Uncharted: Golden Abyss

The first spin-off of the series, released in 2012.

The story is set some time before the events of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and begins in medias res with Nathan Drake following rival explorer Jason Dante through a temple complex in Panama. Dante has ordered his army of mercenaries to kill Drake on sight, and after a series of gunfights, the platform Drake is climbing is hit by an RPG.

The game then flashes back two weeks, when Drake and Dante, revealed to be old friends, arrive at a dig site in Panama headed by Dante’s „partner” Marisa Chase, who doesn’t trust him. At the site, they find corpses of Spanish conquistadors that were apparently poisoned and a grave marker with a Visigoth symbol. Chase also shows Drake an amulet that she hid from Dante. The dig is then interrupted by Dante’s real partner, warlord Roberto Guerro. Guerro captures Drake and Chase, however they escape Guerro’s base after Chase starts a diversionary fire.

They then go to the house of her grandfather Vincent Perez, who found the amulet at the site. Perez hired Dante to conduct further research after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Dante paid off Guerro for access to the site in return for a share of the treasure that Guerro will use to fund his conflict. Chase arrived at the site herself hoping to finish Perez’s work. Upon returning to Perez’s study, they learn that the marker referred to the Sete Cidades, an ancient Christian sect dedicated to finding the Seven Cities of Gold. Friar Marcos de Niza, a member of the sect, had led Coronado’s expedition to find the city of Cíbola, also known as Quivira, only to find the villages of the Zuni.

Following further clues, one referring to a „Sword of Stephen”, they follow Perez’s trail to a ruined Sete Cidades retreat. They find Perez, who succumbed to his illness, as well as evidence that leads Drake to suspect that de Niza had deliberately misled Coronado for reasons unknown. Drake then follows the ruins to a crypt that contains the Sword of Stephen – the personal sword of Esteban, de Niza’s guide; however, they are interrupted by Dante, who had followed them with Guerro.

Guerro takes the sword and Chase after pushing Dante off a balcony for insulting him. Drake reluctantly teams up with Dante to escape the ruins and Guerro’s army, but are unable to stop Guerro from escaping with her. Dante decides to hire an army of mercenaries to rescue Chase and avenge himself on Guerro, and the two part ways after Drake objects. Although hesitant at first, Drake convinces Victor „Sully” Sullivan to help him find Chase and finish Perez’s work. The two follow a map made from the charcoal rubbings of symbols found on the sword to a temple complex believed to house the entrance to Quivira. There they witness and fight through a battle between Dante’s mercenaries and Guerro’s men. Sully is injured in a fall, forcing Drake to continue by himself.