Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the tomb raider takes a step away from its predecessor’s cluster fuck of a jumbled mechanics and picks them up, dust them off and make them presentable enough for church. 2013s Tomb Raider reboot had a personality crisis; it was trying too much to be Uncharted while trying to maintaining some of the series roots for older fans. In Rise of the tomb raider the developers started to have their own direction; the game mechanics, pacing and traversal all feel more well-rounded and inline.

First things first, the presentation in ROTTR terrifically done with almost every aspect of the game; a level may look amazing graphically, but when presented stylistically it amplify the effect giving the players great and unforgettable moments of awe; from snow-peak mountains to deep hypogenic caves, the art gorgeous with intricate details everywhere you look, especially in closed locations; Tombs arranged to tell a story of past occurrences that are both in line with the narrative and the game’s puzzles.

The story is exactly what you’ would expected: recycled bull shit. Illuminati-esque cult that wants to obtain a supernatural power blah blah...Lara wants to obtain it because of her dad blah blah. It’s like they're not even trying anymore; you could see a shitty “twist” coming from miles away. On the other hand, Lara herself is a good character. She was established by being pushed into an adventure in the previous game, but in ROTTR she decides to embark on this journey all on her own. But a good character without a powerful narrative isn’t enough, it’s like peanut butter without Jam or Jackie chan without martial arts, it’s just sad.

Combat had what may seem as subtle changes, at first, but the changes made big differences: Explosives are pick up and use items, you cannot bank it for later use, they are also placed in key locations to keep you moving; destructible covers also are another element that keeps you on your feet; traversal in combat is more emphasized with the ability to take down enemies from a higher locations; and lastly you can take the stealth approach which is complemented with the excellent level design.

Combat also stands out with its great presentation, every encounter adds a new feature or a new weapon, new enemy class or a twist in the level design that make you force you to alter the way you play. The most lacking side of the combat is probably the weapons, excluding the bow of course, every weapon lacks a good goddamn punch. The shotgun from close range can blow an enemy six feet back, but the problem is the enemies feel weightless to begin with.

Lara herself still feel, not as light as the first game, but still light enough to look and feel weird with her floaty mid-air-path-altering jumps. That was another step in the right direction, but it’s not quite there.

Traversal all throughout the game is wonderful, especially with the upgrades and how they’re spaced out; there is always a new way and fun way to navigate your way. Unfortunately the paths you need to take are always too obvious, there is no real challenge in the navigation, so it lack that gratifying feel a player gets from solving a puzzle, that is true almost all throughout the main game, but it's not the case when it comes to the actual tombs.

In TR there almost wasn’t any tombs worth mentioning, and in ROTTR there is around 9 tombs, all optional, and they are the best! part of the game by far. The tombs feel like slices of Legend of Zelda dungeons. And from the moment you set foot into a tomb the atmosphere changes to draw the game back to from action focused to a cool puzzle feel. All the tombs are really well constructed, they may lack a bit in challenge, but still they are fun, clever and look magnificent.

In closing, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a well presented, well organized version of 2013s Tomb Raider. The developers have definitely taken a page off of Metroidvania and Legend of Zelda school of design, I just really wish they take a chapter or two. In the end, the game is a really good experience with the potential to be a great one.