Rise of the Tomb Raider Review
Title: Rise of the Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: November 2015 (Xbox One, Xbox 360), January 2016 (Windows), late 2016 (PS4)
Reviewed on: Xbox One
Rise of the Tomb Raider stands as an extremely well put together sophomore effort from the team at Crystal Dynamics with an intriguing narrative and polished gameplay. Following the success of 2013’s Tomb Raider, Rise expands on everything that made the original so great, and sometimes goes one step further hitting on several areas that were perhaps lacking in the first iteration.
The game follows our titular hero, Lara Croft as she attempts to reconcile the events of her previous adventure off the coast of Japan. Lara begins pursuing her late father’s work on the lost city of Kitezh. What ensues is an action-adventure game like no other, with stunning locations, intense combat, and challenging puzzles making for an all around fantastic entry into the Tomb Raider franchise.
Gameplay
The game is built around a building series of environments that the player is encouraged to explore and traverse including mountains, geo-thermal valleys, ancient ruins and an old soviet cold-war base. With each new setting you almost have to stop playing just to admire the beautiful graphics being put on display.
The game really shines, however, when you start exploring and crafting new tools, weapons and abilities. These can be scavenged from enemies, or harvested from the environment. Story progression is often tied directly to your equipment or abilities, which may seem boring or contrived, however it never feels like a chore to advance. Everything syncs so well and you find yourself wanting to continue and explore past what is ever required. I often found myself sad that I had to move on from an area when I knew there was so much more to find.
Combat is greatly improved from the last game. Most scenarios can be completed in a multitude of ways including stealth, guns blazing, or traps and crafted items you create on the fun. My personal choice was a combination of stealth and guns blazing. That being said, there were many places where a specific approach is required forcing you to flex your mental muscles and think outside the box. The game does a great job varying your experiences and not letting you simply choose one style throughout.
Story
If I were to have any issues with such a great game, this would be the place. Firstly, in the age of satellite imagery and google maps, how many ancient cities/ruins can be completely unknown to people? How does Lara always seem to find them? Why are there so many for her to find? I digress.
The game’s story is basically what I expected from a Tomb Raider game. It charts the struggle between a clandestine mercenary organization (Trinity) that wants an object of immense power, and the local population that hopes to stop them, with help from Lara Croft of course.
This is where I have a small issue in that there’s a clear emphasis on the exploitation vs preservation of the game’s item of ultimate power. Lara seems to spend majority of the game philosophically walking between the two ideals but clearly allies herself with the locals at the same time. On one hand she’s literally a tomb raider and wants the item for herself in order to legitimize her late father’s work. But on the other hand, she allies herself with the local population and fights off the mercenaries who would otherwise steal the object.
It’s admittedly a small issue and doesn’t altogether take away from the narrative as a whole. The story is great otherwise, voice acting is again top notch again (shout out to Camilla Luddington) and once again there’s a little bit of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.
Verdict
Rise of the Tomb Raider is by far one of the best games of the year. Hitting all the right notes it constantly leaves you wanting more. Solid gameplay, a great story and amazing visuals put this at the top of my own list as well.
Perhaps the biggest shame is that more people aren’t playing this game. Because of the timed release, with Xbox first and Playstation almost a year later, this game is not nearly getting the attention it deserves. It sucks to think that exclusivity can really hurt a game’s potential and reach. I can only hope that when it does finally release to all platforms that people are still willing to give this great game a chance.
