Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection Review

The start of a new console generation always brings remastered versions of last-gen hits, so it’s expected that games like Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy would eventually find their way to PlayStation 5. The Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection brings the two PS4 Uncharted games to PS5 with a wide range of enhancements, most notably a sharper resolution and higher framerate. Many PlayStation 4 games like Ghost of Tsushima and God of War have received free PS5 updates, however, and while they may not include all the PS5-specific features like DualSense support, these updates still pose an important question. Was a full-priced remastered collection of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy even necessary?

The Legacy of Thieves Collection includes the two latest Uncharted games: Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. It’s strange that the first three Uncharted games from The Nathan Drake Collection are omitted from this remaster, especially since this collection will be the franchise’s first PC release later this year, but these are still two excellent titles. Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy were highly praised by fans and critics alike when they were first released in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and they’re still great today.

Both games are already playable at high resolutions on PlayStation 4 Pro (albeit locked at 30 FPS), but this PS5 rerelease takes things a step further with a wide array of technical improvements. There are three graphics modes on offer: Fidelity Mode, Performance Mode, and Performance+ Mode. The first two are similar to what we’ve come to expect from most PS5 titles; the former offers a native 4K resolution locked at 30 FPS while the latter provides a smooth 60 FPS at an upscaled 4K resolution. Performance+ Mode, on the other hand, is a surprising edition for games that look this good. It allows both Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy to be played at a striking 120 FPS, but the resolution is dropped to 1080p. Still, it’s a technical achievement that these games can be made to run at 120 FPS in the first place, especially since they were some of the best-looking titles of the last generation.

Of course, all the other PS5 enhancements that you’d expect are all present here as well. The DualSense controller is utilized fairly well, although not as well as it is in titles like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart or Returnal. Gunplay and other actions do feel more impactful thanks to the adaptive triggers though, and the DualSense features are an appreciated addition overall. This game also features 3D audio, but like most other PS5 games, it doesn’t make a huge difference for the most part. 3D audio is still only supported on headphones and built-in TV speakers as well, so those playing with surround sound systems or soundbars won’t be able to take advantage of this feature yet anyway.

Outside of the remaster’s improvements, the games themselves are still exceptional. Uncharted 4 in particular is the highlight of the franchise, offering the best story in the series and some of the best third-person shooting gameplay on the market. It’s a fitting end to Nathan Drake’s story, and the banter between him and his brother Sam makes the puzzle and exploration sections much more enjoyable. While it does suffer from some pacing issues, it’s easy to see why Uncharted 4 was hailed as one of the best games on the PlayStation 4.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy holds up equally well. It’s not as long as Uncharted 4, something that most people will appreciate after that game’s slightly overstuffed story, and Chloe and Nadine are a wonderful pair of protagonists. It’s a much more personal story than Uncharted 4, one that delves deeper into the culture of one specific area instead of swapping between shallow locales like some kind of globetrotting slideshow. The combat and exploration formulas established in Uncharted 4 really come into their own in The Lost Legacy, and this game features some of the most inventive combat encounters in the series.

Revisiting these titles, it’s interesting to see how much of these games’ DNA ended up in The Last of Us Part 2, the next Naughty Dog title to release after this pair. The Uncharted games are definitely more action-focused than Naughty Dog’s other mega-popular series, but the cutscene direction, encounter design, and environmental design in these games absolutely sowed the seeds for what fans would experience in Ellie’s adventure years after the fact. It’s a shame that you can’t see these formulas grow from start to finish since the first three Uncharted games aren’t present in this collection, but the two games that are included do enough to get the point across.

The Last of Us Part 2 also received a free update that makes it run at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5. When you place Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection next to that free update, it makes you wonder if the price tag is even worth it. Yes, there is a rather cheap upgrade path allowing owners of either Uncharted 4 or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy to upgrade to the Legacy of Thieves Collection for just $10, but are the PS5-specific enhancements like DualSense support and 3D audio really worth the additional cost? This collection really could have just been a free patch for both games that raised the framerate to 60 FPS and the majority of players would have been completely fine with that.

Still, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is a solid remaster of two excellent games. It does feel a bit unnecessary given Sony’s existing track record of providing free PS5 updates for some PS4 games, but the upgrade isn’t that expensive. It’s a shame that the original Uncharted trilogy isn’t included in this collection, even though it is playable on PS5 via backward compatibility. It would have been nice to play through Uncharted 1-3 at 120 FPS, but getting Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy is still good enough. It’s also a shame the multiplayer mode is absent, although it’s understandable why. These games are still just as good as they were when they were released, and they’re absolutely worth revisiting or jumping into for the first time.