Nathan Drake seeks El Dorado in the first Uncharted game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
The adventure begins when Drake discovers the coffin and diary of his supposed ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. The diary points toward El Dorado, the legendary golden place that has fascinated explorers for centuries. Nathan, journalist Elena Fisher, and treasure hunter Victor Sullivan follow the clues from Panama into the Amazon and eventually to a remote island in the South Pacific.
A common mix-up is calling El Dorado a city. In the game’s story, Drake eventually learns that El Dorado is not a city of gold but a large golden idol representing “the Golden Man.” The statue has been moved repeatedly, leaving behind a trail of Spanish, Nazi, and modern clues.
The game also blends the El Dorado legend with a fictional biological-horror twist: the idol is connected to a deadly virus that transforms its victims. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was released for PlayStation 3 in 2007 and established the series’ formula of cinematic action, puzzles, exploration, and historical mysteries.