Naughty Dog return to the Uncharted universe with a standalone side story that looks and plays just as well as Uncharted 4.
In this age of endless remasters, remakes, and re-releases the one thing we never really see is a remix. The concept doesn’t often apply to video games, but has been used a few times with various retro compilations. And we’ve previously applied it to not-quite-sequels/not-quite-spin-offs such as Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. We’re also going to use it in regard to The Lost Legacy, because we don’t know what else to call a game that often just seems like Uncharted 4 with a different hat on.
According to developer Naughty Dog, The Lost Legacy started off as a normal DLC story expansion for Uncharted 4. However, we’re not sure how that was going to work, as although it does take place after the main game, and features a couple of the same characters, it has no real connection to its plot. We imagine the idea probably didn’t get much further than making Chloe Frazer the main character, but whatever the original concept the final game is a standalone adventure that runs to a good eight hours and includes all of Uncharted 4’s multiplayer.
The price is lower than average, to reflect the fact that that’s not quite as long as a normal Uncharted game. But in reality it’s not value for money that’s the problem with The Lost Legacy, but the fact that it’s likely to induce an industrial strength case of déjà vu in any Uncharted veterans that play it.
Chole Frazer was Nathan Drake’s other pseudo-love interest from Uncharted 2, who had a smaller role in Uncharted 3 but wasn’t in the latest game. She’s always been portrayed as a slightly more selfish version of Nate and we can’t say we’ve ever found her particularly compelling as a character. We still feel that way after having played a whole game with her as a lead, as her backstory isn’t terribly interesting and she’s not nearly as funny to be around as Nate.
Her partner in the game is Nadine, the mercenary leader from Uncharted 4. We were looking forward to seeing her again, as we really enjoyed her portrayal as an unusually sensible antagonist who certainly wasn’t evil and was essentially just doing her job. But she’s given disappointingly short shrift in The Lost Legacy and you never get to play as her or hear much of her backstory. Instead she just plays the role of grumpy straight man, which is a shame as when this contrasts with her lighter side – particularly her love of animals – she comes across as much more endearing than Chole.
The plot in The Lost Legacy concerns trying to get hold of an ancient Indian artefact, which neither you or the bad guy want for anything other than financial gain. The Western Ghats area of India is the only setting in the game, which is for some reason shown as being under siege by heavily armed rebels. It’s not a very sympathetic portrayal of the country, other than the fact that thanks to the game’s incredible graphics the stunning landscapes almost feel like going on a virtual holiday.
Although fellow PlayStation 4 exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn is now generally thought of as having the best graphics on a console we’re not convinced that accolade doesn’t still belong to Uncharted 4, and by extension The Lost Legacy. The amount of detail and the vibrant use of light and colour is just stunning, and we frequently started a new scene with jaw agape.
But while Naughty Dog claim the game doesn’t reuse any assets from Uncharted 4 the jungle setting is uncannily similar to many sequences from the original game. Not only that but whole sections seem like re-runs of similar scenes in Uncharted 4. There’s a bit set in a crowded market square, an open world section in a jeep, an implausibly ornate hidden city in a forest, and a chase sequence that at first seems like it’s going to be a straight rehash of the famous Madagascar set piece before changing tact to copy a sequence from Uncharted 2 instead.
As we point out how similar these sequences are to previous games we don’t do so with any anger, since they’re still a great deal of fun to play through. But we’d much rather Naughty Dog had reused assets and created new gameplay with them, than just transpose the same experiences to a slightly different setting. All the gameplay is the same as well, with Chloe having all the same skills and equipment as Nate and no special abilities or equipment of her own beyond a lock pick – which works exactly the same as lock pick mini-games in most other games.
With Uncharted 4 allegedly being the last to start Nate as the main protagonist there’s been some question as to how and if the series can continue. But to that The Lost Legacy offers no real answers. The laughably impractical puzzles (how did these people get around their own cities if they were made up of 90% deadly puzzle traps?) are getting ever more contrived and the linear platforming feels increasingly on-the-rails. The gunplay and stealth is great, and surprisingly well suited to multiplayer, but it’s also fairly simplistic.
Uncharted 4 is still a great game, and if you regard this as a sort of Mini-Me version of the same experience so too is The Lost Legacy. But by being so similar it only underlines the idea that Uncharted has either reached a natural end or requires extensive reinvention to continue. But if it’s to be the latter The Lost Legacy doesn’t given any indication of how the series should move forward, as ironically its thrills are very well charted indeed.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
In Short: The gameplay and graphics are as enjoyable as ever, but this spin-off feels more like a rerun of Uncharted 4 than a genuinely new experience.
Pros: Incredible graphics and level design, that make good use of Uncharted’s key gameplay elements. Good value for money considering all of Uncharted 4’s multiplayer is included.
Cons: Adds nothing new to the Uncharted formula, while brazenly rehashing many of Uncharted 4 (and Uncharted 2’s) most famous scenes. Chloe isn’t very interesting and Nadine is underutilised.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 4
Price: £29.99
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release Date: 23rd August 2017
Age Rating: 16
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