I have just bought PS VR.

edit : waiting a little to see if there is a price drop in Europe.

You're in luck. Riggs is on PS+ this month.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review

Story

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy takes place an unspecified amount of time after Uncharted 4. Chloe Frazer from Uncharted 2 and 3 hires Nadine Ross from Uncharted 4 for a job. The Job: finding the lost tusk of Ganesh, son of Hindu God Shiva. They aren't alone in their search for the tusk however, Asav, leader of an Indian rebel group whose goal is to cleanse India's bloodline, is after the Tusk as well. Their race for the tusk will take them into India's Western Ghats, where they will search through old Hoysala Empire ruins for the Tusk. 

I went into Uncharted: The Lost Legacy with some reservations, for the first time we wouldn't be playing as Nathan Drake, but rather Chloe Frazer, who I was never that fond of (#TeamElena), with Nadine Ross as a sidekick (who I also didn't much care for in Uncharted 4). The game surprised me however, not only did it make me like both Chloe and Nadine, it also has one of the better stories in the Uncharted series, though it does have it's issues, such as some unresolved questions about Chloe's father. Asav is probably the 2nd best main villain in the series after Uncharted 3's Katherine Marlowe.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is probably the best in the series. As far as combat goes, gunplay is the same as it was in Uncharted 4, which is to say a big upgrade over Uncharted 3's rather poor shooting controls. Stealth is the best it has been in the series to date, like Uncharted 4 (and unlike 1-3) it is possible to break combat after being discovered and re-enter the stealth state if you exit enemy sightlines. In addition, Uncharted: TLL adds the silenced pistol, a golden gun which can be found in lockboxes throughout the game, which makes a stealth playthrough much easier than it has ever been before. Unfortunately, TLL is still missing the stealth mechanics from proper stealth games, such as body carrying/hiding and whistling/rock throwing to lure enemies.

Platforming has been streamlined since Uncharted 4 in a big way. Gone are the annoying, frequent crate segments (the characters even joke about how bad those segments are), and the number and length of platforming segments is decreased quite a bit compared to Uncharted 4, which is a good thing imo. None of the platforming segments in TLL are particularly challenging, especially compared to the difficult collapsing bridge segment from Uncharted 2. 

Probably the biggest dissapointment of TLL gameplay wise is the low number of puzzles, off the top of my head I can only think of 7 puzzles in the game, only 1 of which was particularly challenging.

Level Design

Level design in TLL is good, though not perfect by any means. Chapters 1-3, and 5-9 are linear likes fans are used to, but a few of those chapters are quite open, much like some of the chapters in Uncharted 4. Chapter 4 is an experiment of sorts for the Uncharted series, the first fully open world map in the series, which players can explore in whichever direction they want and complete objectives in whichever order they want. I had some reservations about the open map going into the game, because I figured it would make collectible hunting much harder. In a way I was right, it is really hard to get all of the collectibles. This is partially alleviated by an optional artifact you can obtain called the Queen's Ruby, which vibrates your controller and makes a sound when near a treasure. However, the detection range on the Queen's Ruby is fairly low, and it does nothing to help you find optional conversation locations and photo-ops, some of which are fairly well hidden.

Graphics and Art Design

TLL is built on the same engine as Uncharted 4, which even a year and a few months later still looks fantastic, making TLL one of the best looking games on the market graphically. The art design is top notch too, the architecture of the Hoysala Ruins in TLL matches with real world Hoysala architecture quite well. The same impressive attention to detail as in previous Uncharted games is present as well, from the way that mud clings to the tires of jeeps and is washed away in water, to the way that the characters progressively become dirtier and more disheveled throughout the game (though unfortunately you can't wash off said dirt when standing under a waterfall, I tried). 

Performance

From what I can tell TLL operates at a locked 30 fps, I didn't notice any frame drops or stuttering when playing. I encountered just 1 noteworthy bug while playing, when I took my jeep off a jump once it fell through the game world into the endless void below. 

Audio

Like previous Uncharted games, the soundtrack in TLL isn't bad by any means, but neither does it standout as being particularly good, it's just sort of there, along with you on the ride through the story. None of the tracks are particularly memorable or catchy, though the soundtrack gets the job done, with suitable tracks for what is happening in the story at the time. The voice acting is top notch, Claudia Black continues to impress as Chloe, while Laura Bailey's South African accent for Nadine has improved even further since Uncharted 4. Meanwhile Usman Ally makes his voice acting debut as Asav, where he also does an excellent job. 

Value

A standard playthough will probably take you 8-10 hours. I'd estimate that I put 12 hours into the game, which was a single full playthrough on one of the lower difficulty settings, followed by some trophy mopping up with chapter and encounter select afterwards. It's not exactly a big game, but you must remember, it is selling at a reduced price of $40, and it does give you access to Uncharted 4's multiplayer, as well as a new multiplayer mode called Survival Arena, though I didn't test out the game's multiplayer. 

TLDR

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is one of the best, if not the best, games in the series to date. It combines a good story which gives alot of backstory and insight into 2 of Uncharted's previous side characters, the 2nd best villain the series, a streamlined and improved version of Uncharted 4's gameplay, and the series' first (and mostly successful) foray into open world design. If you own a PS4 and liked any of the previous Uncharted games I highly recommend TLL. If you have never played an Uncharted game and are looking for one to try, TLL may be your best starting point in the series, since it can operate as a standalone story and is the most modern.

Scores 
Story- 9.5/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Level Design- 9/10
Graphics and Art Design- 10/10
Performance- 9/10
Audio- 8/10
Value- 8.5/10

Final Score- 90/100