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The Uncharted film is just a few months away from release, which means now is the best time for fans old and new to play through the video games. Of course, it’s not required that moviegoers play the Uncharted series before seeing the film. However, the games can provide background on the franchise and introduce audiences to Nathan Drake before seeing Tom Holland play the protagonist on the big screen. Plus, fans will be able to spot Uncharted’s references to the source material.

The Uncharted games go back to the early 2000s, so they span across a few PlayStation consoles. However, fans can still access most titles on PS4. Here’s everything gamers need to know about playing the Uncharted series.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End video game on PS4
‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ | Naughty Dog

The main ‘Uncharted’ games are available on PS4

Naughty Dog’s critically-acclaimed Uncharted follows Nathan, a treasure hunter, on a journey across the globe to solve historical mysteries alongside partners like Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Elena Fisher, and Chloe Frazer. The series began with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, originally released on PS3 in 2007. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2011) continued the series on PS3 until 2016 when Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End brought the franchise to PS4.

In addition to the four main titles, the Uncharted series also contains a prequel, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and a digital card game, Uncharted: Fight For Fortune, both on PlayStation Vita. There’s also a standalone game called Uncharted: The Lost Legacy on PS4, which focuses on Chloe.

In 2015, Naughty Dog and Bluepoint Games released Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for PS4. This edition remastered the first three titles ahead of Uncharted 4’s release. Unfortunately, the PlayStation Vita games are not accessible on PS4, but fans can play the main titles and Chloe’s spinoff.

What order should fans play ‘Uncharted’ in?

Each Uncharted game follows a different mystery, so it’s not absolutely necessary to play them all. However, the characters, their relationships, and their stories do carry over, so the missing pieces might cause confusion.

Those who have access to a PlayStation Vita might want to play Uncharted: Golden Abyss first to see a younger Nathan, but it mostly serves as a standalone game that can be played any time. Otherwise, the best order to play Uncharted would be their release order: Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves, Drake’s Deception, and A Thief’s End. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy technically serves as an expansion to A Thief’s End, but Nathan’s adventure is not included in the story.

How long does the ‘Uncharted’ series take to complete?

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So, how soon do players need to start Uncharted to finish the series before the film? As CBR reported, the first three games take around eight to 10 hours each to finish. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a bit longer, with about 15 to 20 hours’ worth of content. Each game also contains several collectibles, so completionists might take extra time to find them all.

In total, the Uncharted series can take anywhere from 60 to 150 hours to finish. That technically translates to six days maximum, although most players probably wouldn’t play nonstop for nearly a week. So, interested fans might want to plan on playing Uncharted for a few weeks.

Uncharted will hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2022, which means there are still a few months to get through the games. Happy treasure hunting!

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