Where to Start · Uncharted
Where to Start with Uncharted
Uncharted is Naughty Dog's action-adventure franchise — cinematic storytelling, climbing puzzles, cover shooting, and set pieces that chase summer-movie rhythm. The saga rewards release order more than most blockbusters. See every chapter on GameOrder, then line up your first expedition.
Best entry point: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the consensus high-water mark — tightened pacing, show-stopping verticality, and blockbuster rhythm that defined PS3-era Naughty Dog. Many fans call it not just the best Uncharted but one of the finest PS3 games ever made. It's a fair on-ramp mechanically, though you'll spoil character beats that Drake's Fortune sets up more gently.
Full context: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Starting with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (1) is perfectly valid — rougher gunplay, simpler scale, but it lays down relationships and ego that pay off for chapters to come. If you want the complete emotional arc, the main series is best played in order from here through the third game before you touch the finale.
The finale: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is the emotional conclusion to Nathan Drake's core story. It lands hardest after Uncharted 1–3, when you've lived through the scars, friendships, and bad habits the epilogue reckons with. Treat it as a reward lap, not a cold open.
Standalone spinoff: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy stars Chloe Frazer (with Nadine joining the road trip) in a compact, open-complex adventure that shares Uncharted 4's engine DNA. It reads best as a coda after the mainline saga — same climbing-and-shoot grammar, different leads, lighter continuity demands but richer context if you already know the world.