Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection [Review]

The most fun I ever had with the franchise, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy are coherent, fun, and amazing to play. Finally, combat feels good, while perfecting the better character movement introduced on 3, without compromising the climbing. Oh, also, they've added a grappling hook.

Actually, both games in the Legacy of Thieves Collection feel, in gameplay, definitive; the climbing is great, and exploring places and set pieces feel more organic because, finally, there are some different paths and choices to do while at it. It is always satisfying to correctly assume a path and be successful at navigating through it. There's more platforming and puzzle solving too, with great remarks to the clock tower and - again! - a fantastic train sequence.

A Thief's End finishes a finished story – so needs to bring something new, that being Sam, the never-mentioned-before dead brother that actually is alive, and a new aspect of Nate's life: boredom. The game assumes that Nate's adventures are known but are also in the past, so Nate's retired from adventuring (but, unfortunately, not from work).

It is on the premise of “one last job” that Uncharted 4 starts, but from the beginning it is clear that the “camp” style of the narrative, common of the franchise, is out to a more “mature” storytelling. It didn't land for me. Elena was present in the last 3 games in impossible situations, I find it difficult that Nate would “lie to his wife” to start a new adventure, and while the script develops this idea, it is not something that even should be brought in the first place. The “brotherly, family duty” or “traditional marriage” themes, introduced in this game, feel tropey and just exist to make Uncharted story more “realistic”, and it doesn't always work.

On the expansion, The Lost Legacy, we play as Chloe, from Uncharted 2 and 3, and it has a lot more charm to it, it feels more like the older titles in its narrative and structure, but with the newer mechanics, and it was the high point of the collection and of the franchise for me. It is nice to see not only several returning characters, but also a world with narratives other than Drake's. If, one day, Uncharted returns, if with this crew, I'll be there.

The battle system is better, enemies are smarter (still not smart), stealth is less broken but still very strong, with more weapons and enemy types as well. Because the game is more “realistic”, it doesn't feature monsters, unfortunately, so no zombies or werewolves. Nor drug sequences! The arenas are a highlight really, enemies are always well spaced and golden weapons, that are scattered through the field, changed the flow of each encounter and the way I played.

As the last two games in a trilogy of five, one can look at A Thief's End and Lost Legacy and consider them afterthoughts, adding uncharacteristic and soapy melodrama to characters that had their story already finished just for the excuse of a new game.

This excuse, happens, is super pretty and polished with bombastic set pieces and a gameplay loop that resembles more eating french fries than playing videogames. These are easy to play and quick to finish, and because of how well these last two game plays, it doesn't really matter if everything else feels like a filler. Uncharted as a franchise never had the biggest, most interesting story, and although here on 4 is the place I liked the least, it is the game I liked the most. Figures!

8.5/10