Shadow of the Tomb Raider Review

I’ve actually never played any of the classic Tomb Raider games, but this trilogy is an amazing introduction for me into the origins of one of gaming’s most badass women, Lara Croft. I really love this trilogy’s depiction of her younger self: fighting for what’s right, doing what she has to do to survive, and at the same time, looking out for her friends. When I was a kid, I knew how awesome Lara was, but I’m officially declaring her as one of my top-tier waifus because of this trilogy. She’s still just as beautiful as ever, but she’s also got the heart, determination, and intelligence of a survivor, which eventually leads her to becoming the badass that we all know and love. There have been lots of times where I gasped in shock and awe after seeing some of the insane things Lara’s really capable of, especially in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

So, how is this game overall? Before I get into detail, I’d like to give my ratings for the previous two games. Tomb Raider is a 9/10 and Rise of the Tomb Raider is a 9.5/10. The story here right off the bat gets enough points in my book because it really focuses on Lara’s transformation into the tomb raider that she’s destined to be, her relationship with her best friend, Jonah, and her vendetta against Trinity. From the Divine Source of Kitezh to the Sun Queen of Yamatai, Japan, Lara and Jonah travel to Peru to find The Silver Box of Ix Chel in hopes of preventing the Mayan apocalypse. They later join forces with the citizens of Paititi, also wanting to rebuild a better world and stop the Cult of Kulkukan, who are actually Trinity. The game’s villains, unfortunately, are my biggest problems with the game. Aside from a few cutscenes and chases, Dominguez and Rourke don’t really seem to appear a lot in the game. At one point, I really thought Rourke was going to kill Jonah, which would’ve led to an interesting confrontation between Lara and himself. One of them dies in brutal fashion and the other dies like in most climatic finales the games had. The strongest aspect of the story has to be Lara’s emotional breakdowns. A common theme that’s been running throughout this trilogy is Lara’s inner struggle with self-pity, sacrifice, & loss. She’s willing to take all these risks despite being aware of the consequences, and it shows in the game. There’s even a section where Lara goes on a cold-hearted rampage while guns blazing, signifying that she draws the line when someone close to her(in this case, Jonah)is also put at risk, and it’s awesome.

As for the actual gameplay, it follows pretty much the same formula from the previous two games, except it’s been improved. I believe the quintessential way to upgrade Lara’s abilities in this game has to be the side missions & tombs. You can buy weapons & resources from vendors, sure, but it’s more satisfying to earn them by helping out either Abby’s people or Unuratu’s people. Talking with NPCs really makes Lara open up a bit more, even showing her heart when helping kids. The tombs themselves have really gone up in scale, in terms of difficulty and complexity. Once you do get past them, Lara unlocks abilities that will later prove very useful in combat, and essentially stealth sections. I suck at stealth a lot, but with this trilogy, I’ve grown to like these mechanics. I did NOT want to let Lara die at all(she died a lot, lol), otherwise she wouldn’t grow up to be the heroine that she is.

The graphics here are really phenomenal. All the details in the environments feel really realistic and the attention to facial expressions make the interactions between Lara and Jonah more genuine. The voice acting is also really good, and while I haven’t played the classic Tomb Raider games yet, I do think Camilla Luddington does an excellent job as this younger Lara, both in motion & voice. Sadly, this is the last game in this trilogy, but I really want to continue playing as Lara Croft in her early days. She is definitely going to be in my heart forever...

As for the game overall, it is phenomenal. I would even go as far as to put it in my top 10 games of ALL TIME! If you’re willing to get into Tomb Raider but don’t know where to start, I recommend playing this trilogy. SO GOOD!!!

Final Score: 10/10!!!