Release Date: 14/09/2018
Played On: Win
Available On: Lin / Mac / PS4/ Stadia / Win / XBO
Time Played: 26h 35m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
There's something about the latest Tomb Raider trilogy that always leaves me with unanswered questions. After finishing each game, I think back on the story and the gameplay, and find a large hole where something important seems to be missing. Even though I've enjoyed these games and have been wonderfully entertained by the updated adventures of Lara Croft, I feel like I'm still left wanting. Now that I've finished the third in the recent series, I feel like I might be able to put my finger on precisely what could be missing.
The thing is that no matter how much I remember enjoying myself, I never have much luck remembering many finer details about the game's story and the events that took place. It's almost as if these Tomb Raider games have lost some kind of central identity that defines other, similar titles. When I think back on the Uncharted games, I can identify key plot points for each game in the series, and there are identifiable characters and scenarios that stay with me.
Plus, I'm not bringing up the Uncharted series arbitrarily, but we'll get to that later. The thing is that if you asked me about this modern Tomb Raider trio of games, I wouldn't be able to tell you about any of the main characters or plots, other than to say that Lara Croft is the protagonist. I can recall some faces and whether they were friend or foe, but names escape me, and I have no idea who the main antagonists were. Oh, and I'm not just a forgetful person, as I still remember these details from many other games, but there's a big detailed hole missing in my recollection of the Tomb Raider reboots that I think should be filled with narrative elements.
The point is that this speaks to how strong and how interesting the plot is in a game like Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. Here we are with the third in an otherwise exciting and adventurous trilogy, but the story itself is just a grey wash of generic progression and minimal motivation. We know that Lara Croft is out there attempting to recover some kind of relic before the bad guys attain it for evil purposes, but that's the plot of every Tomb Raider game (and even the movies). To say that it's far from memorable is even something of an understatement, as it really is a struggle to try and recall anything of note.
Having said that though, the rest of the game is thankfully well put together and worth the effort. As I already mentioned, I really enjoyed all of these games in the modern trilogy, even in spite of the fact that their stories are entirely forgettable. This is kind of saying something, as I'm usually the gamer who'll go in for the stories and not care about mechanics and gameplay systems. However, all I can remember about Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, is that I very much enjoyed the gameplay systems and mechanics, while the story was practically non-existent.
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider follows the exact same formula as the previous two games; which is to say that it really brings nothing new to the table. Thankfully this isn't a bad thing, as the formula is a good one, and something that's enjoyable enough from start to finish. basically we find Lara once again on her own in an exotic location where she is tasked with exploring, discovering, hunting, looting, shooting, and of course: tomb raiding.
In fact, something that does make this game stand out from the previous two is that the developers seemed to have listened to previous criticism about the lacklustre tomb raiding, as it's much more engaging this time around. Not only are there more tombs to raid (might not be fact, but it feels like there were more), but they are slightly more challenging and interesting to traverse and complete. I even got myself stuck in a couple of tombs as I searched for the solution, which is enough of an indicator that they've upped their game a little.
Much like the rest of the game though, don't get too excited. After all, this is still a blockbuster release that has all of its edges sanded down to smooth curves. It's like every sharp challenge has been buffed out so that everyone will have a chance to complete every puzzle they encounter. There's a whole debate there about accessibility and whether a game being easy for everyone is a good thing or not, but I personally get a little bit bored when I feel like I'm painting by numbers. Sadly, most of the puzzles in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider are sign-posted and spelled out for you in advance, so it really feels like you're using the big crayons.
Having said all of that though, I don't want to complain too much, because I honestly enjoyed myself with the entire trilogy, and especially this final entry. Even from a light narrative perspective, one of the things I did enjoy on a story level, was the progression of Lara Croft as a character in herself. We started from the questionable origins of the first game, where she had to deal with killing dudes and becoming the "Tomb Raider". Then she found herself a little in the second game and came to terms with a few things along the way, but this final chapter in Lara's growth is probably the coolest.
This time around there's more of a bad-ass edge to Lara, who seems to be more comfortable in her skin and able to take charge of the situation more easily. I always like characters who are self-sufficient and able to stand on their own two feet and decide their own fates, so playing this version of Lara was actually a joy. On a whole though, this game felt a little darker and a bit less happy-go-lucky-shoot-fest-in-the-jungle.
Speaking of jungle shoot-fest times, the gameplay continues on directly from the previous games and for some reason you need to reacquire and upgrade all of Lara's junk again. There are a number of different weapons and items to craft and upgrade as you gather resources along the way, as well as different outfits and other buffs that ultimately have little impact on the game as a whole. For instance, the different outfits come with perks that are specific to their style, but I ended up playing Fashion-Tomb-Raider and sticking with whatever outfit I liked the most. The stat changes and perks never seemed like they made enough of a different to make or break the game for me.
Similar to the previous games, progression in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is relatively linear, with a small amount of backtracking thrown in to keep things interesting. If you follow the main quest path, you'll be taking Lara from location to location as you work your way across the landscape toward the prize at the end. Along the way there are a handful of little side quests that offer a decent enough distraction, but most of the time you'll be following a single path as you progress through the main story of the game.
However, there are still some minor metroid-vania elements where you might need a certain weapon or item to access an area on a map, but you might not unlock the item until much later in the game. I get that this is meant to be a way to enhance the size of the game without continuously introducing new locations, but it often feels like busy work. In fact, there are enough collectibles and optional areas in the game that you'd be forgiven for thinking that Ubisoft had made it. I mean, if you're a completionist and want to tick off everything in every area, there's a whole lot of gumph for you to work through here.
For everyone else it might be wise to just focus on what you need to hit the next progression step and focus on that. It's always nice to have options, but it's not as if any of the optional quests in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider actually bring much to the table. There are even some grindy elements that need to be done if you want to unlock and acquire the best weapons in the game, but it's not really worth the time, as your default weapons get the job done fine.
One of the things I enjoyed most about Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is the world that's been built, and moving through it. There's no doubt that this is a big budget game with a big team working on it, as all the locations and environments you'll find yourself in are detailed and beautiful. There are animals chilling in the trees as you run through the jungle below, or spiders hiding in cobwebs just out of reach from your torch in a dark tomb. Everything reacts to your presence as you run from place to place, with pots and all sorts of random junk getting knocked over and broken as you stomp around.
What's more, the animation quality and movement systems in the game are very satisfying to play with. At times there can be a bit of a jerky transition from one character state to another (jumping and grabbing onto a tree is one example), but more often than not the movement feels smooth and fluid. It's one to say that a game looks nice when you pull out the photo mode and take a wide shot, but seeing everything in motion really takes it to another level.
Along with the fairly generic gunplay, this is why I'm reminded of the Uncharted series, as they were also fairly linear experiences through beautiful environments. Nathan Drake's animations kind of outshine everyone else, but Lara Croft manages to be a close second in a game that clearly takes a lot of cues from the Uncharted series. Then again, Uncharted takes a lot of cues from the original Tomb Raider series, so who's to say which is better or worse.
The best thing I can say about Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is that it's a really enjoyable world to run around in. I suppose it's kind of the good side to big budget adventure games that have everything polished and buffed out. There's nothing edgy or impressive that will blow anyone's mind, but it's a pretty solid little romp through an impressively crafted world that has clearly had a lot of effort put into it. As unhelpful as it might be to say, this is definitely one of those games that's worth playing if you want to round out the trilogy, but I'm not sure if I'd bother playing it on its own.
I feel like this whole post has been a bit grey and wishy washy, but that kind of sums up my recollection of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. There were plenty of reasons why I enjoyed the game and had a fun time romping through the wilderness, but there was also that hole missing somewhere in the middle that removed any kind of identity it might have otherwise had. When I look back at this modern Tomb Raider trilogy, I fondly remember doing things in each game, but I can't conjure anything about the story or the purpose of those actions. I guess that's just what you get from a highly polished blockbuster game, even when it's enjoyable to play.
Perhaps the point is that even an enjoyable experience can be ruined by too many cooks? Perhaps I mean to say that I enjoy seeing what a big team can accomplish, as the fidelity and detail levels are often elusive to smaller teams? Either way, I suppose my final thoughts on Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is that it's a decent blockbuster title with some highly generic flaws that let it down, despite being enjoyable and entertaining to play. It might be a bit of a contradiction, but I think that perhaps that's just what we need to expect from blockbuster titles these days.