Playing an Uncharted video game is like playing an interactive movie. All the games of these PlayStation exclusive series (sans one) are designed in a cinematic way. It feels like seeing a high-stakes action movie, similar to the Mission Impossible or The Fast and The Furious series.
Therefore, if you have not played any of these games before, now is the best time to do so. Read my personal rankings of the Uncharted games, ranked from worst to best. I’ve counted all seven of these games and made this ranking according to what I felt and experienced.
Uncharted Game Rankings
The Uncharted games ranked from worst to best are:
7. Uncharted: Fight For Fortune
Release Date: December 2012
Platform: PS Vita
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune is a weird entry in the Uncharted game series. Unlike the other games on this list, this is a collectible card game (CCG). In this spinoff game, you collect cards that represent various Uncharted game characters. Its themes and mechanics are based on the Uncharted gameplay and its locations.
Players take turns placing cards on their zone with the aim of reducing the opponent’s health to zero. There are many types of cards – heroes (in-game characters), artifacts (treasures), equipment (weapons), and lots more.
Even though I personally love playing card games, this game just felt…..meh. This is an average game released on a handheld console that very few still carry around.
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6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Release Date: February 2012
Platform: PlayStation Vita
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is another spinoff Uncharted game released for the PS Vita in 2012. Unlike the game above, this is a traditional Uncharted experience that we all love and enjoy.
Here, Nathan Drake goes on a journey to find the long-lost city of Quivira. This has all the elements of a good action game. From great setpieces to tight shooting, this is a good game overall. Story-wise, it is the first game in the series, showcasing how Nathan became the new Indiana Jones.
However, I would still place this lower on my list since everything felt very repetitive. The shooting becomes stale quickly, and so do all the platforming puzzles. Plus, it feels less polished than the other games on this list. Also, the other games on this list are simply better.
5. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Release Date: November 2007
Platform: PS3
The Uncharted game that started it all. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the first title to be released by Naughty Dog. In this game, we see the birth of a new Indiana Jones of this generation – Nathan Drake.
In this game, you play Nathan Drake, the descendant of the famous explorer and treasure hunter Sir Francis Drake. Here, he goes on a journey with journalist Elena Fisher and mentors Victor Sullivan to find the lost city of gold, El Dorado.
This game introduced us to the tight third-person shooting mechanics of this series, along with its platforming and puzzle-solving elements. All in all, it is a package that encompasses all the qualities of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft Tomb Raider.
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4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Release Date: November 2011
Platform: PS3
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception had lots of gamers to satisfy, following the success of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. In this game, Drake becomes a multitasker. He goes on a journey to find the mythical lost city of Iram of the Pillars. In addition to this, he also comes face to face with mercenaries sent to hunt him down by Katherine Marlowe.
This game doubled down on their action and refined it to perfection. I had a blast playing this game, with the best graphics I have seen on PS3 at its time. This game received critical acclaim from critics and was a commercial success as well.
3. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Release Date: August 2017
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows PC (Coming this year)
Released in 2017, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is another unique entry in the series. This is the first new Uncharted game not to feature Nathan Drake as the main protagonist. Instead, it follows Chloe Ross, a supporting character who previously appeared in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She goes on the hunt for Ganesha’s Tusk in the Himalayas with mercenary Nadine Ross.
Alongside the treasure hunting and all the action that ensues with it, this game took a political stance in some portions. This is because the parts of India that we get to visit in this game seem to be taken over by a religious civil war. I was interested to see this representation here.
However, the political strife felt shallow, in my opinion, with the game fully ditching it in favor of treasure hunting. However, I still have high regard for this game since it has the best gameplay mechanics, graphics, and some of the most creative puzzles and platforming too.
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Release Date: October 2009
Platform: PS3
Most critics and gamers consider this to be the best Uncharted game to date. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a thrilling, action-packed adventure gaming that ticked all the boxes of perfection for me.
This time, Drake goes on a journey to find the Cintamani Stone and Shambhala with Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher. However, the gang is also hunted down by a war criminal cum militia leader Zoran Lazarevic.
The graphics and gameplay was a significant improvement over its successor since it used the new Naughty Engine 2.0. I absolutely love this game, and I still have fond memories of playing a level of this game where I battled mercenaries atop a running train.
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1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Release Date: May 2016
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows PC (Coming this year)
I know many of you expected this Uncharted game to be #1 on this list, and it is rightfully so. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the perfect way to conclude the story of Nathan Drake.
We see our hero go on a final journey after he retired in Uncharted 3. Here, we see Nathan teaming up with his long presumed dead brother Samuel to hunt Henry Avery’s long-lost treasure.
Then Nathan Drake, that I got to see here was the most mature and realistic version of him. After so many adventures, he has grown older and wiser. This game had the best Uncharted level of all time, as I am chased by mercenaries in one of the most spectacular chase sequences that rival even that of blockbuster Hollywood movies.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions):
Some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Uncharted games are:
The chronological order of playing the uncharted games to follow its story are:
1. Uncharted: Golden Order
2. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
6. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
If you wanted to know what game is the uncharted movie based on, then the answer is none. It has its own standalone original story with Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) as the hero.
So far, developers Naughty Dog has not announced any sequels to the series yet. Therefore, nothing can be said about the future of the series. However, many fans have theorized that a new character will replace Nathan Drake in future sequels.
While all the games have their standalone stories, I would recommend playing these games in order to understand all the events that transpire throughout the series.
See You Again, Nathan Drake
The Uncharted game series received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for the story, cast, animation and characters, graphical and gameplay mechanics, and music, with its high production value being frequently compared to Hollywood-produced action-adventure films.
It has also been credited by critics and publications for raising standards for single-player games and is consistently ranked among the greatest video games. Uncharted has shipped over 41 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises, helping the success of PlayStation during the seventh and eighth generations, and elevating Naughty Dog’s reputation as a developer.
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