Rise of the Tomb Raider: Liked it, but Didn't Love it.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the newest installment in the Tomb Raider series and, interestingly enough, takes you back in time to the beginning of Lara’s adventures as she follows in the footsteps of her father. This game is full of action-packed gameplay, whether you’re climbing an ancient ship stuck in a glacier or taking down enemies with your arsenal of firearms.  It doesn't stop at that though, you get bows that progressively increase in size and quality as the game goes on and as you discover new upgrades. 

The one, the only, Lara Croft

This game has areas that felt like a small, open world that you are struggling to survive in. To survive in this mini world, you have to craft arrows, health packs, and different types of ammo altogether just to survive. The game has a lot to explore too, including the extra tombs with creative puzzles.  These tombs were actually my favorite part of the game because everything else felt odd. In the game, you also have some survival mechanics, but after a while, you realize the only thing that’s dangerous in the world that’s not humanoid enemies are predators like wolves and bears. With that, you don’t have to find food or shelter other than the one time you have to make shelter when you fall off a mountain in the first part of the game. For the rest of the game, you run around in the freezing cold and swim in water only polar bears and penguins can enjoy.  I didn't really get the point of this because, while you are constantly trying to survive in the game, Lara acts like nothing ever happened, even though she just jumped in subzero water... My point is: the game introduced this feeling of needing to be resourceful and to hunt to survive and then they never follow up on it; they focus mostly on action, which I think is problematic. In the same breath, the action in this game isn’t half bad, however the fact that Rise of the Tomb Raider prioritizes action over other parts of the game succeeded in neglecting that survival aspect of the game that could have made the overall gaming experience much better. 

<<the game introduced this feeling of needing to be resourceful and to hunt to survive and then they never follow up on it; they focus mostly on action, which I think is problematic.>>

Pardon my French, but what a badass! -Ed.

Another thing that bothered me was the two or three areas that felt like small open worlds to explore, but did not offer much in terms of tasks and exploration... In fact, the primary function of those areas was to connect the linear parts of the game, or the plot line, together. To me, this made the gaming experience a tad superficial, as these areas basically forced you into the plot line. I have no problem going with a nice plot line, but when a game sometimes tries to be realistic, survivalistic, and even a bit free roam, it seems almost cheesy to abandon the realism for areas that serve only as plot armor. Granted, there were some cool things in these big areas, such as collectibles and big game to hunt like tigers, but these parts of the game generally left me disappointed and wanting to explore more.

The extra optional tombs you’ll find while exploring were the most interesting and tough parts of the game, which makes them the best part of the game in my opinion. This is because you don’t have to just shoot a guy ten times or go to a specific area to progress; you can take your time and solve puzzles that actually get pretty hard and might take some time. The optional tombs also have upgrades and supplies at the end of each, and that makes the effort worth it. On a different note, the combat in this game is done pretty well. I mean, it’s pretty cool to craft a grenade out of a can on the fly and take out the opposition. You can be stealthy also, but I found it to be inconvenient and not as fun as running around with my double barrel shotgun while tossing around homemade explosives. There’s even a new kind of ancient enemy you encounter further in the game that makes you feel like you’re a one woman army that can take down anything. 

One more thing I'd like to mention is that you can replay sections of the game and try to beat high scores, all while beating challenges the game gives you. You can collect floating blue fire things and stack points too, but you have to be quick or your point multiplier times out after a couple of seconds. I liked this because it kept the pace of the game going pretty fast. I thought for a second it would make the game a little better if this sort of gameplay were incorporated into the game as an entirety, but then I realized that it would break that immersion effect and make Rise of the Tomb Raider seem more like an arcade game if they did that.

So what's the general assessment for this game? First of all, I would give it a 70 out of 100 because it's a quality game, but not the best I've ever played. What about the audience type? Well, if you’re into action games with a little bit off the beaten path exploration, Rise of the Tomb Raider is probably for you. Just keep in mind that some parts of the game will leave you wanting more.

Andrew Cherrington 

(Pragmus Pi)

Video Game Reviewer

*Edited by Sigma