Spanning five games across three generations of PlayStation consoles, the Uncharted series boasts one of the most colorful casts in video gaming. That holds for its heroes, but also its villains, as well.
While many of those who've gone up against Nathan Drake and his allies have managed to be compelling, exciting antagonists, others have made less of an impact, or have fallen short of the series' high bar. That said, how do they all stack up in comparison?
The second-in-command of Nadine Ross's private military company Shoreline, the oddly-named Orca betrayed his boss upon being bought out by Rafe Adler, and went on to nearly kill Nadine in Lost Legacy.
Orca has very few lines in Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy, and because of that, not only flies under the radar but also has very little presence as a villain for the series, but his appearance in both games is enough for him to make the list.
Never trust the people Sully owes money to, it seems. Gabriel Roman ends up following Sully and Nate to get what's owed to him, and then forces Sully to work for him to help find the fabled El Dorado in the first Uncharted.
Evil British villain is by itself cliché, and there's nothing about Roman that differentiates him from being just a trope. It also doesn't help that he only appears in cutscenes, meaning players genuinely have no interaction with him.
Why was he even in Uncharted if Navarro already had mercenaries at his disposal? Why did Roman feel the need to hire Eddy's pirates in the first place?
Eddy has some occasional memorable moments with his interactions with Drake, and getting to team up to take down the Descendants is noteworthy, but in the end, there's not much about him aside from being high-energy and a borderline stereotype, but at least the players get to deal with him.
Drake wasn't kidding when he tells Elena that a Panamanian prison is no laughing matter. In Uncharted 4, Vargas is introduced as an antagonist, then a bought-off ally who wants in on the loot, and finally a villain once more when he learns he's been lied to.
While Vargas is definitely one of Uncharted's most wasted characters, that doesn't take away from what he gives when he is on screen. He's a man who holds to no principles and is willing to make the best of bad circumstances.
A former doctor who now leads an insurgency force and with plans to start a revolution in The Lost Legacy, Asav initially appears as a copy of every other Uncharted villain. However, it eventually becomes apparent that he wants the treasure simply to fund his fight, not because of its cultural significance.
Asav is a physically powerful antagonist with something besides money driving him, but at the same time, he fails to have the charisma found in many other Uncharted villains.
Rameses is one of the most likable of Uncharted villains, able to be bought off but, like Vargas, willing to do what benefits him the most. Which is why he doesn't kill Nate like he was ordered to do by Katherine Marlowe.
While his section of Uncharted 3 feels pointless upon replay, Rameses combines the high-energy of Eddy Raja with the morality of Vargas, and manages to be both intimidating and welcoming at the same time, as shown when he interrogates Nate.
If action games have a type, it's young, strong men, which is what makes Marlowe so unique. In Uncharted 3, she is not only older, but also the first female antagonist of the series, and unlike her predecessors, she relies on psychology to achieve her aims.
Between her secret society and her ability to get inside Nate's head, Marlowe is unique among the Uncharted villains, even if she isn't as memorable as her second-in-command, Talbot.
One of Uncharted's boldest moves was the bait-and-switch between the antagonists, with Navarro betraying Roman and becoming the real final threat that Nate has to deal with.
Navarro somehow knows that El Dorado holds an ancient virus inside it, and plans to sell it as a biological weapon, which not only makes him a more vile character, but also a bigger threat: if Roman got his treasure, so what? But if the bug escapes, the whole world is in danger.
Many fans of the game dismiss Rafe Adler as a simple trust fund kid who managed to get in on the action because of his money, but it's also that attribute of the character that makes him one of the better villains of the series.
In his climactic final fight with Nate, Adler reveals that he's after Avery's treasure because he wants to prove himself, to earn something on his own, and to show up Nate, whom he perceives as a rival. Between that complex motivation, his ruthlessness, and his unlimited wealth, he's a standout threat.
With a sequel comes more of everything, and Harry seems at first to be another Drake, but he's far from that. In Uncharted 2, Flynn enlists Nate for a heist, then betrays him, and spends the rest of the game serving Lazarević.
Harry is more than just a reflection of what Drake could become without morality; he's also charismatic, with every appearance in the game giving a chance for him to both banter and threaten the main characters. Somehow, he's able to do those two simultaneously, and it's so much fun to watch.
Saying that Talbot is a great villain is apparently an unpopular Uncharted opinion on Reddit. The mononymous Talbot is feverishly loyal to Katherine Marlowe in Uncharted 3, and not only runs the organization on the ground, but is able to hold his own in a fight, and is adept at using mind games and even a mind-control drug to execute his mission.
Talbot is a good villain. Essentially a magician, he is seemingly shot and miraculously healed, is able to disappear in seconds, and can even take over the minds of Drake and his allies. Guns are one thing, but making the mind work against itself is a whole new frontier.
Nadine is the secondary antagonist of Uncharted 4, with her company Shoreline having been hired by Rafe to back him up in his quest to find Henry Avery's pirate treasure.
Nadine provides a physical match for Nate and Sam simultaneously in Uncharted 4, and is the only villain who manages to recognize how foolish the quest has become by the end of the game. She is also the only villain of the franchise who reforms and actually becomes a main character, and one of Uncharted's most likable characters at that.
Of course, it's hard to beat Zoran Lazarević, Uncharted 2's primary antagonist. Like all main Uncharted villains, he has an army of goons at his disposal, but he is by far the most brutal, killing one henchman for stealing and another to eliminate Nate's bargaining power in a standoff.
His final fight with Nate, while he is empowered by the mystical tree sap, is thrilling the entire way through, as well. Only when he is killed does Lazarević cease to be an intimidating presence, an aspect so notable that Dolph Lundgren was fan-cast as him for an Uncharted movie. Between his design and his actions, Lazarević is the best villain of the entire series.
