THE DESTROYER OF LOST CITIES
Damn you, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
This series was on a steady upward trajectory from the first entry to the second, only for Uncharted 3 to derail it. Rather than pushing the formula forward, it feels like a weaker remix of Among Thieves—a triumph of repetition over refinement. New locations, villains, and supporting characters are added in an attempt to freshen things up, but beneath the glossy surface lie some glaring issues with storytelling, pacing, and combat design.
Naughty Dog still knows how to entertain. Uncharted 3 may feel derivative, but it delivers a string of memorable set pieces: wandering through a vast desert, escaping a sinking ship, leaping from a crashing airplane without a parachute. The game retains the cinematic bombast and constant variation the series is known for, making it a perfectly decent—if increasingly predictable—experience. Visually, it remains impressive, with richly detailed environments and an excellent voice cast that breathes life into the characters.
Nathan Drake, habitual destroyer of ancient civilizations, once again sets his sights on a legendary lost city—this time Iram of the Pillars (which I had to google). Naturally, he’s not alone. Competing against him are Katherine Marlowe, a villain with a conspicuous Helen Mirren resemblance, and her henchman Talbot. Their motivation is as thin as ever: fame, fortune, and a willingness to murder anyone who gets in the way.
The chase takes Drake, Victor Sullivan, and company through picturesque locations in Syria and Yemen, with flashbacks to Drake’s youth unfolding in Colombia. The game opens with an ugly bar brawl in London. Despite the geographical shuffle, this is all familiar ground. The same mix of third-person action, platforming, puzzle-solving, and light parkour returns. Controls are tight and responsive—except for the clunky melee combat, which unfortunately features more prominently than ever.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves excelled thanks to sharp pacing, enjoyable combat, and a forgettable story elevated by sparkling dialogue. Uncharted 3 aims higher narratively, introducing longer flashbacks and more deliberate story beats. The result is mixed at best. Early chapters detour into an extended origin story detailing Drake’s first meeting with Sully, grinding the momentum to a halt. Later, an interminable trek through the desert drains all urgency from the adventure. In moments like these, the pacing collapses entirely. Action-adventure simply isn’t the ideal genre for prolonged narrative experimentation.
That bloat extends to the action. A prolonged chase through narrow city alleys feels exhausting rather than exhilarating. Combat encounters follow the familiar formula: an obvious arena, conveniently placed cover, enemies swarming in waves. When balanced correctly, this setup can be thrilling.
Here, it often isn’t.
To artificially raise the difficulty, the designers made several questionable choices. Some combat sequences drag on endlessly, particularly the shipyard battles, where enemies spawn in such overwhelming numbers that I briefly assumed I was meant to flee. I wasn’t—the encounters only end after surviving a punishing onslaught.
Enemies are also blatant bullet sponges. Armored foes soak up damage to an absurd degree, making headshots—or rare overpowered weapons—the only viable solution. Unfortunately, headshots don’t always register, even when the crosshair is planted squarely on an enemy’s face. Hidden foes lobbing instant-kill rockets and grenades ensure frequent deaths, made worse by stingy checkpoints.
Thankfully, the characters remain as charming as ever. Uncharted 3 deepens Drake’s relationship with Sully, and their banter delivers some of the game’s best moments. That said, Drake himself is unusually insufferable here. Sully is aging and clearly wants out, yet Drake repeatedly exploits his loyalty. His character arc revolves around realizing the danger his obsession poses to those he loves—a lesson repeatedly voiced by Elena Fischer, his on-and-off partner. Chloe Fraser returns, along with a new ally, Cutter, but both are abruptly sidelined halfway through the story.
It’s fortunate the characters are so well written—villains excepted—because the plot itself is not. I tend to lower my expectations for storytelling in action games, often overlooking plot holes amid the chaos. Here, though, the writing strains credibility even by those standards.
After escaping a capsizing ship, Drake conveniently washes up exactly where he needs to be. “How convenient,” he even remarks. Later, after wandering the desert for days, he stumbles directly upon the lost city he’s been searching for. This time, he doesn’t comment on the convenience—but he should have. Moments after nearly dying of dehydration and exhaustion, he’s back to mowing down enemies at full capacity.
Reports suggest Uncharted 3 had a troubled production, and it shows. Corners were clearly cut to meet deadlines. While many launch-era glitches have been patched, some remain even in this Bluepoint remaster. None are game-breaking, but unsteady animations occasionally sabotage gameplay. At one point, I was inexplicably snapped out of cover and deposited several meters away, instantly exposed to enemy fire.
The animation-heavy design hasn’t aged gracefully. Movement often feels floaty, with aggressive rubber-banding. Miss a jump slightly and an invisible hand drags Drake to safety. The same applies to melee combat: if a punch doesn’t quite land, the game forcibly snaps characters together. This was present in earlier entries as well, but I overlooked it then thanks to stronger overall enjoyment.
That goodwill doesn’t carry over here. My list of complaints is long, made longer by the fact that Uncharted 3 follows such an exceptional predecessor. Still, it can’t entirely eclipse the joy of participating in a grand adventure. The journey is rougher, but it delivers unforgettable sights and thrilling moments. The desert sequence, the airplane crash, the sinking ship, and the horseback chase straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark make this the most visually memorable entry in the series. Several moments are etched permanently into my memory.
Fans will largely get what they expect. The audiovisual presentation nails the emotional beats. The drama works, the action excites, and the humor lands. Naughty Dog excels at crafting likable characters, and despite replaying the game with a vague recollection of its major twists, I still found myself caring about their fate.
Nevertheless, this is the entry that didn’t need to exist. It feels disjointed, as if stitched together from a handful of impressive set pieces without a coherent whole. The plot is muddled and unengaging, and the pacing, combat frustrations, and lazy narrative shortcuts generate more irritation than excitement. Considering the talent involved, it pains me to say it—but Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the installment you can safely skip.
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