You probably think you’ve played every scrap of Uncharted out there. You’ve climbed the mountains in Tibet, survived the sinking cruise ship, and watched Nathan Drake settle into a suspiciously nice beach house in the epilogue of A Thief’s End. But there is this weird, often forgotten piece of the puzzle called the Uncharted Eye of Indra.
It isn't a game. Not exactly.
Back in 2009, right before Uncharted 2: Among Thieves blew the doors off the industry, Naughty Dog released this four-part motion comic. It was a prequel. Honestly, it was a bit of an experiment to see if fans would bite at transmedia storytelling. Most people missed it because it was buried on the PlayStation Store or tucked away as a pre-order bonus. If you weren't scouring the PSN back then, you likely have no idea it exists, which is a shame because it’s actually the first time we meet some pretty heavy hitters in the Drake mythos.
What is the Eye of Indra anyway?
Basically, the Uncharted Eye of Indra is a motion comic that takes place before the events of Drake's Fortune. It’s short. You can probably breeze through the whole thing in under thirty minutes if you find the compiled versions online.
The story centers on Nate being broke. Again. He’s in Indonesia, trying to raise enough cash to fund the expedition for Sir Francis Drake’s coffin—the very thing that kicks off the first game. He gets roped into a job by a guy named Daniel Pinkerton. Pinkerton is your classic Uncharted villain: rich, arrogant, and obsessed with a singular treasure. In this case, it’s the Eye of Indra, a set of three amulets.
What makes this more than just a cheap cash-in is the cast. You’ve got Nolan North back as Nate, obviously. But this is also the "official" introduction of Eddy Raja. Before he was getting chased by cursed Spaniards in the Amazon, he was Nate’s reluctant, hot-headed partner in Jakarta.
The Eddy Raja Connection
If you love the banter in these games, the dynamic between Nate and Eddy here is gold. It’s messy. Eddy is a loose cannon, and Nate is clearly just using him for his resources. It adds so much flavor to their interactions in the first game. When Eddy shows up in Drake's Fortune screaming about how Nate owes him, he’s not just talking about some vague history. He’s talking about the absolute disaster that was the hunt for the Uncharted Eye of Indra.
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There’s also Rika Raja. She’s Eddy’s sister.
She’s smart. She’s dangerous. She is arguably one of the most capable characters in the entire franchise, yet she never appears in the main games. Why? Well, without spoiling the ending of a fifteen-year-old comic, let’s just say Rika understands the "thief" part of being a treasure hunter better than almost anyone else Nate meets. She’s the one who really drives the plot of the Uncharted Eye of Indra forward.
Why the Motion Comic Format?
Back in 2009, Sony was pushing the PSP and the "Digital Comics" app. It was a weird time for tech. The Uncharted Eye of Indra was meant to showcase this. It’s not a cartoon. It’s static panels from artists like Marco Castiello, but with "motion" effects—camera pans, mouth movements, and 3D layering.
It feels a little dated now.
Some of the animations are a bit jilted. It’s sort of like watching a puppet show made of high-end concept art. But the voice acting carries it. Having the actual game cast record the lines makes it feel "canon" in a way a standard tie-in book usually doesn't. You hear Nate’s specific brand of sarcasm, and it immediately clicks.
The Plot: Not Your Average Treasure Hunt
Nate is trying to steal the Eye of Indra from Pinkerton’s safe.
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He fails.
It’s actually a recurring theme in the Uncharted Eye of Indra. Nate isn't the invincible superhero he sometimes feels like in the later games. He’s a guy who makes mistakes. He gets captured. He gets tortured (briefly). He has to rely on his wits and a very shaky alliance with the Raja siblings to survive.
The stakes aren't world-ending. Nobody is trying to unleash a magical plague or find a city made of gold to fund a private army. It’s a heist. A small-scale, dirty, back-alley heist. This smaller scope makes the characters feel more human. You see the desperation that leads Nate to the events of the first game. It bridges the gap between "guy with a map" and "legendary explorer."
The Treasure Itself
The Eye of Indra consists of three amulets:
- The Path of the Mind
- The Path of the Body
- The Path of the Soul
When combined, they reveal the location of a much larger stash of treasure. Pinkerton already has two; Nate has to find the third. It’s a classic MacGuffin structure, but the way it plays out is surprisingly cynical for an Uncharted story. There’s no "greater good" here. Everyone is just out for themselves.
Why You Should Care Today
If you’re an Uncharted completionist, the Uncharted Eye of Indra is the "missing link." It explains the bad blood with Eddy Raja. It explains where Nate got the seed money for his boat. It also introduces a layer of the criminal underworld in the Uncharted universe that the games usually gloss over in favor of grand adventure.
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Honestly, the art style is pretty fantastic. Even if the animation is a bit stiff, the character designs are sharp. It captures that gritty, humid atmosphere of Jakarta perfectly. It’s also one of the few times we see Nate working without Sully for a significant period. It shows us what Nate looks like when he doesn't have a mentor to rein him in. He's a bit more reckless. A bit more prone to trusting the wrong people.
Where to find it now
Finding the Uncharted Eye of Indra officially is getting harder. It was originally released in episodes on the PlayStation Store. Since Sony has moved on through several generations of consoles and store updates, your best bet is actually YouTube or the "Nathan Drake Collection" on PS4/PS5.
In the remastered collection, Naughty Dog actually included the motion comic as a bonus feature.
- Boot up the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.
- Look in the "Rewards" or "Extras" menu.
- You should be able to watch all four episodes back-to-back.
It’s the best way to see it. The resolution is bumped up, and you don’t have to deal with the clunky 2009 interface.
The Legacy of Indra
Does it change the way you play the games? Maybe not. But it enriches the world. When you hear Eddy Raja yelling at you from the top of a fort in the middle of a jungle, you'll know exactly why he's so pissed. You'll know that Nate once tried to play him, and it didn't go well.
The Uncharted Eye of Indra reminds us that the series wasn't always about massive set pieces and collapsing buildings. At its heart, it was always about a group of charming, untrustworthy people trying to outsmart each other.
If you have thirty minutes to kill before your next playthrough of Among Thieves, go find the Uncharted Eye of Indra. It’s a tiny, vibrant slice of gaming history that deserves a bit more love than it gets.
Actionable Steps for Fans:
- Check your PS4/PS5 Collection: Open the "Extras" menu in the Nathan Drake Collection to see if you already own the HD version of the comic.
- Watch for the Voice Actors: Pay attention to the chemistry between Nolan North and Simon Templeman (who plays Pinkerton); it’s a masterclass in voice acting for the era.
- Contextualize Eddy Raja: Re-play the "Trapped" chapter in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune immediately after watching to see how the dialogue hits differently.
- Explore the Artwork: Look up the work of Marco Castiello, the lead artist, to see the original high-res panels that haven't been compressed for the motion effects.