elements it introduced. As has become the trend with Uncharted, the stand-out aspects of the game are the visuals and the dialogue. Lost Legacy did not disappoint on either front. Just like its predecessor, Lost Legacy looks incredible. I often couldn’t quite believe what I was looking at was a game, and that I was playing it. The vistas are astounding, and not only that but they are ‘real’, in the sense that things you look at, you end up climbing over a few minutes later - its not just a gorgeous backdrop. Just like Uncharted 4, I found myself wanting to revisit every area as soon as I had left it, almost planning my next play-through before I’d finished the current one. The second element is the dialogue and character development. Lost Legacy casts you as Chloe Frazer, a side character from previous Uncharted games. She essentially is a female Nathan Drake (the protagonist of the previous games) - she’s witty, funny and adventurous, and nifty with a gun or scaling a mountain alike. The game sees you partner up with Uncharted 4 baddy Nadine Ross, a military non-nonsense badass. And this is where Lost Legacy shines - it combines two strong characters with rich backstories, and artfully allows a new relationship to develop, with the player witnessing, and feeling part of, every moment. The script is wonderfully articulate and sensitive, while remaining fun and accessible (it is a game after all), and the acting is superb. Chloe’s one-liners never fail to hit the mark, and you genuinely feel for these characters. Another great dynamic is when Sam, a male sidekick from Uncharted 4, is introduced, and he is given a blisteringly stark wake-up call, having to play second fiddle to these two powerful women. The game could have so easily fallen for the “female protagonists because to check the feminism check-box”, and thankfully it does a brilliant job. I always remember a review of Superbrothers’ Sword & Sworcery which mentioned the best female protagonists “happen to be female” as opposed the fact they are female being a thing in itself, and Lost Legacy gets this right. And that’s what shakes up Sam - he keeps expecting to treat them differently because they are women, and quickly learns that they are just as, if not more, capable than he is. The awkwardness he felt was tangible, and it felt unusual - I can’t remember a game that made such a willing attempt to exclude the typically successful male, and I loved every minute of it. I could keep going about how much I loved these characters, and how well Naughty Dog has introduced and developed them, but I think you get my point! Also worth a mention is the big baddy Asav. He was really well played - smart, brutal and not completely comic-book insane. And in fact that’s the other thing that Lost Legacy gets so right - the pacing. It manages to introduce new characters, a plot, and explore and evolve them through to a satisfying and dramatic conclusion, all in a game half the size of a normal Uncharted game. Nothing feels rushed, and it just feels like a perfectly-formed offering. From a gameplay perspective, it is identical to Uncharted 4. Arcade-style shoot-em-ups combined with calm moments of dialogue and exploration. As you’d expect, there are a few major set-pieces, as has become the standard for Uncharted, and these do not disappoint. All in all, I had an absolutely blast and don’t really have anything bad to say about it. I know that people might have wished for some new game mechanics or other innovations, but I don’t expect that from a spinoff game, nor do I think the lack of this was a problem for Lost Legacy. It did a brilliant job and I will very likely play it again soon.