Just like 2014’s The Last Of Us Remastered on the PS4 did for 2013’s The Last Of Us on the PS3, so does Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection on the PS5 for 2016’s Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End and 2017’s Uncharted The Lost Legacy. The appeal of these remastered collections is the ability to play the same games that will look and run better than they ever did on their original consoles.

In that regard, Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection has definitely achieved that. However, is it as big a leap as The Last Of Us Remastered felt like on the PS4? It depends.

Greatness From Small Beginnings

I originally played both 2016’s Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End and 2017’s Uncharted The Lost Legacy on my PS4 Pro, which means that I already had the added advantage of experiencing those games running on a more stable framerate as opposed to playing on a standard PS4 would. Those games ran at a stable 30 FPS on a PS4 Pro, but the sheer next-gen power of the PS5 has managed to increase that to not only 60 FPS but also a whopping 120 FPS. That’s not even mentioning the 4K resolution (albeit at 30 FPS).

However, being able to experience Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection at its best means that you’ll have to own a 4K TV with the ability to run 120 FPS, and that’s frankly a luxury that most people won’t have. What if you only have a 1080p TV? Is Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection still worth it then? Honestly, the answer to that is ultimately up to preference. While playing on a 1080p screen, I did experience the game in smooth 60 FPS, which makes the two great games even more enjoyable to play.

According to the official description, “1080p HD TV players will experience a 1080p resolution super-sampled from a 1440p base with improved anti-aliasing”, but I honestly couldn’t really tell the difference from when I previously played on my PS4 Pro. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s because the games were already freaking gorgeous on the PS4.

However, I honestly felt like there wasn’t much more to it, especially if you don’t have a 4K TV, or one that’s capable of 120 FPS. They’re still the exact same games with exactly the same content if you’ve played the PS4 versions. Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection is ultimately more for those who fit the following criteria:

1. Have never played both games.
2. Have only played one of the two games.
3. Owns a 4K 120 FPS TV, allowing for significant improvement in visual experience.

Treasure Hunter

Replaying both games again has made me look back in retrospect. Despite being mostly overlooked at the time, Uncharted The Lost Legacy is arguably the better game of the two. Yes, it’s only half as long at around seven hours compared to Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End (which is approximately double that length). However, the shorter length results in a tighter and more satisfying experience in terms of gameplay. It’s clear that Naughty Dog learned a lot from Uncharted 4 and incorporated them into The Lost Legacy.

Uncharted 4 is more linear and restrictive in level design, while The Lost Legacy is more open. In Uncharted The Lost Legacy, most enemy encounters take place in open spaces with room to manoeuvre. This makes going stealth a more viable option as well, compared to the narrow and linear corridors of Uncharted 4 (which then forces you to play it as a more traditional cover shooter).

The Lost Legacy‘s Chloe Frazer also feels a lot more agile and smoother to control than Uncharted 4‘s Nathan Drake, which feels weightier and more sluggish. Plus, the melee combat and shooting in The Lost Legacy feels more fluid to perform, and that’s probably because it was the last game Naughty Dog worked on before developing 2020’s The Last Of Part 2. I’m not exaggerating when I say that there seems to be leftover DNA of The Lost Legacy in The Last Of Us Part 2.

The only aspect that I feel Uncharted 4 does better than in The Lost Legacy is the emotion and stakes. That’s not really surprising considering that Uncharted 4 is the conclusion of Nathan Drake’s journey, which we’ve been invested in since 2007’s Uncharted Drake’s Fortune. You can’t beat four games’ worth of character development and nostalgia, but the relationship between Chloe and Nadine in The Lost Legacy does feature some of the best writing in the franchise.

If you’ve never played an Uncharted game, all you’ll be doing outside of the amazing cinematic cutscenes include jumping around and scaling cliffs/walls, shooting and punching enemies, as well as solving the occasional puzzle. That’s essentially the basic formula of the franchise, though Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End and Uncharted The Lost Legacy are two of the best in the entire franchise (arguably behind only 2009’s Uncharted 2 Among Thieves).

Among Thieves

For those who already own Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End and Uncharted The Lost Legacy, you’ll only need to pay RM40 to upgrade to the Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection. Ultimately, Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection provides the best value for those who have never played both games, since you’re essentially getting two AAA games for the price of one (RM209 on the PlayStation Store).

The one downside of this Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection is that there’s no new content at all, which is par the course for remastered collections like these. Still, this collection features the best version of both games, at least until the PC version eventually releases sometime later this year.

Pros

• Capable of running both games in 4K 30 FPS or 120 FPS (at 1080p).
• The definitive version of both games.
• Both games are still two of the best PlayStation exclusives.

Cons

• Both games are still exactly the same games, so there’s no additional content.
• You need a 4K TV or a TV capable of running at 120 FPS to fully appreciate the improvements.
• No multiplayer mode.

Final Score: 80/100

Review copy provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Played on PS5. Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves Collection on 28 January 2022 for PS5 and on PC via Steam later in 2022.