UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection

I think it's now obvious that from now on, titles locked to only one platform will be few and far between. And this is mostly true when it comes to Nintendo's "family", as Sony's previously "impregnable castle" has now fallen for good. It's only two months since the release of Marvel’s Spiderman and here's Naughty Dog's Uncharted, from a series of games that was a real system seller for all of Sony's consoles.

It is a fact that, compared to the previous announcements that included the "breaking" of the exclusivity (Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War), Uncharted was a little late to appear, since it was announced about a year ago. It's unknown if there were problems in the port process that caused the delay, which was handled by Iron Galaxy Studios, a development team that had the misfortune to have its name associated with the devastating port of Batman: Arkham Knight. But we're talking seven years ago, and it's at least funny to think that all of its ports from then on are problematic - after all, it wasn't not entirely responsible for Batman: Arkham Knight either. But all of this is getting away from our point, which is the existence of two of the most exciting action games to date.

But why two? Because, contrary to what its name implies, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection only includes two of the five total Uncharted titles that have appeared on home consoles (plus a spin off on PS Vita), which has admittedly caused a lot of controversy. The reason is that if one hasn't had the slightest exposure to the series, which is probably normal for a dedicated PC user, one misses out on a lot of the magic of the stories of Nathan Drake and co. The so-called emotional attachment of the player to the events is almost non-existent, although the plot of Uncharted 4: A Thieves End tries to be self-contained enough so that anyone can enjoy it as much as possible.

Besides, the second game in the bundle, called The Lost Legacy, tells another story with a different protagonist (Chloe from Uncharted 2, which...you won't be playing on PC for now) and an infantile attempt to create a more open world design. We say infantile, because in general Uncharted doesn't compete with... Assassin's Creed, but these are completely linear adventures, with a strong cinematic feel and a few impressive cut-scenes that would be the envy of the most expensive blockbusters. Comparisons with Crystal Dynamics' later Tomb Raiders are inevitable, as one game is clearly influenced by the other, with several elements in common between them. It's just that Uncharted doesn't intend to overly tax the player, at least on the more "regular" difficulty levels.

On the contrary, thanks to its masterful direction and the beautiful way it introduces the player to its world, with its adequate shooting, climbing, and some environmental puzzles, it manages to keep the player glued to the credits. And especially if the player loves to hear about old stories, lost cities and pirates, Uncharted 4 will more than satisfy them. The quest of Nathan Drake, his brother Sam and his friend Victor Sullivan in search of the priceless treasure of the famous pirate Henry Avery will be unforgettable. Both because the visits to different parts of the world are always exciting (Italy, Scotland, Madagascar, etc.) and reminiscent of the Lucasfilm Indiana Jones movies and because the gameplay, despite being relatively simplistic and not headache-inducing, is very addictive. You really don't have the heart to let go of the controller/keyboard-mouse in order to see where this improbable treasure hunt will end up, but also where man's ego and greed can go.

The Lost Legacy is in the same ballpark, as you might imagine, though not on a similar scale. After all, Naughty Dog's original plans were for The Lost Legacy to be a simple DLC for Uncharted 4, but with a running time of around 10 hours (compared to Uncharted 4's 15), it was decided to release it as a standalone title. The adventure is set in India, in the midst of a civil war, and is a very satisfying icing on the cake for the (final?) conclusion to this beloved series.

An example of the high quality of Uncharted is the fact that it is essentially a six-year-old production, yet still plays very comfortably today. Its gameplay mechanics haven't aged badly and, although the climbing moves more or less "on rails", the shooting is still explosive. Even the optional stealth element has been so evenly integrated into the game's action that there are more than a few times in each battle when you'll first try to surprise as many enemies as you can before engaging in the inevitable shootouts.

Certainly, the fact that both games have been remastered to take advantage of the PS5's capabilities has played its part in the improved visuals, which are a real eye-opener. There are more than a few times when you'll find yourself stopping the action and gazing at the scenery, and it's one of those times when the photo mode has a real role to play.

With enough settings in its palette for all tastes, and against all odds, Uncharted is a decent port even for relatively low-powered machines. Of course, it's your graphics card that will determine whether you can set everything on high, however even with various compromises (if you have a card with less than 8GB, for example), the result is impressive. To be fair though, we did spot some minor slow-downs at various points, which are observed after long playing sessions, which we assume will be resolved with a future patch.

It is of course worth mentioning that both games include Greek subtitles, which render the English text quite well, while it is probably unnecessary to point out that the production values in the aspects of sound and music are of the highest standards. Presumably, if the multiplayer portion of the title had been included, the bundle would have been even more valuable. However, this is not the case: the multiplayer has been removed entirely, with the only "lure" for the prospective player being the thrilling experience it can offer.

So if you like action games, the two Uncharted games are an excellent proposition, even in the year 2022, and will keep you company for about 25 hours. It's not often that we see such thoughtful and well-crafted games on our screens, and hopefully in the future Sony will add the first three Uncharted games to the bundle, so that a complete picture of Nathan Drake and his adventures exists.