Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Polished spin-off highlights female characters' adventure.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is a third-person action game with frequent gun violence. Players use guns and stealth attacks to injure and often kill human enemies. There's no gore and only a small amount of blood, but it's worth noting that for much of the game, the protagonists kill their opponents not for a noble purpose but simply to beat them to a treasure and enrich themselves. Both heroines are strong women, just as clever and capable as the men they fight, and the story contains strong themes of friendship and loyalty. In the end, they choose to willingly risk their lives to save innocents. Parents should also note that one of the game's primary characters smokes frequently, and that moderate profanity -- including "s--t" -- is contained within spoken dialogue.
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What’s It About?
UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY removes long-time franchise hero Nathan Drake from the story, supplanting him with a pair of smart and skilled women who series fans know well: Indian-Australian treasure hunter Chloe Frazer and South African mercenary Nadine Ross. These two heroines are eventually joined by Nathan's brother, Sam, as they journey across India's intimidatingly unexplored Western Ghats looking for an ancient Indian relic created by a long-lost civilization. Their rivals on this quest are a group of paramilitary revolutionaries led by a madman with delusions of grandeur. Both groups race on foot and in jeep through lush jungles, caves, and ancient cities toward their prize, often getting into shoot-outs along the way. When Chloe and Nadine aren't fighting, they're putting their athleticism and nerves to the test by scaling rock walls and crumbling ruins, swinging across perilous gaps, and diving into dangerous pools of water, discovering and picking up minor relics along the way. The Lost Legacy also includes the complete competitive multiplayer experience of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
Is It Any Good?
It's hard to discuss this semi-sequel -- which started out as an add-on for Uncharted 4 before being expanded into a complete standalone experience -- without discussing the absence of Nathan Drake. Chloe Frazer is as charming and mischievous as Naughty Dog's lovable everyman, and she gets into the same sort of spectacular action, too. But players aren't likely to be as invested in her as they have been in Nathan simply because they don't know her quite as well. And while The Lost Legacy concerns itself with filling in some key details about Chloe's past, it's not enough to elevate her beyond the status of glorified side character. She's fun to be around, her dialogue skillfully written and performed, but she's not Nathan. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps if she gets to star in a few more games, she'll establish a better connection with players.
But pretty much everything else about The Lost Legacy is beyond reproach. The visual presentation is peerless within the genre, and the writing is on par with most Hollywood action movies. Set-piece sequences are a little familiar -- you'll see the same sort of run-for-your-life foot and jeep chases that were in Uncharted 4 -- but they're nonetheless masterfully executed and absolutely compelling. While the story isn't quite as long as those of recent numbered entries in the series -- around 7 hours compared to 15 or 20 -- it still feels complete, with a beginning, a middle, and a satisfying conclusion. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy may not quite be the equal of Nathan Drake's best adventures, but it's still indisputably Uncharted in tone, and a ton of fun, to boot.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in the media. The heroines of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are charming and value each other's friendship, but they wind up killing hundreds of human enemies with little remorse in order to find and profit from an ancient treasure, so do you think they're good people?
Talk about treasure hunting. What do you think should happen to valuable cultural artifacts when they are found? Should they belong to the countries in which they are discovered, or to the people who found them? Is there a possible compromise?
Game Details
- Platform: PlayStation 4
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Release date: August 22, 2017
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Great Girl Role Models
- ESRB rating: T for Blood, Language, Violence, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Last updated: September 30, 2021
Our Editors Recommend
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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Action game with a great story, but also bloody gunfights.
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Halo 5: Guardians
Violent, addictive sci-fi shooter remains very engaging.
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The Last Guardian
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