There’s no arguing about it, Lara Croft saved the world a couple of times. Her constant search for treasure brought her to the jungle where she removed an ancient dagger from a tomb, setting the world into chaos. Compared to the times she actually saved this world, her actions at the opening of Shadow of the Tomb Raider show us a different Lara. She’s afraid, she needs to find a way to stop those tsunamis and other disasters, she needs to travel deeper down into the jungle.
Welcome to the jungle
The jungle is your new environment in this third and final game of the Tomb Raider reboot. It sets the tone from the start and right after your first minutes in the game, you know you’re in for a thrill. In order to stop the world from falling down, Lara has to venture deeper into the jungle to find the solution she was searching for. While she’s doing that, her path crosses with the Trinity organization a couple of times. Knowing this organization is the cause her father got murdered, Lara isn’t exactly a fan of Trinity. It’s amazing to see and feel this tension between Lara and the organization as a gamer. Right from the start, you’re immersed in the best story the trilogy has to offer. It combines conspiracies with natural disasters and just a touch of the mystique. It’s a story that will keep you hooked to your screen until you reach the end, which will take your a little less than twenty hours.
Prepare for the worst
Now, if you look at some gameplay or screenshots from the game, you might think it’s still the same as the other two Tomb Raider games. To a certain point, this is true. You’ll still go from one dangerous place to another while Lara has to escape several dangerous situations in a true Hollywood-esque style. The game still offers some amazing scenes combined with brutal third-person shooter combat and interesting puzzles. Yes, the Tomb Raider formula didn’t change that much but Shadow of the Tomb Raider delivers it in the best way possible. By adding the natural disasters, this is by far the darkest and most mature game of the trilogy. The playtime is over, it’s time for the real work now and you better prepare yourself for some shocking moments.
The game doesn’t leave room for catching your breath. Right from the start, you’ll be confronted with things you haven’t seen before. Surviving that devastating tsunami that destroyed the village in mere seconds is just the beginning of the game. Lara won’t have it easy in this one and even the children aren’t safe for natural disasters. The team took what made the previous Tomb Raiders so good and added an extra layer of realism to it, resulting in the most immersive and best Tomb Raider story to date. If you’re looking for an easy game, this isn’t the one for you. Shadow of the Tomb Raider will constantly test your skills while punishing the slightest mistake.
Become the jungle
Surviving the natural disaster isn’t the only thing you have to worry about. As said before, you’ll cross path with Trinity a couple of times. Compared to the older Tomb Raider games, you won’t survive a shootout if you came unprepared. The game encourages you to take the stealthy approach. Lara can cover herself with mud and leaves to be nearly invisible in the vast jungle. Preparing yourself for a battle and taking down enemies one by one without alerting the others is key to survival. It’s a bit harder compared to the other games and I guess a lot of gamers will be surprised with this difficulty. To counter this, the game lets you switch the level of difficulty on the go. If you’re struggling to take down those enemies and the dangerous wildlife of Peru’s jungle, you can easily switch to a lower difficulty level.
While playing on the easy difficulty, it’s possible to take down your enemies with a lot of gunfire. It’s never easy but for those looking for a more action orientated third-person shooter, this difficulty level got you covered. Be warned, however, the game never gets easy and you’ll have to struggle to survive. Restarting the same mission over and over again is something you’ll see yourself doing a couple of times. Yes, it can be frustrating but in the end, it’s always worth fighting for.
The world comes to life
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the pinnacle of the franchise for multiple reasons, one of those being the amazing world the team brought to life. There’s a lot to do and to discover in this gem and you’ll spend a lot of your time searching for those hidden secrets and extra tombs. The game rewards those who look for the impossible with tons of extra quests, hidden details and even a New Game Plus if you finish it for the first time. The best parts of the game are the giant hubs inhabited by several computer-generated characters. Walking around in these places is truly humbling. You’ll feel small, you’ll feel part of a world you don’t belong to. Ever since I started playing Tomb Raider games, I was looking for exactly that. I wanted to feel like a foreigner, sticking my nose into things I have no business with. This game manages to translate this feeling perfectly when you’re walking around in a strange environment where everybody speaks a different tongue.
Conclusion:
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the perfect ending to a thrilling trilogy. It takes the well-known formula to another level thanks to the small but crucial innovations. It’s Lara Croft at her prime and it’s, without a doubt, the pinnacle of the franchise. It’s not easy to overcome but if you persist, the game will reward you with one of the best stories that can be found in games nowadays. Time to save the world, time to become the Tomb Raider!
