A brisk running time and lower stakes do the Uncharted formula no harm at all - even if this spin-off sticks a bit too close to the script.
Key events
28th August 2017
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is sixth PlayStation exclusive to top UK charts this year
25th August 2017
17th August 2017
11th April 2017
Uncharted movie's latest director is 10 Cloverfield Lane helmer Dan Trachtenberg
Following Shawn Levy's departure last month.
Gather round, friends, for another episode in the seemingly unending saga of Sony's Uncharted movie - one in which the film-which-would-not-be-made gains a new director in the form of 10 Cloverfield Lane helmer Dan Trachtenberg.
The Uncharted movie loses its director
Off the rails.
The rollercoaster ride that is Sony's attempt to get an Uncharted movie made has hit a new trough after its director left the project.
The Uncharted movie is "close to the starting line", says director
There's a script, a star, and a "near horizon" schedule.
Uncharted movie director Shawn Levy has teased that the long-awaited Nathan Drake movie is almost ready for filming.
Wolfenstein 2 deliberately caters to speedrunners, and Bungie hires them
Usain we got it all wrong?
Apparently speedrunning - racing to finish a game as fast as possible - is quite popular. Of course it is - where have you been? Haven't you heard of the charity speedrunning marathons Games Done Quick?
Bungie, Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica and Blizzard talk about crunch
"I see progress..."
Senior figures from four of the world's biggest developers - Bungie, Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica and Blizzard - have talked about their studio's take on crunch.
Uncharted is a decade old, so here are some freebies
Drake a look at me now.
Yesterday, 19th November, marked the 10th anniversary of Uncharted - and with it the birth of PlayStation's biggest of big budget franchises.
Video game voice acting strike ends as SAG-AFTRA negotiates deal
"You are free to resume working ... immediately."
The unprecedented, 340-day video game voice acting strike organised by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has come to an end. A deal has been negotiated and approved, and actors sworn off some of the biggest companies in video games are free to resume working with them immediately.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is sixth PlayStation exclusive to top UK charts this year
Which characters will Naughty Dog spin-off next?
The highly recommended Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - a shorter but much leaner instalment, and cheaper too - is top of the UK physical-sales game chart. This marks the sixth time in 2017 a PlayStation exclusive has debuted top of the list.
The five other chart-toppers are Horizon Zero Dawn, Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, Persona 5, WipEout Omega Collection and Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age.
Oli praised Uncharted: The Lost Legacy for its "sheer unflagging quality" in his review. "A smaller Uncharted doesn't mean a lesser one," he wrote.
FeatureThe wonderful little details in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Naughty Dog once again flexes its muscles.
The Uncharted games are known for their attention to the little things. Whether it's a room packed with incidental clutter or the way playable characters interact with the environment, Naughty Dog often delivers a level of detail beyond most other developers. The recently-released standalone expansion The Lost Legacy is no different.
I've been playing The Lost Legacy this week and have been struck by the little details. This is a game with all the stunning vistas, realistic grass and at times photorealistic environments we've come to expect from a Naughty Dog game. But despite The Lost Legacy being a standalone expansion, as opposed to a full fat numbered Uncharted sequel, it's still got all the wonderful little details you'd hope from the series.
The first cool little detail I noticed was how treasure hunter Chloe Frazer's sweaty hair sticks to her skin. This sounds disgusting, but let's be honest, it's what would happen if you were climbing Towers in India's Western Ghats. It's energetic work in a hot place.
Digital FoundryWatch Uncharted: The Lost Legacy running at 60fps
Check out Digital Foundry's first PS4 Pro 4K HDR video.
Naughty Dog's Uncharted: The Lost Legacy launches tomorrow and it's well worth checking out - we've already posted our take on the title, but with refinements to our video workflow combined with some useful tools provided in-game by the developer itself, we can push the game's presentation to the next level. On this page, we've posted a video of The Lost Legacy's PS4 Pro 4K output, in full HDR and running at 60 frames per second. Before we go on, we've got to stress that this isn't real-time gameplay - just like Uncharted 4, it's a 30fps title - but regardless, it still looks absolutely beautiful.
Digital FoundryThe Lost Legacy is Uncharted meets MGS5 - and it works
UPDATED: Digital Foundry's gameplay analysis is joined by a comparison of the final code against the initial reveal.
UPDATE 20/8/17 3:20pm: We've updated this article with a comparison video showing how the final version of The Lost Legacy compares with the title's debut trailer. You can find the video a little further down the page.
RecommendedUncharted: The Lost Legacy review
Indian summer.
Sometimes it's good to take a step back. Naughty Dog's Uncharted games were conceived as lighthearted, almost flippant action spectaculars, as knowingly pulpy as their chief inspiration, Indiana Jones. But they ended up with baggage that Indy didn't. Thanks to a deluge of critical acclaim and an overflowing of corporate pride, they took on a level of importance, almost gravitas, that sat awkwardly with their insouciant style. As the series progressed, the games' plot lines became more involved and soapy, and have-a-go-hero Nathan Drake got saddled with brooding backstories that Dr Jones would have dismissed with a sardonic shrug. Uncharted 4 was the most sophisticated and smoothly paced of the lot, but it couldn't quite reverse this trend, and the best thing it could have done - and did - was to set Nate's world to rights and then send him packing.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Developer: Naughty Dog
The Lost Legacy update adds survival arena to Uncharted 4 multiplayer
Explore the latest changes.
The latest update for Uncharted 4 multiplayer adds new Uncharted: The Lost Legacy character skins, an all-new playable character, and a new cooperative challenge mode.
According to Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, the update introduces survival arena, which adds "over 100 new waves with new enemy types, new siege zones, and all-new wave modifiers" to survival mode.
"Survival arena offers thousands of potential encounter combinations for you and up to two additional players to take on," Naughty Dog wrote in a post on the official PlayStation blog. "For your efforts, you can also earn our new savage starlight skeleton skins, unlockable exclusively through survival arena."
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End put a full-stop on Nathan Drake's story that wasn't just neat. It was well-measured, beautifully pitched and something of a rarity in any medium: a gratifying end for a much-loved character. It was nothing less than the perfect goodbye.
FeatureNaughty Dog on Lost Legacy - and the future of Uncharted
"I wouldn't say it's the end."
Uncharted and The Last of Us studio Naughty Dog has been clear on one thing - Uncharted 4 was the end of Nathan Drake's story. The famed treasure hunter does not even get a cameo in the upcoming Uncharted spin-off Lost Legacy to avoid undoing anything from the last game's ending.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy treads charted territory in dev walkthrough
Watch 10 minutes of gameplay.
Naughty Dog has unveiled nearly 10 minutes of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy gameplay.
FeatureThe big interview: Sony's Jim Ryan
On the competition, cross-platform play, exclusives and more.
It's hard to argue with Sony's first half of 2017. The PlayStation 4 has enjoyed a number of exciting console exclusives, including Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier Automata, Persona 5 and Nioh. But after watching Sony's E3 2017 media briefing this week, I couldn't help but feel the next six months look decidedly pedestrian in comparison.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy release date unearthed
Pre-order to get Jak and Daxter PS2 classics free.
Uncharted 4 DLC turned standalone game Uncharted: The Lost Legacy launches on 23rd August as a boxed release and digital download.
In North America it'll arrive a day earlier on 22nd August, priced $40. There's no UK price just yet.
The Lost Legacy was announced back at PSX last December and is a new story chapter set after the events of Uncharted 4. Rather than featuring Nathan Drake, it stars Chloe Frazer, who's off with fellow returnee Nadine to find a treasure in India.
Sony's £130 Platinum Wireless Headset comes out in Europe on 16th January 2017.
