The Adored Explorer: An Uncharted Compendium

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

Uncharted is a vital PlayStation franchise developed by PlayStation Studios Naughty Dog. We are proud to present The Uncharted Compendium — a history of the series from A to Z, complete with awards, rankings, and your memories.

Here, we have lined up each chapter for your pleasure. Each covers an entry in the franchise, from the beginning of development until release onto the PS3, PS4, PS5, or Vita — beginning in 2007 and ending in 2022.

The best way to play the entries is currently by grabbing Uncharted: The Drake Collection for PS4 — containing Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake's Deception remastered by Bluepoint — and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection for PS5 (which includes A Thief's End and Legacy of Thieves). The prequel to these mainline games is Bend Studio's 2012 PlayStation Vita game, Golden Abyss.

Chapter 1 — Drake's Fortune

Before the mysterious tropical islands, snow-laden mountains, arid deserts, and twisting jungles of the Uncharted series, there was "Project Big." It would become the foundation for the first Uncharted entry, Drake's Fortune, which would go on to power the PS3 to success and define modern PlayStation.

Chapter 2 — Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves doesn't really need an introduction, does it? The game propelled Uncharted to become the face of a console that would go on to sell 80 million units. The return of Drake and his hunt for the mythical city of Shambala and the Cintamani Stone was 2009 for PlayStation gamers.

Chapter 3 — Drake's Deception

Released in 2011, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has an odd reputation amongst fans of the series. It is an exceptional game, but it doesn't make the same step up in quality that was present from Drake's Fortune to Among Thieves. With a strange development history and a very honest set of reflections, the third entry is one of the most interesting games in the series.

Chapter 4 — Golden Abyss & Misc

Developed by Bend Studio rather than Naughty Dog, Golden Abyss was released on Vita in February 2012. It has become the lost treasure of the whole series. In addition, this chapter covers spin-off games and properties like a card game, a board game, and a blockbuster movie.

Chapter 5 — A Thief's End

With Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, we are reaching the end of our time with Nathan Drake. Naughty Dog finally sent off our favourite treasure hunter in 2016 with the most mature story inter-spliced with some of the wildest set pieces and environments, themed around a lost pirate republic.

Chapter 6 — The Lost Legacy

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy started as DLC for A Thief's End, but became so large it became a game in its own right in 2017. As a shorter and more compact Uncharted experience, The Lost Legacy is simply wonderful and uses all of its potential weaknesses as strengths.

Let us know what you love about the Uncharted series: do you have a favourite, an underrated one, and a favourite set piece? Get involved by scribing your own history in our comments.

Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and Sony news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like Horizon, The Last of Us, God of War, and Death Stranding 2 using experience from years of playing PlayStation games. He also covers PS Plus and trophy news, as well as his favorite games — The Witcher 3, Assassin’s Creed, and some indie gems — before an evening swim.