Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a great ending to Lara Croft's rebooted, mature origin story. Once again the visuals are absolutely stunning, and the voice acting is top notch. I never play games until 100% completion, but I had to for this game. My only gripe with the game is the controls. More than once I had issues where I would press a button and it wouldn't register, or Lara would jump in a different direction than I intended. Also, the combat is pretty straight forward: hide, use killer instinct to see if enemies are not being watched, then stealth kill (or go guns blazing, but it's not as fun). The game has many side missions, tombs, crypts, and other collectibles to find and beat so there is more of an incentive to jump back in after the main campaign (or dive into new game +). Excellent game that I couldn't put down. If you're not a fan of the series, this won't change your mind, but damn is it fun.
38 Reviews
The future looks BRIGHT for the Tomb Raider franchise....oh god.
trollmr14 September 2018
Dark, edgy and as HOT as the sun!....kekeke. The 3rd installment of this rebooted Tomb Raider series was pretty great! I'll be honest, I didn't think Lara was that compelling in any of the other games (still thought she was likeable) but that changed in this. Found her the most vunerable, developed and interesting. Don't even get me started on the set pieces...OHHH! Overall, looks beautiful but sometimes a little choppy. Climax felt a little too similar to the previous one and I found the ending kind of lackluster but it was still enjoyable! If I had to say which game is the best out of the three, I'd probably say this one.
Queen of The Jungle
MisterJxroen28 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I just got done playing the whole trilogy: "Tomb Raider" (2013), "Rise of The Tomb Raider" (2015) and "Shadow of The Tomb Raider" (2018). I enjoyed this third and final installment so much that I thought it was worth writing a positive review for.
Right of the bat I already felt something different with the cut scenes, especially compared to "Rise of The Tomb Raider". I felt more emotion and depth was being brought to the characters, especially Lara herself - which is something I really enjoyed.
The visuals were once again stunning, which is something I've always liked about this trilogy. Exploring ancient tombs and travelling across dangerous mountains and forests was something I thoroughly enjoyed. It is definitely worth it to sometimes stop for a moment to check out the environment. The sounds were also amazing! It often gave me chills as I was slowly going deeper into a scary tomb. And during more calmer moments, it was very comforting and relaxing - really bringing the art of nature into sound. Lara's character creation also seemed perfect to me. You can really see the positive evolution throughout the trilogy. Very neat!
The story was solid, all though I believe this could have been slightly more interesting towards the end because it somewhat felt the same to the ending we got in it's predecessor. I did really like the jungle setting compared to the cold and snowy scenery we got in ROTTR, but that's just my personal preference. I also have something to say about Jonah. Towards the end I kind of started to get irritated by him because it felt as if he wasn't really doing anything the bring progress to the plot, but was simply and specifically there to stretch the storyline and bring a lot of the same (lose something or rescue someone, go there and try to bring it back or rescue them). Though, this wasn't really a very big deal to me.
I absolutely love this characterization of Lara Croft. This is what I imagine when I think of Lara Croft. A brave but troubled, strong female character whom is consumed by continuing what her father did and to save the world from Trinity, with a little bit of revenge added to the motivation factor. A specific scene that I truly loved is when Lara emerged from the water and we saw a silhouette of her. It was incredibly bad-ass and it felt to me like this is where she (for a moment) embraced her "dark" side. With this I mean she obviously has killed a lot of people and caused a lot of chaos, and in this moment it felt like she fully embodied that part of her.
To wrap it up, my verdict. I rate this game 9/10. I'm not giving this game a 10/10 because I believe the story could have been better. I'm hoping we'll get another game in the future with this Lara Croft or one similar to this one. I would love to play it.
Right of the bat I already felt something different with the cut scenes, especially compared to "Rise of The Tomb Raider". I felt more emotion and depth was being brought to the characters, especially Lara herself - which is something I really enjoyed.
The visuals were once again stunning, which is something I've always liked about this trilogy. Exploring ancient tombs and travelling across dangerous mountains and forests was something I thoroughly enjoyed. It is definitely worth it to sometimes stop for a moment to check out the environment. The sounds were also amazing! It often gave me chills as I was slowly going deeper into a scary tomb. And during more calmer moments, it was very comforting and relaxing - really bringing the art of nature into sound. Lara's character creation also seemed perfect to me. You can really see the positive evolution throughout the trilogy. Very neat!
The story was solid, all though I believe this could have been slightly more interesting towards the end because it somewhat felt the same to the ending we got in it's predecessor. I did really like the jungle setting compared to the cold and snowy scenery we got in ROTTR, but that's just my personal preference. I also have something to say about Jonah. Towards the end I kind of started to get irritated by him because it felt as if he wasn't really doing anything the bring progress to the plot, but was simply and specifically there to stretch the storyline and bring a lot of the same (lose something or rescue someone, go there and try to bring it back or rescue them). Though, this wasn't really a very big deal to me.
I absolutely love this characterization of Lara Croft. This is what I imagine when I think of Lara Croft. A brave but troubled, strong female character whom is consumed by continuing what her father did and to save the world from Trinity, with a little bit of revenge added to the motivation factor. A specific scene that I truly loved is when Lara emerged from the water and we saw a silhouette of her. It was incredibly bad-ass and it felt to me like this is where she (for a moment) embraced her "dark" side. With this I mean she obviously has killed a lot of people and caused a lot of chaos, and in this moment it felt like she fully embodied that part of her.
To wrap it up, my verdict. I rate this game 9/10. I'm not giving this game a 10/10 because I believe the story could have been better. I'm hoping we'll get another game in the future with this Lara Croft or one similar to this one. I would love to play it.
My new favorite game
amberveyt18 September 2018
This is one of the best Tomb Raider games ever if you ask me. It is exciting, scary, moving and it is full of breathtaking environments. The puzzles are more difficult, challenging and bigger then ever before. The story is great and the graphics make it super realistic. I'm looking forward to the next Tomb Raider adventure!
Simply a masterpiece
landongriffin15 October 2018
A masterpiece!
hakobyanhakob8116 September 2018
Just who are the critics underrating this game? The Metacritic ratio is a joke. Don't believe it. This game is epic. The ending really had me hold my breathe. The visuals are stunning, and, yes, I think this is the best Tomb Raider, but having said that, there's no way I'm downgrading the previous 2 games. Each one of them is a masterpiece, but this one sort of exceeded my expectations. 2 sleepless long nights devoted to one of the best games I have ever played. I would seriously buy the second copy just to support the developers. At the end I was very sad though. Loved it so much I wish the main campaign could last for at least 2 months, so needless to say I will revisit Shadow of the Tomb Raider tomorrow already. Watching this sweet girl is always a pleasure. I'm very happy I got this game on the very first day.
To everybody involved in this project! 'Thank you guys, I love your team for this wonderful time. I'm writing this review listening to the wonderful soundtrack as the end credits roll, absolutely overwhelmed but still sad I have finished the game. So please, give us some great dlcs too. And I'll be looking forward to the next game in a couple of years. We need more and more and more and more of Lara'.
As for the rest, go and get this game!
Sublime massive platforming tomb mechanics and excellent puzzle design.
robfollower3 December 2020
The last game of the second reboot trilogy. Eidos Montreal took over the development after the excellent 7 Tomb Raider games by Crystal Dynamics. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider focuses much more on the character of Lara as the last game of this reboot trilogy after 2 great games and it does a great job.
The game focuses on massive tombs with different creative puzzles, but still retains the trademark action/stealth/puzzler game-play of the first 2 games.
With even greater graphics, more developed mechanics, tons of exploring and discovering opportunities and with a very well-written scenario Shadow of the Tomb Raider, definitely is one of the best in the series. There is not much to say other than the game successfully managed to combine the Tomb Raider formula and modern technology.
The game focuses on massive tombs with different creative puzzles, but still retains the trademark action/stealth/puzzler game-play of the first 2 games.
With even greater graphics, more developed mechanics, tons of exploring and discovering opportunities and with a very well-written scenario Shadow of the Tomb Raider, definitely is one of the best in the series. There is not much to say other than the game successfully managed to combine the Tomb Raider formula and modern technology.
Underwhelming
jmyska121 October 2018
I was excited to play Shaddow of the Tomb Raider because the last two games were amazing. The game got off to a decent start, but once Lara gets to the village the story drags and becomes ridiculous ( even for a Tomb Raider game). The gameplay was basically the same as the previous two games, but didn't feel quite as polished. This game also has more free roaming with side missions, which works for a lot of games but not this one. Overall it's an okay game, it just doesn't measure up to the previous two.
The game is amazing
matthewthomas-0348015 September 2018
Like Most Trilogies The Third One Falls Flat
fred-reich751 January 2019
I absolutely loved the rebooted Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider. I actually gave both games a 10 on IMDb. The first two games had a very natural progression for the Lara Croft character and SotTR seemed to be setting up an amazing story by having an overconfident Lara seemingly bring on the end of the world. But then the game lands in Paititi the character development comes to a screeching halt. It almost reminded me of the second season of The Walking Dead. When are we getting off of the farm/Paititi? It just dragged.
Visually, the game is just as beautiful as the previous entries and if you're on the Xbox One X playing in 4K, the game is simply stunning.
I really do hope we get to see this version of Lara in one more game. Uncharted 4 was an amazing send off for Nathan Drake and Lara Croft could use one more go around to send her off on the high note she deserves. This wasn't it.
Great game, probably my favorite from the rebooted trilogy
85122212 February 2019
Greetings from Lithuania.
"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" (2018) is probably one of the most if not the most underrated games of 2018. I loved the first two games highly, and i was looking forward for this 3rd and as creators said - the last in this trilogy. Now after it came out and most of the reviews said that it was the weakest in the series and many players complained about repetitiveness, bringing nothing new to the table and bla bla bla i was a bit worried. Now after completing this game at 100% and at the moment completed all new DLC i can safely say - this is probably the best Tomb Raider game ever made.
I have no clue what most of the players and critics alike were complaining about. This game is fantastic from the get go till the closing title sequence. Its bigger the both previous games. It has very cool new mechanics in combat, it has more tombs - basically this game has improved on almost every aspect from previous (and those were already great!). it has Lara in the most dark and gritty story yet and even her interactions with Johnna which i found a bit boring in previous games were much more fleshed out in "Shadow".
Overall, if you really liked previous two games and especially "Rise" - you will have a blast exploring this new breathtakingly beautiful open world. Its not the best game of 2018, but for me personally its very close up there with "God of War" and "Red Dead 2". I do hope Crystal Dynamics won't stop this franchise and give as something as great and exciting in near future. "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is easily, an amazing game.
"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" (2018) is probably one of the most if not the most underrated games of 2018. I loved the first two games highly, and i was looking forward for this 3rd and as creators said - the last in this trilogy. Now after it came out and most of the reviews said that it was the weakest in the series and many players complained about repetitiveness, bringing nothing new to the table and bla bla bla i was a bit worried. Now after completing this game at 100% and at the moment completed all new DLC i can safely say - this is probably the best Tomb Raider game ever made.
I have no clue what most of the players and critics alike were complaining about. This game is fantastic from the get go till the closing title sequence. Its bigger the both previous games. It has very cool new mechanics in combat, it has more tombs - basically this game has improved on almost every aspect from previous (and those were already great!). it has Lara in the most dark and gritty story yet and even her interactions with Johnna which i found a bit boring in previous games were much more fleshed out in "Shadow".
Overall, if you really liked previous two games and especially "Rise" - you will have a blast exploring this new breathtakingly beautiful open world. Its not the best game of 2018, but for me personally its very close up there with "God of War" and "Red Dead 2". I do hope Crystal Dynamics won't stop this franchise and give as something as great and exciting in near future. "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is easily, an amazing game.
Please be the last one.
ben-pedley11 November 2018
I loved the first two games of the reboot. Lara was presented as a relatable person with great stories that held your interest. Unfortunately shadow lets the player down - the story drags in more than one place and even the graphics seem to have taken a dip in quality with the frame rate dropping in more than one place. I enjoyed a return to solving puzzles but the game seems to prioritize open world exploration and side missions, over a solid core story.
Underwhelming
ian728526 January 2019
Yes, they did character work, which is great. Jonah has magically changed his entire appearance again. Lara's character model is a huge downgrade from Rise - particularly in the hair. The mud effect is cheap looking. And whoever said the ending had them "holding their breath" must have never watched a movie or played the last two games. Everything is as formulaic and predictable as possible. Also, the skill tree is a nightmare. I really wanted to like this one best... But I guess I'm just going back to the other games.
I was so worried about this game. Seeing the trailers had me grinding my teeth, fearing a generic killing simulator. But I was proven totally wrong.
angiris22 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I love... being able to write this. Its like a rock on my chest and shoulder, crumbling and giving me relief. I had such a huge beef with Rise. Felt it was way too distant from learning about Lara as a character, Story was massively uninteresting, too focused on combat and Siberia was so "sigh". Puzzles were too easy and rewards were too boring and at times annoying " stuff auto glowing when nearby. WTF... "
But.... thats in the past now. The dev listened. To every bit of criticism and they fixed the issues of both 2013 and Rise and they gave us a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy, easily the BEST of the trilogy and a game that has me extremely optimistic for the future of this franchise.
Pros: Improved gunplay. Lovely tombs and crypts. More customization. Greater challenge all around and with customizable difficulty as well. Gun and bow sounds are vastly improved. Which fixes issues I had with weird pew sounds and alike. IT sounds realistic and meaty now. Its great. The world is larger. Zones are beautiful. More life. More people. More variation between NPCS's and not Rise's copy pasted face 300 times.
People you interact with are nice, interesting and give you cool rewards for you listening or helping. Anything is useful. More vendors as well.
And we do far less killing and far more exploring, talking, climbing, swimming and tomb raiding this time. Which is a huge Pro for me. A step in the right direction. Letting this franchise be its own thing and not an uncharted clone.
The biggest Pro for me... is the narrative. Lara as well as Jonah are SO WELL FLESHED OUT. We get so much more character development, progress. Moments of bonding, cool flashback sequences that are fun and relevant with puzzles added in too alike Anniversary DLC from Rise ( the BEST thing in that game In my own opinion. That DLC = 10 out of 10). Moments where Lara is hurting, or just rushing ahead, and Jonah is there to bring her back down. Give her a reality check and challenge her. Highlighting she doesn't have everything under control. She is only human. And as the game so eloquently puts it " We all create destiny Together" this message is spun so well from start to finish. No god mode. Teamwork is key. And its just beautiful. Making Lara way more of a relatable character. A down to earth realistic person you empathize with. And not just a killing machine with no personality = Rise.
Its wonderful. They listened to so much feedback. So much criticism. And they gave us the best tomb raider of this Trilogy. Polished story, characters, locations, combat, customization, difficulty, world building and NO MORE OPTIONAL TOMBS. Thank God....that was so bloody annoying. Now its just " Tombs and Crypts"
No more screwing with immersion or BS. Tombs offer far better rewards too. stuff you dont want to miss. Unlike Rise. (I know I know. I can't stop but I hate that bloody game lol. )
Anyway. Its wonderful.
What about cons?
Well. Dont play this game with Exclusive fullscreen and tab out or you're screwed by horrible stuttering. Optimization can be wonky sometimes. But 98 % of the time it runs flawlessly. Some sudden camera changes mid jumps can at times kill you and really anger you. But it happens seldomly but beware playing on max difficulty because of it. No autosave and this happening is enough to make your blood.... BOIL. Losing 20-30 minutes of progress +.
Other than that. Nothing actually other than decisions I disagree with.
Nr 1: No dual wield. They could've and should've given us that. I know why they didn't but it really is overdue since 2013 teased it at the end 5 years ago.
Nr 2: Still unable to remove silencers from your rifle or pistol if you attach it. This is meh. Hoped they'd learn that from Rise.
Nr 3: When you arrive in paititi, you can only wear maybe 20-30 % of all your unlocked outfits. And only talk to Rebels using 1 specific one. This would be fine to begin with but later on you should've gotten their trust and then wear whatever you want. I got like 10 outfits and another 5-6 custom made ones. And I cannot use them because I wanna do quests and stuff. Thats dumb. We should be able to wear whatever outfits we wanted to after we gained their trust which is like 1 quest.
Nr 4: Unable to use Mud camouflage at will. There are very specific combat areas where you can use mud. Other places have none. And if you're not in combat or near combat areas you cannot interact with mud pits. Thats kinda meh for those of us who wanted to go hunting using camouflage but no E to interact option appears. So that was a bummer. WHen it works tho, its fantastic. Cool feature. The Rambo / Arnie in predator angle was very badass. And stealth has many more cool animations too so it sucked being unable to use it often with Mud camo.
Nr 5: Removing auto save from max difficulty. This is the last one and its personal. I played this game on max difficulty at first. Progressed 60-70 %. Then I stopped and restarted. And it was because I was getting insanely F'ing angry. I was tired... of dying and dying and dying because of lag or camera changes, swinging lara's face 180 degrees to the right, mid jump so I fall to my death and lose half an hour of progress and exploring. It absolutely sucked and drove me so upset I stopped enjoying the game outright.
I LOVE HARD MODE. I love tough enemies. I Love tough challenges. And all that good stuff. But I rebooted on the lower difficulty instead because when a game has these sorts of punishing bugs or glitches and offers no auto-save... it quickly goes from " Argh. Gotta git gut" to "GTFO....." Borderline rage quit. I rebooted. Played the whole thing on a slightly easier difficulty and cleansed my memory of the crap. And had a blast. 9 out of 10 level amazing. Because if I had completed the game with that amount of punishing deaths, I knew the score would've been the same, but my memory of it would've been extremely negative. Straight up elevated blood pressure whilst reading the credits. And I didn't want that.
Come the next game. Make enemies tougher. make it so headshots dont 1 shot. Make so you die taking 1 single hit of damage. Crazy stuff like that. Thats fine. Roll, dodge, take cover. use stealth.
But removing auto-save.... is just cruel and excessively punishing. It doesn't make the game harder that I gotta re-do a 30 minute section and redo a crypt or tomb. It just makes it tedious and annoying. And after investing 30 hours into MAX difficulty....I can bloody well guarantee you that it didn't change my mind in the slightest, dying countless times and losing all.
I just got angrier and sadder and realized that if I complete the game in 5 minutes I'll just be upset and not enjoy it.
Thats not Very Hard Difficulty. Thats bad game design and punishing us who want the toughest enemies and tombs. And what adds insult to injury was that even on max difficulty I 1 shotted enemies with headshots. As well as animals. It didn't matter. It took 3 hits to die from stuff.
The only change is removal of auto save and thats just evil and tedious. Not hard. And I'd like to see that fixed in the next game.
Final thoughts: One big thing I loved about this game was how they did MORE with the mythological monster angle. The native underground beings we first fight end up being our allies and we get a huge revelation how the queen of the rebels we assist is actually sort of symbiotic with the queen figure of the underground native monsters. And even how different they are... they both want the same thing and live in harmony. Cooperation.
And its just so cool and different from Rise that showed us the cool byzantine soldiers that turned out to be just... generic zombies with fire arrows and nothing else really happened. Unlike Himiko's Stormguard that were FAR more intimidating and fleshed out as monsters you gotta be wary of. Plus Samurai are epic.
I loved to see them do more with the supernatural creatures this time. They just evolved on such much yet could've innovated more in a few places which is what keeps this game from a perfect rating. Such as for instance, making the world bigger and more open. Maybe even letting lara traverse using a vehicle or such. But hey. Maybe next game.
Either way. For what we got compared to its predecessors, its a damn fantastic game. And definitely the best of the trilogy.
Thank you for an epic journey and a fantastic conclusion to this part of Lara's story. I'll look forward to see what comes next.
According to the patched day 1 Ending... a little letter spoke of Natla the Atlantean in India. Time shall tell what happens next.
I'm just happy that I had a blast unlike in Rise and I feel good about being excited for the future for this franchise.
9 out of 10. damn fantastic ride. Lots of fixes and improvements. The MOST tomb raider feeling game of the trilogy. Intelligent and harder puzzles to solve. Cool stories and interesting lore. Wonderful & deep character development and improved, meaty combat that is well balanced without being overly excessive.
Thank you for listening, developers. Thank you.
Can't wait to see what comes next.
But.... thats in the past now. The dev listened. To every bit of criticism and they fixed the issues of both 2013 and Rise and they gave us a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy, easily the BEST of the trilogy and a game that has me extremely optimistic for the future of this franchise.
Pros: Improved gunplay. Lovely tombs and crypts. More customization. Greater challenge all around and with customizable difficulty as well. Gun and bow sounds are vastly improved. Which fixes issues I had with weird pew sounds and alike. IT sounds realistic and meaty now. Its great. The world is larger. Zones are beautiful. More life. More people. More variation between NPCS's and not Rise's copy pasted face 300 times.
People you interact with are nice, interesting and give you cool rewards for you listening or helping. Anything is useful. More vendors as well.
And we do far less killing and far more exploring, talking, climbing, swimming and tomb raiding this time. Which is a huge Pro for me. A step in the right direction. Letting this franchise be its own thing and not an uncharted clone.
The biggest Pro for me... is the narrative. Lara as well as Jonah are SO WELL FLESHED OUT. We get so much more character development, progress. Moments of bonding, cool flashback sequences that are fun and relevant with puzzles added in too alike Anniversary DLC from Rise ( the BEST thing in that game In my own opinion. That DLC = 10 out of 10). Moments where Lara is hurting, or just rushing ahead, and Jonah is there to bring her back down. Give her a reality check and challenge her. Highlighting she doesn't have everything under control. She is only human. And as the game so eloquently puts it " We all create destiny Together" this message is spun so well from start to finish. No god mode. Teamwork is key. And its just beautiful. Making Lara way more of a relatable character. A down to earth realistic person you empathize with. And not just a killing machine with no personality = Rise.
Its wonderful. They listened to so much feedback. So much criticism. And they gave us the best tomb raider of this Trilogy. Polished story, characters, locations, combat, customization, difficulty, world building and NO MORE OPTIONAL TOMBS. Thank God....that was so bloody annoying. Now its just " Tombs and Crypts"
No more screwing with immersion or BS. Tombs offer far better rewards too. stuff you dont want to miss. Unlike Rise. (I know I know. I can't stop but I hate that bloody game lol. )
Anyway. Its wonderful.
What about cons?
Well. Dont play this game with Exclusive fullscreen and tab out or you're screwed by horrible stuttering. Optimization can be wonky sometimes. But 98 % of the time it runs flawlessly. Some sudden camera changes mid jumps can at times kill you and really anger you. But it happens seldomly but beware playing on max difficulty because of it. No autosave and this happening is enough to make your blood.... BOIL. Losing 20-30 minutes of progress +.
Other than that. Nothing actually other than decisions I disagree with.
Nr 1: No dual wield. They could've and should've given us that. I know why they didn't but it really is overdue since 2013 teased it at the end 5 years ago.
Nr 2: Still unable to remove silencers from your rifle or pistol if you attach it. This is meh. Hoped they'd learn that from Rise.
Nr 3: When you arrive in paititi, you can only wear maybe 20-30 % of all your unlocked outfits. And only talk to Rebels using 1 specific one. This would be fine to begin with but later on you should've gotten their trust and then wear whatever you want. I got like 10 outfits and another 5-6 custom made ones. And I cannot use them because I wanna do quests and stuff. Thats dumb. We should be able to wear whatever outfits we wanted to after we gained their trust which is like 1 quest.
Nr 4: Unable to use Mud camouflage at will. There are very specific combat areas where you can use mud. Other places have none. And if you're not in combat or near combat areas you cannot interact with mud pits. Thats kinda meh for those of us who wanted to go hunting using camouflage but no E to interact option appears. So that was a bummer. WHen it works tho, its fantastic. Cool feature. The Rambo / Arnie in predator angle was very badass. And stealth has many more cool animations too so it sucked being unable to use it often with Mud camo.
Nr 5: Removing auto save from max difficulty. This is the last one and its personal. I played this game on max difficulty at first. Progressed 60-70 %. Then I stopped and restarted. And it was because I was getting insanely F'ing angry. I was tired... of dying and dying and dying because of lag or camera changes, swinging lara's face 180 degrees to the right, mid jump so I fall to my death and lose half an hour of progress and exploring. It absolutely sucked and drove me so upset I stopped enjoying the game outright.
I LOVE HARD MODE. I love tough enemies. I Love tough challenges. And all that good stuff. But I rebooted on the lower difficulty instead because when a game has these sorts of punishing bugs or glitches and offers no auto-save... it quickly goes from " Argh. Gotta git gut" to "GTFO....." Borderline rage quit. I rebooted. Played the whole thing on a slightly easier difficulty and cleansed my memory of the crap. And had a blast. 9 out of 10 level amazing. Because if I had completed the game with that amount of punishing deaths, I knew the score would've been the same, but my memory of it would've been extremely negative. Straight up elevated blood pressure whilst reading the credits. And I didn't want that.
Come the next game. Make enemies tougher. make it so headshots dont 1 shot. Make so you die taking 1 single hit of damage. Crazy stuff like that. Thats fine. Roll, dodge, take cover. use stealth.
But removing auto-save.... is just cruel and excessively punishing. It doesn't make the game harder that I gotta re-do a 30 minute section and redo a crypt or tomb. It just makes it tedious and annoying. And after investing 30 hours into MAX difficulty....I can bloody well guarantee you that it didn't change my mind in the slightest, dying countless times and losing all.
I just got angrier and sadder and realized that if I complete the game in 5 minutes I'll just be upset and not enjoy it.
Thats not Very Hard Difficulty. Thats bad game design and punishing us who want the toughest enemies and tombs. And what adds insult to injury was that even on max difficulty I 1 shotted enemies with headshots. As well as animals. It didn't matter. It took 3 hits to die from stuff.
The only change is removal of auto save and thats just evil and tedious. Not hard. And I'd like to see that fixed in the next game.
Final thoughts: One big thing I loved about this game was how they did MORE with the mythological monster angle. The native underground beings we first fight end up being our allies and we get a huge revelation how the queen of the rebels we assist is actually sort of symbiotic with the queen figure of the underground native monsters. And even how different they are... they both want the same thing and live in harmony. Cooperation.
And its just so cool and different from Rise that showed us the cool byzantine soldiers that turned out to be just... generic zombies with fire arrows and nothing else really happened. Unlike Himiko's Stormguard that were FAR more intimidating and fleshed out as monsters you gotta be wary of. Plus Samurai are epic.
I loved to see them do more with the supernatural creatures this time. They just evolved on such much yet could've innovated more in a few places which is what keeps this game from a perfect rating. Such as for instance, making the world bigger and more open. Maybe even letting lara traverse using a vehicle or such. But hey. Maybe next game.
Either way. For what we got compared to its predecessors, its a damn fantastic game. And definitely the best of the trilogy.
Thank you for an epic journey and a fantastic conclusion to this part of Lara's story. I'll look forward to see what comes next.
According to the patched day 1 Ending... a little letter spoke of Natla the Atlantean in India. Time shall tell what happens next.
I'm just happy that I had a blast unlike in Rise and I feel good about being excited for the future for this franchise.
9 out of 10. damn fantastic ride. Lots of fixes and improvements. The MOST tomb raider feeling game of the trilogy. Intelligent and harder puzzles to solve. Cool stories and interesting lore. Wonderful & deep character development and improved, meaty combat that is well balanced without being overly excessive.
Thank you for listening, developers. Thank you.
Can't wait to see what comes next.
Shadow Of The Lost Legacy.
colorthekid1 May 2020
Wow!!
morris473225 June 2019
I Love this game! The lead actress who plays Croft really stands out in this outing. As you play the game, it just gets better and better.. There is a part in the game where lara actually scared me because the intensity of the scene. The game actually became a action- horror game for about ten seconds. I didn't think a sequel oils be this good but all I can say is WOW!!
Excellent game
nobleguy-4662112 December 2018
I absolutely loved this game. Great direction, big areas to explore without the
irritations of an open world game. Fantastic cinematic scenes, excellent fast action scenes that rival Uncharted. The graphics are outstanding and the story was brilliant. Just wow! I do not have time for open world games and half the time you are trying to figure out what the heck you are supposed to do next and once you figure that out, you are sidetracked with a stupid mission. This game has none of that and I found it quite challenging as well. I highly recommend.
Good
killionriot19 April 2020
Overall, excellent well-rounded game to end the trilogy
gotskeelz15 March 2020
Not sure why there are so many haters to this game.
There are several facets of this game which make it thoroughly enjoyable. For all those who criticize that the game does not have a novel concept, it's the 15th+ game in the Tomb Raider franchise. In many ways, you shouldn't be expecting for a completely brand new game (in fact most of us enjoy the running around, combat sequences, and puzzles aspect that we came to love).
The storyline is excellent in this game. There are several side missions where you can explore the world and build up points and collect items to make the main mission easier. However, there isn't an excess of side missions to distract from the main mission either.
The puzzles are great. They take some thinking but are solvable with a little persistence.
The graphics and gameplay are well balanced. The Peruvian jungle and small towns are beautiful. The scenery is green, bright, and well-lit in contrast to the Siberian grey and dismal prequel (not a critique but rather just descriptive of the setting).
The combat sequences are well balanced. This isn't a game with excess shooting and non stop fighting. In fact, stealth and use of the bow with strategy is paramount. It makes for a slightly more realistic game (although as a 20 year old girl, she still has quite a few hundred murders under her belt). There are weapons you can buy but each has pluses and minuses without a clear cut winner. There's not an excess of weapons which simplifies the combat portion of the game. This is similar to the prior 2 games.
All and all, it is a very enjoyable game. The videos and storyline are excellent and incorporate well into a well done cinematic experience. The only critique is that the game play is a little short (but there are DLC that you can also get).
There are several facets of this game which make it thoroughly enjoyable. For all those who criticize that the game does not have a novel concept, it's the 15th+ game in the Tomb Raider franchise. In many ways, you shouldn't be expecting for a completely brand new game (in fact most of us enjoy the running around, combat sequences, and puzzles aspect that we came to love).
The storyline is excellent in this game. There are several side missions where you can explore the world and build up points and collect items to make the main mission easier. However, there isn't an excess of side missions to distract from the main mission either.
The puzzles are great. They take some thinking but are solvable with a little persistence.
The graphics and gameplay are well balanced. The Peruvian jungle and small towns are beautiful. The scenery is green, bright, and well-lit in contrast to the Siberian grey and dismal prequel (not a critique but rather just descriptive of the setting).
The combat sequences are well balanced. This isn't a game with excess shooting and non stop fighting. In fact, stealth and use of the bow with strategy is paramount. It makes for a slightly more realistic game (although as a 20 year old girl, she still has quite a few hundred murders under her belt). There are weapons you can buy but each has pluses and minuses without a clear cut winner. There's not an excess of weapons which simplifies the combat portion of the game. This is similar to the prior 2 games.
All and all, it is a very enjoyable game. The videos and storyline are excellent and incorporate well into a well done cinematic experience. The only critique is that the game play is a little short (but there are DLC that you can also get).
Didn't grip me
shabs-3484014 February 2021
My biggest problem with this game was its inconsistency. It had a few chapters and sequences which were brilliant, including the start of the game in Mexico which set the scene well and shaped things up nicely.
After that however, the game failed to grip me to its story like I thought it would, and unfortunately the gameplay/combat either (barring a few chapters as I said). There was too much time spent scaling walls and doing other cool but eventually repetitive things which became boring after a while.
Overall a solid game but would've been a higher score had more chapters been of the same standard as the opening and some other fantastic ones.
After that however, the game failed to grip me to its story like I thought it would, and unfortunately the gameplay/combat either (barring a few chapters as I said). There was too much time spent scaling walls and doing other cool but eventually repetitive things which became boring after a while.
Overall a solid game but would've been a higher score had more chapters been of the same standard as the opening and some other fantastic ones.
Missing gear
Armin2020 October 2020
Well if Lara would have just packed all her gear in one suitcase this would be a 10 out of 10. Can't enter this tomb missing gear. What? seriously? Then we walk away. Just before the end game we got the missing gear. Why do we want to go back to that tomb? Answer cause puzzles are great.
The whole missing gear, base camp to base camp travel is ridiculous.
The whole missing gear, base camp to base camp travel is ridiculous.
Awesome Game let down by Shadow Hunting!
ravs0517 September 2018
Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider games hold a special place in my heart. It was the first ever game which I played that involved 3D-Style graphics. It was the first game I played moving away from the 2D Nintendo days, on my Windows PC running Millennium, and I still remember the awe and adventure the game had to offer along with a decent story-line and an amazing lead, Lara Croft. That's why I was hugely disappointed with the Lara Croft games of the PS2 era. The controls and the game-play were really bad and it was frustrating to play them. This was until the 2013 reboot and things were looking good for Lara, especially after post-Uncharted, developers knew what needs to be done and kept pushing the boundaries. We had some really amazing games after that like God of War, The Last of Us and the 2 Tomb Raider games (Tomb Raider & The Rise Of Tomb Raider). Now, after a long wait, we have the third instalment, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. I couldn't have been more excited so I pre-ordered the game and was one amongst the first to get my hands on it.
So around 20+ hours of game-play later, I was left with mixed-feelings. Once again, the issue being game-play and the dynamics on which the platform is designed. We are living in the era of games like Uncharted and The Last Of Us, so anything less brilliant is not acceptable. Sadly, the new Tomb Raider game is not as fluid as the ones from Naughty Dog and the game-play, especially the shadow-hunting feels underwhelming.
So lets me get the bad out of the way. The major action sequences in the Shadow Of The Tomb Raider rely on stealth attacks. There is no option for you to go guns blazing as the enemy will gut you in seconds if you do so. So you have to stick to the shadows, muddy walls and dense bushes to make your silent move. About 90% of the action is based on this technique and it really feels very inconsistent. You can sometimes take out guards who are very close-by to others as the system cues that he is out of sight and at other times you get spotted even when you take out a guard who is isolated from everyone. There was this once where I hid against a muddy wall and took out a pack of 10 soldiers from the same spot as they kept coming seeing the first body on the ground but filed to spot Lara. This felt very funny and almost like a bug in programming.
Then the cover-aim-to-shoot, this is almost non-existent. This is a technique which Uncharted series mastered and in this game, it is almost non-existent. You kind of get in back in maybe 2 action sequences in the end and this makes you feel what this game was missing right from the beginning.
Then the visibility of the shadows, the game is very dark so make sure you play in a dark room or crank up the brightness as most of the areas are very poorly lit.
When you are not hunting from the shadows, you are taking obstructions and animals head-on. Here the combat style reverts back to the 90s. You leap, run, jump and run just like the old games. There is nothing clever or innovative here.
Finally, the platforming, even this is very inconsistent. When Lara is reaching out for the ledges between the gaps, it always feels like she is aiming in the wrong direction. The navigation is not smooth or fluid and at times it feels a bit frustrating. Like this one jump, where she had to jump and throw the rappel and jump again. I must have played this over 50 times to get it right. It is not the first time in the game doing that or even a tricky jump, it was a simple one but for some reason, just that one jump needs to be done in the right angle, at the right time with the right camera view. It almost felt like a bug. Not sure if I was the only one who had this issue! Added to that, the loading time, I thought the technology has advanced to that level where the loading times are mostly non-existent but in this game, it really feels substantial. It almost takes about 50 seconds to a minute to load the game if you die in game-play. That is really bad. Big games like God of War or Uncharted 4 didn't have such loading times!
Ok, that's quite a few negative points but what can I do. The recent similar adventure-style game which I played was Uncharted: Lost Legacy and that game was amazing in comparison. It was not even the main one, it was a spin-off based on Uncharted series and everything in that game was simply brilliant.
Now, let me talk about the positives. Playing as Lara is always a delight and this time, it was no less. You cannot stop loving her character and making sure that she succeeds in everything. The childhood Lara level was brilliant and right up Uncharted alley. But sad that there is only one of such level leaving you wanting for more. The puzzles are well designed and take a bit of time but completing them is satisfactory. The environment and sound design is top notch. You can feel the lush jungles of Peru, the crystal clear waters and abundant wildlife roaming around. The main story-line was decent and the tribes you encounter in the caves were truly terrifying. There is a nod to old-time Lara where you can change you character to the one from Angel of Darkness or older games, but the novelty quickly wears off making you wonder about the advancements we have in the graphics department! Another thing brought back from the old games is Lara's encounter with wild-life. You hunt down Panthers, wrestle with Eels and evade deadly Piranhas.
Camilla Luddington does an amazing job as Lara, especially playing her for the third-time and it was a delight to watch Lara emerge as this bad-ass from flaming waters. The cinematic action sequences are awesome and keeps you on the edge of your seats.
So, its really a shame that the game-play lets you down otherwise this game would have been a straight 10. After the first 2, I was hoping that the 3rd one would be even better but sadly, this is not the case. The shadow hunting is really inconsistent and had this been just one or two levels, it would have been fine but you have to put up with this for over 90% of the game's action.
Still, I would recommend this game as how many times do you get to take an amazing, exciting journey with the gorgeous Lara Croft, which makes you feel that you are not just watching a Hollywood blockbuster but also playing it?? So, if you put up with the little inconsistencies you will have an amazing time!
So around 20+ hours of game-play later, I was left with mixed-feelings. Once again, the issue being game-play and the dynamics on which the platform is designed. We are living in the era of games like Uncharted and The Last Of Us, so anything less brilliant is not acceptable. Sadly, the new Tomb Raider game is not as fluid as the ones from Naughty Dog and the game-play, especially the shadow-hunting feels underwhelming.
So lets me get the bad out of the way. The major action sequences in the Shadow Of The Tomb Raider rely on stealth attacks. There is no option for you to go guns blazing as the enemy will gut you in seconds if you do so. So you have to stick to the shadows, muddy walls and dense bushes to make your silent move. About 90% of the action is based on this technique and it really feels very inconsistent. You can sometimes take out guards who are very close-by to others as the system cues that he is out of sight and at other times you get spotted even when you take out a guard who is isolated from everyone. There was this once where I hid against a muddy wall and took out a pack of 10 soldiers from the same spot as they kept coming seeing the first body on the ground but filed to spot Lara. This felt very funny and almost like a bug in programming.
Then the cover-aim-to-shoot, this is almost non-existent. This is a technique which Uncharted series mastered and in this game, it is almost non-existent. You kind of get in back in maybe 2 action sequences in the end and this makes you feel what this game was missing right from the beginning.
Then the visibility of the shadows, the game is very dark so make sure you play in a dark room or crank up the brightness as most of the areas are very poorly lit.
When you are not hunting from the shadows, you are taking obstructions and animals head-on. Here the combat style reverts back to the 90s. You leap, run, jump and run just like the old games. There is nothing clever or innovative here.
Finally, the platforming, even this is very inconsistent. When Lara is reaching out for the ledges between the gaps, it always feels like she is aiming in the wrong direction. The navigation is not smooth or fluid and at times it feels a bit frustrating. Like this one jump, where she had to jump and throw the rappel and jump again. I must have played this over 50 times to get it right. It is not the first time in the game doing that or even a tricky jump, it was a simple one but for some reason, just that one jump needs to be done in the right angle, at the right time with the right camera view. It almost felt like a bug. Not sure if I was the only one who had this issue! Added to that, the loading time, I thought the technology has advanced to that level where the loading times are mostly non-existent but in this game, it really feels substantial. It almost takes about 50 seconds to a minute to load the game if you die in game-play. That is really bad. Big games like God of War or Uncharted 4 didn't have such loading times!
Ok, that's quite a few negative points but what can I do. The recent similar adventure-style game which I played was Uncharted: Lost Legacy and that game was amazing in comparison. It was not even the main one, it was a spin-off based on Uncharted series and everything in that game was simply brilliant.
Now, let me talk about the positives. Playing as Lara is always a delight and this time, it was no less. You cannot stop loving her character and making sure that she succeeds in everything. The childhood Lara level was brilliant and right up Uncharted alley. But sad that there is only one of such level leaving you wanting for more. The puzzles are well designed and take a bit of time but completing them is satisfactory. The environment and sound design is top notch. You can feel the lush jungles of Peru, the crystal clear waters and abundant wildlife roaming around. The main story-line was decent and the tribes you encounter in the caves were truly terrifying. There is a nod to old-time Lara where you can change you character to the one from Angel of Darkness or older games, but the novelty quickly wears off making you wonder about the advancements we have in the graphics department! Another thing brought back from the old games is Lara's encounter with wild-life. You hunt down Panthers, wrestle with Eels and evade deadly Piranhas.
Camilla Luddington does an amazing job as Lara, especially playing her for the third-time and it was a delight to watch Lara emerge as this bad-ass from flaming waters. The cinematic action sequences are awesome and keeps you on the edge of your seats.
So, its really a shame that the game-play lets you down otherwise this game would have been a straight 10. After the first 2, I was hoping that the 3rd one would be even better but sadly, this is not the case. The shadow hunting is really inconsistent and had this been just one or two levels, it would have been fine but you have to put up with this for over 90% of the game's action.
Still, I would recommend this game as how many times do you get to take an amazing, exciting journey with the gorgeous Lara Croft, which makes you feel that you are not just watching a Hollywood blockbuster but also playing it?? So, if you put up with the little inconsistencies you will have an amazing time!
Okay, at best.
Raylolo12 June 2019
The beginning had me hooked at first. I genuinely thought they were going to hold Lara responsible for being a foreigner raiding cultural artifacts and trespassing in these ancient tombs she has no business really being in. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first two. I was stoked to play this. The intro sequences here implied that, for once, Lara should take a look at her actions and own up to how they affect other people, and that the world doesn't revolve around her.
That doesn't last too long though. The story/character development quickly reverts back to grandiose heroine Lara. I got to about 50% through the game and found that I felt like I'd done very little. I was upgrading weapons that rarely even saw combat. The story felt flat and predictable. The visuals, of course, were stunning, but overall this game just didn't measure up to its predecessors. I got bored halfway through and ended up uninstalling it awhile later when I realized my desire to play it through just wasn't there.
That doesn't last too long though. The story/character development quickly reverts back to grandiose heroine Lara. I got to about 50% through the game and found that I felt like I'd done very little. I was upgrading weapons that rarely even saw combat. The story felt flat and predictable. The visuals, of course, were stunning, but overall this game just didn't measure up to its predecessors. I got bored halfway through and ended up uninstalling it awhile later when I realized my desire to play it through just wasn't there.
tomb raider graphics is better than real life
qxwsh-139885 April 2020
I'm in the first mission and i don't want to continue because I'm afraid I'm going to finish the game faster.. i give it 10/10 i already know the story is going to be perfect..
tomb raider games are the best specially for solo players
tomb raider games are the best specially for solo players
This is the best from the Survivor triology, but....
csontosattila-1041412 April 2021
It's not a tomb raider game! Me as a fan of the old ones can tell you that this game is beautiful like the old tomb raiders were In there Time. But please crystal and eidos do not make white ledges. Please do not make big openworld places. And also do not make a New Tomb Raider for 2 years. Work with that for at least 4 years, because we want tombs, we wanna lost the path In a tomb and we just want to find another way out or in. The story almost doesn't matter because we just want to play!!! If you do what I wrote the old fans will come back too. I know it... The level design has to be really good.
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