Like many others, I was really worried about Uncharted 4.5: The Lost Legacy. Like everyone else my thoughts took quickly to thinking that Naughty Dog had finally fallen for the cash grab method of many other developers and created this as a standalone game just to sell me the same game all over again… However after my time spend with The Lost Legacy, I have come to realise that I would be incredibly happy for the series to push forwards focusing on Chloe as the main protagonist from here on out.
One thing to note early on is that The Lost Legacy WAS initially designed as a DLC to Uncharted 4, so don’t expect a 15-20 hour game in here. I was able to beat the game in one sitting on a rainy Sunday afternoon in around 8-10 hours, HOWEVER do not let this put you off as the game is priced to cover this as just £25. Note as well that early adopters of the game ALSO got their hands on the PS4 version of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, which was bundled into the £25 retail price.
Hands down the best thing about Uncharted 4.5 is that fan favourite Chloe Frazer is the main character as she hunts down the tusk of Ganesh, an ancient jewelled artefact that… Look we don’t really care do we? You get to play as fucking Chloe Frazer. Seriously, everything about Chloe is like Nathan but better. The quips are funnier, she has a better moral compass AND she’s voiced by my favourite voice actor of all time: Claudia Black.
The story of The Lost Legacy follows the same formula of all the games that have come before it – You go on an adventure and as you hunt down some treasure you uncover a conspiracy by a private militia and end up holding the fate of a country in your hands with a few little surprises along the way (Which I wont spoil), until you eventually step up to do the right thing and take down the big bad pulling the strings. It’s nothing really new to the series, but hey – Don’t fix what ain’t broke right? I still REALLY like this formula, so I had a lot to love with the story hear and loved tying up a few extra loose ends from the end of Uncharted 4.
Gameplay wise though – I don’t REALLY have all that much to day. Its Uncharted through and through, there haven’t been any additions to the gameplay since Uncharted 4 but that’s okay – In my eyes Uncharted 4 played pretty much perfectly, and was ideal for this kind of thing… And when I say nothing is changed from Uncharted 4, I mean literally nothing. All the elements for this one have been borrowed for the half-sequel including the grappling hook rope, the same shooting we are used to, and even the same rapport between Chloe and Nadine as Nathan and Samuel.
Oh… There is also a section in the game LITERALLY ripped from Uncharted 4 where you’ve grappled onto the back of a moving car and have to pull yourself along the rope until you get in the car, kill the guards and then drive it… I mean seriously Naughty Dog – This wasn’t even that fun the first time I played it!
Okay so one thing that pissed me off in Uncharted 4 has pissed me off once again in 4.5 and it’s such a simple thing: WHERE THE FUCK IS MY BIG ACTION SET PIECE THAT KICKS OFF THE UNCHARTED THEME. Seriously, was it really that hard to give me this one amazing piece of music in the game?! The level design in 4.5 is a strong point though, in a similar vein to Tomb Raider and U4 it has very linear story driven moments followed by larger open world sections allowing for exploration. With the open world fatigue that has gaming by the short and curlies at the moment, I am really enjoying this method of level design to break the story up as well as break up the boring open world elements plagued by all games of this type.
Nothing new on the graphical front really… It is the same as Uncharted 4, which is beautiful. That’s about it.
One final note as a huge MIA fan, I was VERY VERY delighted for a song by them to kick in during the main credits.
Verdict
There is a lot to love in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy which scratches the Uncharted itch in a really nice way whilst giving hope that a new direction for Uncharted would be very welcome – my only issues as a whole is that there is just not enough added to the game for it to be a perfect 10/10 so I give Uncharted 4.5 an: 8/10