We’re in uncharted territories now… Or at least, that’s what I would say, if Uncharted weren’t one of Sony’s flagship titles. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has an astounding 1.23 million owners on PSN Profiles, making it the 14th most popular PlayStation game on the website’s game tracker. Its rank would be even higher if you exclude largely multiplayer titles like Call of Duty and Rocket League.
But if you’re a PlayStation player who somehow hasn’t heard of the Uncharted series already, what’s all the fuss about? In the Uncharted series, you join renowned treasure hunter Nathan Drake as he explores all over the world in search of illustrious finds. However, he quickly learns that not all that glitters is gold. In other words, you’d best have your wits about you because you’ll be in for a wild ride full of surprises.
In this article, we discuss all seven titles in the Uncharted series from a trophy hunting perspective. In addition to learning how to unlock the platinum trophies for yourself, you will also get a personal behind-the-scenes look at my thoughts as a trophy hunter during all 200 hours I spent searching for ancient treasures. And don’t worry—we won’t share any major story spoilers!
Table of Contents
Why Uncharted?
“One extraordinary man… One extraordinary adventure.
A 400-year-old clue in the center of Sir Francis Drake sets a modern-day fortune hunter on a pulse-pounding exploration for the fabled treasure of El Dorado. The search quickly turns deadly, as Nathan Drake begins to uncover mysteries of the island.”
— Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Game Box
My story with the Uncharted series actually began with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Like many people, I got this game as a pack-in title with my PlayStation 4 console. I only played it briefly because it was abundantly clear that I was missing significant context for the game’s story and characters. I’m not the type of person who enjoys things halfway. If you’re reading this, I’d expect you aren’t, either.
That’s why I decided to set Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End aside and return only after I’d paid my dues with all the entries that came before. As luck would have it, I received Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection as a gift not too long after. This package included remastered versions of all three of Nathan Drake’s earliest adventures. And so began my months-long Uncharted binge in 2016.
The original trilogy were very enjoyable experiences to me at the time. But more than that, they had a special pull to them that was unlike anything I’d seen before. They were like interactive movies! It doesn’t surprise me at all that Naughty Dog, the series’ developers, went on to sanction a full-blown movie and TV show based on their works.
This fact actually led to some of my favorite gaming memories. My parents were never big gamers, nor did they ever show lasting interest in any I played. But when I pulled up Uncharted in shared family spaces, they’d actually sit and watch. More telling was the fact that they’d ask questions. It was like a modern-day Indiana Jones film that we could bond over. (Yes, I know they made a new movie in 2023. No, my parents aren’t interested in it.)
Although I played the Uncharted series very casually back in the day, that was no excuse for me to shirk my trophy hunting duties by writing the titles off altogether. No—I had to get all the trophies in every single one to honor those family memories. Even though it wouldn’t be easy, I set my sights on this mission nearly 10 years after it was first set into motion.
The Trophy Hunt
The trophy hunts for the Uncharted games are all laughably similar to one another. So much so that I fear you may grow bored reading this section from front to back. On the other hand, it means that you will become more of an expert as time goes on. Yay!
In general, you will follow the same order of operations: beat the game, find all the treasures, beat the game on a very hard difficulty setting, and perform a ton of specific weapon kills or environment kills. And, for the original trilogy, if you want more than the platinum trophy, then you’ll need to put in more work via speedruns and insane difficulty runs.
Don’t worry too much, though; many tips, tricks, and glitches exist to make this a whole lot easier across the board. Do you like learning about unintended game mechanics that make a huge difference for completionists? Check out our article that outlines 11 glitches that make trophy hunting in certain games easier.
Below, we will run through every game in the Uncharted series in order. You will know exactly how to tackle every single trophy hunt in the series by the time you get through this section. I’d recommend seeking out the particular game you are interested in rather than reading it all front to back, unless you are highly motivated.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
- Experience the story
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is a highly story-driven experience. You would be doing yourself a disservice not to go in blind and enjoy the story as intended for your first playthrough. If you really want to be efficient, go straight to the next step. Have fun with Nathan Drake’s first adventure! - Beat the game on hard and collect all of the treasures
In this playthrough, two things matter: choosing the right difficulty and finding all of the collectibles. In Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, there are 60 treasures (+1 secret one!). If you need help finding specific treasures, this YouTube compilation was very helpful for me.
Hard difficulty isn’t too challenging, but if you struggle, you can use a glitch to give yourself an advantage. Normally, you can only use game-breaking tweaks on a difficulty setting that you’ve previously completed. However, if you enter specific inputs in the menu, you can trick the game into thinking it’s a lower difficulty setting than it actually is.
As a result, you gain access to the incredibly important in-game cheats that grant infinite ammo and one-shot kills sooner than you should. You may think that this is straight-up cheating. Maybe you’re right. But do not be fooled; these trophies are absolutely not free with this trick. Frankly, enabling tweaks actually makes these high difficulty playthroughs fun and not simply mind-numbingly infuriating.
All three of the original Uncharted games have this exploit. They are widely reported on and you can find plenty of examples on YouTube. For Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, check out this video for a demonstration: Glitch #1.
There are some intricacies with the glitch set-up for the other games, but the general idea is to manipulate the difficulty setting menu and the tweaks menu to get the desired result.
Although many people fixate on this glitch for the brutal playthrough in particular, you can actually use it on ANY difficulty setting. You simply need to have beaten the game on the difficulty directly below the one you need the glitch for. As an example, you’d need to have completed normal to use tweaks on hard. - Beat the game on crushing and grab anything you missed
As before, it’s time to move up to the next step in difficulty. After beating the game on hard, you should be very familiar with the game’s mechanics and the cadence of its story beats. Don’t get too cocky, though; on this difficulty setting, you can be defeated if an enemy so much as sniffs at you.
The goal at this stage is to beat the game (easier said than done) and clean up any collectibles that were passed over in the last run. I would absolutely recommend using the glitch described in the previous section for your crushing playthrough. I did not, and sorely regretted it halfway through. - (Optional) Beat the game on brutal
If you’re simply going for the platinum trophy, your job here is done. You can move on to the next section. But if you want 100% completion, you should go ahead and get started on one of the hardest challenges contained within this game’s trophy set: brutal difficulty.
This time, Nathan Drake will die from the mere suggestion of an enemy in his presence. So, you’ll need to be on the top of your game (and play like a rat). You’ll be in good company with that playstyle here!
My biggest suggestion will, again, be to take advantage of the tweak glitch. Otherwise, try to memorize enemy spawns in difficult rooms. When you must drive the waterski, feather your inputs, and defeat enemies before they start attacking you. Ironically, the final chapters are quite easy, so you’ll get a bit of a victory lap.
Bear in mind that you can play flawlessly and still be screwed over. I had many moments just like the clip below where I was simply marked for death. You can’t get angry when it happens; just try again and wait for your opening. - Get all weapon kills
Woof, that was a lot of work. 3+ playthroughs isn’t nothing. But I promise that the lion’s share of trophy hunting in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is behind you now. The remainder of items can best be described as every trophy hunter’s favorite category: clean-up.
In this case, you should finalize any weapon kills you did not earn in your earlier sessions. There are 11 trophies in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune’s trophy set that call for defeating enemies with specific weapons. You can make quick work of these thanks to the bonus menu options. You can equip whatever weapon you need to, free of charge.
I liked using Chapter 4 as a farming spot for what I missed. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
In Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, there are a number of trophies that call for specific combat challenges to be completed. They can’t really be separated further, but they also don’t really fit into the other categories. These combat trophies include combos, headshots, explosions, and so on. I’ll go over each one.
A brutal combo is that annoying melee attack the game has been badgering you to use. It’s when you do square -> triangle -> square against an enemy. For trophy hunting purposes, you must do this five times in a row and 20 times comprehensively. This is easy to do in the tutorial segment in Chapter 1. There are three trophies for this category.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. I’d be surprised if you haven’t gotten these already. Like before, you must get five headshots in a row and 250 times comprehensively. There are four trophies for this category.
Explosions generally refer to grenades, RPG missiles, or grenade launchers in this game. “Triple Dyno-Mite!” and “Dyno-Mite Master” are both earned with explosions. To unlock them, you must defeat three enemies at once with an explosion, five times in total. There are tons of different locations people have recommended, but I liked Chapter 4 the best. Near the end, you can pick up a grenade launcher and have at it. If you fail, simply reload the checkpoint.
Two trophies can be earned for hanging off ledges. “Hangman” is for defeating enemies with gunfire in this state and the aptly named “Grenade Hangman” is for defeating enemies with grenades in this state. As you may expect, this can easily be achieved in Chapter 4. There is a section with a ledge before an arch where enemies spawn. If you fail, simply reload the checkpoint.
“Run-and-Gunner” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 20 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left.
Two trophies relate to something called the Steel Fist. In Uncharted, this is a technique where you injure an enemy with gunfire and then finish them off with a melee attack. It’s easier said than done, as it’s a bit clunky in this game. You need to do it 10 times in a row, which is astonishing. I had the best luck on Chapter 4 (go figure). You need to time your punch for when the enemies are stumbling to get the most consistency.
There is one trophy that unlocks for getting stealth kills. This is done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get the achievement, you must do so a staggering 50 times! The best way to do it is… you guessed it… in Chapter 4 again. At the start of the encounter with the grenade launcher, there is an enemy whom you can stealth kill. Simply reload the checkpoint over and over until you get the trophy. Beware that repeat reloads can sometimes have unusual behaviors, like causing enemies to notice you when they shouldn’t.
Do we like doing a certain number of things in a row yet? Well, we’re not done. “Survivor” requires the player to defeat 75 enemies in a row without perishing (including by platforming). This is actually not a big deal on lower difficulties and with tweaks activated. Plus, your streak is retained when you reload checkpoints. - Pop into photo mode
It will take you longer to read this snippet than it will to earn this trophy. If you haven’t already, simply enable photo mode in the menu and activate it in the field. - (Optional) Get freebie DLC stack trophies
If you’re an Uncharted completionist seeking to earn not just the platinum trophy but also the 100%, you’ll want to do this section next. The DLC has eight trophies, of which five I’d consider to be free.
Start with the absolute bottom of the barrel simple: activate a tweak in the menu if you somehow haven’t yet. Back in the bonus menu, look at your statistics and click into them. Also equip Nathan Drake with a costume that changes his appearance to that of one of his friends (or enemies), then go on to defeat an enemy with this disguise. That’s three trophies right there.
The remaining two freebie trophies require some modicum of effort.
You need to defeat five Descendants with the sniper rifle, which in this game is the Dragon Sniper. You can equip this anytime via the bonus menu, but you can only get this trophy in the final few chapters when this particular enemy spawns. It’s easy to do, but it’s unlikely that you would get this achievement without being aware of it.
The final one requires beating the last chapter in the game flawlessly on normal or higher difficulty. That means not dying during the shootouts or final boss fight on Chapter 22. This is super easy when you know how the encounter works and enable tweaks. - Get all speedrun trophies
The final task in your Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune playthrough is a speedrun. I’m sure many trophy hunters just collectively threw their hands up. But hear me out: the Uncharted series does a very good job at making these achievements very forgiving.
In the debut title, you must beat three specific stages with good times for the platinum trophy. For the 100%, you must also beat the entire game in under 2.5 hours in a specific costume called Doughnut Drake.
One thing worth lauding is how transparent the game is about your time. If you go slow during any section, so long as you haven’t hit a checkpoint to lock it in, you can reload and try again. If you die at all, like during those pesky wall-climbing sections, you can reload and save yourself precious seconds.
Unfortunately, you cannot activate tweaks in this mode. But if you play at a low difficulty and barrel through everything, you will almost never be in real danger. If you ever get turned around finding the correct path to advance, don’t panic—get your bearings, reload the last checkpoint and head straight for it next time.
Personally, I did not have any issues with any of these trophies and unlocked them on my first attempt. Here are my times for each stage if you’d like some semblance of a guide to confirm that you’re on the right track:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Experience the story
Just like the first title, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is also a story-heavy game. Many would say that this entry actually expands upon the significance of the writing in the overall player experience. In less flowery language, that means “story good.” So play it for yourself and find out why it’s one of my (and many others’) favorite Uncharted games!
If you truly want to make things go by as expediently as possible, as before you will want to play on the highest difficulty available to you from the start and go to the next step. - Beat the game on hard and collect all of the treasures
What a journey. After you’ve settled your personal preference between Elena and Chloe as Nathan’s favored love interest, it’s time to start getting serious. You should go into your second playthrough with two goals: beat the game at one level of difficulty higher than before, and find all the collectibles. If you played on normal before, you’ll be on hard now.
In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, there are 100 treasures (+1 extra!). If you need help with their locations, I once again default to the same Youtube channel, as in my experience they are very consistent in their quality and presentation.
Hard is pretty straightforward in this title. But if you still struggle with the difficulty, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves also suffers from the same tweak glitch as the first game. I won’t get into all of the details about what the tweak glitch is this time (check out this section for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the full breakdown), but just know that if you’ve beaten the game at the previous difficulty level you can unlock game-breaking cheats called tweaks before you’re supposed to be able to. These are massive game changers in leveling the playing field for all of the difficulty-based trophies.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has one very important quirk, though. This trick only works on version 1.00 of the game, before any patches have been applied. That means you need to have a disc copy to do this. Pro tip: Be fast on stopping the update file when you insert the disc as it can complete very quickly.
If you want a specific guide on the menu inputs, ask and you shall receive. While the video guide cited here mentions crushing and brutal specifically, it is worth pointing out that this method works on ALL difficulty levels. You just need to have them one tier away from each other. - Beat the game on crushing and grab anything you missed
After doing hard mode, we move one step up and begin our crushing playthrough. The tweak glitch is likely to be very helpful in this run and comes duly recommended unless you enjoy suffering. During this playthrough, you should try to nab anything that was skipped.
By the end of this playthrough, you will be prepared to tackle the largest challenge this game has. Don’t worry; it is far less annoying than it was in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. - (Optional) Beat the game on brutal
Like the first Uncharted game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has a hard as nails difficulty setting. This isn’t required if all you care about is the platinum trophy and not the 100%.
This time there are fewer variations in gameplay to contend with. No jet ski (thank goodness), no awful runaway vehicle sections, no obnoxious turrets. The analogous experiences in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves play far more like cutscenes.
The biggest tips for success on brutal difficulty are obvious; learn encounters and spawn rules, and use tweaks. The special enemies introduced later on in this entry are a total joke with the tweak glitch, yet are insanely difficult without.
The hardest part is likely to be the notorious train level. Chapter 12, “A Train to Catch,” involves an intense firefight section that leaves you surrounded on all sides with very few options for cover. Enemies will rush you. You need to learn who spawns where and when. Take advantage of no-peek firing from cover. And try to keep up with taking out enemies at a good pace, as they definitely start stacking up if you just try to hide in your foxhole.
You should also be aware that the circular battle arena in Chapter 25 has infinitely spawning enemies to the left. You need to clear the path and move up when it’s safe or else you’ll be there forever.
The final boss in Chapter 26 is also notable. Without spoiling anything, the tweak glitch will do you no good here. You must use a special mechanic in that level to defeat him. Simply find a route that you like and loop it. You need to keep your distance, as any damage will nearly knock you flat. Still, the one-shot kill tweak does help in the very last section of the stage after the boss fight. - Get all weapon kills
As before, you must get a number of weapons kills in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. There are 13 different trophies related to getting a certain number of kills with a given weapon. You most likely have earned most of these naturally during your initial playthroughs.
Thankfully, you can equip just about any weapon in the bonus menu and make quick work of these trophies. If you have a particular favorite spot to farm in, you can always reload the checkpoint. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
It’s time for the variety round. There are 15 trophies in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that relate to a number of unrelated combat feats. They can’t really be separated further, but they also don’t really fit into the other categories. These combat trophies include combos, headshots, explosions, and so on. I’ll go over each one. Note that some trophies are earned by virtue of earning another, and I won’t mention them expressly. For example, getting 100 headshots and getting 250 headshots.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves frequently encourages hand-to-hand combat. Unlike Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, you don’t need to do fancy brutal combos. For trophy hunting purposes, you must defeat enemies with hand-to-hand combat 10 times in a row and 50 times comprehensively. This is easy to do early in the game. There are three trophies for this category.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. I’d be surprised if you haven’t gotten these already. Like before, you must get five headshots in a row and 250 times comprehensively. There are four trophies for this category.
Explosions generally refer to grenades, RPG missiles, or grenade launchers in this game. “Dyno-Might Master” is the achievement of note here. To unlock it, you must defeat five enemies at once with an explosion. There is really only one good place to do this without using the bonus menu, and it’s in Chapter 6.
Pick up the RPG from the enemy in the military vehicle to the right. Near the end of the first encounter, a different vehicle will roll in beside the main building. Time your shot right and you can get all five enemies in one fell swoop. If you fail, you can always reload and try again. Check out this video for visual guidance. It is worth noting the intentional delay in the player’s shot, as if you do it too early some of the enemies will still be impervious to damage.
Two trophies can be earned by hanging off ledges. “Hangman” is for defeating enemies with gunfire in this state and the aptly named “Grenade Hangman” is for defeating enemies with grenades in this state. In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, opportunities to do this are ample. If you’d like a recommendation, Chapter 19 is a good option, as there are tons of enemies and buildings to hang from.
“Run-and-Gunner” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 20 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left. Just pick a level and have at it! Chapter 4 is a great option.
Two trophies relate to something called the Steel Fist. In Uncharted, this is a technique where you injure an enemy with gunfire and then finish them off with a melee attack. It’s easier said than done, as it’s still clunky in the sequel. You need to do it 10 times in a row (an astonishing task), and 20 times comprehensively. I had the best luck on Chapter 4. (Ironically, the same numerically as in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.) You need to time your punch for when the enemies are stumbling to get the most consistency. Remember, you can’t defeat the enemies on the ledges above with gunfire while working on the combo or it will be nullified.
“Master Ninja” is earned by defeating enemies stealthily. This is done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get the achievement, you must do so successfully 50 times! Find someone you can stealth kill easily, like in Chapter 3 before you enter the enemy encampment or in Chapter 20 before the monastery gates. Simply reload the checkpoint over and over again until you get the trophy. Be careful: repeat reloads can sometimes have unusual behaviors, such as causing enemies to notice you when they shouldn’t.
Do we like doing a certain number of things in a row yet? Well, we’re not done. “Survivor” requires the player to defeat 75 enemies in a row without perishing (including by platforming). This is actually not a big deal on lower difficulties and with tweaks activated. Plus, your streak is retained when you reload checkpoints. Just start somewhere early like in Chapter 4 and proceed until you unlock it. - Pop into photo mode
It’s time for every trophy hunter’s favorite thing: a free trophy. If you haven’t already, simply enable photo mode in the menu and activate it in the field. Did you get a pretty shot, or are you the type to back out immediately? - (Optional) Get freebie DLC stack trophies
There are a number of trophies that are quite easy to obtain on the Extended Collection trophy set of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. If you’re a completionist looking to earn every single trophy and not just the platinum, you’ll want to do this section next. The DLC has eight trophies, of which five I’d consider to be free.
Start with the absolute bottom of the barrel simple: activate a tweak in the menu if you somehow haven’t yet. Back in the bonus menu, look at your statistics and click into them. Also equip Nathan Drake with a costume that changes his appearance to that of one of his friends (or enemies), then go on to defeat an enemy with this disguise. That’s three trophies right there.
The remaining two freebie trophies require a small amount of effort.
You need to defeat five Guardians with the sniper rifle, which in this game is the Dragon Sniper. You can equip this anytime via the bonus menu, but you can only get this trophy in the final few chapters where this particular enemy spawns. It’s easy to do this with tweaks, lower difficulties, and reloading saves, but it’s unlikely that you would get this achievement without being aware of it. I’d recommend the first encounter in Chapter 25.
The final achievement requires players to beat the last chapter in the game flawlessly on normal or higher difficulty. That means not dying during the final boss fight or the subsequent platforming section in Chapter 26. Thankfully the chapter is very short. It may take a few tries to nail the final boss. By now, you’ve probably learned your favorite circuit to loop him, so all you need is good RNG on his movement and grenade throws. I’d recommend enabling tweaks so the final shot on the Guardian is free. - Get all speedrun trophies
The final task in your Uncharted 2: Among Thieves playthrough is a speedrun. That’s right, the developers did it again. Like before, I’ll stress this as someone who generally despises speedruns: the Uncharted series does a very good job at making these achievements very forgiving. Many of the tips here will be the same as they were for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
In the sequel, you must beat three specific stages with good times for the platinum trophy. For the 100%, you must also beat the entire game in under 3.5 hours in a specific costume called Doughnut Drake.
One thing worth lauding is how transparent the game is about your time. If you go slow during any section, so long as you haven’t hit a checkpoint to lock it in, you can reload and try again. If you die at all while platforming or rushing encounters, you can reload and save yourself precious seconds.
Unfortunately, you cannot activate tweaks in this mode. But if you play at a lower difficulty and barrel through everything, you will almost never be in real danger. If you ever get turned around finding the correct path to advance, don’t panic—get your bearings, reload the last checkpoint and head straight for it next time.
Personally, I did not have any issues with any of these trophies and unlocked them on my first attempt. That’s why I recommend playing normal, hard, crushing, and then brutal in that order, so you are an expert on the game by the time you get here. Here is my times for each stage if you’d like some semblance of a guide to know you’re on the right track:
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Experience the story
There’s a tenet in storytelling that claims all the best things come in threes. That’s why trilogies are so common across all media, including the video game industry. Even in series with more than three titles, often the 4th represents the beginning of another series, or is a departure from the original’s spirit and ideas entirely. Some examples include Spyro the Dragon and Sly Cooper. Keep this knowledge in your pocket, because Uncharted follows the same pattern.
As you may surmise from the above, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is very similar to the previous two entries in its presentation and gameplay. It adds even more cutscenes and in-engine storytelling than before. That means you’ll often be forced to experience the story by trailing NPCs no matter your wishes.
I’d recommend playing on normal difficulty first, and simply enjoying your first playthrough. Get used to the gameplay changes in this title, such as the emphasis on melee, the ability to throw back grenades (a very important addition!), and the option to drop down on enemies from above.
If you truly want to make things go by speedily, as before you will want to play on the highest difficulty available to you from the start. That likely puts you on the next step straight away. - Beat the game on hard and collect all of the treasures
In this playthrough, two things matter: choosing the right difficulty and finding all the collectibles. In Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, there are 100 treasures (+1 secret one!). If you need help finding specific treasures, this YouTube compilation was very helpful for me.
Hard difficulty isn’t anything to sweat in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. But if you still struggle with the difficulty, this game also suffers from the same tweak glitch as the other two games. I won’t get into all of the details on what the tweak glitch is here (check out this section for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the full breakdown if you’re interested), but just know that if you’ve beaten the game at the previous difficulty level you can unlock game-breaking cheats called tweaks before you’re supposed to be able to. These are massive game changers in leveling the playing field for all of the difficulty-based trophies.
In this case, if you’ve beaten the game on normal, you can use tweaks on hard mode. Although most guides point out this glitch for brutal, it can be used at any level. Strangely, it was patched out for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves but not Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. If you want to see the exact menu inputs, you can check them out here. It’s very similar to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. - Beat the game on crushing and grab anything you missed
After doing hard mode, we move one step up and begin our crushing playthrough. The tweak glitch is likely to be very helpful in this run and comes duly recommended unless you enjoy suffering. I’d argue it is even more vital here than it was in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, thanks to some incredibly annoying sections. During this playthrough, you should try to nab anything that was skipped.
As you know by now, crushing is merely the preliminary round for the hardest difficulty the game offers. And if you want the 100%, you’ll have to get comfortable with performing under pressure. I wish I could tell you that this will be easier than the other games. If I did, it would be a lie most cruel. - (Optional) Beat the game on brutal
Like the first two Uncharted games, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has a very hard difficulty setting. This isn’t required if all you care about is the platinum trophy and not the 100%.
This time there are tons of sections that leave you powerless, both in ways that are overt (no weapon) and sneaky (no cover). Enemy AI seems to be scaled up in this game, making them incredibly aggressive and quick to capitalize on any weakness. There are also problems with the way gameplay is designed; for example, your dodge roll is mapped to the same input as your melee, so good luck getting away from an enemy charging at you.
The biggest tips for success on brutal difficulty are familiar by now; learn encounters and spawn rules, and use tweaks. The special enemies introduced later on are very dangerous, even with tweaks enabled. You need to react quickly and choose your movements/cover carefully, as they can warp behind you.
The hardest part is likely to be near the end of Chapter 9. You will lose your weapons in a cutscene, which then opens up to a section where you must run for your life to a nearby tower. You will be shot at from all directions, basically making it a toss-up whether or not you will make it safely or meet your maker. The best advice I can offer is to roll, and not to delay more than a breath at the first bit of cover. New enemies spawn on the rooftop over time that make evasion even more miserable. It’ll be very easy to get angry here, so take breaks and drink water.
Chapter 16 has a similar scene where you’re running for your life. There will be moments where you will perish for no other reason than the fact that you existed. Thankfully, when you respawn it makes the section much easier. So, just keep running.
If neither of those aggravated you, then Chapter 19 just might. Once again, you are unarmed. I recommend going left ASAP to get a weapon, then taking out the guy ahead. However, you will likely be getting flanked on the right side, so don’t get too fixated on any one enemy. It will be difficult to get the enemies further up without leaving cover, so advance carefully.
Lastly, the final battle in Chapter 22 can be a bit tricky. No tweaks will help you here. It’s a melee fight, and he can blot you out very easily. Once you learn his patterns, though, you’ll get it down. - Get all weapon kills
As before, you must get a number of weapons kills in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. There are 12 different trophies related to getting a certain number of kills with a given weapon. You most likely have earned most of these naturally during your initial playthroughs.
Thankfully, you can equip just about any weapon in the bonus menu and make quick work of these trophies. If you have a particular favorite spot to farm in, you can always reload the checkpoint. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
Get ready for a huge undertaking. There are an incredible 21 trophies in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception that relate to a number of unrelated combat feats and other activities. They can’t really be separated further, but they also don’t really fit into the other categories. These combat trophies include combos, headshots, explosions, and so on. I’ll go over each one. Note that some trophies are earned by virtue of earning another, so I won’t mention them expressly. For example, getting 20 headshots naturally folds into getting 100 headshots.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception encourages hand-to-hand combat to the point of excess. For trophy hunting purposes, you must defeat enemies with hand-to-hand combat 50 times comprehensively, hit three enemies with a fish in the market, and counter all of a brute’s attacks. The first is self-explanatory. The second can only be accomplished in Chapter 10. Simply kite enemies over toward the containers and melee them. The last one just means to succeed at the quick-time events that occur during an encounter with a brute.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. I’d be surprised if you haven’t gotten these already. Like before, you must get five headshots in a row and 100 times comprehensively. There are three trophies for this category.
Explosions generally refer to grenades, RPG missiles, or grenade launchers in this game. “Dyno-Might Master” is the achievement of note here. To unlock it, you must defeat four enemies at once with an explosion. There is really only one good place to do this, and it’s in Chapter 16. It’s better to see it than read about it. In a nutshell, once you reach an open window on a rooftop, you should drop down on an enemy. He will drop a grenade. In the next room, you should defeat another enemy and a van will arrive. You need to rush it and time your grenade perfectly.
On the topic of grenades, there are two trophies that are earned via a brand new mechanic in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. If you’re like me, you may not have even realized this was a thing until you looked at the trophy list. Indeed, when an enemy throws a grenade at your feet, a small quick-time event occurs that allows you the opportunity to throw the grenade back. For trophy purposes, you need to defeat 10 enemies with this move, and also once with a double-kill. This is a lot easier in the later desert stages, like Chapters 19 and 22.
Two trophies can be earned by hanging off ledges. “Hangman” is for defeating enemies with gunfire in this state and the aptly named “Grenade Hangman” is for defeating enemies with grenades in this state. In Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, opportunities to do this are ample.
“Run-and-Gunner” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 20 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left. Just pick a level and have at it! Avoid the earlier stages that force tutorials that end your streak. Similarly, “Blindfire Marksman” requires defeating enemies without aiming. You just need to do it 20 times while in cover.
The Steel Fist is blessedly removed from Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception’s trophy set. In its place, we have the trophy “Combat Leapfrog” to scratch the same itch. This achievement is earned by killing 10 enemies in a row… while alternating between melee combat and gunfire. This is much easier to accomplish than the Steel Fist combos of yesteryear. I’d recommend doing it in Chapters 5-6, minding the grenade tutorial so you don’t lose your streak.
“Master Ninja” is unlocked with stealth kills. This is done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get the achievement, you must once again do so successfully 50 times. Find someone you can stealth kill easily, like in the large arena near the end of Chapter 16. Simply reload the checkpoint over and over until you get the trophy. Beware that repeat reloads can sometimes have unusual behaviors, like causing enemies to notice you when they shouldn’t.
Do we like doing a certain number of things in a row yet? Well, we’re not done. “Survivor” calls for the player to defeat 75 enemies in a row without perishing (including by platforming). This is actually not a big deal on the lower difficulties and with tweaks active. Plus, your streak is retained when you reload checkpoints. Just start somewhere early like in Chapter 5-6 and go until you unlock it. I’d skip the very first few chapters due to how tightly they leash you for story purposes.
Like the above, “Side Arm Master” and “Reload Master” require defeating enemies a certain number of times in a row. The former calls for defeating 30 enemies in a row with your side arm and the latter requires defeating 50 enemies in a row without auto-reloading. The former is a cinch with tweaks that give you infinite ammo; just avoid the grenade tutorial in Chapter 6 and don’t switch to your main weapon. The latter will require some more mental math and focus (make sure you always reload manually), but just follow the advice for the others and you’ll be fine.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception also pushes swimming pretty heavily. Hence, the trophy “Land Shark” calls for defeating 20 enemies while swimming. The best place to do this is a no-brainer: Chapter 12, the encounter after you break out of your confinement. Just swim around and take enemies out, then reload the checkpoint. Watch out for the turrets!
Lastly, “Riot Rocker” is a trophy that relates to the riot shield enemies. Yet another annoying enemy type, these guys should not be taken lightly. This trophy is interesting, because it says you must defeat five of them by “running over their shield.” It is highly unlikely that you will have discovered this in natural gameplay (I originally assumed it meant by car or something similar), but if you shoot their shield enough, they will stumble. When that happens, you can run up and melee them into an early grave. Chapter 15 is of course the most natural place to do this task as one spawns straight away. - Pop into photo mode (and go swimming)
Elena is going to be very proud of your dedication to photography. If you haven’t already, simply enable photo mode in the menu and activate it in the field. Since you’re doing this already and obviously want a good shot, go to Chapter 14 and find the pool at the top of the boat. Swim around, catch yourself a lovely photo, and you’ll have two very easy trophies unlocked for your trouble! - (Optional) Get freebie DLC stack trophies
Like the other two titles, many achievements are fairly straightforward to obtain in the Extended Collection trophy set of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. If you’re a trophy hunter who always goes for 100% completion, first: you’re in good company; second, you’ll want to do this section next. The DLC has eight trophies, of which five I’d consider to be free.
Start with the absolute bottom of the barrel simple: activate a tweak in the menu if you somehow haven’t yet. Back in the bonus menu, look at your statistics and click into them. Also equip Nathan Drake with a costume that changes his appearance to that of one of his friends (or enemies), then go on to defeat an enemy with this disguise. That’s three trophies right there.
The remaining two freebie trophies require a little more work.
You need to defeat five Djinn with the sniper rifle, which in this game includes the Dragon Sniper and T-Bolt Sniper. You can equip one anytime via the bonus menu, but you can only get this trophy in the final few chapters when this particular enemy spawns. It’s easy to do this with tweaks, lower difficulties, and reloading saves, but it’s unlikely that you would get this achievement without being aware of it. I’d recommend the first encounter in Chapter 21.
The final one requires beating the last chapter in the game flawlessly on normal or higher difficulty. That means not dying during several enemy encounters, the final boss fight and the subsequent platforming section in Chapter 22. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception likely has the hardest implementation of this trophy in the series. It may take a few tries to get the stars to align (the RPG enemy out of a cutscene getting a perfect shot is the worst). At least the boss isn’t as spooky as in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I’d recommend enabling tweaks so the encounters before the final battle go smoother. - Get all speedrun trophies
The final task in your Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception playthrough is a speedrun. Yup, it’s time for #3. Like before, I’ll stress this as someone who generally despises speedruns: the Uncharted series does a very good job at making these achievements very forgiving. Many of the tips here will be the same as they were for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
In the third entry, you must beat three specific stages with good times for the platinum trophy. For the 100%, you must also beat the entire game in under 4.25 hours in a specific costume called Doughnut Drake.
One thing worth lauding is how transparent the game is about your time. If you go slow during any section, so long as you haven’t hit a checkpoint to lock it in, you can reload and try again. If you die at all while platforming or rushing encounters, you can reload and save yourself precious seconds.
Unfortunately, you cannot activate tweaks in this mode. But if you play at a low difficulty and barrel through everything, you will almost never be in real danger. If you ever get turned around finding the correct path to advance, don’t panic—get your bearings, reload the last checkpoint, and head straight for it next time.
Get comfortable with slowly walking with NPCs. A lot of times, you can get ahead and proceed through a platforming section or puzzle sooner than you think. However, sometimes you must actually be near or otherwise interact with the NPC. Play it by ear and reload if things seem weird.
Personally, I did not have any issues with any of these trophies and unlocked them on my first attempt. That’s why I recommend playing normal, hard, crushing, and then brutal in that order, so you are an expert on the game by the time you get here. Here are my times for each stage if you’d like some semblance of a guide to know you’re on the right track:
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Experience the story
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is arguably the most story-heavy title in the entire series. And for good reason; the upgraded graphics make looking at character models and environments much more palatable for extended cutscenes.
Like always, I’d recommend playing through the game casually for your first run. Enjoy the leap in generations and get accustomed to the new changes in gameplay. Pick whatever difficulty you are comfortable with, but I’d recommend moderate. - Beat the game on hard and collect all of the things
After your first playthrough of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, you’ll want to start ratcheting up the difficulty and looking for the collectibles. In this game, that includes more than just treasures. It also includes journal entries, notes, and optional conversations. This is the guide I would recommend to find everything cleanly. You can also track what you’ve missed and where in the main menu’s chapter select section.
Hard difficulty shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. Skip cutscenes and take your time in rough sections. Try to learn how encounters play out to make the next step easier. - Beat the game on crushing and find all chapter specific objectives
Unlike the earlier games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’s hardest difficulty setting is crushing, not brutal. But don’t take it too lightly, it can still bowl you over if you underestimate it. Without the tweak glitch to help out, you may think this will be a very difficult challenge. Thankfully, we are not completely without options.
Like its predecessors, this game also includes a bonus menu with options that you can unlock. The most important options are infinite ammo and slow motion. The former has obvious implications. Slow motion, however, makes a huge difference. Where precision matters, having more time to land shots is a boon. Difficult encounters can be easily boiled down to nothing with this combination.
Just watch out for the final boss fight. It can be a real doozy until you learn his attack patterns. Otherwise, simply implement the tried and true tips of all the Uncharted games: be patient and map out your moves. Expect some shenanigans in advance so you don’t get aggravated when something outrageous kills you. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End seems more stable than the previous games in that regard, but be vigilant. I certainly experienced a few unfair moments in my playthroughs.
While you’re here, try to get all the achievements that require specific chapters. There are 14 trophies that can be unlocked in this manner. The PSN Profiles trophy guide lays them out very nicely in the tips section. I defer to their explanation for those trophies, but they are mostly very easy to unlock.
Also, if you missed any collectibles in the previous stage, make sure to mop them up here. Easy enough. - Complete a combined speedrun and accuracy playthrough
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End includes one speedrun achievement in its base trophy set. In this title, the time to beat is six hours. It is often recommended to combine this trophy with the one that calls for maintaining more than 70% accuracy, as you will likely be skipping as many encounters as possible anyways. And, with the slow motion and infinite ammo modifiers, it is very easy to make this work. You can also enable lock-on aim in the accessibility settings if you need another boost.
I would share my speedrun times here as before, but unfortunately Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End does not record these in a leaderboard like the previous entries. The commonly cited checkpoint people share that suggests you’re on track is if you’ve reached Chapter 10 by 2 hours. There are two important things to not about this playthrough: cutscenes DO count toward your time, and restarting checkpoints DOES NOT give you time back. This is different from how the older games treated speedruns. So, do not reload checkpoints unless there is some catastrophe.
This game does not share your time on screen the same way it did in Uncharted 1-3. You can check your progress by pausing and going into the statistics menu. You can also check your accuracy in the menu as well. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
If you thought this section was rough in the older games, buckle up. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has a plethora of trophies that will all get lumped together here. Some will be familiar, but many will be novel.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. I’d be surprised if you haven’t gotten these already. In this title, you must get 50 headshots in total, and 20 while hanging from ropes. There are three trophies for this category.
There are three trophies that relate to stealth kills. This is done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get these achievements, you must do so successfully 30 times, as well as 30 times from the air. Find someone you can stealth kill easily, like in the bridge encounter of Chapter 8. Simply reload the checkpoint over and over until you get the trophy.
“Run-and-Gunner” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 50 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left. Just pick a level and have at it!
“Leapfrog” should sound familiar. Once again, you need to defeat 10 enemies in a row while switching between guns and melee. If you’re aware of the task, it isn’t so bad. Just avoid areas with armored enemies. Again, Chapter 8 is a good choice.
“Unstoppable!” is the “Survivor” of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. To earn this achievement, you need to defeat 100 enemies in a row without dying. This should be very simple on an easy difficulty, and I’d be surprised if it hasn’t happened during your speedrun playthrough.
The next trophy sounds scarier than it is. “Rushing Roulette” calls for defeating enemies with a pistol, machine gun, and grenade in that exact order in 15 seconds. That level of specificity is certainly intimidating. Just make sure you have all of these items equipped (you can do so in the bonus menu) and pick an encounter with many enemies and you’ll get it.
Similarly, “Run the Table” requires defeating enemies with a stealth attack, melee attack, headshot, and explosives in that exact order within 15 seconds. It’s definitely more difficult due to the time constraint and needing to maintain stealth at the start. You may find Chapter 8 or 10 to be good options again.
There are three trophies that are unlocked with various explosive conditions. These include making 10 enemies drop their grenades, defeating four enemies with the same explosion, and defeating 10 enemies in 60 seconds with the grenade launcher. You can make enemies drop their grenade the same way as the other Uncharted titles; simply shoot when they’re winding up. Like the earlier titles, there is a very easy way to get a large number of enemies with one explosion, and that’s in Chapter 20. In fact, that’s where you want to be for the China Lake trophy as well!
“Hitting a Brick Wall” is earned by defeating five armored enemies with melee only. The first trick is finding where these guys spawn. As has often been the case, Chapter 10 is a good spot for this. Go with a lower difficulty to spare Nathan Drake’s health.
“Wingman” is unlocked through a unique gameplay addition in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End: buddy combos. These happen when you melee enemies near your allies. Chapter 2 is a very popular recommendation for farming these.
This one’s a fun one. “Cliffhanger” requires players to pull 20 enemies over the edge while hanging from a ledge. It’s like a role reversal of Mufasa and Scar from Walt Disney’s The Lion King. This is very easily done during the evasion encounter in Chapter 7.
The final two trophies for this section are similar in their grandiosity. You need to defeat 1,000 enemies in total and you must find and use every gun in the game. The former you are likely to have gotten already, but the latter may have eluded you. There are 28 weapons on the list, and I’d recommend starting with the unusual ones: powder keg, explosive barrel, propane tank, turret, and dynamite. Otherwise, start going down the list of the weapons in the bonus menu and defeat enemies with each one.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Experience the story
This may not be your first rodeo, but I’d still recommend playing through Uncharted: The Lost Legacy for fun before you dive into its trophy hunt. It is the only Uncharted title to feature a female lead and that lends to some unique storytelling moments that are worth experiencing without anything annoying coloring your opinion of the game.
At this stage, you can pick whatever difficulty you are comfortable with, but I’d recommend the same level as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. If you really want to be efficient with your time, go straight to the next step instead. - Beat the game on hard and collect all of the things
After your first playthrough of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, it’s time to boost the difficulty and look for collectibles. In this game, that includes more than just treasures. It also includes tokens, photos, lockboxes, and optional conversations. This is the guide I would recommend to find everything cleanly. You can also track what you’ve missed and where in the main menu’s chapter select section.
Hard difficulty shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. I’ll give the same advice here as I did for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Skip cutscenes and take your time in rough sections. Try to learn how encounters play out to make the next step easier. - Beat the game on crushing and find all chapter specific objectives
Just like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, the hardest difficulty setting for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is crushing, not brutal. While this is a blessing, you will not have any tweak glitches to make things easier. However, there is one very important tool at our disposal.
Like its predecessors, this game also includes a bonus menu with options that you can unlock. Once again, the most important options are infinite ammo and slow motion. The former has obvious implications. Slow motion, however, makes a huge difference. Where precision matters, having more time to land shots is a boon. Difficult encounters can be easily boiled down to nothing with this combination. This holds just as true for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy as it did for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
The hardest part of this is probably the APC encounter in Chapter 6—that’s the fight against the large enemy vehicle in rainy terrain. Just equip a rocket launcher via the menu, activate infinite ammo if you haven’t already, and go to town.
Otherwise, simply implement the tried and true tips of all the Uncharted games: be patient and map out your moves. Expect some shenanigans in advance so you don’t get aggravated when something outrageous kills you. In my experience, this game seems the most polished, as I did not experience any major bugs or issues.
While you’re here, try to get all the achievements that require visiting specific chapters. There are 16 trophies that can be unlocked in this manner. The PSN Profiles trophy guide lays them out very nicely in the tips section. I defer to their explanation for those trophies, but they are mostly very easy to unlock.
Also, if you missed any collectibles in the previous stage, make sure to grab them now. You can check what you’ve missed in chapter select. - Complete a partial pacifist playthrough
Interestingly, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy does not include any speedrun or accuracy challenges among its trophy set. Instead, it fills that space with a completely different requirement: pacifism.
“The Way of the Warrior” is earned by playing from the game’s prologue through Chapter 5 without using any weapons or explosives, inside or outside of combat. As the trophy name suggests, the only allowable offense is your melee attack.
It goes without saying that playing on the lowest difficulty setting will make this achievement much easier to complete. Frankly, this isn’t hard to do at all, but it is time-consuming. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
As you may expect, this section for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will share a lot of similarities to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. As usual, there are many combat-related trophies that will all get lumped together here for lack of a better place to fit them. Some will be familiar, but many will not.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. In this title, you just need to land 10 in a row. This is very straightforward with the slow motion mechanic. While you’re doing that, try to defeat an enemy with the last bullet in a clip to get “Were You Counting?”
There are four trophies that relate to stealth kills. This is generally done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get these achievements, you need to do so 15 times in a row, as well as to 10 armored enemies in total. Chapter 8 is the place to go for this.
Beyond melee, you also need to break stealth and re-enter it successfully, and defeat five enemies in a row with the silenced pistol undetected. This is very simple to do. Load into one of the earlier chapter encounters and you’ll be set.
“Itchy Trigger Finger” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 20 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left. Just pick a level and have at it! You can also get “Stay and Pray” by defeating 20 enemies while blind-firing from cover, which is basically the same thing as hip-firing (only a little safer). Even better, you can combine these with the trophy “Bring in the Big Guns” to simplify things. Just equip gold weapons in particular and defeat 30 enemies with them!
“On the Grid” is a free achievement. It leverages a brand-new game mechanic that is reminiscent of the Assassin’s Creed series. All you need to do is mark 30 enemies by aiming and hitting the left stick. You almost certainly will have done this already in your previous playthroughs.
Like the last trophy, the next two trophies relate to a unique game mechanic to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. You should be well familiar with lockboxes after finding all of the collectibles in the game earlier. Now you just need to do one under duress. Specifically, “I Was Never Here” can be earned by opening a lockbox while enemies are nearby. Personally, I did this in the area with the APC encounter in Chapter 6. “Fingersmith” is earned by picking a three pin lock in under 15 seconds.
The next trophy sounds scarier than it is. “Make an Entrance” calls for defeating enemies with a vehicle, long-gun, melee, and grenade in that exact order in 20 seconds. That level of specificity is certainly intimidating. Chapter 3 is where you want to be. It may be helpful to check out a video of what to do to map out your route most efficiently. This is what I used.
Similarly, “4x4x4” requires defeating four enemies with the vehicle within 20 seconds. As you may expect, earlier levels are the best bet for this as the ground is more level and enemies are plentiful.
“The Sampler” is an interesting achievement. You must defeat five enemies, of which each one needs to be damaged by a handgun, long-gun, and melee. Like always, try for an earlier stage like Chapter 3 and avoid getting headshots.
There are three trophies that are unlocked by using C4 explosives. These include defeating 20 enemies with C4, defeating four enemies with the same C4 explosion, and defeating the APC with one explosion from multiple C4 charges. On the lowest difficulty, you only need two charges to defeat the APC. Just like Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, you’ll want to get the multiple kill trophy when enemies reinforcements arrive in a vehicle for consistency. You can do this in the same place as the APC fight in Chapter 6.
“Wingwoman” is earned by performing a unique gameplay addition in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy: buddy combos. These happen when you melee enemies near your allies. Chapter 5 is a very popular recommendation to farm these.
The final trophy for this section is unlocked by finding and using every gun in the game. There are 24 weapons on the list, of which only two cannot be equipped in the bonus menu. These are the turret (which should be irrelevant by now, as it is required in Chapter 9) and the DshK light machine gun, which can be found in Chapter 7.
The PlayStation Vita Titles
Although I haven’t played the PlayStation Vita titles personally (and do not intend to), I will briefly cover them here for the most hardcore of completionists. Unfortunately, that means you will get less of my colorful commentary.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Experience the story
My opinion on how to start an Uncharted game hasn’t changed yet—start by simply playing for the fun of the game. Enjoy the story and don’t worry about trophies yet. I’d start with normal difficulty, but if you’re confident you can always skip this step and just go straight for the next. Have fun with the only traditional handheld Uncharted game! - Beat the game on hard and get the collectibles
Enough with pleasure, let’s get to business. Increase the difficulty one notch and prepare to look for all the collectibles in the game. In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, there are quite a few. That’s why you’ll want a good guide.
Personally, I’d recommend this video guide. It has all the hallmarks of what I look for in visual resources for my own trophy hunts: one singular video with bookmarks (be gone, cursed playlists with intermittent removed videos), everything labeled and descriptive, and no unnecessary fluff. I’d be surprised if you were led astray by this video.
If you played the other Uncharted titles, you will have no issues with difficulty here. That said, Uncharted: Golden Abyss does not have any renowned glitch to make things easier, so you’re on your own this time. - Beat the game on crushing and grab anything you missed
Once again, you should increase the game difficulty up another level, to the highest one that this game offers: crushing. Enemies will be stronger, so you’ll have to be smarter to come out ahead. Cover is your best friend.
If you passed over any collectibles from the previous step, now is your time to grab them while you’re already here. You can check what you’re missing in the chapter select menu or the in-game menu when you’re loaded in specific chapters. Just take a look at the beginning of every chapter to verify that you’ve successfully nabbed every upcoming collectible. - Complete all bounties
Uncharted: Golden Abyss introduces a different dreaded trophy category to the series: RNG. Bounties are items that have a random chance of dropping from enemies in specific chapters. There are five distinct trophies for collecting these.
It has been confirmed by the game’s developers that difficulty contributes to drop rates, but it doesn’t seem to make a meaningful enough difference to warrant playing at a difficulty level that you’re not comfortable with.
If you need more guidance on the best farming locations for these elusive bounties, check out the PSN Profiles trophy guide for details. - Get all weapon kills
This is a familiar step for nearly every Uncharted title. In fact, it may even be on the higher end in terms of how many weapons are included. In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, you can earn 14 trophies for using particular weapons to defeat enemies.
These may be a bit more annoying than in previous entries, as there isn’t a bonus menu to allow players to summon whatever weapons they desire. That means you need to find them where they spawn within the world. Whatever weapons you still need at this point, I’d recommend finding their locations in the trophy guide linked in the previous step. - Get all miscellaneous combat trophies
There are nine trophies in Uncharted: Golden Abyss that relate to a number of unrelated combat feats. They can’t really be separated further, but they also don’t really fit into the other categories. These combat trophies include stealth, headshots, combos, and so on. I’ll go over each one. Note that some trophies are earned by virtue of earning another, and I won’t mention them expressly. For example, getting 100 headshots and getting 250 headshots.
Headshots are straightforward: they’re when you defeat an enemy with a gun by aiming for their head. I’d be surprised if you haven’t gotten these already. In this case, you must get 250 headshots in total. There are two trophies for this category.
Two trophies can be earned by hanging off ledges. “Hangman” is for defeating enemies with gunfire in this state and “Touch My Rear” is for using the PlayStation Vita’s rear touch pad in this state.
“Run-and-Gunner” is an easy one. You just need to defeat 20 enemies by firing from the hip. That means hitting the right trigger and not the left. Just pick a level and have at it if you haven’t already earned this.
Two trophies relate to something called the Steel Fist. In Uncharted, this is a technique where you injure an enemy with gunfire and then finish them off with a melee attack. It’s easier said than done, as it’s a bit clunky. You need to do it 10 times in a row (an astonishing task), and 20 times comprehensively. Chapter 9 is a good spot for this. Similarly, you need to defeat 50 enemies with melee for “Bare-knuckle Slugger”.
There is one trophy for getting stealth kills called “Master Ninja”. This is done by approaching enemies from behind and meleeing them. To get the achievement, you must do so successfully 50 times! Find a group of enemies you can stealth kill easily, then simply replay that chapter until you complete it.
Do we like doing a certain number of things in a row yet? Well, we’re not done. “Survivor” calls for the player to defeat 75 enemies in a row without perishing (including by platforming). This is actually not a big deal on the lower difficulties. Plus, your streak is retained when you reload checkpoints. Just start somewhere early on a lower difficulty and go until you unlock it. - Go out with a squawk!
If you’ve managed to get through all of the above steps in one piece, that means there should only be one trophy left. Don’t worry, this one is all in good fun.
“Ruffle My Feathers” is earned with the assistance of a bird of all things. Throughout Chapter 20, Jose Parrot will appear on-screen. You must tap him enough times to hear eight unique lines to get this trophy. Keep an eye out, as he can be tricky to spot.
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune is its very own beast in the Uncharted universe. While Uncharted: Golden Abyss does fit the mold of the typical console-forward Uncharted release despite being on the PlayStation Vita, this title is instead a complete departure. In Uncharted Fight for Fortune, you will be playing a card game!
I must warn you now: the platinum trophy for this game is completely unobtainable. The trophy “Kitty Got Wet” requires players to win one single online multiplayer match. Since the servers closed in 2019, this trophy became impossible to earn. If you still want to understand what the trophy hunt looks like, I will still humor you.
- Beat every character (optional: DLC characters)
Step #1 is simple: win a match against every character in the game. In Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, that includes 17 characters from the original Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune game. That’s all you need if you were interested in the platinum trophy/non-DLC stacks.
If you’d like to earn the DLC stack trophies, you should also defeat all of the extra characters from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, which include 12 characters and 8 characters respectively. - Max out the stars for every character (optional: DLC characters)
With an initial run through all of the characters in the game, you’ll now be well-suited to finish them off. Maxing out the stars sounds intimidating, but it’s really not. You just need to beat every character several more times. It’s time-consuming but not particularly difficult. Overall, you’re looking at just north of 80 victories in the base set and 70 victories for the DLC to earn the relevant trophies.
Once again, the DLC is optional if you’re only interested in the platinum trophy, or at the very least the base set of trophies. - Check out customization options
This is a freebie. “Change it Up” is unlocked once you change your faction deck, avatar, card backing and background. This can be done via the various menus in the game, including the options menu. That’s it! - Play online
There is but one trophy remaining in Uncharted: Fight for Fortune at this point: “Kitty Got Wet”. All you have to do is win an online match… Which wouldn’t be so bad, if you could still find someone to play with you in the first place. As I warned at the start of this section, this trophy is now completely unobtainable as online servers were taken down years ago.
A Word on Version Differences
I have never played the Uncharted games on the PlayStation 3. That’s why this article is written through the lens of the PlayStation 4 remasters of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The PlayStation 3 versions share many similarities, however, there are important differences worth noting.
The PlayStation 3 versions of the original Uncharted trilogy have additional trophies not covered here. The older versions of the games have multiplayer modes with trophies that were stripped from the remasters. All the Extended Collection and speedrun trophies are exclusive to the PlayStation 4 versions of the games.
In just a few words, the PlayStation 4 list is not analogous to the PlayStation 3 list; there are additions, removals, and reworked elements in the trophy sets of each title.
Similarly, the PlayStation 5 version of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End also shares differences with the PlayStation 4 title. The most notable of which being the removal of an insanely time-consuming multiplayer trophy stack that adds 50-100+ hours of time.
My Trophy Hunting Experience
The years-long journey I’ve shared with Uncharted feels like an expedition with highs and lows. I started the series nearly 10 years ago, and had so many good memories. The initial playthroughs of each title were such incredible fun, and were exactly what I needed them to be at the time that I played them.
Trophy hunting, however, was another story. Back before I claimed that title, I was a completionist in everything but name. That meant I popped into Uncharted fairly regularly, every year or two, and tried to knock out some of the achievements. As a novice, it was beyond the level of effort I was willing to put into it. Uncharted is absolutely not a series for a weak-willed or new trophy hunter. If not for difficulty, then for the inhumane number of repeat playthroughs.
When I returned to the series in 2025 determined to put it to rest, I basically needed to clean up all five games from scratch. I initially played every game on normal difficulty, and with my model that meant I played each one four times (hard, crushing, brutal, speedrun). While I originally tried to skip the hard playthrough and go straight to crushing, I experienced enough frustration in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune that I decided to take it slower. Yet, you can imagine how so many experiences can start to drag.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was a fine entry into the series. From a trophy hunting perspective, I don’t recall experiencing too many issues. The “Blue Room” in Chapter 5 very nearly ended me, and was why I switched my tune on crushing difficulty out of the gate. I also despised the Steel Fist trophies, which never worked consistently with the bigger enemies. Surprisingly, the speedrun was actually the highlight for me, as I had a lot of fun going fast.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has always been my favorite Uncharted title. It introduces one of my favorite characters, Chloe, and had more kinetic action without heavy loading cutscenes. Frankly, I trucked along with only minor scrapes in this title that were solved with another try or two. You can’t help getting ganked by surprised enemies on higher difficulties, but that’s just a fact of life here. The most annoying aspect of trophy hunting for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was making sure that the game didn’t update past version 1.00, as it happens in a flash.
You could probably tell from my descriptions earlier, but Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception was the down swing for me. I didn’t like the story, the set pieces (please never show me a desert again), the gameplay, the supernatural twist, the trophy set… I struggle to think of a compliment specifically for this title. Horses?
Anyway, my personal feelings certainly colored over my enjoyment of trophy hunting for it. All the focus on melee, especially on brutal difficulty where mistakes can end your entire lineage in seconds, left my thumb very sore. Clunky gameplay that gets you sucked into melee when you’re trying to roll away is the worst, and I can’t count how many times that sent me back to checkpoint. I’d expect this title to be deeply infuriating for many trophy hunters.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was a breath of fresh air for me after the fairly similar trophy hunting runs of the original trilogy of games. There were a lot of unique twists that added more flavor, like discovering every weapon and even playing a Crash Bandicoot level. The gameplay definitely felt leveled up, and the slow-down time mechanic was greatly appreciated and made many of the trophies easy work.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy happened to be more of the same good qualities of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, just with two characters I adore leading the charge. It was interesting how much of the trophy hunting experience was consumed with reloading checkpoints versus playing through the story, as I’d grown accustomed to from the first three games. Again, the slow-down time mechanic was huge. This title was an excellent way to round out the Uncharted trophy hunting experience.
I can’t speak much on the PlayStation Vita titles, as I have not sought to trophy hunt in them myself. It is possible that I may go for Uncharted: Golden Abyss in the future, but almost certainly not Uncharted: Fight for Fortune as things stand. I’m sure most trophy hunters wouldn’t be interested in grabbing a new game with an unachievable trophy set!
Overall, I think the Uncharted games are not easy. Yes, the tweak glitch can make a big difference, but even with them these titles still represent a high level of commitment. There were times where I got angry and had to step away for a few minutes. And don’t even get me started on that asinine section in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (you know the one). I’d recommend most gamers simply play the series casually to experience the story, and only go for the achievements if the games meant something to you.
Reflection
Nathan Drake’s travels are extensive. Although Naughty Dog has said we’re done with his story, is it really the end of the Uncharted series? There was such a colorful cast of characters to draw inspiration from that it would be a shame not to explore more of their world.
Are you holding out hope that there may be more Uncharted games to trophy hunt in the future? Or have you had enough for a lifetime? Let us know in the comments if you made it this far. If you’re still not satisfied with this much reading, check out another deep dive article, this time on the Danganronpa series.
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