You can tell that Uncharted: The Lost Legacy started as more of an expansion than a standalone game. Rather than spanning the globe like previous Uncharted games, it all takes place in one part of India. And you get to play as a woman, who are so often relegated to DLC in these big franchises such as BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea or smaller spin-off games such as Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation. Even in Naughty Dog’s own The Last of Us: Left Behind, we only got to play as Ellie after we’d met her through the eyes of generic video game man Joel.
But The Lost Legacy expanded during development, and although Uncharted 4 season pass holders won’t have to pay for it, it’s now a full-length by-the-numbers Uncharted game led by two women – the Indian-Australian Chloe Frazer and the black South African Nadine Ross.
Their goal is to find a lost city and mythical treasure before a bad guy with big ideas – rebel leader Asav – beats them to it. Along the way they face many obstacles, both physical and emotional. A brief introduction is followed by a big open section conquered by car, which is in turn followed by several chapters of ever-escalating encounters with the bad guys.
As per usual, the combat encounters are the least enjoyable part of the game, though they are improved by the inclusion of the stealth mechanics from Uncharted 4. Given that alerting enemies to your presence can trigger backup, the best way to deal with these sections is to creep around in the long grass tagging enemies as you go (unless you’re playing on Crushing difficulty, in which case tagging is removed), taking them out with a chokehold or maybe finding a lockbox with a silenced pistol inside. You play as Chloe, but thankfully, Nadine can help out tagging enemies you haven’t spotted and taking them out herself.
Towards the end of the game, combat encounters are made more difficult by the predictable and tiring introduction of bullet-sponge enemies who are impervious to melee attacks and carry shotguns and RPGs. But in the more open middle section you can usually wipe out a pocket of insurgents without being seen. Here, though, the large map and the freedom of a 4x4 can feel initially directionless compared to the usual tight flow of an Uncharted game. Once Chloe and Nadine have figured out what to do and where to do it, it makes for a nice bit of relative calm before the inevitable flooded chambers and runaway trains.
There’s even an optional treasure hunt, with some varied but gentle puzzles protecting several keys that unlock a useful prize. Many of the puzzles throughout the game are your usual turn the rings to make a picture, move the mirrors to reflect the lights and so on. A few are more interesting, though never too difficult, and they’re definitely more refreshing than the combat.
Of course, the best parts of the game are those where Chloe and Nadine can put their climbing skills to the test using a collection of mechanics from the previous games: using a grappling hook, swinging from and sliding down ropes, sticking a piton in particular sections of wall for an extra hold, and so on. As with Uncharted’s usual protagonist, Nathan Drake, these sections are punctuated by scripted moments of peril that Chloe can usually survive with no input from the player, and if you follow the light and the white/yellow markings you’re guaranteed to find a path.
Any section that involves moving from A to B, be it walking, climbing, or driving, might feature a conversation between Chloe and Nadine. It’s here, rather than in the story of Asav and the Tusk of Ganesha, that the most memorable story lies. Each chapter has collectible optional conversations too, which you unlock by pressing triangle when you spot a speechmark above Nadine’s head, and which are more interesting than the collectible treasures lying around giving off their telltale glint.
At first, Chloe feels like a stand-in for Drake: sarcastic, overly confident, and dismissive of Nadine’s valid concerns. When Nadine says she’s perfectly capable of driving, Chloe quips, “I’m sure you are, honey.” Nadine, for her part, is what you’d expect the ex-leader of a private military company to be: disciplined, cautious, quiet but dangerous. The first thing she does is have a go at Chloe for being late.
In true Bechdel-Wallace-winning style, the pair talk and argue about many things. Several of their conversations are dedicated to either daddy issues, with both women following in their father’s footsteps and Chloe having a rather Lara Croft-esque history, or discussion of one or both of the Drake brothers.
There’s also some gendered peril, for instance when Chloe has to put up with a handsy checkpoint guard near the start, but for the most part these two women are allowed to be the incredibly competent adventurers – and murderers – they are. And both make jokes at the expense of men, such as Chloe’s “you boys really don’t want me shooting from down here” when under fire from men on the ledge above her.
There’s plenty of light humour throughout, usually in action movie-style one-liners, often self-referential: “Everything comes in threes,” Chloe tells Nadine, “You’ll see.” The relationship between the two women is entertaining from the start but develops over the course of the game, with ups and downs and complications, and is far more satisfying than the actual plot.
Though The Lost Legacy boasts beautiful new environments to explore and for Chloe to take collectible photos of on her smartphone, the journey through them feels very familiar. The only thing that’s truly fresh about this game is the protagonists, but they’re a promising pair, and those who don’t mind a formulaic sequel should take the chance to get to know them. They’ve certainly proved that we don’t need Drake.
SIEE; PS4; £29.99; Pegi rating: 16+
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