“I am a Man of Fortune, and I must seek my Fortune.” Uncharted opens up with a quote from real-life pirate Henry Avery, and encapsulates the main idea of the game. Two brothers, Nathan and Sam, embark on an adventure to seek out a long-lost treasure hidden in a fictional land. Originally released for PS4 in 2016, the Legacy of Thieves Collection features fresh graphics updates and includes The Lost Legacy, a small expansion to the game released in 2017. If you are playing on a PS5, you get several options in terms of resolution and FPS: 4K at 30fps, 1440p at 60fps, and 1080p at 120fps. Compared to the PS4 version, you will also get 3D audio support, HDR, and DualSense controller support. If you choose to play on PC, you have the freedom to change your resolution, framerate cap, and graphics options. With all of these changes, you have a substantial upgrade from the original version, especially if you haven’t played Uncharted 4 or The Lost Legacy before.

I initially played this game on my PS5, but ended up restarting the story on my Steam Deck and completing it there. It was quite a treat to play such a demanding game on a portable device, and the graphics still held up well. Legacy of Thieves plays like other Naughty Dog games; it’s a third-person shooter with puzzle, stealth, and action sections. You have a linear story to follow, and there’s no side quests to complete or open world to explore. The story begins with Nate as a teenager in a Catholic orphanage, who has a desire for adventure; unfortunately, he needs to finish school before he can start scavenging across the world. On the topic of Catholicism, Legacy of Thieves has a surprising amount of religion embedded into the storyline. The game’s narrative is driven by the Saint Dismas cross, which is a direct reference to the penitent thief in Luke 23:43. Multiple references are made to this verse throughout the game, and the treasure’s clues are usually injected with biblical background. As this is not a Christian game, all the religious underpinnings are not presented in a positive or negative light, but rather neutrally. I believe this is a positive, as they are not denying Jesus; but it’s worth noting they are not affirming His strength and power either.

After a brief section of young Nate at the orphanage, the game fast forwards to present day, where Nate is hired for various “treasure hunting” jobs. He is currently married to his wife Elena, so he tends to take on the less dangerous jobs; for example, scuba diving in New Orleans. Without giving away too much of the storyline, Nate is given an offer to search for one of history’s most coveted treasure: Captain Henry Avery’s wealth. Nate then joins his long-lost brother, and the game’s plot sets into motion.

After completing the campaign in Legacy of Thieves, also known as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, you are given the option to start Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Gameplay is identical to A Thief’s End, but this time the story focuses on an antagonist from the Uncharted universe. Content remains similar, with puzzle and action-oriented sections. The Lost Legacy takes about half as long to complete compared to A Thief’s End, so you can’t really consider Legacy of Thieves a “two for one” deal. Moral content is also the same, with identical violence and language throughout the plot. I found The Lost Legacy to be less intriguing than A Thief’s End, but it was fun to continue the adventure after finishing the first game.

Uncharted plays nearly identical to other Naughty Dog games, such as The Last of Us. You are locked to a third-person view, and generally always have a gun at the ready. When you aren’t taking down enemies one bullet at a time, Uncharted features some very fun puzzle sections, akin to the recent reboot of Tomb Raider games. I found these puzzles to be challenging, but also doable if you take your time and think it through. Controls are similar to most first-person shooters, but it may take some time to get used to them if you don’t normally play shooter games. I found the action sections with gunfire to be particularly overwhelming, mainly because I am not all that great at shooters. This took away some of the game’s fun for me, as I spent a large chunk of time dying and redoing sections before finally completing them. I suspect these will not be as challenging for players experienced with shooter games, but it’s worth noting for those who want to play Uncharted for the story.

Unlike Tomb Raider and The Last of Us (both of which are rated “Mature”), Uncharted was able to score a “Teen” rating from the ESRB. Instead of battles filled with blood and stabbings, Uncharted is milder in experience. Enemies will have small amounts of blood when shot, but this generally looks more like puffs of smoke than actual blood. When you take down enemies stealthily, you will choke them out or break their neck; violent, but not as bad as some of the choices presented in The Last of Us. Lots of casualties result from Nate and Sam’s journey, whether by gun or frantic explosions. During these encounters, both the protagonist and enemies will use language; uses of s**t, a**, d*mn, b**ch, crap, hell, d*mn, and b*st*rd make their way into the mix. Jesus’ name is also frequently abused, with exclamations of His name and g*d*mn sprinkled throughout the game. As for the rest of the moral content in the game, sexual content is minimal. There is one scene where Nate and Elena kiss on their couch, and the scene fades to black. It is short and their kissing is not shown on the screen for very long. There are a smattering of flirtatious jokes in the dialogue, but none of them are salacious. The main issue of this game is frequent dishonesty and disobedience to the law; when Nate first starts his journey, he lies to Elena about what he is actually going to do. Nate also knows that his treasure hunting is illegal, as he is warned that he does not have a “permit” in the beginning of the game. Characters also frequently smoke and drink in various sections of the game; they don’t get drunk though.

I enjoyed the game a lot, and highly recommend it if you like Indiana Jones-esque adventures. Gameplay is filled with lots of frantic gunfire, white-knuckle tension, and some pretty heartfelt moments too. Graphics also play a huge role in the enjoyment of this game; playing on a PS5 in 4K is breathtaking, and your craving for realism will be satisfied. The motion capture and voice acting are done extremely well, and shadows and textures are finely detailed. My only complaint is that the soundtrack is not very remarkable. It does just fine in the game, but it’s not anything special. Anyone wanting to enjoy this game should pause and review the frequent language and violence. Uncharted is nothing near an M-rated game, but it has enough profanity and gunfire to fill several PG-13 movies. I must say it was refreshing to play a triple-A title that did not have any occult content, which is rather surprising compared to a lot of recent releases. As the game concludes, Nate sums up the experience: “As thrilling as the next adventure may be, in the end, you’re always left with that same feeling." And I think that’s a good reminder that we can enjoy video games like this, but should also be spending the majority of our time with Christ; He’ll never leave with the “same feeling”.