izigame.me

This review is based on 100% completion and 63.2 hours of gameplay.

Recommendation:

Would I recommend this game? Absolutely. I admit I’m heavily biased when it comes to anything related to Lara Croft, but even without that bias, this is a well-crafted game with a strong narrative, amazing graphics and solid gameplay, so I would recommend it regardless.
Like other Tomb Raider games, this one boasts an engaging and well-written narrative that will keep you hooked from start to finish. The superb sound design and audio, paired with stunning graphics, really enhance the overall experience and work to complement each other in such an amazing way.
The gameplay is familiar if you’ve played other entries in the series. It feels intuitive and works well, with everything complementing each other smoothly. The puzzle-solving elements are not too difficult, and some puzzles are quite unique and enjoyable. The gunplay is decent, although it can feel a bit off on a controller due to the strength of the aim assist and the speed of the reticle movement. However, this can be adjusted and tweaked slightly in the settings, and you’ll get used to it over time.
The DLCs, such as Baba Yaga and Blood Ties, offer interesting additions to the game's narrative and are fun to play through. While the other DLCs, like Endurance Mode and Cold Darkness, didn’t add much beyond achievements, they weren’t bad either.
Unfortunately, like other Tomb Raider games, this one includes challenge modes. I’m not a fan of challenge modes in any game, and as you would expect this features your typical score and time challenges. If you enjoy that sort of thing, there’s plenty here for you to get into.
For issues with the game, I had quite a few crashes, mainly during expeditions. A big problem was that all my screens would go black, and then my GPU would throttle to the max. I was unable to diagnose the problem, so I’m not sure of a specific fix for it—it was basically a 60/40 chance of crashing when it happened. (Again, this was only during Expeditions for me)
Also, the game has an issue with the UI when using a controller—it can be a bit hit or miss, especially when trying to select cards and other items before a score attack or endurance run. So, just keep in mind that sometimes it’s best to use your keyboard and mouse in the menus, as it may throw you straight into the game when you’re trying to select a card to use.
One thing to note: if you’re planning to play Endurance Mode in co-op, you might need to roll back the game to version 811.3 (beta) to connect properly with another player. We had connection issues and found this solution online, so it might help if you run into the same problem.
Overall, this is a fantastic game with an amazing story and solid gameplay to back it up. If you take your time and play through thoroughly, you can easily invest many hours into it. The base price is reasonable for the amount of content you get, but since it’s an older game that frequently goes on sale, I’d recommend waiting for a discount if you can. However, if you’re eager to jump in, the base price is fair.

Achievements:

DLC is required for 100%, and there are also co-op achievements that will require one other player. Be mindful of a few missable achievements as well.
This game has a large number of achievements spread across the campaign, challenge modes, and DLCs. For my playthrough, I followed an excellent guide on TrueAchievements by Tranierx, which has detailed descriptions, pictures and videos to help with everything you need. The guide is well-organised, making it easy to find specific sections, such as the DLC content. You can view the guide here.
As for the achievements themselves, thanks to the guide, they are relatively easy, though some are missable. I didn’t encounter any major issues with achievements during my playthrough. However, for the co-op achievements, as mentioned earlier, we had to roll back the game to version 811.3 to play together, so keep that in mind.
The main hurdle you’ll face is the score attack achievements tied to the challenge modes. There are a lot of them, and if you’re not a fan of challenge modes like me, they will be tough to get through. They’re the reason I took such a long break between starting and finishing the game. These achievements will take some time, so it’s best to chip away at them gradually and take breaks when needed.
Overall, while the achievements might seem daunting, but thanks to the well-crafted guide by Tranierx, the journey is and was enjoyable—aside from the challenge mode achievements, of course!