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[Nankatsu]

Recently I grabbed Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Definitive Edition, and I gotta say the game grew on me way more than I was expecting.

I've been a fan of the reboot Tomb Raider series, and I think that when it comes to adventure, exploration and finding the unknown, the third chapter is actually the better one...but not without it's issues.

For me the main issue that the game has, and in my opinion it can "block" players from wanting to explore the side stuff, is it's main narrative. The historical setup and locations are good, and better than Rise, but then Square Enix decides to throw in a bunch of killing.

While there is a certain logic for this in this whole arc regarding a darker Lara in her fight against Trinity (daddy issues + carrying the typical "the future of the world on your shoulders pressure" kind of stuff), in this 3rd title it takes a tone that it doesn't suit the character very well at all, making her look more like a Tomb Digger rather a Tomb Raider to be honest. There's simply too much killing for a character that:

a) is solidifying her archaeologist skills (she's in her early twenties by the end of the game, she's not "The Tomb Raider" girl we all know yet)

b) In the future she will be known for being a renown archaeologist, not a killing machine. I really doubt that what made her famous was the fact that she slaughter Trinity, top to bottom.

I'm glad this arc is over, and I really hope that in the following narrative arc they take the killing tone a few steps back and focus more on adventurous aspects.

But then we have the side content, and oh man...every location, crypt and tomb feels unique, and this is where the game truly shines and makes it a very good Tomb Raider in my opinion.

You need to play this game without any kind of hint system, it's really good.

Not only that but the collectibles are interesting to search for and read, making the lore much richier and interesting. There's more here than meets the eye, and it's a shame that Square Enix doesn't allow these contents to shine more.

++Pros++

Gorgeous scenery and setup
Amazing to explore, each place feels fresh and unique
Interesting lore (Paititi, Incas, Maya, Ancient mythology, it's really cool if you're interested in this kind of stuff)
Difficulty system (more games should look for what SE did here)
Solid puzzles, tombs and challenges (specially if you grab the Definitive Edition for 20 €)
Stealth mechanics are a fine addition

--Cons--
Too much killing for an adventurer type of character.
The enemy wildlife feels scarce. Piranhas, eels, jaguars and hyenas. That's it. We are in Peru, for god sake.
Immersion audio dialogue. You can't have people speaking their native language with Lara when she only speaks in English. Ancient tribes became fluent in english out of thin air?

In the end I ended up liking the game thanks to the amazing side content it offers. It's where it truly shows itself as a Tomb Raider game.

What's your opinion on the game GAF? From searching the web I think the game got some backlash and flew under the radar for some people.

Spoiler

 

[ManaByte]

Probably the best "Tomb Raider" of the new trilogy, but OMG the story is stupid boring. Finally finished it the other week.

 

[rofif]

I thought it was incredibly boring and just annoying. The villages sections were a slog.
Drink every time they say paititi

 

[JORMBO]

It is my favorite out of the new trilogy. I recently did a second playthrough of it. It had a lot less killing then the previous two games. I think they should have made the jungles a bit more deadly and added more animals to fight rather then humans. The tombs were decent. The game would probably feel a bit more "tomb raider" if they built the tombs into the main game rather then making them side content. I also really liked how they made tons of tweakable difficulty options.

 

[Nankatsu]

I thought it was incredibly boring and just annoying. The villages sections were a slog.
Drink every time they say paititi

They say Ixik way more times than Paititi

The story is more bearable if you engage with the side content, but than again, it shouldn't be like that.

It is my favorite out of the new trilogy. I recently did a second playthrough of it. It had a lot less killing then the previous two games. I think they should have made the jungles a bit more deadly and added more animals to fight rather then humans. The tombs were decent. The game would probably feel a bit more "tomb raider" if they built the tombs into the main game rather then making them side content. I also really liked how they made tons of tweakable difficulty options.

Yes, the jungle could be way more deadlier, after all we're on Amazon territory.
I'm currently on my second playtrough, was not planning it but I'm only missing one trophy for the Platinum - play the game on hardest difficult. Can't leave that hanging.

 

[V2Tommy]

I liked Rise better. I hated the setting and Ubisoft-towns of Shadow. And forcing you to use certain outfits in a game with paid cosmetic DLC is criminal.

 

[Lukin1978]

I played through it on xbox one I'd rate it a 6 out of 10. Nothing memorable about it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The first Tomb Raider (2013) was the only good one, mainly because it had mostly killing. Rise was boring as shit because they replaced killing with boring exploration. I bought Shadow on sale but haven't played yet but I'm sure the killing parts will be the only good parts in that game too.

 

[Jesb]

Thought it was the worst of the three games but still was worth playing through.

 

[GymWolf]

never played after i heard that combat is a very little part of the game.

i don't play these game for the shitty plot or mediocre lara character.

give me ALL the killing spree rampage please.

 

[Moogle11]

I didn’t like it much. But to be fair I never liked the series before the first two game in this reboot which were pretty much Uncharted with reasons to explore (upgrades and crafting mats instead of collectibles that only matter for trophy/achievement hunters). Not a fan of exploration or puzzles so the earlier games and this one just weren’t for me. Which is fine.

 

[Kazza]

I currently playing through Rise for the first time (just over half way through, I think). It's a fairly enjoyable romp, and I'll probably continue on to the end, but I don't think it's a great game, probably worse that the first in the rebooted trilogy.

- the setting doesn't feel very Tomb Raider (abandoned Soviet industrial Siberian setting rather than ancient temples and tropical jungles)
- not sold on Lara's personality (preferred the original super confident Lara, not the daddy problems current one)
- way too much killing

I'm playing on Xbox 360 and initially thought "wow, this looks great, similar to a current gen title, almost as good as Uncharted Lost Legacy", but both performance and texture quality have taken a hit as I have gotten further in the game.

I have Shadow on PC (from a Humble Bundle). If it has more exploration, less killing and a Peruvian/Inca setting, then I think I'll enjoy it more.

 

[VertigoOA]

Had this in the backlog. Just re-downloaded it.

The first two games were a great time. Looking forward to finally giving the last one a shake too.

 

[Camreezie]

Just finished up playing Rise and moved onto Shadow , it seems pretty good so far and I can tell theres less focus on putting the combat upfront unlike Rise and 2013. Also really dig the setup of the natural world events

 

[Big Baller]

Shadow is downright horrible. Not fun to play at all and Lara is unlikeable as fuck. They better awaken the IP when this woke era has settled down.

 

[Bragr]

I never understood how people liked it more than the 2 others. I played it on console and the amount of slowdown in some areas was unbelievably ridiculous. The pacing is weird, with long sections with climbing and navigation before you have 30 seconds of an action sequence and then back to long sections of climbing. The climbing is okay in the Tomb Raider games, but only for short bursts, since it's automatic it becomes tedious when it's pushed too much. The first 2 games understood that so much better and knew how to feed players gameplay scenarios without abusing them this game does.

The flashback sequence was shamelessly ripped from Uncharted. The game is also less polished than the other 2 by a mile, bugs & glitches everywhere.

And honestly, this is a rip on all 3 games, Lara is poorly voice acted.

They tried to have a few areas with more open-ended exploration, but every area that's open is so poorly constructed, you will have 6 animals running back and forth in a space the size of a large room with almost no A.I. and it looks just as about as dumb as it possibly can. It's hard to understand how that passed the playtests. The open areas in Rise gave a blueprint on how to engage such things in Tomb Raider games but they ignored it completely.

The game tries to copy Rise but falls flat. It has no good new ideas apart from a mud camo that it almost never uses, it's just a worse designed game, less polished and poorly constructed. I liked the 2 others a good deal and didn't expect too much from the third since it was an outsource job, but I was very disappointed with this mess.

 

[CitizenX]

I consider TR reboot one of the best games ever as i have played it numerous times. Pacing, action and of course the beautiful Camilla Luddington nailed Lara C. Im currently playing ROTTR and its not even in the same ball park, HOW did this game get so many great reviews? Its Ok, but stopping every 2 seconds to pick up a fcking collectible and AI who just run straight at you is bad. i told a friend i just want a TR game like the old ones just exploring tombs. Good thing this is now shelved for a while but im looking forward to Shadow as it seems it touches on a lot of the issues i have with ROTTR.

 

[CitizenX]

I currently playing through Rise for the first time (just over half way through, I think). It's a fairly enjoyable romp, and I'll probably continue on to the end, but I don't think it's a great game, probably worse that the first in the rebooted trilogy.

- the setting doesn't feel very Tomb Raider (abandoned Soviet industrial Siberian setting rather than ancient temples and tropical jungles)
- not sold on Lara's personality (preferred the original super confident Lara, not the daddy problems current one)
- way too much killing

I'm playing on Xbox 360 and initially thought "wow, this looks great, similar to a current gen title, almost as good as Uncharted Lost Legacy", but both performance and texture quality have taken a hit as I have gotten further in the game.

I have Shadow on PC (from a Humble Bundle). If it has more exploration, less killing and a Peruvian/Inca setting, then I think I'll enjoy it more.

My favorite is she looks like a dwarf when talking to anyone. Did you notice that? I mean she is basically 4' to everyone in the village being 6', kind of funny. And the combat is so console casual its not funny, remember this was an Xbox exclusive for a yr.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

For me it was the weakest of the trilogy. Mainly because of the villages. The first 2 were good, not too long and then we get to the third one which is like 4 times bigger and longer and thast where you spend the rest of the game. I really wanted to leave that village and go back into the jungle and stealth kill militia but that was like only 1 mission. It just felt slapped together. Tombs were great as always but overall the game was a bore.

 

[Dlacy13g]

I find almost all 3rd person action games are better when you are not forced to be a Rambo clone.

 

[LaughingStock]

Are we ever going to have a game like tomb raider where the only challenge comes from exploring and climbing? I guess not.

 

[Bkdk]

Still haven’t played it yet, the nude mod on pc certainly makes me more interested to try it eventually.

 

[Kamina]

I also liked it.
The stealth segments with bow/arrow and knife fit much better to that kind of lara, than the ones where she acts guns blazing. Part of the reason why i play on higher difficulties. Since the first reboot i made it a habit to completely avoid (as much a possible at least) all automatic and heavy weapons and instead focus on stealth mechanics, bow, and suppressed pistol. Game-changer to me.

 

[Nankatsu]

I also liked it.
The stealth segments with bow/arrow and knife fit much better to that kind of lara, than the ones where she acts guns blazing. Part of the reason why i play on higher difficulties. Since the first reboot i made it a habit to completely avoid (as much a possible at least) all automatic and heavy weapons and instead focus on stealth mechanics, bow, and suppressed pistol. Game-changer to me.

Yap, I also did the same.

However there was a sequence in SoTR that I had to make an exception : the cenote sequence on ultimate difficulty.

That part was hellish

 

[Roufianos]

These games just got too bloated for their own good with the open world areas and the ridiculous amount of crafting / gameplay mechanics.

The first was amazing, the second was alright, I quit the 3rd a few hours in.

 

[Verchod]

I've really enjoyed all three games, I like Shadow as it has a lot less combat. I don't get why people want combat in this type of game. It's the one thing that stops me replaying the first to be honest.
It would be nice if the developer had the courage to go all out on an exploration only game. Trekking through jungle and exploring tombs would be excellent.

I've just started playing the third one again but on PC, I played on Xbox one before. It's actually quite taxing. I'm struggling to get keep 60FPS at 1440 Ultra settings.
I might try Rise and see what that's like.

 

[HE1NZ]

This game has a great photomode.

 

[Portugeezer]

Her simp friend sickens me. But I did enjoy the game.

 

[HE1NZ]

Shit's too fun

 

[TGO]

And forcing you to use certain outfits in a game with paid cosmetic DLC is criminal.

What?
I don't remember this

The paid part

 

[TGO]

It's definitely the better game of the 3
Shame the developers was tied to the story the first two because I think they could of made a good classic Tomb Raider

 

[HE1NZ]

What?
I don't remember this

The paid part

All paid costumes suck anyway. Standard suit is the best - shows her fit arms.

 

[Manstructiclops]

Rise is my favourite game and setting in the trilogy.

Absolutely cracking HDR implementation in this game though.
Seeing how dogshit marvel has turned out is quite depressing to see also from a Crystal Dynamics fan.

 

[bargeparty]

I didn't really enjoy all the hub type stuff and activities. It felt out of place to me for some reason, maybe poor execution.

I was going to look back at some post post I made about this game, but there was a point with the oil fields if I remember correctly where they could have taken Lara in a particular direction and done something interesting with the character and they totally botched it. I was fairly disappointed in that.

Oh well. Time for another reboot, or make her "Old" Lara copying Uncharted 4.

 

[In Your Vase]

The game had some pluses (cool navigation, beautiful enviroments), and some real negatives (story, the what-the-f stealth mechanics).

The story had some good points but made the biggest mistake of a game narrative - hey, let's shit on the player for the very reason they'd want to buy the game (to be Lara Croft and raid tombs) and blame them for engaging in the game loop the game has always provided and you paid money for. Give me a break, that's Last of Us 2 shit right there. Also, at least in Rise and the reboot I can remember vaguely who the antagonist was, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I've forgotten who was head of Trinity or why I should even care.

The stealth mode was okay until about halfway through the game, where suddenly it seemed like they were throwing all the rules out the window for how enemies could detect you that wasn't consistent.

I don't regret playing it, but it had a lot of problems.

 

[TGO]

All paid costumes suck anyway. Standard suit is the best - shows her fit arms.

Yeah I mainly used the default

I just wish the shorts would return, they do a classic costume but

No shorts
And they have the gym outfit but

She wears the pants high on the waist (like all women do now)
Which looks stupid
pull them down to your hips woman!
I blame Simon Coral

 

[M1chl]

I thought it was incredibly boring and just annoying. The villages sections were a slog.
Drink every time they say paititi

I did that, last thing I know 3 weeks later I was in hospital waiting for the transplant.

And sadly it's totally true.

 

[Camreezie]

Her simp friend sickens me. But I did enjoy the game.

Jonah? I thought the game picked up very late. After the oil tanker it got a lot better

 

[In Your Vase]

Jonah had so many fake deaths I wished he would perish for real. Even his moments of fake death undermined the story and the shock they were shooting for (esp. Shadow) because it was hard to muster the energy to give a shit about him.

As a sounding board, I guess you need someone to bounce things off of for Lara, but Jonah was just boring. When he jumped on the "blame" bandwagon for Lara early on in Shadow, I wanted to the option to kick him off a cliff.

 

[FunkMiller]

The story for this was garbage, which was a shame, as the gameplay itself was pretty good.

Chasing Uncharted didn’t really do Tomb Raider many favours. It lost its identity. I’d like future games to return to some of the personality and tone of the original games. Bring back that exploration and sense of solitude.

 

[CrysisFreak]

Did anyone else notice how the combat in Shadow is much worse than in Rise because it is so much less responsive?
Idk how but they added this shitty input lag that I found vomit inducing.
I did not play them back to back so maybe I'm mistaken but I think there's something to it.
Like I found gunfights on base PS4 in Shadow OTR literally un-fucking-playable.
Any1?

 

[The Alien]

I thought it was incredibly boring and just annoying. The villages sections were a slog.
Drink every time they say paititi

Paititi is the new Malaka!!

 

[The Alien]

I rather enjoyed SOTR. It wasn't amazing. It wasn't better than Rise. But it was good fun.

I enjoyed this reboot trilogy if TR games a lot.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Really good 3rd person action adventure series, forgotten cities, platforming it’s just a pleasure to play through traditional 15 hour games.

 

[Shmunter]

It looks like AAA, it smells like AAA. But it’s just a cheeseburger once you bite into it. At least for me. Like a cheap Chinese knock off of a Sony game.

Hugely disappointing. Loved the Original 2013 versions.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I actually liked Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It was possibly my favorite game out of the recent trilogy, but it feels a little different from ROTR. SOTR felt a little bit more like the older games with it’s slightly slower pacing and exploration I think while the predecessors focused more on action.

 

[HE1NZ]

It looks like AAA, it smells like AAA. But it’s just a cheeseburger once you bite into it. At least for me. Like a cheap Chinese knock off of a Sony game.

Hugely disappointing. Loved the Original 2013 versions.

And Sony game is just a vegan cheeseburger.

At least you get to explore stuff in Tomb Raider, metroidvania style.