Tag: lara-croft

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)- Game Perspective/Review

Adam1 Comment

Lara Croft was given her next entry in 2018 with the release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. This acted as a sequel to 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider and the 12th main installment in the Tomb Raider franchise, as well as the third and final entry of the Survivor trilogy. However, this time around, the game would NOT be made by Crystal Dynamics, in large part due to their commitment to Marvel’s Avengers. It would be Eidos-Montreal taking over developing duties with Square Enix Europe publishing the game. Crystal Dynamics did offer full support during the making of the game.

Development for Shadow of the Tomb Raider began shortly after the completion of Rise of the Tomb Raider, lasting until July 2018. It was designed to be the conclusion to Lara’s journey that started with the 2013 reboot, with a key theme being descent both through the jungle environment and into her personality. The setting and narrative was based on Mayan and Aztec mythologies, with the team consulting historians to create the architecture and accurately portray the people of Paititi. The gameplay was adjusted based on both fan feedback from the previous two games and the additions that Eidos-Montreal wanted to incorporate, most notably swimming and grappling while increasing difficulty tailoring. The game cost an estimated of 110 to 135 million dollars to make, making it one of the most expensive games ever made.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on September 14th, 2018, later releasing on the Linux, macOs, and Stadia in November 2018. The game did receive generally positive reviews but not nearly on the same level as the previous two games. While it was praised for putting more emphasis on the challenge tombs and puzzles, others have felt that the gameplay for this rebooted set of games had gotten stale and no longer have any innovation to boot. Despite the initial slow sales, the game would eventually sell nearly nine million copies worldwide, a total of 8.9 million to be exact.

When it comes to the three games of the Survivor trilogy, Shadow is probably the one that I remember the least. At the time it came out, I was still on cloud nine with Marvel’s Spider-Man and didn’t pay much attention to this game, despite being a big fan of the first two games. I did Redbox the game back when they still had games you could rent and never went back to it after that. I was able to get the game for free when it came out for the PlayStation Plus. For what I recall, I was rather lukewarm against the game. I enjoyed it well enough but felt it didn’t hold a candle to it’s predecessors.

Now that plenty of time has passed and I’ve gone back to the game since, how does Shadow of the Tomb Raider hold up now? Let’s find out!

Story:

Taking places months after the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and her friend Jonah have dedicated themselves to stop the Trinity from doing any possible damage to the world. The two track trinity to the city of Cozumel, Mexico, uncovering an operation that was led by the head of Trinity’s High Council, Pedro Dominguez. Upon investigating the city’s tombs, Lara uncovers a dagger, which references a hidden city and a “silver box”. Despite the dagger being accompanied by murals portraying a Mayan apocalypse, Lara ignores the warnings and takes the dagger. However, she is captured by Dominguez and takes the dagger, informing Lara that her actions have triggered a series of events that will to the Mayan apocalypse that is referred to as “The Cleansing”. An apocalypse that Trinity believes would bring an end to the Sun. Dominguez states that he will bring a stop to The Cleansing and remake the world in his image with the power of the dagger and silver box.

The first strike with this upcoming apocalypse starts with a tsunami that destroys Cozumel. Lara and Jonah are able to survive but their actions cost the homes and lives of the townspeople. Tensions rises between the pair which Lara insists on going after Trinity and the box on her own. Jonah, however, refuses, and demands that they stay to help the townspeople. The first cataclysm of the apocalypse begins with a tsunami destroying Cozumel. Lara and Jonah are able to escape, but tensions between the pair rise as Lara insists on going after Trinity and the box, versus Jonah’s desire to help the townspeople. Despite the pair on the verge of breaking, the two track down Dominguez to the Amazon.

It’s then that the mission with Lara and Jonah is clear: stop Dominguez and Trinity from trying to rebuild the world or all of their missions against the trinity will be for nothing. As the journey goes on, Lara becomes more unhinged as she discovers more about the Trinity and the ties to her past. If her mission is successful, Lara Croft will at long last become known as the definite Tomb Raider.

When looking at the story for Shadow of the Tomb Raider as a whole, it’s a frustratingly mixed bag. It contains both the very best and very worst plot aspects of the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise. Shadow is confirmed to have different writers compared to the previous two games and it’s clear as daylight, much like how it was noticeable that Arkham Knight had different writers compared to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. While this story might have worked strongly as it’s own thing, it’s biggest downfall is trying to tie it in to previous two games, making the entire foundation of the Survivor trilogy collapses within itself.

Remember that James Bond film that came out a number of years ago called Spectre? Much like Shadow, that was an entry into the franchise that tried to tie everything together from the previous Daniel Craig films, to have the film acted as some sort of culmination of the rebooted 007 films thus year. However, because it was obvious this was not planned out from day one, it didn’t work in the slightest because of how little the connections made any sense in the grand scheme of things. Instead of expanding upon the world of James Bond, it just made that world feel much smaller and carry less weight than before.

That’s something that the story of Shadow of the Tomb Raider unfortunately falls victim too. In it’s attempt to tie the villain clan of The Trinity to the previous two games, making it feel like they were the ones behind the troubles that Lara has gone through during this entire trilogy, it makes everything the game attempts to expand upon feel very contrived and unnatural in every way. Not only introducing a number of retcons to the previous games in an attempt to connect what was previously interconnective plotlines, but it makes The Trinity as a whole comes across as rather stupid and not as threatening as before.

The only real moments that work with The Trinity is when they try to guilt trip Lara into the troubles she caused up to this point. The fact that she has killed and slaughtered so many people and found herself chasing her own footsteps basically makes her no different to her enemy counterpart. That in of itself plays a role in Lara’s arc where she is much more unhinged than rather before, making her feel a bit like a villain in some cases. While that might put off die hard fans that always see Lara as a hero who rarely does much evil, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is actually able to make that story aspect work more than it should.

Speaking of which, if there is one thing that the story of Shadow does rather well, it’s wrapping up the story arc of Lara Croft respectively. If you take away the rather forced connections with the previous two games regarding The Trinity, the main development for how main character feels rather whole by the end of the game, making it really feel like Lara at long last has become the true Tomb Raider. It’s a similar fashion as to how satisfying it felt for Peter Parker to finally become the true Spider-Man by the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Even if the overall arc was a slow burn and occasionally rather muddled, it all feels worth it by the end with the way we see our main protagonist develop and changed throughout the course of three installments.

It’s especially interesting to see Lara be more expressive and unhinged this time around, sometimes letting her emotions get the better of here. You really get the sense that Lara has all the pressure in the world on her shoulders here and can not afford any more screw ups. There is no effort to paint Lara Croft as a flawless goddess who can do no wrong. Even if she is given as much plot armor as a video game could provide, she does still have her faults and obstacles that she must overcome. If there is one saving grace to the overall story, it is exactly what is done with Lara Croft herself here.

I still can’t help but wish they just brought back Rhianna Pratchett to write the story as she did with previous games. At least then, the story would have felt more cohesive and you likely wouldn’t have these forced tie-ins and unneeded retcons to make the story work. If this was it’s own thing or even the first chapter of the trilogy, it would have fared much better. But to have a climax which feels the needed to introduce several things, disregarded several things from the previous installments, and then tries to tie all of those things at once, it makes the storytelling feel rather clunky and just messy all around. While Shadow deserves credit for bringing it’s main iconic gaming heroine to the finish line by the end, there are PLENTY of trips and falls along the way that make the whole ride feel more bumpy than it should have been.

Gameplay:

As with the previous two games, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a third person action-adventure game where you take control of Lara Croft as she explore environments across Mexico and Peru. There is also a large hub in the hidden city of Paititi,  In these hubs, Lara can raid challenge tombs to unlock new rewards, complete side missions, and scavenge for resources which can be used to craft useful materials.

The gameplay have been giving numerous adjustments along with a few new features. Like it’s predecessors, the game allows players to hunts wild animals, craft materials using resources collected, solves puzzles, and seek out optional tombs and side guests. Shadow in particular features large tombs and more complex puzzles than before in this reboot series. The kind of tombs and puzzles you will have to think for yourself in order to solve it or just cop out and watch a YouTube video on it. That in of itself should make Shadow of the Tomb Raider the most faithful of the new rebooted Tomb Raider games by design. However, there is definitely more to it.

The controls for swimming have been revised, as Lara is able to hold her breath underwater for a longer period of time thanks to the inclusion of air pockets. She has the ability to rappel down a cliff using her climbing axe and rope. Stealth is more important here than before, as Lara is able to disengage from combat when she escapes from enemies’ line of sight by camouflaging herself in mud, hiding in bushes, or blending into densely vegetated surfaces. There’s also a new barter system that allows players to trade and sell various resources gathered from the areas surrounding Paititi. It’s these kind of adjustments and additions that make Shadow of the Tomb Raider stand out in the best and worst ways possible.

Players have the option to tailor their gameplay experience in combat, puzzles, and exploration with their own difficulty settings. An Immersion Mode enables players to hear the background conversations of the locals in their native languages, when turned off the conversations are heard in the players’ chosen voice over language.

Concept wise, the gameplay should stand out as the very best of the rebooted trilogy. The combat is much more toned down compared to the previous two games, there has been much extra time giving to the puzzle solving and exploration, and there are more challenge tombs to raid then ever before. Yet, there is something that feels a bit off about it.

There is certainly nothing here that is inherently broken or even bad. The controls work exactly the way they are suppose to, the combat is fun during the moments you are encountering enemies, it’s nice to see Lara exploring these multiple different cults and regions, and solving puzzle and tomb certainly require strategy which you would have to think the tactics instead of just mindlessly running and jumping your way through. Oddly enough, it’s the new adjustments that Eidos-Montreal makes here that kinda hinders the game rather than expanding upon it.

You have the upgrade system that is more convoluted than before, taking forever for certain systems to upgrade and feeling way too scattershot. You have a combat and stealth system that are way too tweaked to the point of it feeling rather dumbed down instead of feeling like a legit progression from the previous two games. You have platforming segments and set pieces that are competently put together but lack the cinematic and shock factor of the previous two games. You are given more challenge tombs but they can really muddled with the pacing of beating the main campaign, to the point where going after them feels like a slog and will just slow you down entirely. And you have action sequences that feel too restricted for the first two thirds of the game and only really deliver fully until the last third of the game. For every step forward that the gameplay of Shadow of the Tomb Raider takes, it then takes an immediate step backward.

You really do get a sense that the Crystal Dynamics that made the previous two games were not fully in charge with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It’s clear that Eidos-Montreal wanted to put their own stamp on the series while embracing many aspects of the first two games. However, just like the story, it feels more like they have to disregarded certain aspects to make that happen, making the experience feel much more muddled than what obviously was attended. If this had been the first game in the reboot series, these flaws might be more acceptable. But after two fantastic games where the gameplay was as smooth and polished as it were, the standards have been held so high that Shadow just can’t reach it.

That’s not to say the gameplay of Shadow of the Tomb Raider is bad in general. It’s definitely competent, playable, and even fun in most areas. However, after the previous two games were able to deliver all of that and more, there is something that leaves much more to be desired here. While certain above average for a main triple A modern game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider definitely feels much more average to below average compared to Tomb Raider (2013) to Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Graphics:

Graphically, the game is just as impressive as it’s predecessors, if not more so in a number of areas. This is probably one of the best looking games of the generation. The attention to texture is on full display, especially with how realistic the mud looks on Lara. The way that the mud moves and leaves trails whenever Lara looks is as convincing as a mud trail has ever looked in a video game. I didn’t think anything could top the snow and water looks of Rise of the Tomb Raider but I was dead wrong.

The motion capture work is very strong as well, clearly being as up to date with technology as you could imagine, helping making the characters movements and animations look as realistic as possible. Although, I kinda wish they didn’t change Lara’s facial expressions and models that much. She looks good but feel more pale and average looking compared to the first two games, almost what you would expect her to look back in 2013 but NOT in 2018. I still think that Lara’s model in Rise of the Tomb Raider was the way to go.

Sound:

Similar to the first two games, Shadow of the Tomb Raider had a different composer at the helm in Brian D’Oliveria. I guess the approach for the Survivor trilogy was to bring in multiple composers that could bring their own voice to the score with each individual installment. Sadly, Shadow has probably the weakest soundtrack of the three games. There was hardly any track that stood out in the ways that they did with the first two games. Not even familiar tracks from the previous two games make a presence here. Instead of the music pumping me way and giving me a much needed energy boost along the way, it does nothing more than just create sound during sequences that need it.

The voice acting and motion capture performances, on the other hand, is terrific. Camilla Luddington gives perhaps her best performance to date as Lara Croft. Thanks to the script giving her more emotional and dramatic moments to act out and the motion capture being as good as they ever been, you can feel Camilla’s facial expressions, emotions, and presence throughout every scene that she is in. Earl Babylon as Jonah also stands out much better here than in the previous game, especially how his character is given more depth and moments where he has to snap Lara out of putting the entire world on her shoulders. The final installment of a trilogy should give plenty of opportunities for the actors to deliver their best and most vulnerable performances to date and everyone did just that.

Downloadable Content:

Shadow of the Tomb Raider released several chapters of DLC that expanded upon the game’s narrative. Each one of these chapters run parallel to the main storyline and the focus on an additional tomb. This is where Lara discovers the source of Mayan influence in Peru, solving the mystery of a missing oil worker, locates an artefact to bolster Unuratu’s rebellion, and then finds a secret that could threaten it. Lara then confronts her own fears as searches for a weapon, leading her to learn of the tragedy that shaped Amaru’s decision to join Trinity. She aids a group of rebels taken by the Cult of Kukulkan, investiage a disturbance at a local temple that turns into a trap laid by Trinity, and learns the fate of the Yaaxil that survived the battle with Trinity.

A season pass was available that gave players access to seven paths of DLC, which included new narratives, missions, tombs, weapons, outfits, and skills. A version bundling together the main game and DLC, Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, releasing on November 4th, 2019.

Personally, I found the DLC for Rise of the Tomb Raider to be much more satisfying than this one. Whereas those put more focus on providing extra characterization to Lara Croft, Shadow puts more emphasis on the main villains which I never really cared for in the main series and just adds more convoluted lore to the franchise. If you picked up the Definitive Edition at a reasonable price, then it’s worth a go. However, if you missed out on it back when the game first came out, you didn’t miss out on much.

Conclusion:

Despite the majority of the review being constructive criticism, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is NOT a bad game. It still does have enough what you would want for a quality Tomb Raider experience. It provides the right mix of combat, platforming and puzzle solving, there are more challenge tombs than ever before, it looks stunning, the voice action is top notch, and it does bring a nice logical end to Lara’s arc of her early days as a Tomb Raider. However, it just can’t seem to quite escape those it’s own “going through the motions” feel to it and the story basically gives hindered by trying to tie itself to the previous two games instead of feeling enhanced.

The combat, platforming, and puzzle solving are fine but they don’t feel evaluated to the next level like the previous two games. There are more challenge tombs than ever but you don’t feel as eager to go out of your own way and find them yourself. It concludes Lara’s own arc in a meaningful way but everything around here, from the villains to retcons of the lore, are rather half assed and certainly doesn’t add to the foundation of the first two games. I don’t know if this is because Crystal Dynamics didn’t return this time nor did Rhianna Pratchett return to write the script this time around but Shadow of the Tomb Raider just lacks that overall “WOW!” factor that Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider had.

I would still recommend the game to fans of the series and gamers alike for the right price, especially for those that just want to see how Lara’s overall story wraps up for the Survivor trilogy. However, I just can’t help that the game didn’t live up to it’s fullest potential. There are definitely glimmers here and there for this to be the absolute best and most faithful Tomb Raider game ever made but it can just never quite reach the heights of it’s ambition, instead feeling like it’s get bogged down by them.

Still, I did have fun going back to these games and taking a little trip down memory lane. The newest Tomb Raider Netflix series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, is set to premiere on October 10th! Let us all wish nothing for the best for the Tomb Raider we all know and love!

Thank you so much to all of those that tuned in for this marathon! Please follow and keep up to date on future content on his blog!

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) Game Retrospective/Perspective/Review

Adam1 Comment

Not gonna lie, I can’t decide if I should call this a “retrospective” or “perspective”. That is mostly because a lot of time has passed since this game came out but not quite enough to where it can be considered “retro” or “nostalgic”. Because of that, I’m gonna have my cake and eat it too and call it both a retrospective and perspective. I guess you could call this a PER-RETRO-SPECTIVE! I don’t really know and care but hey, for those that do care, there you go!

2015 saw the arrival of the next installment with Lara Croft known as Rise of the Tomb Raider, once again developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. This acted as the sequel to Tomb Raider (2013), the middle chapter of the Survivor trilogy, and the 11th entry in the Tomb Raider franchise.

Development of Rise of the Tomb Raider began shortly after the development of Tomb Raider (2013) concluded. Crystal Dynamics wanted to take the next big step forward with Lara Croft while also addressing player feedback from the previous installment. This included an emphasis on more puzzle and challenge tombs while reducing the number of quick time events. The development team traveled to several locations in Turkey, including Cappadocia, Istanbul, and Ephesus, in order to faithfully design Kitezh. Powered by the Foundation engine, the game was also developed by Eidos-Montreal and Nixxes Software, certainly contributing to the stronger engine of the game, that saw much stronger graphics, presentation, and an incredibly smooth 60 FPS.

During E3 2014, Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced as an exclusive for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. This sparked quite amount of controversy among gamers and fans alike. It was shortly after the backlash ensued that Square Enix confirmed it would only be a TIMED exclusive for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One and would later make it’s way to the PlayStation 4 several months later. Microsoft paid for the game to be a timed exclusive in the hopes that it would pushed for more Xbox One sales during the holiday season of 2015. The Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions came out on November 10th, 2015, with the Windows version releasing just three months later on January 28th, 2016, and finally released on the PlayStation 4 on October 11th, 2016.

There were big concerns about the sale numbers for Rise of the Tomb Raider from several game journalists. Not only because it would be a timed exclusive for the Xbox consoles but it would also be released on the same day as Fallout 4. Despite the concerns, both Microsoft and Square Enix were reportedly very satisfied with the games sales at it’s initial launch, with the latter likely being more satisfied with the sales as the game would be ported to other consoles. As of November 2021, it has been reported that the game has sold nearly 12 million copies worldwide, with the estimated number being around 11.8 million.

Like it’s predecessor, the game received strong reviews and critical acclaim. The majority of the praise was giving to the beautiful graphics, the polished gameplay, the characterization of Lara Croft, and offering much more variety of content than the previous game. However, some felt that the game lacked innovation and didn’t take nearly as much risks as it should. With Rise of the Tomb Raider approaching ten years old, let’s see how the middle chapter of Lara’s prequel origin story holds up!

Story:

Taking place one year after the events of Tomb Raider (2013), we follow archaeologist Lara Croft, who is suffering from PTSD from her experience with the supernatural on Yamatai, struggling to explain such experience to those around her. Desperate for answers, she turns to her late father Lord Croft’s research on the lost city of Kitezh, which promises the power of immorality. Lord Croft’s partner, Ana, arrives and warns Lara to not pursue that Lost City, as that drove her father to ruin and suicide. Now understanding the obsession her father had as an archaeologist, Lara ignores her warning and makes way to the Forgotten Cities in Syria, hoping to uncover the tomb of the Prophet of Constantinople, a key figure in the Kitezh legend.

However, once Lara arrives to claim the tomb, it’s empty. Her arrival is interrupted by a new deadly force known as Trinity, an ancient order of knights turned paramilitary organization investigating the supernatural, and their leader, Konstantin. After Lara is able to escape, she discovers a symbol etched into the tomb, which she links to a book on Russian religious history that was a part of her father’s studies at Croft Manor. She learns of an artifact called the Divine Source, said to be capable of granting that immorality that Lara is seeking from the legendary city of Kitezh.

As Lara goes on a new journey, she teams up with her old friend Jonah to retrieve the artifact while also running into a handful of allies/rivals new and old. There’s Jacob, the leader of its inhabitants, the Remnants, and part of the descendants of the Prophet’s followers. There’s Sophia, a female village warrior who has a hard time in trusting Lara, believing her to be no different than the Trinity. And there’s Ana, Lord Croft’s Partner, who happens to be caught in the middle of the search for immorality in ways that will make Lara turned here worldview on her.

Finding herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure yet again, Lara Croft must search for the legendary city of Kitezh, find the artifact that holds that key to immorality, and stop the Trinity from possessing this unspeakable power before it places herself and her friends of old and new in great danger.

It’s also worth noting that there are actually story DLC packs this time around, adding to the campaign experience of Rise of the Tomb Raider. These story packs are titled: Baby Yaga: The Temple of the Witch, Cold Darkness Awakened, Blood Ties, and Lara’s Nightmare. I won’t go into these one-by-one here because there is not a ton here that’s important to the overall story here. However, they certainly do a solid job at expanding the origins of Lara’s bond with her father along with seeing her slowly starting to embody the Lara Croft of old. I will give a brief description of them over at the Downloadable Content section.

The overall story for Rise of the Tomb Raider plays like a classic Tomb Raider adventure with sprinkles of Indiana Jones and Uncharted 2. With Tomb Raider (2013) getting the origins of an early Lara Croft out of the way, Rise is able to jump right into the next stage of Lara’s early development by going on a massive scaled, global adventure. Her, we see Lara looking to retrieve an incredibly rare artifact that promises a certain power never before seen, with her also questioning her allegiance, her father’s legacy, and her overall commitment to archaeology along the way.

It’s really interesting to see Lara caught in the same shadow as her father once did. Just like her daddy, Lara is at her place where she has given her life to adventure and discovery, gaining such an obsession for it that it starts to affect the people she cares about him the most. The main difference though is that Lara is closer than her father ever was to achieving the unachievable, having the whole world see the Croft family for who they really are. Not just to convince the world that the Crofts were NEVER crazy but they were ALWAYS right to commit their life to archeology.

The only downside of the story compared to the previous installment is that it does provide less banter and quippy moments with the crew that Lara was with on her first adventure. It’s only Jonah this time around that makes a grand return and even then, he spends a good majority of the game separated from Lara as she spends more time with the new players added to the roster than her old allies. Also, while the Tyranny and the leader Konstantin are a definite improvement over the villains of the last game, they still come across as yet another one-note cult and are still the least interesting parts of the game.

Writer Rhianna Pratchett has gone on record in saying she wanted to create a more personal journey for Lara Croft this time around and in my mind, she definitely succeeded. This definitely felt like the next possible step in Lara’s overall arc to becoming the tomb raider. Not only with the fact that discovering tombs plays a much more important role to the overall story but also to have it tie back to her family’s legacy and her overall purpose as an adventure. It’s not just about Lara discovering a sacred power of immorality but also an immorality of her own. That immorality being that she will always be an adventure, archeologist, and tomb raider by heart. Even if it comes at the expense of her friends and loved ones, there is nothing that Lara is more romantic about than being the tomb raider.

Gameplay:

Once again, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action adventure game where you take control of Lara Croft. Lara is given a large variety of weapons at her disposal, from bows and arrows to knifes to her ice axe to pistols to shotguns to assault rifles. You use these weapons to take out enemies in order to progress through the game.

Stealth also plays a major factor to the gameplay, where you take out enemies one-by-one, create distractions to draw enemies away from Lara, and hiding in bushes to evade enemies. Lara can use the environment to fight enemies, shooting explosive barrels, tear down rope-wrapped structures with rope arrows, or ambush enemies from the high ground (Somewhere, Obi-Wan Kenobi is smiling!) This stealth and combat was a big factor in Tomb Raider (2013) and it continues to be a big factor in Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Accomplishing objectives, completing side content, and eliminating enemies give players experience points. A.K.A. XP. When players collect XP, they level up and receive a skill point, which can be spend to upgrade the game’s three skill trees: Brawler, Hunter, and Survivor. Brawler helps with Lara’s efficiency with weapons, giving her abilities and boosting her resilience against attack along with unlocking new combat skills. Hunter helps with Lara dealing with the environments and animals. Survivor covers a wide range of skills such as creating bombs and setting up booby traps. Lara can learn new languages, enabling her to discover relics, which can be traded in exchange for new equipment.

Rise of the Tomb Raider also offers semi-open hubs to explore. While far from the level of say Grand Theft Auto V or even Gotham City from Batman: Arkham Knight, these sections do offer hub worlds for those that want to relax for a moment and see what’s going on with the other villages. In the hubs are items for Lara to collect, including crafting materials and survival caches. These items and collectibles, such as relics and docs that can be revealed to players using Survival Instinct, a vision mode which once again can highlight items of interest along with enemies during combat sections. By collecting these items, players can craft items with the game’s own crafting menu. Lara can craft ammo, poisoned arrows, and Molotov cocktails and hand grenades from cans and bottles.

The open areas are also filled with wildlife, which can be hunted to collect more resources. These are also main areas where you can find new side missions and discover/explore challenge tombs for new skills, outfits, and equipment. You can do this by talking to a certain villager which can guide you on a specific side mission or finding a hidden area which reveals a secret challenge tomb. The majority of these are not required to be the main campaign but you will likely find yourself wanting to complete one on the way as the side mission might just be right in front of you for you to complete.

A main big addition that Crystal Dynamics chose to put more focus on is the puzzle solving. Throughout the game, players will find themselves solving puzzles to progress through the game, in both the main campaign and side missions. The puzzles, based on in-game physics, are often connected and lead to a larger one later on down the road. During these sections, you will find yourself solving smaller, connective puzzles in order to solve a much larger one. These sections were clearly done as a response from the fans feedback from the previous game with wanting to add more elements from the classic Tomb Raider games, such as challenge tombs and puzzle solving. If you were one of these people, then you certainly get your wish with this game.

Unlike the previous game, Rise of the Tomb Raider does not have a multiplayer mode, also likely due to the lackluster response that the previous game’s multiplayer received. Instead, it introduces Expeditions, which allows players to replay the game with new constraints and requirements. This aligns with the game’s four modes: Chapter Replay, Chapter Replay Elite, Score Attack, and Remnant Resistance. Chapter Replay and Replay Elite allows players to replay any level and bring already-acquired skills and weapons to the level, Score Attack introduces score combo chains and Remnant Resistance allows to create custom scenarios, which can be shared with other players. By completing Expeditions, you earn credits which can then be used to purchase digital collectible cards to modify the gameplay. For those that are into the card collection of say MLB: The Show will certainly get a huge kick out of this.

When it comes to the overall gameplay, there is very little of me to talk negatively about. Crystal Dynamics clearly took the fan criticisms of the previous game to heart and looked to find that right balance to make Rise of the Tomb Raider a game made for both longtime and casual fans alike. In my mind, they succeed greatly at that. By improving upon the combat, stealth, and platforming of the previous game and also trimming down on QTE sections in favor of the more traditional puzzle solving and challenge tombs, there is something for any kind of Tomb Raider fan here.

I love taking control of Lara as she is going on this Nathan Drake-like adventure where she searches for the lost city of Kitezh. I love how tighter and more polished the overall gameplay felt, with making Lara control just about as well as she possibly ever could. I love being able to explore mini hub worlds this time around, which allows to interact with the other characters and villagers of the game, along with unlocking secret side missions. I love the addition of more puzzle solving missions like the original Tomb Raider games and even wanting to go more out of my way this time around to solve the challenge tombs. I love how it’s able to learn the right lessons from the likes of Uncharted while still standing strong on it’s own foundation. I just love the gameplay of Rise of the Tomb Raider overall.

Granted, if we are being totally honest, there’s isn’t too much here that wasn’t already presented in Tomb Raider (2013). Yes, there are certainly features and more expansive content this time around but the overall formula and engine remains the same. It’s clear Crystal Dynamics wasn’t looking to reinvent the wheel here and just wanted to deliver the same things that fans loved about the previous games while also incorporating elements from the classic Tomb Raider games that had become a staple of the franchise back then. While those looking for more innovation might be slight disappointed, those that just wanted more of what they got last time, mixed in with the things they got with the original games, and a couple of extras throughout should not be disappointed in the slightest.

I guess if I have a gripe, it would be that the boss fights still range from weak to practically non-existence. While there are certainly still action sequences and cinematic set pieces that will give you the impression that you are about to encounter something intense and heart bumping, the individual boss fights themselves are nothing to write home about. It still feels like you are just fighting some random enemy and beating them doesn’t feel very rewarding or satisfying.

Aside from that, the gameplay for Rise of the Tomb Raider is incredibly polished and incredibly fun. It’s able to improve on any potential shortcomings that the previous game had while also incorporating and mixing in new elements that feel organic and adds to the overall experience. You can still argue this is more of the same has before but hey, if that more of the same is done better and still fun to play, I’ll definitely take it.

Graphics:

Graphically, this game is ASTONISHING! This is easily one of the best and most impressive looking games ever released! The opening sequence in the snowy mountains alone showcases the massive power in graphics engine that Eidos-Montreal and Nixxes Software provided with the game. The textures is clear cut, the presentation is near flawless, and the 60 FPS is the pure icing on the cake. It’s one of the few examples of a “realistic” looking video game being an actual complaint. A single screenshot of this game makes it feel like the game is actually in real life and NOT from a video game.

The animation and motion capture is incredibly well done as well. This is probably the best that Lara Croft has ever looked, with face animation that even rival the king of motion capture performances in Naughty Dog. While these technical achievements were impressive in Tomb Raider (2013), there were a handful of instances of graphical errors and a cutscene or two that a character is moving like an animatronic. However, just about 99.99% of that is wiped out ENTIRELY in Rise of the Tomb Raider, making it graphically and presentation wise a visually pleasing masterpiece.

There’s not enough praise I can give to the graphics engine and production values for Rise of the Tomb Raider, probably the best and most polished aspect of the entire game. Even those that don’t like this game can’t deny how much time and effort went into making this game look as amazing and convincing as it could possibly be. Whether it’s because of a bigger budget or the involvement of Eidos-Montreal and Nixxes Software, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a technical marvel that has no business being as well made and pleasing to the eyes as it should.

Sound:

Jason Graves, the composer of Tomb Raider (2013) didn’t return this time around to the score for Rise of the Tomb Raider. The man doing that is no other than Bobby Tahouri. Thankfully, Tahouri is able to pick off exactly where Graves left off, delivering a score that works perfectly as not just an action-adventure game but a Tomb Raider game at heart. The music is once again able to fit the mood and tone of just about every single sequence in the game, from every intense action set piece to every slow breathing dramatic moment.

Once again, the voice acting is top notch all around and once again, the real main standout is Camilla Luddington as Lara Croft herself. She perfectly embodies this early years version of Lara Croft, taking baby steps into becoming the Tomb Raider we all know and love. Her tremendous line delivery and nearly flawlessly motion capture performance just feels appropriately like Lara Croft, helping greatly to match the characterization through performance with the writing.

There was clearly just as much effort put into the audio and sound design as the graphical engine and presentation. There’s not a single track or performance that feels wasted or half assed. It all looks and sounds wonderful.

Downloadable Content:

Rise of the Tomb Raider received plenty of DLC support, much more than the first game. It’s first post-launch game update released on December 4th, about a month after the game’s release. It introduced an endurance mode, as Lara hunts and crafts items while facing hidden dangers and environmental hazards. The real main standouts of the DLC came from the additional story add-ons.

Unlike the first game, Rise offered multiple story DLCs. The titles for these story DLCs being Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch, Cold Darkness Awakened, Blood Ties, and Lara’s Nightmare. Baby Yaga: The Temple of the Witch sees Lara investigating a disturbance in the Soviet mine, where she meets a young girl named Nadia and fights against a new foe known as Baby Yaga. Cold Darkness Awakened has Lara enter a decommissioned Soviet weapons bunker, which has been breached by a Trinity patrol, which also includes a horde mode in which Lara fights waves of infected enemies. Blood Ties has Lara explore Croft Manor, which introduces a combat-free mode while doing so. Lara’s Nightmare, which is like a mix of Cold Darkness Awakened and Blood Ties has Lara once again coming up against infected enemies that have infiltrated the Manor. This DLC was free of charge to season-pass holders and would be further expanded upon with plenty of new additions in the Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration edition, which released around the same time as the PlayStation 4 version of the main game.

When looking at these DLC packs, it was clear that Crystal Dynamics wanted to provided extra content that would give the players a full money’s worth of content. Unlike Tomb Raider (2013), where most of the DLC just felt like random add-ons that were removed from the game at the last second just for the sake of squeezing extra dollars, these DLC story packs do feel like they are worth the extra few bucks for players that are curious.

I wouldn’t say you are required to play them if you don’t want to be lost in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, as they mostly feel more episodic to the main game and just random side adventures for Lara Croft. However, they certainly do help to add more expansive content to the main game and does give players more to do after completing the main campaign. These are far from the greatest DLC packs ever but it is nice to see Crystal Dynamics put extra care into the expansive content than before.

Conclusion:

The question most likely had going into if Rise of the Tomb Raider is better than Tomb Raider (2013)? Technically speaking, I would argue Yes! The production values are incredibly top notch, the gameplay is much smoother and more refined, there’s more puzzles and challenge tombs this time around, there’s much more expansive content, the story feels deeper and more personal, and of course, the graphical engine is COMPLETELY off the charts! However, Tomb Raider (2013) set the foundation, novelty and groundwork of this Survivor trilogy, the kind of foundation, novelty, and groundwork that Rise of the Tomb Raider never is able to replicate on it’s own terms. It certainly builds upon it as good and organically as it can but not to the extent that original game did. You can go back-and-forth between the two games but if I had to chose just one to play, I might be more incline to go with Rise of the Tomb Raider. However, if only one of these games had to exist, then I might go with Tomb Raider (2013), if that makes sense.

Even so, despite the unavoidable comparisons to it’s predecessor and falling a tad short of being the Uncharted 2 level masterpiece that it’s aiming for (and taking obvious inspiration from), Rise of the Tomb Raider is still a fantastic game all around and one definitely worth playing.

Would Crystal Dynamics be able to continue their momentum and save their best for last? Find out next time!

Next Up: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)

Tomb Raider (2013) Game Retrospective/Review

Adam1 Comment

It boggles my mind that I have to use the word “retrospective” when describing the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider. However, considering it’s been over a decade since that game’s release, I can’t help but feel like that is a proper term to describe just how much time has flown by since this game. Because of that, yeah! Welcome to my retrospective of Tomb Raider (2013).

Tomb Raider (2013) is an action-adventure game that was developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. This made for the 10th entry and acted as a reboot for the Tomb Raider franchise, acting as the first installment of the so-called “Survivor” trilogy, which put a big focus on retelling the origin story of Lara Croft, exploring the character in her early adventures.

Crystal Dynamics began development soon after the release of Tomb Raider: Underworld in 2008. Rather than a sequel to that, the team chose to reboot the series yet again, re-establishing the origins of Lara Croft for the second time, which they also did with Tomb Raider: Legend, and wanted to expand upon the character even further than they have had in their prior history. Camilla Luddington was hired to voice and do motion-capture performance as Lara Croft, replacing Keeley Hawes respectively.

Tomb Raider (2013) released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows on March 5th, 2013, later being ported to other consoles such as Xbox One, PlayStation 4, OS X, Linux, Shield TV, and Stadia, with extended editions of the game such as Game of the Year Edition and Definitive Edition. The game received universal acclaim from critics and gamers alike, with huge praise giving to the graphics, gameplay, and the development and characterization of Lara Croft herself. However, certain creative decisions such as making the actual tomb raiding mostly to optional side quests draw some criticism among the fanbase, with Crystal Dynamics putting more focus on action and stealth combat with the tomb raiding coming second. The game sold over 14.5 million copies by October 2021, making it the best-selling Tomb Raider game to date.

With the newest Netflix anime, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, set to come out next month, I went and took a look back at the recent reboot trilogy of Tomb Raider. After all, the series is confirmed to be set between the Survivor trilogy and the original series of games. Because of that, my next marathon will be to look back at Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider to see how they have all held up years later.

Plot:

Set on Yamatai, a fictional lost island in the Dragon’s Triangle off the coast of Japan, we follow Lara Croft on her first ever adventure aboard the ship known as Endurance. Lara is a young woman that is looking to follow in her father’s footsteps in becoming an adventure, making discoveries and collecting hidden artifacts. Her first main objective is to find that lost kingdom hidden on Yamatai.

The Endurance is hit by a giant rain storm, causing the boat to sink completely. While Lara is able to escape from drowning to death, she is separated from her friends on the estranged island. As she searches for her friends, Lara soon discovers that the island is in fact inhabited, mostly by a violent cult named Solarii that worships Himiko, confirming the island is indeed Yamatai. Their leader is known as Mathias, who wants to everything in his power to earn the trust of Himiko.

As soon as Mathias discovers the presence of Lara and her friends, this puts them all in great danger. Lara’s best friend, Sam, is seen as great interest to the Solarii, who plans to offer her as a new host to Himiko’s spirit. As Lara meets up and reunites with other survivors, she must work with them to rescue any captured ones from the Solarii while also finding a way off the island. The crew with Lara include Whitman, Sam, Roth, Reyes, Jonah, Alex, and Grim.

As Lara Croft takes her first steps into becoming a strong adventure, she discovers that she must overcome immense adversity in order to save her friends and herself. That includes taking down enemies, using any methods of travel, using any scrap, items, or weaponry as she can, and doing everything in her power to survive against this deadly foe that is looking to wipe her out and her loved ones. It’s then that we get a first taste into Lara building a name for herself in becoming the legendary Tomb Raider.

What is most interesting about the story is that despise the game being called Tomb Raider, this is by in large an origin story of Lara Croft before getting the reputation as the Tomb Raider. Yes, the tomb raiding is in the game (which we will discuss in gameplay) but this is really a story about who Lara Croft is before that and what she is without that. While those might sound like unusual and risky ideas for a narrative on paper, Tomb Raider (2013) is able to make it work incredibly well.

The reason it all works is because of how well developed and characterized Lara Croft is as a character. This is arguably the most fleshed out version of the character throughout the character’s history. Seeing Lara go from being a fearful Curious George to a badass adventure is very exciting to see play out. The story really makes Lara Croft go through absolute hell and requires her to make the toughest choices imaginable in the means of surviving.

I especially like how, unlike most action heroes in games and movies, when Lara gets injured, she doesn’t just make a light grunt, shake it off, and get right back in the game. She clearly gets hurt and feels pain. Whenever she takes damage, she feels every bit of it. There are plenty of instances in the stories where you follow Lara while she is grunting in pain and needing to find a way to patch it up before it’s too late. It helps add to the human nature of the character and increases the stakes of the story to a near perfect degree.

Sure, there are definitely PLENTY of moments where it feels like Lara should have died and probably would have in real life but at the end of the day, it is a video game and Ms. Croft is able to make the best use of the traditional gaming plot armor. Even so, I do feel like Crystal Dynamics could have tone down the violence a little bit and not having it gain close to the violent “torture porn”.

When it comes to the supporting cast, it’s a mixed bag. Lara’s friends and crew are fun if not a bit basic. Outside of Whitman, none of them really change and grow throughout the game, really only showing up when the plot requires and to give Lara’s moments of optimism during her mission to save them and escape the island. They are likable enough where I did find myself wanting them all to survive to the end but most of their characters can be read like a book with not a single one of them being much of a page turner.

The main antagonists on the other hand, are quite weak. While having Lara going up against a violent cult is fitting for her first adventure, the bad guys she is forced to go up against could not be more bland and forgettable. There’s not much motivation or characterization behind them other than wanting to make their god/goddess happy and believing in certain morals that they think their ancestors would be proud off. I barely remember their names or any line of dialogue that stands out greater than these villainous religious cults in any games.

Aside from some minor issues with the supporting cast and villains, the narrative for Tomb Raider (2013) is very strong. You really feel the character development of Lara Croft the whole way through and seeing it all unfold is really satisfying to see. Lara is given the kind of arc that by the end, you almost can’t believe this is the same protagonist that we have been following all along. If that is not the sign of a really strong character arc, then I don’t know what is. Lara Croft’s journey along is enough to recommend at least watching all the cutscenes throughout the entire game but of course, the important part of a video game is in fact the gameplay.

Gameplay:

Tomb Raider (2013) is an action-adventure game played through a third person’s perspective. Players take control of Lara Croft herself, using an interconnected formula that combines action, adventure, exploration, stealth and survival elements. Players can traverse between the camps and across the entire island using footpaths, ziplines, and climbable tracks and walls. Many of Lara’s moves from prior games are carried over here with some minor tweaks added to it. Quick time events occur at regular intervals throughout the game, appearing at crucial points in the game’s plot where you are on the run, such as extracting a shard of metal and escaping a cave.

In terms of combat, the inspiration from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series is clear as daylight but the game still does plenty of it’s own things to stand strong on it’s own two feet. The players have the ability to free-aim with Lara’s bow and the guns she collects. You will engage in close-quarter combat and perform stealth kills when coming up against enemies. The most helpful addition to this is Survival Instinct, an ability in which the presence of enemies, collectables, and objects to environmental puzzles will be highlighted and easy to spot. So even if you are familiar with Uncharted, Tomb Raider (2013) makes many tweaks and revisions to that combat formula which you will need to get the hang off in a way that you couldn’t with Uncharted.

The game incorporates role-playing elements that help with the progression of the game. As you go through the whole game, you earn experience points from performing certain actions and complete in-game challenges involving hunting, exploring and combat. This helps the skills and abilities to be upgrade in specific ways, such as giving Lara more storage capacity for arrows and ammo. You can also upgrade and customize weapons using scarps and materials that you collect across the island. The character progression system in the game helps with gaining better items, weapons, and equipment as you progress through the game. Even if certain items and weaponry can only be unlocked once you get to certain points of the story, there is not a single moment of this game where you should not have access to enough of them to progress through the game.

As for the actual tomb raiding itself, it’s mostly optional and only appear during side quests that don’t impact the main campaign. Player can complete multiple side quests as they explore the island and revisit certain locations. It’s only during these side mission which the challenge tombs can be searched for. There is more than enough of challenge tombs for any longtime fan of the series but these sections are NOT required to be played through in order to be the main story. It’s odd how a game called Tomb Raider, the actual tomb raiding itself plays secondary to the overall gameplay experience.

Even if the actual title of the game itself might be a bit misleading, the gameplay of Tomb Raider (2013) is absolutely top notch. I loved being in the shoes of Lara Croft in ways that I couldn’t have with any other prior Tomb Raider game. Lara has never felt more comfortable to control and more fun to play in terms of the game’s combat, platforming, and exploration. Seeing the character develop and unlocking many different skills along the way always made the gameplay stand out without feeling too repetitive or irritating. There is plenty of variety in terms of the items you use, the weapons you upgrade, and the costumes you are able to unlock. It helps enhance the replay value and motivates you to play through the whole game. I constantly found myself eager to unlock every single skill point that I possibly could because I wanted to unlock all the weapons and costumes that were available.

I loved going through every single set piece moment of the entire game, having that perfect feeling of cinematic escapism while also remembering that this is still an actual game. These sections feel right at home with an Indiana Jones adventure while still feeling proper for the adventure that we go with Lara Croft. If it wasn’t an intense stealth section that kept me on the edge of my seat, it was these jaw dropping sequences where our main female hero is pushed beyond her limits to survive.

If there is any mixed to weak aspects to the gameplay, that would mostly be the boss fights. They don’t play much differently than fighting regular enemies other than needing a few more hits to kill and another required automated section to give the impression it’s more different than it really is. It doesn’t help that the main villain is very weak and forgettable but the final showdown with him is rather anticlimactic in terms of gameplay. It misses that one last powerful punch that’s able to evaluate the game at the last possible moment.

I should also mention that there is also a multiplayer mode with this game. In each multiplayer match, there are two enemy teams: four survivors and four scavengers. And there are three different types of games for multiplayer with five different maps. These modes are Team Deathmatch, Private Rescue, and Cry for Help.

The first mode is a player vs player combat scenario, where teams are pitted against each other and whoever kills the opposing team in three separate matches is the winner. In the second mode, the “survivors” team must take medical supplies to a specific point on the map, while the scavengers must reach a certain number of kills, both within a time limit of ten minutes. The third mode, Cry for Help, involves the survivors for exploring the maps and retrieving batteries for defended radio beacons while being hunted by scavengers. Across all three modes, weapons and destroyable environments from the single-player mode are carried over.

Ngl, the multiplayer mode didn’t do anything for me. It feels like it tries to incorporate elements from other shooters out there such as Call of Duty and Battlefield along with trying to copy the multiplayer modes from Uncharted. However, there is just not as much polish put into this mode as with the single player mode and mostly comes across as a last minute addition, feeling like it was just thrown in there just for the sake of trying to give gamers more bank with their buck. I appreciate variety in video games but not when it feels like it’s something that the developers themselves really didn’t care to make. This did receive plenty of DLC which I will discuss later on in the review.

Aside from the tacked-on multiplayer mode and lackluster boss fights, I adore the gameplay of Tomb Raider (2013) to bits. It really felt nice and refreshing back in 2013 to put you in the hands of a female video game protagonist but also making her very satisfying to play as. The special abilities that Lara is giving and the maneuvers you are able to use with her makes her super convincing as a gaming action hero, constantly finding her own ways to take down enemies in ways that actually work for her character. Lara plays in a way that only she herself can stand out and not in the same ways of say…..Nathan Drake.

Yes, the challenge tombs not playing first and foremost to the gameplay might be infuriating to some but the combat, stealth, and exploration are all so well done that it’s genuinely hard to care. Power that along with a trophy/achievement system that will make you EARN every single award you get, Tomb Raider (2013) holds up greatly in terms of gameplay and delivers plenty of replay value, even after beating the main campaign.

Graphics:

Graphically, this game is FANTASTIC for a 2013 released game and still looks strong on the Definitive Edition many years later. It’s able to capture that realistic vibes that many games were starting to aim for back in the 2010s and makes you almost believe you are there with Lara on her journey. The rain and water effects looks about as convincing as it should, the characters move naturally and is certainly aided by top-notch motion capture, and it has a great, enhanced engine that helped make this game stand out not just back in 2013 but even now. While some might think the game looks too bleak, it fits for the tone that the game is going with along with the rather bleakness that Lara goes throughout the game.

It’s also refreshing to see Lara Croft herself actually look like a real woman instead of a plastic dog back in the original games. I get the developers back then were going for a more cartoon vibes with the original games but Lara’s more human and realistic design works perfectly for the rebooted games that are clearly for a much darker and realistic vibe. In that accounts, her design along with the designs for the rest of the characters are able to stand out about as well as they could.

Sound:

The voice work is absolutely outstanding overall. There’s not a single bad performance to be found here in terms of line delivery and motion capture but the real MVP is of course no other than Lara Croft herself, Camilla Luddington. Luddington really captures the younger side of Lara Croft perfectly, blending her vocal range and motion capture movements in the most convincing way imaginable. All respect to the other previous actresses for Lara respectively (ESPEICALLY by girl Angelina Jolie) but there’s something about Camilla Ludington that makes her the best Lara Croft to date imo. She’s able to capture that charm, energy, and depth of the character better than anyone ever has. I love me some Hayley Atwell but she’s got her work cut out for herself for The Legend of Lara Croft.

The soundtrack done by Jason Graves is remarkable all around. It has the exact time of music that can get your heart pumping and have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. It feels like the type of soundtrack you would hear in any action movie, particularly Indiana Jones. My favorite track in particular is the one track that plays when you stop at a checkpoint next to the fire. It’s a nice little moving track that allows you to breathe for a split second before getting straight back into all of the intense action. With a score that is about as fist pumping and intense, having a track like that helps make it stand out greatly.

Downloadable Content:

Various amounts of small DLC were released with the game. At the game’s launch, Xbox Live users would get early access to the map pack titled “Caves and Cliffs”. The maps themselves contained the three new Tomb Raider multiplayer maps, entitled “Scavenger Caverns”, “Cliff Shantytown” and “Burning Village”. That pack would later become available for PSN and Steam users just a month later.

Other packs included, the “1939” multiplayer map pack that consists of two new multiplayer maps called “Dogfight” and “Forest Meadow”, a Japanese Language Pack on Steam, a multiplayer DLC pack called “Shipwrecked” that offered two additional maps in “Lost Fleet” and Himiko’s Cradle”, a single player outfit pack was released on Xbox Live, containing the Demolition, Sure-Shot and Mountaineer outfits.

Two versions that contained all the DLC were released in 2014. Those included the Game of the Year: Edition for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC and Definitive Edition for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One along with receiving an eventual release for Window in April 2024, exclusively on the Microsoft Store.

All of the DLC for Tomb Raider (2013) were strictly for multiplayer maps and player outfits. There was no story DLC or exclusive single player content. They were all mostly additions to add to one of the weaker aspects of the games in hopes of improving it. Considering I didn’t care for the multiplayer mode back then and now, I can’t say these DLC packs did anything for me. There’s nothing here that will enhance the gaming experience for supporters of the game nor is there anything that win any naysayers of it.

If you are curious to check the DLC out, the Game of the Year and Extended Editions should be much cheaper to buy than it was a decade ago. However, for me, it just seems like useless extras to justify pre-order/console exclusives and just random content made back when single player games felt the need to tack on a multiplayer mode, even if the game itself didn’t really acquire it.

Conclusion:

Tomb Raider (2013) is essentially a textbook example of a reboot done right! While it undoubtedly takes inspirations from the likes of Uncharted, the modern update of Lara Croft is able to embrace everything that fans have loved about Lara Croft over the years while also being able to stand by itself perfectly as it’s own unique thing. The graphics are breathtaking, the gameplay contains the perfect mix of combat, platforming, stealth, and exploration, the set pieces are terrific and genuinely cinematic in the best of ways, Camilla Luddington is perfect as the main video game heroine, and Lara herself has never a more compelling or engaging character than she has been here. While some might bark at certain aspects like the actual tomb raiding being secondary and being too overly violent just for the sake of it, the actual game itself has so much love, passion, and effort put into it that the game comes across as genuine and NOT neglect.

Opinions may vary on if the follow-ups were better than this one but this is definitely the most fresh, exciting, and action-packed that the Tomb Raider franchise has ever been. You would be hard pressed to find that freshness and novelty that 2013 has and the foundation it leaves perfectly for it’s future that you will just never find in any other adventure with Lara Croft. Whether one is a longtime fan of Tomb Raider or a newcomer to the series like I was back in 2013, I highly recommend Tomb Raider (2013) to fans and gamers alike.

Next Up: Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)