Choosing the best Uncharted games has become more difficult with every new installment in Naughty Dog's cinematic series. Nathan Drake's adventures have now spanned multiple platforms, and the franchise has even spawned a spin-off. Plus, the original games still hold up, so it's no easy task.
Uncharted became one of PlayStation's core pillars and went on to produce some of the best PS3 games and PS4 titles. The series has thankfully made the jump to PS5 and PC, where it can shine even brighter. That's right, a whole new wave of folks can now experience Uncharted for the first time and witness why these games still spotlight adventure like no one else today. Sure, we have new games in the genre, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but you can't beat the classics.
6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Release: 2011
Platform(s): PS Vita
Before we start, it’s probably fair to point out that coming last in a list of the best Uncharted games is almost an honor in itself, given the level of quality they achieve. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a PS Vita exclusive developed by SIE Bend Studio. Given the barometer set by the franchise, there really isn’t much wrong with Golden Abyss. At the time, it looked incredible for a handheld and carefully recreated the hallmarks of the trilogy of Uncharted games that came before it.
Unfortunately, some of the cinematic flair had to be mitigated to accommodate the jump to a handheld device - the story ultimately falls flat despite some fantastic set pieces. It still feels like Uncharted, but it was always destined to sit in its shadow, given the downgrade in scope. It sure could have done without the middling touchscreen Vita gimmicks though!
Read our Uncharted: Golden Abyss review.
5. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Release: 2007
Platform(s): PS3
Back in the day, a dream team of the now-revered Amy Hennig, Neil Druckman, Josh Scherr, and Bruce Straley (as well as the rest of the Uber-talented Naughty Dog dev gang) brought Nathan Drake into the world with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. The game was looking to fill the gap left behind by Tomb Raider’s mid-2000s drift into mediocrity, which is ironic given that Tomb Raider was later rebooted in 2013 and took a lot of inspiration from the Uncharted games! Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was revolutionary at the time, but sadly it ranks a bit lower than the rest in our ranking of the best Uncharted games because it has not aged well.
Whereas the later games can get away with the dedication to realism due to higher standards and improvements in systems, the first looks unappealing now, even in the remaster. As a consequence, it has failed to hold up as firmly as its sequels. Naturally, the introductory story doesn’t offer the same amount of nuance or character development as later games, either. The gameplay can also become quite monotonous if you’re used to the more frenetic and varied firefights offered by later titles. It is worth playing if you want to see where the series started, but given the standard set by the rest of the series - Drake’s first adventure doesn’t quite compare.
Read our Uncharted: Drake's Fortune review.
4. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Release: 2017
Platform(s): PS5, PS4, PC
A DLC expansion to Uncharted 4 that is essentially a full-blown standalone game, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was an ambitious step away from the established formula, swapping out Nate for his old flame Chloe Frazer, a deeply compelling protagonist who Nadine Ross and Sam Drake accompany from the fourth installment. The dynamic duo of Chloe and Nadine engage in some “Archaeology” as they mow through legions of gun-toting grunts to track down a tusk of Ganesh.
The Lost Legacy’s main innovation was in how it allowed players to roam free in detailed open-world environments. Unfortunately, the narrative wasn’t quite as compelling as any of Drake’s adventures, and while the open-world exploration was a refreshing change of pace, it also allowed for a lot of lonely wandering that led to stunted pacing. The Lost Legacy is a bit too contained and similar to Uncharted 4 to stand out on its own against the mainline series, despite the gorgeous visuals, engaging combat, and impeccably written quip lash between Chloe and Nadine as they warm to each other over the course of the game.
Read our Uncharted: The Lost Legacy review.
3. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Release: 2011
Platform(s): PS3
This was Uncharted’s true moment in the spotlight - after the runaway success of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the third game had lofty shoes to fill, but by god did it try. The entire game is an adrenaline thrill-ride where you’re constantly left wondering what could possibly happen next. It’s engineered to make your jaw drop - everybody who has played this game will have vivid memories of careful escapades on a sinking cruise ship or hanging on for dear life from a crashing military cargo plane. The fact that those memories are so dearly etched into our grey matter is a testament to the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception legacy.
The visuals were best-in-class, as were the cinematic set pieces. Environment design was impeccable, with a remarkable amount of detail put in to making each jaunt on this globe-trotting adventure authentic and distinguishable. Sure, the script wasn’t as interesting as its predecessor, but where it lacked in true character-defining moments it made up for in pure spectacle. This was Uncharted at its most popcorn - the big beefy, unmissable blockbuster of the quadrilogy that, for your money, is the best Indiana Jones experience this side of the millennium.
Read our Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception review.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Release: 2016
Platform(s): PS5, PS4, PC
Uncharted 4 was the series' turning point. It examined all of the limiting labels that were trapping it and firmly shook them off, delivering a deeply human adventure—without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best adventure games ever made. As well as the peerless graphics and refined combat, Naughty Dog did away with the daft supernatural trimmings that had been dumbing the series down. At the start of the story, Drake isn’t half-dead hanging out of a train car; he’s playing Crash Bandicoot with his wife. By making the bold decision to put this treasure hunter’s glory days behind him - and subsequently introducing his blood brother to pull him back out for one final score - the Uncharted series finally dealt with its own blockbuster dissonance and supplied a believable escapist fantasy that wasn’t forced to mitigate emotional resonance for spectacle.
Uncharted 4 is the only game in the series that can rouse floods of tears, with the (grounded in historical text, mind you) story of Henry Avery and Thomas Tew running in tandem with two instinctively adventurous brothers reconciling their tortured past. Nate is a man at war with himself in Uncharted 4, forced to endanger the comfortable family life he’s built by the burning embers of adventure in his heart that he knows he can’t ignore - and that epilogue… Farewell, Nathan Drake. It truly was greatness from small beginnings.
Read our Uncharted 4 review.
1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Release: 2009
Platform(s): PS3
One of the best action games ever made. It’s as simple as that, really - Nathan Drake’s Nepalese nightmare is one of the finest AAA experiences yet, a game that could be mistaken for cinema at almost every frame. Each chapter of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a masterfully written piece of a deliciously moreish narrative pie, a satisfying adventure with plenty of heart that unravels at a blistering pace, moving the player from set piece to electrifying set piece, often involving trains and shooting powerful rifles from behind carefully placed wooden crates…
Seriously though, it's tough to top the introduction to this iconic game, a snowy scene that saw Nate waking up from a snooze covered in scars, precariously dangling off the edge of a cliff in a train car. Somehow, that isn’t all of the adrenaline-pumping gameplay used up in one go - the rest of the game keeps pace as the combat thickens in difficulty and the plot tumbles into surreal depths. Uncharted 2 didn’t just raise the bar for the best video game stories; it punched it into the sky - sending out a shockwave that will no doubt influence single-player games for the next generation and beyond.
Read our Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review.
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