Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Reviews

*Shadow of the Tomb Raider* is a solid, if not groundbreaking, end to Lara’s origin story. The game looks absolutely stunning, with some of the best environments in the series, and the tombs are bigger, deadlier, and way more fun to explore. The stealth mechanics are a nice touch, letting you play more tactically, but the overall gameplay feels a bit too familiar if you’ve played the last two games. The story tries to go deeper into Lara’s psyche, which is cool, but the pacing is hit-or-miss. Still, if you’re into action-adventure games with a mix of puzzles and exploration, it’s definitely worth playing.

I want to enjoy this game. I loved the previous games. This game also has lots of good things. The jungle environment is alive and beautiful. The sound design is cinematic and if you play using good headphone it's a big experience. The puzzles are challenging and at times terrifying, even life-threatening and dangerous. There are marketplace where you can trade items to upgrade or buy exotic gears. However, all the goodness are dragged down by: (1) Story is not engaging enough, making you don't even care about anything that happens. (2) Combat feels sluggish and enemy AI doesn't seem to respond naturally. (3) Plenty of bugs, nothing game-breaking but it's noticeable enough and at times will confuse you. (4) The game focuses too much on puzzles, which I think about 75 to 80 percent of the game is made out of puzzles. Your exotic gears and weapons are mostly not needed and at times feel like they're only there for shows. Even if you ignore all activities and just play through the main objective from start to finish, this game feels generic and nothing special to stick with you if you are a fan of action-adventure games. The only reason for me to finish this game is just to see the conclusion of TR trilogy.

While I didn't love it as much as the the previous game in the trilogy, this is still an outstanding ride full of great puzzles, exploration combat and top tier presentation across the board. This is a fine end to one of the best trilogies ever made. GG!

fun end to the trilogy. first is still the best one. some of the controls are a bit wonky. skipped almost all the side quests and challenge tombs and just focused on the main story. Honestly, I was glad when it was over.

Gameplay - 5/10 Story - 4/10 Graphics - 6/10 Bugs/Technical - 6/10 Total - 5/10

The best and last part of the trilogy so far great story mode graphics and gameplay the only minus from time to time the action button E didn't show on the screen overall 10/10

Overall, it's a great game. Good graphics, good optimization, not the worst storyline, atmospheric locations. But, unfortunately, it does have it's flaws. Especially, if you have played the previous two parts. At the middle of the game the story becomes a little boring, and the game itself is too long. Boring AI-dialogues and side missions. Too much resource looting (why do we even need this), skill-weapon upgrades etc. that just distracts. The jump mechanics are still not fixed in many cases. I don't feel that devil spirit of Trinity anymore. Combat is boring. And so on. Since I've got this game on a BIG sale, it's worth it. Otherwise, it's not. So only buy it when it's on discount.

[h1]Shadow of the Tomb Raider review[/h1] [b]Lara Croft[/b], the first love of male gamers who were involved with video games in the 90s, was dragged to very different places over time and appeared on dozens of platforms including mobile. Later, with the Eidos and Crytal Dynamics team taking over the series, the Tomb Raider brand was remade for the new generation of gamers. The first game, which received praise thanks to its gameplay mechanics that were likened to Uncharted, and the second game that followed in the footsteps of the first game, managed to reach not bad sales figures. However, did we feel satisfied with the idea of ​​making a third game using the same mechanics again? Let's take a closer look together. Lara Croft, who went after Trinity in the second game, continues her adventure exactly where we left off in the third game. Lara Croft, who wants to stop Trinity, who has been after mystical historical artifacts for centuries with the aim of controlling the world, and to avenge her father, starts her adventure in Mexican territory. Lara, who goes after Pedro Dominguez, the name that manages Trinity in the introductory part of the game, unfortunately loses the historical artifact called Key of Chak Chel to Trinity after finding it. In order to stop this event that started the Mayan apocalypse, our hero Lara takes on the responsibility of hitting the road in Peru to search for the Silver Box of Ix Chel historical artifact. [i]With the help of her close friend Jonah Maiava, we travel to Lara's childhood as she sets out to search for a grave in the wild forests of Peru. In these parts, which are likened to the childhood of Nathan Drake, whom we can control in Uncharted 4, we can witness events in Lara's past that remained a secret. As the story progresses, we can discover places with magnificent views such as Paititi, but unfortunately I have to state that there are a few logical errors in the game. For example, in addition to the fact that the people of Paititi, who have isolated themselves from the world, speak fluent English, it was very striking that Lara sometimes jumped from very high places and did not die as per the script, despite dying at the slightest hit.[/i] The third game, which follows the traces of the first two games in terms of gameplay mechanics, unfortunately does not contain many innovations. The developers, who transferred the conflict mechanics to the third game as in the first two games, have added almost no innovations to this aspect of the game. However, I have to emphasize that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is better than Uncharted 4 in terms of stealth. If you want, you can pass all the combat sequences with stealth, and the designs of the sections we are in during the stealth sections are also very well designed. As an additional innovation, Lara's body and part of her face are covered in mud and hidden in the walls, which is a nice detail. The puzzle parts of the game are sometimes more successful than the first two games and the Uncharted games. While some puzzles are very easy to solve, you have to rack your brains to solve some. You encounter these puzzles, which remind you of old adventure games, in Mayan temples. In fact, I can say that you will spend more time with the puzzles than killing enemies in the game. On the other hand, it is also possible to adjust the difficulty of these puzzles. If you choose the easiest part from the puzzle difficulty menu offered by the game before starting the game, the game shows you where to go, especially in the puzzles that you have to climb. In fact, I personally find this a nice feature. The developers, thinking of players who get bored with puzzles and want to get straight to the action, have added such a convenience to the game. Moving on to the character development screen of the game, if you played the first two games, I can say that you will not be unfamiliar with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in this section. You can strengthen Lara Croft depending on your playing style from the character development screen consisting of three parts. We can customize our weapons again by the fire with the help of the small equipment we collect during the game. However, it is worth mentioning that the weapon development screen is superficial. As another detail, the developers have added survival mechanics to Lara Croft this time. Thanks to the features we acquire during the game and the materials we collect from the environment, our main character can heal herself in moments of conflict, while in the wild, she can quickly find materials that will be useful with these instinctive features. In addition to all these, it is possible to change Lara Croft's clothes in the character development menu, as in other new Tomb Raider games. While some clothes provide additional features that will strengthen Lara Croft, it is possible to reach Lara Croft's PS1 appearance thanks to some clothes. The game's sounds managed to be another striking element. You can understand why Crystal Dynamics, who announced that they worked specifically on the sounds and music compared to the other two games, made such ambitious statements during the game. With instruments specific to the Mayan culture, the game can sometimes become quite tense. [h3]In the end, we can say that Shadow of the Tomb Raider will not satisfy players looking for an innovative TPS action game, but it will satisfy hardcore Tomb Raider fans. In addition to its structure that is very similar to the first two games, we recommend the game, which has a simple storytelling, only to players who love this genre. [/h3]

What was once a fresh formula with the first two games now feels a bit dated. The platforming is boring, the story is quite dull, and the locations are few and uninteresting.

Immersion in the jungle in Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a delight! The game pleases the eye with stunning graphics: from dense thickets to ancient ruins, every detail lives and breathes. The gameplay has become even more exciting - cave exploration, puzzles and stealth mechanics are thought out to the smallest detail, and battles with enemies are dynamic and varied. Lara looks stronger and more human: her evolution from an artifact hunter to a defender of the world is felt in every dialogue and action. However, the plot is disappointing. The story of saving the world from the apocalypse seems formulaic in places: the villains are flat, and the key twists are predictable. Some scenes are passable, and the ending leaves a feeling of haste - I wanted more depth and surprises. But even with these shortcomings, the game leaves a vivid impression. If you are a fan of the series or love atmospheric adventures, Shadow of the Tomb Raider will not disappoint you - especially when it comes to gameplay and visual beauty. Just don't expect a masterpiece from the script!