Golden Abyss is the fourth game in the Uncharted series and the first one for a handheld device. The story is set before the original Uncharted, when Nathan Drake did not yet get acquainted with Elena, but works together with his old pal Victor Sullivan from previous Uncharted games.

The story follows Drake to the ancient temples somewhere in Central America in search for gold. His partner in this endeavor is Jason Dante, a crook, perhaps, but Nathan has no reason to doubt him even though they aren't closest of friends. Nathan is an expert in this kind of stuff, and Dante needs him to find the lost treasure. After some climbing and trespassing, the two of them meet up with Dante's partner Marisa Chase. She is in it for more than just gold... her grandfather went missing while searching for this treasure and she is hoping to find him still alive, or at least find out what's happened to him. But this is a dangerous jungle swarming with the local guerrilla led by Roberto Guerro. This general is also eager to find out the treasure as he believes it will fund his army and help him in his fight. As such, he sees our heroes only as a means to an end, and if they're not useful in search for the gold, he won't hesitate to execute them.

While the overall gameplay is similar to the previous titles, Golden Abyss introduces some PS Vita-specific features. While climbing or descending, you can tap the nearby ledge or draw a path to see Nathan do all the jumping on his own. A similar mechanic is used during hand-to-hand combat and quick-time events where you need to swipe the screen in the designated direction to perform a certain move. Aside from the touch screen, the PlayStation Vita's camera can also be used to photograph and identify various locales. The image of locales in each area can be found in Nathan's diary.

Each area contains various treasures, some which cannot be found unless you cut down dense jungle in front of it. Nathan keeps track of all the collected treasure in his diary, as well as the list of all still missing ones. Certain tablets or markings won't be pickable, but you'll be able to make their impression of the paper by using screen swiping technique. While some gems and stones are simply collectibles, there are certain items that provide an insight into what happened to Marisa's grandfather or the path he took.