Naughty Dog’s Uncharted has been one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. Whenever I play an Uncharted game, I always know what to expect: Nathan Drake’s snarky humor, puzzles, and over-the-top action that could rival the James Bond or Mission Impossible movies.
Uncharted felt like the start of games leaning into Hollywood territory with its blockbuster set-pieces and high-octane action.
I didn’t grow up with the Uncharted series, but I managed to grab the Nathan Drake Collection on sale and started blasting my way through three of the games in the hardest difficulty.
I am also a sucker for Platinum Trophies. When I love a game, I always make an effort to get it to 100%. I’ve done the same thing with The Last of Us, Astro Bot, and modern God of War titles. As someone who came from those ‘easier’ Platinums, I half-expected Uncharted would have the same leniency when it comes to the challenge. And boy, I was wrong. It was one of the most frustrating gaming experiences I've ever had.
Uncharted’s Crushing difficulty is exactly what it sounds like. It is a soul-crushing challenge that almost made me throw my controller in frustration. If the DualSense controller didn’t cost $60 each, mine would have been reduced to scraps by now.
My first bout of this Crushing difficulty challenge started with Drake’s Fortune, for obvious reasons. The first few encounters are pretty chill, but a single shot can immediately put me in critical health. Then the next few chapters happened, and I was met with soldiers spamming grenades at me. I had no choice but to get out of cover, risking Nathan’s life in the process. Worse, the first Uncharted game’s controls are so janky, causing further frustration on my end. The wonky aim controls and the unreliable cover mechanic were the bane of my existence in the first game.
What should have been an 8-ish hour game turned into 13 hours because of how utterly broken this difficulty is. I had to keep replaying checkpoints again and again just to memorize where an enemy spawns and who to target first. Funnily enough, Nathan’s one-liners are ingrained in my head.
And this is just the first game of the series. I have yet to play Crushing for Uncharted 2 and 3.
READ: If Halo Is Coming to PlayStation, Uncharted Should Be on Xbox, Too
The next games take it a step further. Uncharted 2, while its gameplay is greatly improved, is also too damn punishing. Lazarevic’s boss fight and the Djinn’s are major pushovers made worse by how bullet-spongy their health is. Thankfully, I’ve grown accustomed to its difficulty after the suffering I endured in the first game, so replaying through checkpoints and doing things over and over again has become second nature to me. As a result, the third Uncharted entry wasn’t that much of an issue except for that boat encounter.
Overall, I have never been more challenged in a videogame’s difficulty the way Naughty Dog does it with the Uncharted series. It’s as if the devs feel a slight sense of sadism when they see other players cry out in frustration and anger with its deliberate design.
The good news is that I managed to get all four Platinums for all Uncharted entries. I have yet to make one more room for Lost Legacy, but for now, I can rest easy knowing I’ve braved through this gauntlet without a broken controller and a TV.
For more like this, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com, the best website for gaming features and news.