Parents' Guide to

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Exciting action series now mobile but still violent.

Game PlayStation Vita 2012
Uncharted: Golden Abyss Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Uncharted: Golden Abyss Game: Screenshot #1
  • Uncharted: Golden Abyss Game: Screenshot #2
  • Uncharted: Golden Abyss Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 3 parent reviews

John B.
John B. Parent of 10-year-old
January 6, 2018
age 9+

It's mildly violent but lot's of fun

My 9 year old son is kind of advanced and found this game was a good introduction to mature games. Like I said my son is advanced but I would say 11 would be a good age for most kids. I found that there was fighting but it was more punching than shooting. There was some cussing but nothing todays kids can't handle. Overall a great game and a heck of a lot of fun for ages 10 to adult, and even I enjoyed the game. My son loved pretending to be a hero and beating up bad guys. Common Sense Media over does this, the only thing parents should be aware of is some violence and a little language.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much violence
adultwith4kids
adultwith4kids Adult
September 13, 2014
age 10+

really common sense media

when the game says "don't rub too hard, it'll get excited' its talking about making an impression of a stone carving and when the game says, "I'll show you mine if you show me your's" it's talking about artifacts. Maybe if you have somebody play the game, you would get more accurate reviews.
See all 3 parent reviews

What’s It About?

As with the console versions of the popular game series, UNCHARTED: GOLDEN ABYSS for the new, portable PlayStation Vita ("PS Vita") delivers the same cinematic, action-heavy gameplay, that is accompanied by platforming elements, puzzle-solving, and exploration. This third-person, single-player take once again follows Nathan Drake, a daring treasure hunter, who vows to uncover the dark secret behind the 400-year-old massacre of a Spanish expedition. Throughout the 30 levels, Drake attempts to find a legendary lost city in Central America, stumbles over a secret sect, and gets caught in a rivalry between his old friend Jason Dante and Marisa Chase, the granddaughter of a missing archeologist.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (11):

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is worthy of the name Uncharted, but a little more time and care with the game could've made it an extraordinary adventure instead of just a good one. On one hand, Sony Bend's Uncharted: Golden Abyss delivers a number of thrilling moments, memorable sequences, and intense combat throughout big set pieces -- just like Naughty Dog's console versions of the game. The story is interesting, graphics are outstanding, and the orchestrated music is as good as the other games in the series. But the enemy artificial intelligence (A.I.) is quite dull, the frame rate takes a hit when there's a lot of action onscreen at the same time, and some of the touch screen mechanics are cumbersome and thus detract from the engaging shooting elements. For $50 -- for a portable game, no less -- Uncharted: Golden Abyss should have more polish and offer more replayability than it currently does. It does show what's capable on the new PS Vita, though, which is turning out to be a promising piece of hardware.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether Sony is going after an older market with its PlayStation Vita platform, just as Nintendo is now allowing more violent and gory games like Resident Evil: Revelations on its Nintendo 3DS.

  • Families can discuss how to find age appropriate content for portable game systems. These systems are challenging for parents to supervise because the small screen makes it harder to see what your kids are playing compared to a big TV screen.

Game Details

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