Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is scheduled to release later this year, but some stunning concept art has emerged that should keep us content (or perhaps make us more anxious) while we wait.
Naughty Dog revealed The Lost Legacy at PlayStation Experience (PSX) 2016 as a standalone story which will solely focus on Chloe Frazer. Chloe was introduced in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and quickly became a fan favorite. Though we all know her as a dedicated treasure hunter and as being “The Best Driver in the Business”, very little is known about Chloe’s past before she fell in with the Uncharted series hero, Nathan Drake. The Lost Legacy aims to change that, as Chloe will be the primary focus and the only playable character in the game.
Originally posted by Game Informer, the concept art reveals several places Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross (first introduced in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End) will be traveling to during their adventure to find the Tusk of Ganesh.
The art includes designs of the Western Ghats region of India where the game will take place. The Lost Legacy will feature the biggest area of any Uncharted game, and just based on the concept art you can see expansive mountain ranges with several places to explore and artifacts to uncover. The diversity of environments is sure to please any Uncharted veteran. Players will not only be able to explore lush jungles crawling with danger, but also a city devastated by war, which we saw in the PSX gameplay trailer.
There were areas in A Thief’s End like Madagascar that Naughty Dog had hoped to make even more expansive but was unable to do so because of time constraints in the development process. That’s not the case for the team working on The Lost Legacy. Game Director Kurt Margenau explained how the game has a “bigger, more organic feel, with more player choice.” Much like we saw in A Thief’s End, exploration will be rewarded with collectibles and artifacts, though it may take more time to see everything The Lost Legacy has to offer.
As for the narrative- the more it progresses, the more familiar players will become with Chloe in ways that we weren’t afforded in the previous Uncharted games. She will discuss the stories her father told her about India while she was growing up, and considering her father was an archaeologist, he could very well be responsible for her thirst for adventure and her skill in the field. Creative Director, Shaun Escayg explained in an interview, “it gets a little more personal with Chloe than we’ve ever gone, tying the culture and stories of the Hindu gods, even the story of the Hoysala Empire and the kings that ruled there.”
The early concept art for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy looks promising, but what many want to know is how Chloe came to be with Nadine Ross in the first place. Nadine’s Shoreline company went under at the end of A Thief’s End, and though she was a consistent adversary of Nate’s throughout the fourth game, there was never an indication that she knew of Chloe at all. The treasure hunting world is small, though, so we shouldn’t be too surprised they’d run into each other and team up. ‘Honor among thieves’, remember?
It will also be interesting to see how their personalities and skills complement each other in the field. Where Chloe has a tendency to be impulsive and snarky, Nadine is more calculated and reserved; and for those wondering if Nate will make an appearance in The Lost Legacy, Naughty Dog has confirmed that won’t be happening.
There is no release date for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, but hopefully, we can expect to hear more about it around E3 2017.
