“Greatness from small beginnings.” Engraved in Latin on the ring that hangs from series protagonist Nathan Drake’s neck, these four words define Naughty Dog’s immensely popular Uncharted series. It became a thing. Considering the franchise itself has grown significantly since its debut in 2008, it’s a pretty apt tagline.
From battling pirates deep in the Amazon jungle to exploring hidden cities in the heart of the Rub al Khali desert, Nathan Drake has had no shortage of adventurous adventures in the years since his PlayStation 3 debut. With so many entries in its universe, Uncharted’s long timeline is easy to decipher. To help you figure it out, here’s a chronology of the entire Uncharted game series and the order in which you should play the games.
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How many Uncharted games are there?
There are eight Uncharted games. Five for consoles, two for PlayStation Vita, and one for mobile. Two of these games are not included because they do not tell original stories and do not affect the canon of the Uncharted Universe. Entries not included are Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, his card game spin-off for PlayStation Vita, and Uncharted: Fortune Hunter, his puzzle tie-in for mobile.
There are also additions to the Uncharted universe in other media such as comics and novels. These are the norm, but the list below only covers the timeline set by the game, and the same applies to his 2022 Uncharted movie, which takes place in a reimagined version of the Uncharted universe. increase.
It’s also worth noting that later entries in Uncharted often cycle to add new lore to the beginning of Nathan Drake’s story. Uncharted 3 and 4 go back to the beginning of the timeline, but I’ve judged their place on the list based on when the bulk of the story happens.
Uncharted games in chronological order
These blurbs contain minor spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Uncharted: Golden Abyss for PlayStation Vita, the earliest adventure in the timeline and the first to reach the handheld console, follows Nathan Drake’s journey to find the legendary city of Quivira.
Set in Panama years before Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the story begins with Drake joining his former friend Jason Dante to help excavate a dig site. It doesn’t take long to realize that Dante is making shady deals with Robert Gero, the leader of a local revolutionary group. Team up with Dante’s former partner, a treasure hunter named Marisa Chase, and set out on a new quest.
Having formed a tentative alliance, Chase reveals to Drake that he has the amulet given to him by his grandfather before he mysteriously disappears. The amulet is like the key to the ancient mystery surrounding Quivira. Using this knowledge, the pair attempt to locate the city and uncover its lost secrets, but avoid Dante, Gero, and the militia the pair have at their disposal.
read us Uncharted: The Golden Abyss review.
2. Uncharted: Drake’s Fate
Taking place a few years later, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the first mainline entry in the series about Nate’s pursuit of the mythical city of Eldorado.
Nate and ambitious reporter Elena Fisher set out on a boat off the coast of Panama to find the coffin of Sir Francis Drake, a famous adventurer and Nate’s alleged ancestor. Cracking open the coffin reveals that it does not contain a body, but instead a diary chronicling all of Francis Drake’s adventures. The last entry in the diary reveals that Francis Drake traveled to the Amazonian jungle in search of Eldorado. A city of immeasurable wealth.
Abandoning Elena on the shore, Drake and his partner Sally set out to find the city. Stranded in the jungle after an explosive clash with the villainous Gabriel Roman, Nate breaks away from Sully, reunites with Elena, and sets out on an adventure to defeat Roman and track down Eldorado.
read us Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune review.
3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Two years after the hunt for El Dorado, in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Drake embarks on a new adventure to find the legendary Cintamani Stone.
The story begins with Drake teaming up with old friends Chloe Fraser and Harry Flynn to steal a rare artifact from a museum in Istanbul. While raiding a museum, Drake and Flynn find a hidden map and learn the truth about a series of lost ships in Marco Polo’s fleet that failed to return to Persia. used these ships to transport rare objects known as Shintamani stones from the mythical city of Shambhala.
After their discovery, Flynn double-crosses Nate and steals the map, leaving him locked in a cell. Teaming up with Chloe and Sally, Nate embarks on an adventure to track down Flynn, uncover the true mystery of Shambhala, and find Cintamani his Stone. The trio’s journey takes them to Borneo, Nepal and the Himalayas, where they face a private army desperate to secure the stone for their ruthless leader Zoran Lazarevich.
read us Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review.
4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deceit
Set two more years later, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the franchise’s third mainline adventure. It focuses on Nathan Drake chasing sandy Atlantis in his Hari Desert.
At the beginning of the story, Nate and Sally lock horns with a mysterious villain named Katherine Marlowe after being once discovered in Arabia by Sir Francis Drake. This discovery is the mythical sand Atlantis. Rub Al Khali A lost city deep in the desert, said to hide unimaginable treasures.
As Drake learns more about this city and why Marlowe wants to find it, he begins to realize that the Hidden Great City holds dark secrets. Forced to face his demons and reflect on his past, Nate teams up with Sally and Elena to defeat Marlowe and uncover the truth behind Sandy Atlantis.
read us Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception review.
5.Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Set three years after Drake’s Deception, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the epic conclusion to Nathan Drake’s adventures and serves as a send-off to the charismatic treasure hunter. Nate teams up with his long-lost brother Sam to hunt down the missing treasure of legendary pirate captain Henry Avery.
The story begins with newly retired Nathan Drake settling into a normal life with his wife Elena. Everything changes when Sam, who had seemingly died during a jailbreak in Panama, returns and offers Nate his last job. It’s all about hunting down Captain Avery’s lost treasure. Seduced by his desire to return to a life of adventure, Nate lies to Elena, joins Sam, and embarks on a globetrotting journey to recover his lost gold.
But it doesn’t take long for things to go south. Nate and Sam confront a rival treasure hunter known as Rafe and his ruthless business partner, Nadine Ross. As the adventure continues, we learn more about Nate’s relationship with Sam as the pair’s loyalty is put to the test. While the game’s ending seems to perfectly wrap up Nathan Drake’s role as Uncharted’s protagonist, it doesn’t quite close the door to any continuation of the franchise other than being led by Nathan Drake.
read the review of Uncharted 4: Thief’s End.
6. Uncharted: Lost Legacy
In the standalone spin-off, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Chloe Fraser takes on the role of the protagonist and teams up with Uncharted 4 villain Nadine Ross. The story follows the unlikely duo’s attempts to find and retrieve the long-lost fangs of Ganesha.
Set in India, the story begins with Chloe embarking on a personal mission, ultimately wanting to secure Ganesha’s Fang after her father died years ago in pursuit of it. . Along the way, she is attacked by the imposing Assav, who has formed a tentative alliance with Nadine and is using an army of revolutionaries to find her fangs and foment a civil war.
Lost Legacy utilizes a semi-open world format to show Chloe and Nadine forging a strong friendship as they hunt down Fang and try to stop Asav. The game ends on an interesting note, leaving the door open to future Uncharted games led by Chloe, Nadine, and other side characters.
read us Uncharted: The Lost Legacy review.
How to Play Uncharted Games by Release Date
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fate (2007)
- Uncharted 2: Room of Thieves (2009)
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deceit (2011)
- Uncharted: The Golden Abyss (2012)
- Uncharted: Fight for Fortune (2012)
- Uncharted 4: Thief’s End (2016)
- Uncharted: Fortune Hunter (2016)
- Uncharted: Lost Legacy (2017)
What’s next for Uncharted?
Sony has yet to announce a new Uncharted game. The series’ popularity has recently rekindled thanks to the release of his Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Edition, which brought Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy to his PlayStation 5 and PC. However, Naughty Dog seems to have ended the franchise for now and has no plans to revisit it in the near future.
In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann said the studio had “moved on” from the franchise. That said, the story left the door open to sequels, so Naughty Dog or another studio could revisit it anytime in the future.
In the meantime, video games aren’t the only medium where Uncharted could return. The strong box office success of the film adaptation of Uncharted suggests that we could see Tom Holland suiting up as Nathan Drake in the sequel in the years to come.
