Rise of the Tomb Raider

The remake of Tomb Raider that released a couple of years ago was a refreshing and exciting look at one of the video game characters that defined a generation. It was an origin story in the best way, showing how Lara Croft became who she is, through a storyline full of twists and turns that often left her broken, beaten and defeated, defining her as a fighter and a survivalist. Rise of the Tomb Raider builds on this wonderfully, and is an adventure that’s chock full of tombs to explore, dangerous set-pieces to enjoy and exhilarating moment-to-moment action mixed with gunplay and clever platforming.

The gameplay is familiar for anyone who played the last Tomb Raider, exploring each area for a variety of hidden items like artefacts, murals, documents and hidden caches that are collectible and genuinely useful for finding out more about the environment you’re in, with murals in particular enhancing your ability to understand certain languages so that you can uncover more secrets. The map is open, with threatening wildlife and other enemies throughout, along with my absolute favourite part of Rise of the Tomb Raider… challenge tombs!

The balance between solving puzzles in tombs and the scenes where you are shooting a range of baddies has the scales tipped in the direction of the gunplay, but an added element of ongoing crafting throughout Rise of the Tomb Raider enhances things so that they are far more enjoyable this time around. Along with your regular weapon upgrades, Lara can grab a nearby tin can or empty bottle and create an explosive or Molotov cocktail that can then be used instantly if you have the right materials at your disposal. While this is laughable and certainly not the most realistic crafting I’ve seen, it adds a dynamic and fun element to the standard third-person shooter style and is very useful when you’re outnumbered.

In fact, Lara is so useful and effective on the battlefield that the game almost feels a little bit easy after you’ve upgraded your weapons and abilities on the normal difficulty setting; I died more often from falling or mistiming a jump than I did from taking damage from the enemy AI. Higher difficulties definitely do make things more challenging, but for me, I much preferred to not be too overwhelmed by the combat sections so that I could get through them and onto the next tower I had to scale, the next hidden tomb I had to delve into and the next artifact I had to unearth.

You’ll get access to a variety of tools throughout the game and they all get used frequently and provide a valid incentive for backtracking, as certain tasks will only be achievable once you gain access to things like the rope arrow which you can use to pull down obstacles and also to swing from, along with the new wire spool which allows you to latch onto things mid-jump, which means you’ll be able to leap further and even save yourself from a potentially fatal fall. I found juggling the multiple different tools simple and satisfying, and ultimately really enjoyed the versatility it provided throughout the campaign.

Something else I liked about Rise of the Tomb Raider that further advanced it from last time around is the fact that there are actual quest-givers that you will meet throughout the world who serve as allies and will provide you with tasks to complete, such as clearing out a cave of enemies, rescuing prisoners or destroying communication towers. The rewards from these missions are worth it and sometimes crucial, and they are worked into the main story as well so that it doesn’t feel too weird to take a breather from your main goal to take the odd detour. The original Tomb Raider felt almost lonely at times, but this one features other characters, though the ones on the hero side feel more like cardboard cut-outs compared to the dastardly villains who are quite driven by their evil motivations.