Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Uncharted: Golden Abyss was part of the PlayStation Vita's launch lineup, and it had one job — to prove that a big console-style action-adventure could be shrunk into a pocket without visible compromises. Nathan Drake gets tangled up in the search for a long-lost Spanish expedition, whose trail leads into a Central American jungle and to a discovery that was clearly meant to stay buried. The storytelling keeps the series' familiar face: buddy banter, ambiguous alliances, and temples that collapse just as the hero is climbing through them. The gameplay combines climbing weathered cliffs, cover-based shootouts, and exploration in which small finds gradually piece together the map of where to go next.

Development was handled by Bend Studio, and it clearly had fun with what the new console could do. Besides the classic dual-analog controls, the game offers touch input: you drag a finger across the screen to haul yourself onto a ledge, scrape charcoal across paper to reveal a hidden drawing, and use the Vita's camera to hunt for details in the surrounding landscape. Not all of these ideas have aged equally well, but most are optional or brief, so they don't disrupt the pacing of the action. Technically, it was one of the most impressive showcases of the hardware — jungle canopies letting light filter through, rain-soaked stones, and main-character animation that came close to the series' home-console entries.

The atmosphere is helped along by orchestral music in the spirit of adventure films and solid voice acting that makes the characters more than mere level guides. Contemporary reviews praised the title as proof that the Vita could handle a full-blown blockbuster, while also faulting it for not daring to diverge much from its predecessors. Today the game plays like an interesting stepping stone: it isn't the strongest Uncharted episode, but it's the best demonstration of what Sony hoped for from its second handheld. Anyone picking up a Vita today usually starts right here — it's a tight, well-crafted adventure that also holds up well played in short bursts.