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Tomb Raider


"A Survivor is born"


Introduction:

Uncharted & Tomb Raider always had this sort of competition with who can be better. I played and loved both games but regardless of your opinion, it's a fact that Uncharted dominated the late 2000s and early 2010s in popularity even receiving the nickname of "Dude Raider". Some Tomb Raider games came out near the same time as Uncharted 1-3 did like Legend & Underworld but they are rather mid and largely forgotten by most people unless you're one of those hardcore Tomb Raider fans.
It wasn't until 2013 that the Tomb Raider franchise would receive a reboot and the first game in the new trilogy would come out is it good? It's phenomenal! The graphics and art style are still gorgeous even 11 years after release, the gameplay is very enjoyable, the game length is just right and the mystery and thrill of an unknown island are all there.

The Story:

Everybody knows Lara Croft as this tough badass woman who can survive against all odds but in this reboot, everything is treated more like an origin story, Lara isn't the hardened survivor that we know of yet, she's just a young gal who is going on her first adventure, inexperienced, green as grass and grossly unprepared for what's ahead. Legends speak about the Lost Island Kingdom of Yamatai and say that Yamatai is surrounded by deadly storms and all ships & planes that travel near its vicinity crash there with no possible escape. Despite the legends, Lara is set on proving herself and uncovering the legends of this lost island.

Pros:

● Fantastic story ~ The story is fantastic throughout. You become separated at the start of the game, with no friends, no allies, just Lara by herself in the surrounding forests, as you progress deeper you reunite with your friends on multiple occasions and learn more about the island, its history, and the curse surrounding it. It's captivating and filled with thrills and mysteries that make you curious and want more answers.
● Very well-aged graphics ~ The graphics even 11 years later still look outstanding. The lighting, shadows, models, and contrast in certain areas help sell off this visually beautiful forgotten island but also will project a disturbing island with something sinister going on.
● Very fun gameplay ~ Tomb Raider has a great gameplay loop, you can spend time exploring the area you're in to find scrap boxes that you will need to upgrade your various guns with or even complete challenges, the players who know the challenges and the collectible spots by memory can quickly rise through the skill ranks and reach the Brawler skill rank before the Radio Tower location which only makes you more powerful. The gunplay is satisfying and playable and the enemy variety is plentiful, you go from fighting light-armored dudes who rush you with melee weapons, shoot arrows, or throw Molotovs to flush you out of cover and then late game you will stumble upon tougher dudes who wear makeshift armour, wield assault rifles, shotguns and even have shields that cover their whole body requiring you to bait them into opening themselves up so you can stun them. The puzzle solving whilst not the hardest helps break up the monotony between firefights.
● Unique collectibles ~ A game that had very similar collectibles was Max Payne 3 where Max would comment on the various items he found around the world, it gave you a reason and interest to keep finding them. Lara will find tons of different collectibles during her time on Yamatai, from documents, and relics to even narrating to herself near a campfire. Some of the relics will also feature a minigame where you have to inspect it closer to find hidden details to unlock a further comment from Lara. I loved this feature as it made finding the collectibles a fun task. I wish more games did it like this. Reading a 5-page document is not fun or captivating for anyone. Give the players interactive collectibles instead.
● Awesome enemy design ~ I simply adore good enemy designs and the Solaraii Brotherhood captures that amazing almost post-apocalyptic feeling mixed with a stranded survivor vibe. The Solaraii soldiers will have a mix of armour, some will wear metal knee & shin pads, some will have old gas masks and some of them will be equipped with giant metal slab shields which they will use to cover themselves with and rush you. Many of the Elite Warriors will even don the old Japanese Army helmets from the times of WW2. The Solarii give off this aesthetic of hardened survivors who have been stranded here for years and they adapted to the environment and equipped themselves with whatever means of protection they could scavenge.
● Tombs ~ This wouldn't be Tomb Raider if it didn't have the classic Tombs. During your adventures on Yamatai, you will stumble upon secret hidden entrances that will lead you into Tombs that hide valuables. The Puzzles aren't the most complex or hardest but they sure are fun to figure out.
● Fantastic atmosphere ~ I love the atmosphere in Yamatai, it gives off this abandoned feeling but at the same time, a feeling like something isn't right, like if you aren't alone and something out there is watching you... As you venture deeper into certain caves you will find what appears to be a graveyard full of mutilated corpses and bones. With nothing but a gun in your hand and a torch in your other, you have to navigate this dark cave complex whilst an eerie soundtrack plays in the background.
● Steam Achievements
● Steam Trading Cards

Cons:

● No FOV Slider
● Camera Shake
● UI elements bugged
● Multiplayer achievements
● TressFX exclusive to AMD GPUs
● Grenade Launcher firing arc is awful
● No continue after game ending

Cons Summarized:

I hit the character limit so I’m going to be leaving a Google document where I will have every con of the game summarized. If you are looking for a short but informative review that gets straight to the point then the cons here should explain everything just by reading the name of it. If you are looking for a more detailed reason for each con that I listed then check out the link below that leads to the Google document.---> Link

Conclusion:

Tomb Raider (2013) is a fantastic reboot of the legendary IP that we all heard about or played in the past when we were younger. The fact that it stands on Steam with "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews is a testament to this game since as you know not many games on Steam can don that rating. Tomb Raider is a perfect introduction to both new players and a perfect introduction to old players who want to explore a new trilogy of Lara Croft. I know some people might look at this review and think I had a lot of negatives to say about the game but really the cons are my more personal nitpicks, none of them really affected my enjoyment of the game to the point where I said "Oh this is unplayable!" However, for future players the online achievements might become a problem when the servers eventually shut down unless the community can make a server hosting mod as they did with Hitman: Absolution. Throughout your adventures, you won't ever feel bored as Tomb Raider is filled with exploration, combat, cinematic moments, and a story that can even match if not finally rival Uncharted, it even goes on sale for dirt cheap during sales, it is 100% a game worth picking up.

Overall rating 10/10

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