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Legacy of Thieves Collection, are the PS5 versions worth it?

The Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection takes us back to the last two games in the Uncharted franchise. What’s new in the PS5 releases and what does the collection bring to the franchise? Answer in this test.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard ofUncharted. With the last game in the main franchise released in 2016, and the last spin-off in 2017, Sony decided to pull its relics out of the closet and bring them up to date for its latest generation console. So here we are back with Nathan Drake and his merry band in the collection Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves.

This therefore brings together the last two opuses of the franchise, namely Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. In order to modernize the two games, Sony has made some changes to them regarding the audio and visual quality. Will these improvements be enough to convince us of the relevance of this collection or is Sony trying to put smoke in our eyes? Answer in this collection test Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves.

Pre-order Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5

From the unexplored to the familiar

The quality of the games in itself is not an aspect to question in this grip. During their respective releases, these are two titles that have proven themselves and which remain today some of the best adventure games on PlayStation. We therefore have great pleasure in re-immersing ourselves in these stories of hidden treasures and ancient artefacts scattered around the four corners of the globe.

As a reminder, and for those who do not know these games, Uncharted 4 leads us in search of the biggest pirate treasure that has ever existed, that of Henry Avery. More than a quest for greed, Nathan Drake needs this treasure to save his brother Sam from the clutches of a powerful drug trafficker. Except that the Drakes are not the only ones who want the loot, Rafe and Nadine Ross, as well as an army of mercenaries, being on their heels throughout the adventure.

In Lost Legacywe follow the adventures of Chloé Frazer, whom we already meet in Uncharted 2 and 3. This one will join forces with Nadine in order to find the defense of Ganesh. The female duo will therefore venture into the heart of India, while avoiding being killed by the troops of Asav, an insurgent also seeking the artifact to assert his power in the country.

After all this time, the observation is the same: the stories are catchy, the landscapes are beautiful and everything is thought out with a finesse of mind that makes us regret some more recent releases, and much less striking. We therefore understand Sony’s desire to remind us of the existence of these games which, even today, are a safe bet for anyone who likes good adventure games.

Deeper immersion

Added to this are some optimizations that we welcome with pleasure, particularly with regard to visual improvements. First of all, we note the arrival of 4K support and a refresh rate of 120 fps, which is not insignificant for games containing so much action, and landscapes to admire. Of course, you will have to make a choice between the two via the different modes of the PS5, namely Loyalty or Performance modes.

We are also entitled to support for 3D audio, which is very practical to use. Indeed, during the action phases, this makes it possible to better locate the enemies in space, which is often large and which plays out on several levels. It is therefore a real asset, which also allows us to better appreciate the sound design during the exploration phases.

Finally, and this is in our opinion the best integrated point, the collection benefits from DualSense technologies such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. For the first aspect, it is essentially immersive. We feel more the heaviness of the character, but also the differences in textures in exploration, and this adds suspense during the critical phases of the action. Triggers are useful in combat, where you can feel the power of weapons with precision and give them a new dimension.

test uncharted legacy of thieves collection
Credits: Sony

The collection, an ultimate scam from Sony?

As you will have understood, each of these improvements is therefore a sometimes useful addition, sometimes just an accessory, although they can be completely dispensable. Indeed, these optimizations have so little effect on the gameplay and the overall gaming experience that they are more like a gadget paid for at a high price. We are not entitled to graphic improvements, nor to the addition of ray tracing for example, which could have drastically increased our already good impression of the games.

So what is the interest – for the player – of this collection? Truth be told, there’s hardly any for those who already own both titles in their old-gen version. Indeed, this would amount to paying full price for simple next-gen updates, often billed at 0€ for other franchises. This is less true for new players, who can immediately discover Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy with the best possible arrangements.

test uncharted collection legacy of thieves
Credits: Sony

However, it seems that the one who has more to gain in this story remains Sony. The relevance of the collection is presumably more economic than narrative. Lost Legacy is a spin-off, which therefore comes completely out of the main red thread ended with Uncharted 4. So story-wise, tying them together doesn’t make much sense.

We understand, however, that this allows Sony to sell all the games of the franchise in the form of a pack, the first being Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collectionbringing together the first three opuses, and the last two with Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. However, even this first collection had the merit of remastering and making gameplay changes to the first three games.

As this is clearly not the case here, we are faced with a rather direct observation: we could easily have waited a few more years before being able to rediscover Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy on PS5in a version that could really have been brought up to date.

Price and availability

As a reminder, Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection will only be released on PS5 on January 28th. On the PlayStation Store, the collection is available for pre-order for €49.99. On Amazon you can find it for €46.99.

Pre-order Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5

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