2025-04-30 07:48:45

I bought this 10 year old game after watching YT recommendations, and was pleasantly pleased with its graphics including support for nVidia DLSS. The story, plot and game mechanics are almost faultless that I have now bought the Shadows of Tomb Raider sequel.

Couple of things the game could have done better are remove (1) mindless grind for Steam achievements and (2) requirement for player to re-unlock weapons and skills in NG++.

2025-04-28 20:52:20

not much to say about the game, besides it being totally epic. loved the sense of being open world exploration even tho the game is very linear. loved receiving new gear and upgrades until the final chapter. made it worth seeing it thru to the end.

2025-04-27 08:40:12

Rise of the Tomb Raider continues Lara Croft’s journey, building upon the foundation laid by Tomb Raider (2013) while pushing the narrative, gameplay, and exploration to new heights. Developed by Crystal Dynamics and released in 2015, this action-adventure title refines the formula that made its predecessor such a success, delivering an even more immersive and exciting experience. It’s a game that strikes the perfect balance between visceral combat, challenging puzzles, and emotional storytelling, making it a standout entry in the Tomb Raider series.

The game picks up after the events of the 2013 reboot, with Lara Croft continuing to grapple with the death of her father and the discovery of ancient secrets that threaten the balance of the world. This time, Lara is on a quest to uncover the secrets of the legendary city of Kitezh and the mystical powers associated with it, all while being pursued by the mysterious organization known as the Order of Trinity. The stakes are higher, and the threat more personal, as Lara faces the weight of her actions and the consequences of unlocking long-lost knowledge.

One of the most striking aspects of Rise of the Tomb Raider is its breathtaking environments. The game takes Lara through a variety of landscapes, from snowy Russian mountains to hidden, lush valleys. Each location is beautifully detailed, and the level design encourages exploration. The world feels alive, with dense forests, ancient ruins, and deep caves that Lara must traverse, often requiring a combination of climbing, swimming, and solving environmental puzzles to uncover their secrets. The sense of verticality is impressive, with Lara scaling cliffs and ancient structures in ways that feel both thrilling and challenging.

The gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat, with Lara using her skills to navigate treacherous environments and uncover hidden artifacts. The puzzles in Rise of the Tomb Raider are clever and rewarding, often requiring players to use Lara’s environment in creative ways to progress. These puzzles range from intricate mechanical challenges to more environmental ones, such as manipulating water or using fire to open new paths. They strike the right balance between difficulty and satisfaction, ensuring players feel accomplished when they solve them.

The combat has been significantly improved over the previous game. Lara has access to a wider range of weapons, including bows, rifles, and pistols, which can all be upgraded throughout the game. The bow, in particular, is a standout, offering both stealth and combat options with its variety of ammo types (fire arrows, explosive arrows, etc.). The game also introduces a more refined stealth system, allowing Lara to sneak past enemies or take them down quietly from behind. The combat is fluid and satisfying, though it occasionally feels a bit repetitive in its execution—particularly in some of the larger firefights—but this is a minor issue compared to the overall package.

What truly elevates Rise of the Tomb Raider is its story and the character development of Lara Croft. This is a game about Lara coming into her own, both as a person and as an adventurer. Throughout her journey, we see her struggle with self-doubt, her sense of responsibility, and the consequences of her actions. It’s a more introspective Lara, and her growth is evident as she faces moral dilemmas and confronts the darker sides of her ambitions. Camilla Luddington delivers a fantastic performance as Lara, giving her character depth, vulnerability, and strength in equal measure.

The supporting cast, including characters like Jonah, Lara’s loyal friend, and the antagonists from the Order of Trinity, also add depth to the narrative. While some of the villains feel a bit one-dimensional, they provide a solid counterbalance to Lara’s journey and the story’s themes of sacrifice, obsession, and legacy. The game’s narrative is full of emotional highs and lows, making it a compelling experience from start to finish.

Visually, Rise of the Tomb Raider is nothing short of stunning, especially on high-end PC or PlayStation 4 hardware. The environments are richly detailed, with realistic lighting and weather effects that make the world feel immersive. The animations, particularly Lara’s movement and combat sequences, are fluid and natural, adding to the realism of the experience. The use of motion capture and facial animations gives the characters life, helping to bring their emotional journeys to the forefront.

The soundtrack is another highlight of the game. The score, composed by Will Bates, complements the tone of the game beautifully, using haunting, orchestral music to heighten the emotional beats of the narrative while also building tension during action-packed sequences. It’s a soundtrack that feels dynamic and enhances the atmosphere without overwhelming it.

One of the game’s few shortcomings is its somewhat formulaic side missions and collectables. While they provide extra content and help to extend the game’s playtime, they can occasionally feel like filler rather than meaningful additions to the world. However, this is a minor issue in what is otherwise a tightly crafted adventure.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a worthy successor to the 2013 reboot, offering a richer, more expansive world, a deeper narrative, and refined gameplay. It strikes a great balance between action, exploration, and storytelling, with Lara Croft continuing to evolve as a character and a hero. The game builds on everything that made the first entry great while improving the formula in meaningful ways. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or new to Lara’s adventures, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a must-play—an unforgettable journey into the heart of adventure and self-discovery.

Rating: 9/10

2025-04-26 07:30:29

The visuals and the controls are pretty good the story is not like super good but I like it better than the previous entry. Overall is a well made game I did enjoy it especially because I like antiques and just finding them is very rewarding the tombs are well made and a fair lot of them. Some parts are just beautiful I was able to take breathtaking screenshots. The costumes seem pretty unique and give good bonuses although can be a bit hard to get.

2025-04-21 08:41:36

Okay so first thing first... I'm totally biased towards the game, the "Tomb Raider" series has to be my favourite game series of all time. So we will talk about the pros first and of course there are few cons too, just one or two.

PROS: This game's atmosphere is stunning you know things are serious when everything is dark and serious kind of tone. The world building is amazing, when the game starts we are in Syria exploring a tomb which was perfect and then the snowy mountains where it became even better, the swimming into shallow waters and drowning the enemy was perfect. The gun-play became more better and the tomb puzzles became even tougher and the puzzles were very well curated, this time the dev's gave us more freedom with the weapons customization, the weapon upgrade system and the crafting was well detailed. The combat was engaging and the side characters were fascinating, the voice acting was fabulous and the cinematic cut-scenes were amazing because the graphics was better in this game compared to the last one. The story is also very well written and the progression feels smoother and not rushed. The villain in this game had a better story and background and felt stronger compared to the last one who was just a "cultist". Overall the game was fantastic and so enjoyable you would love every moment in the game because the world is so gorgeous it's worth exploring. And the dlc "Baba Yaga" was a chef's kiss, perfect dlc.

CONS: Last game "Tomb Raider 2013" you would have instantly felt an attachment toward Lara and would enjoy the emotions the character brings forward but in this game, I've played more than 40 hrs and still didn't feel the same attachment towards the character as I felt instantly in the previous game.. now that maybe subjective, but while everything around Lara changed and became more better and compelling she on the other hand remained same,, there was no character growth overall. What actually happened was that she lost more of her emotions, like in first game Lara cried, showed frustration which made her character show more depth but in this game it's very shallow, maybe because she became more strong with time, with the losses she overcame but seeing Lara all serious and show so little emotions just didn't feel right. Now this is all subjective and maybe it's all in my head but yeah that was all.
Great game 10/10.

2025-04-19 15:42:07

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☑ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☑ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ Replayability }---
☑ One and done
☑ Maybe after a year
☐ Worth a second run
☐ Played it 20 times and still not bored

---{ Microtransactions }---
☐ None
☑ Only cosmetics
☐ Slightly pay-to-progress
☐ Pay-to-win
☐ More shops than gameplay
☐ Casino Simulator

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

2025-04-16 07:54:02

I wish there was something in between thumbs up and thumbs down. This game has some good points to it but it's downfall are the semi-open world areas. They are too big and aren't really full of anything interesting. The cutscenes are long and the trinity leader's voice acting is terrible.

In addition, there are some late game enemies that should be far more difficult than anything you've faced before based on the lore of the game......Well, they aren't.

The shop is dumb, too. I have no idea why that was shoehorned into the game, as if some enemy guy would setup a shop to sell things to the random locals who found him... and somehow he only takes payment in ancient coins. Stupid.

Also the side missions suck.

Game looks great and the mechanics are good, i just can't recommend it cause it's not really fun at times.

2025-04-13 16:11:31

To be honest, I really tried to like this game, I saw the reviews for it and was expecting much more, I quite enjoyed the previous one (2013 version) but was left nonetheless disappointed. The story felt boring and couldn't wait to finish it, but Jacob carried it a little bit, he was a cutie.

2025-04-04 23:04:10

Pretty good. Plays nice, and it's not bloated. Very reasonable length, it's focused and it delivers. Graphically it shows that it's not the newest game but gameplay-wise it's really good.

2025-04-02 22:38:20

Nothing more to say other then I love this game. The story is better then the last and the visuals are amazing.