Uncharted: The Lost Legacy opened Sony’s E3 press conference, and now we can finally see what its gameplay looks like in action . If you’ve ever wondered what Uncharted would be like without Nathan Drake, it would appear that our former hero’s silly tone was his most defining quality.
Right from the get go, we see that Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross make for a very different kind of duo than Nate and Sully. The jokes and wisecracks of the past have immediately been replaced by a much more somber, focused tone. Those who’ve experienced the current-gen Tomb Raider games should feel something immediately familiar about the setup.
With that new pairing in mind, however, Nadine sets herself up as a far more capable AI companion than we’ve seen in the past. When Chloe elects to split stealth takedowns of two guards, Nadine takes it upon herself to immediately knock down both of them with her excellent hand-to-hand combat skills. While that strength may have frustrated players about halfway through Uncharted 4, there’s little doubt that it will be a big asset in this summer’s trek across the vast landscape of India.
In typical franchise fashion, however, that stealth gameplay sequence quickly comes to a screeching halt at the hand of a heavily turreted vehicle. This leaves the two women dodging bullets and taking down waves of bad guys with the pull of a trigger. In the center of all that commotion, we see many Uncharted 4 staples return. Expect lots of sliding on gravel and using a grapple to swing to various platforms. Those mechanics felt pretty good last year, and they look to be in solid form during this demo.
The biggest takeaway from this short vertical slice is that Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is very much a new narrative told in the same engine. Those who played last year’s title will pick this one up fairly quickly, but it’s the fresh story and characters that will ultimately drive the newness of the experience. In possession of an artifact called the Eye Of Shiva, Chloe and Nadine seek out an ancient aqueduct that apparently doubles as a torture chamber. Those implications alone offer a different perspective than we ever really got during the Drake years.
In that same vein is the introduction of the game’s unique antagonist named Asav. Despite being described as a “ruthless warmonger,” this particular scene shows him to be a much more measured and calculating foe compared to the brash attitudes of Rafe Adler or Nadine. He quietly cites proverbs and other words of wisdom before instructing his men to capture our well-trained heroes. We expect that he’ll show a much angrier side as the adventure progresses, but, for now, Asav is as cool as a cucumber.
While there’s a lot to see in this demo, it’s what’s not here that’s most curious. Namely, there's been lots of suggestions from Naughty Dog that this spinoff will offer many of the puzzle-solving moments that Uncharted 4 lacked. We see no indication of a kept promise in this particular clip, but it’s possible the developer may be keeping those sequences secret to preserve the solutions.
Join Chloe on her quest to find treasures unknown when Uncharted: The Lost Legacy launches Aug. 22 on PS4.
What do you think of this latest gameplay demo? Are you excited to see what The Lost Legacy has to offer? Tell us in the comments section!
