If the Uncharted series had accustomed us to following the adventures of handsome Nathan Drake, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy changes completely. Make way for Chloe Fraser, a treasure hunter seen in Uncharted 2 and 3, and Nadine Ross, one of the antagonists of the last episode. Similarly, Madagascar and its surrounding islands give way to India and its lush jungle. A new idyllic setting that allows Naughty Dog to develop a whole new story around our two heroines who will have to face the terrible Asav, leader of the rebel forces in India. A particularly tough enemy who will put a spoke in the wheels of Chloé and Nadine, while they are looking for the defense of Ganesh.
IMMEDIATE TAKE OFF
On the side of the scenario, Naughty Dog really did not do things by halves. With its ten chapters, the adventure of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is thrilling and does not have to be ashamed of the previous episodes of the series. The twists and turns are legion and the Chloé / Nadine duo works wonderfully. The two characters gradually reveal their past without ever disturbing the rhythm of the scenario, mastered from start to finish. Despite a short lifespan, count 9 to 10 hours to complete the game for the first time, the game will delight all fans of the license who were in need of Hollywood adventures.
For this extension, Naughty Dog has chosen to leave Madagascar to show us the jungles of India. Despite some scenery that looks like deja vu, the game offers magnificent panoramas throughout our adventure. A detail underlined by the studio since during your adventure, you will be able to take pictures of various places thanks to Chloé's phone. Hindu mythology is brilliantly transcribed thanks to massive statues dotted in every corner of a lush jungle. While you may be able to visit a few alleyways of a strife-torn Indian city, most of your adventure will take place in the jungle and temples. If the latter retain the "corridor" aspect of the series, the jungle is an "open" world. A first for the saga.
A MORE OPEN WORLD TO PLAY EXPLORERS
Thus, after having investigated the location of the city of the Hoysala empire, our two heroines will go to the depths of the Indian jungle. From then on, you will be able to evolve through a relatively large open mode without real objective constraints. If the final goal is to open access to Hoysala city, you will not have to go from point A to point B permanently. In total, you will have to unlock three mechanisms in order to continue your adventure, without any order to respect. If in principle it may seem a bit light, Naughty Dog had the good idea to hide many Hoysala tokens across the map. Unlike treasures which are only useful to collectors and trophy hunters, tokens allow you to unlock the mechanism of a secret area.
The game area is very extensive and the multiple detours and the search for tokens, or simply to observe the landscape, may prolong your adventure without you realizing it. Only small downside, despite all its beauty, the playground lacks a bit of life and apart from vegetation, Indian ruins and rebel soldiers, you will not have much else to put yourself under the tooth. However, this does not detract from the pleasure of the game while allowing not to scatter along the way. To tell the truth, it would not be surprising if Naughty Dog tried a first try with this stand-alone in order to offer a rich and exciting open world for its next games, The Last of US 2 in mind.
GIRL POWER
In terms of gameplay, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy uses exactly the same mechanisms as Uncharted 4. If the players will not be disoriented, we can only regret the lack of novelties Chloé and Nadine will evolve well as a duo during your adventure, but you can only control Chloe. His colleague will play a role similar to that of Sam, in Uncharted 4, sticking to your coattails most of the time. Too bad, knowing the liabilities of the two heroines, this could have given rise to interesting gameplay elements. Fortunately, Naughty Dog's know-how in terms of staging allows you to enjoy some fairly stylish combinations that will make more than one react. The complicity between the two young women quickly takes shape and it is felt even during the in-game dialogues which add script content without disturbing your game session. If we can regret the lack of risk-taking on the part of the studio, hard to blame them as the formula is so effective.
Additionally, purchasing Uncharted: The Lost Legacy gives you access to Uncharted 4 multiplayer without any limits. Thus, you will be able to rust other players online alongside Chloe and Nadine, who benefit from new skins for the occasion, but also with Asav who joins the list of playable characters. Once again, there are few new features to report on the multiplayer side, apart from the arrival of a new level in Survival mode. For this new challenge, playable in three online, players will have to face 100 waves of enemies. To spice things up a bit, Naughty Dog has added new types of opponents and the waves adopt different strategies to disrupt your habits. If the Survival game mode is well known to players, it gains in intensity and begins to take on a real challenge. A good point which should considerably lengthen the life of the title, just like the multiplayer.
Visually, the title displays graphics as beautiful as those of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and retains this particular charm. The decorations of postcards put us in full eyes and Naughty Dog was not stingy in explosions and visual effects to impress us permanently. The game even has the luxury of being displayed in 4K/30 fps on PS4 Pro for a most impressive final rendering. We will still note some slowdowns during the last chapter on classic PS4, but otherwise nothing to report on this side. The modeling of the characters is quite good despite some concerns about facial expressions for Chloé which may make the most picky twitch.
