Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

The 2013 Tomb Raider story is essentially Lara Croft’s formative experience of adventure and hardship. I thought that game ended with Lara being the character we knew and loved.

I was wrong.

Having finished Rise of the Tomb Raider I now see the real Lara Croft.

New Tomb Raider however, is far better than the originals ever were. Obvious things such as graphics and gameplay have moved on but also…backstory. Now it’s at the forefront, with Lara a very well fleshed out character and so much more than triangular boobs. I understand why she does what she does and why she’s willing to go to such lengths.

I find myself disagreeing with her actually being a tomb raider, due to the negative connotations that titles brings with it. Yes she does take a lot of stuff but when it comes down to it the choices she makes are for the greater good. Of course a lot of it is for her and her family name but she isn’t selfish. A quick aside, I’m playing on PS4 so my copy comes with DLC. It’s well worth playing if you like to know more about things.

Gameplay wise, ‘Rise’ refines it’s predecessors mechanics and look. Checking out my review for Tomb Raider should fill you in on all of that. The most obvious improvement is on how well judged the puzzles are. Think it through, look around, and the answer will come. Rise is very good at making you feel as though you’ve achieved something. It never crosses the line between exploring and wandering.

Combat works better this time around, perhaps mainly due to it being less jarring than it was in the first story. Lara still kills a lot of people, but with stealth a better option now it doesn’t always feel like she’s a one man army.

I collected everything in the first game and plan on doing the same here. This has been made far easier by a of the touch pad, which brings up where collectibles are, and what is left to collect in the current area.

There’s a great selection of weaponry; the problem is the menus didn’t make it clear that they were available! The issue is how new versions are accessed. I spent most of the story using the original weapons before realising that different versions could be chosen at base camps. It didn’t cause me any issues with enemies but it would have been nice to use the better stuff earlier.

The story itself zips along nicely with the odd surprise in store, some less obvious than others. Once again there’s a great balance, this time between story progression, set pieces, and general gameplay. Camilla Luddington is Lara. She’s posh but not annoyingly so. The various grunts and noises Lara makes can sometimes be a little eyebrow raising but overall it’s a great performance that further adds to her being a well-rounded character.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a fantastic game, building on its predecessor in every way whilst hinting at what could come in the future. If Crystal Dynamics can make another entry that even matches this we’re in for a treat. I want to see more of Lara and her adventures. Hopefully next time PS4 users won’t have to wait an extra year for the privilege.