Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (PS4, Xbox One, PC) (Rated Mature)
After Rise Of The Tomb Raider, I was thinking it would be very difficult to top that game, as for all intents & purposes it seemed like the pinnacle for our new Lara. Which is why Shadow has surprised in me the best way yet. It not only feels like a natural story progression for our young hero, but the culmination of all she has learned, and also just how far this version of Tomb Raider has ventured out of the established norms. Thankfully this game appears to be the perfect meddling of what Tomb Raider has become, but also what it once was. If you are late to the party, the short of it is, Tomb Raider has become a gritty, violent and horrific adventure, many will be shocked by just how brutal this adventure can get, as this is Lara's darkest hour.
It took til the new saga's second entry Rise Of The Tomb Raider, for gameplay to really feel right. While the first game was a solid reboot, it was lacking polish in areas such as combat and pacing, more importantly it lacked the spirit of the Tomb Raider franchise. Combat was the main focus, with exploration and puzzle solving feeling like the sideshow. Rise felt closer to the spirit of the series with it's greater focus on exploration, and puzzle solving. Shadow takes this approach and runs with it, while the game does feature combat, the rate and scale of combat have been altered dramatically. Exploration is now the primary focus, puzzle solving however, is now more integral to exploration and progression than the last two games. While Rise featured plenty of puzzles and tombs to solve, I felt they could have been better integrated, as the pacing of puzzle, exploration and combat for both previous entries just felt off.
Rise was a marked improvement over Tomb Raider, though even Rise suffered from sluggish pacing, it just happened to be less often than Tomb Raider's glacial pacing. Shadow's pacing feels pitch perfect.
Smaller puzzles are now sprinkled throughout and are required to progress, puzzles are not just relegated to Tombs, but are littered through the game's many wide environments. The larger scale puzzles during the game's story and also during side Tombs, are among the best in the entire Tomb Raider franchise. Each puzzle offers a worthy challenge, while still making logical sense, and never being so confusing in design that the solution requires an act of God to discover. One nice addition to the game is difficulty options for each facet of gameplay. Not only can you control how challenging combat is, if you want exploration and puzzles to be easier, there are settings to give you waypoints and clear indications of where to go and what to do, or settings to turn off all form of assistance.
I would love to see this type of setting in more games, as the ability to tailor the experience to player skill is something more games need to take into account. Some love punishingly challenging experiences, some like to overcome the obstacle without any stress. Combat this time around features far more variety and player freedom, linear set pieces are mostly limited to large-scale disaster type scenes, as opposed to bombastic gunfights. That is not to say the game does not have its fair share of satisfying gunplay, but it is the icing on the cake which is used sparingly, but very effective all the same. It is also worth noting that gunplay has been vastly improved, while the previous games always left a little to be desired in the combat mechanics, this time everything feels far more polished and is more satisfying for it.
Shadow's combat is more tactical, with a slightly slower pace which leads to more thoughtful skirmishes. Lara also has been watching plenty of Rambo flicks, as she now can cover herself in mud to sneak up for brutal knife based kills. Stealth is now a far greater component and some battles can be snuck through, avoiding some fights altogether.
Combat encounters are now used as the climax for puzzles and exploration sequences. Which leads to a far more balanced sense of pacing, especially when coupled with a far more engrossing sense of adventure during the game's many platforming sequences. This is what the new Raider games have always gotten right, Platforming is the bread and butter to any good Raider game, and not only are the mechanics polished even more than before, and the new environments are so much more thrilling to traverse through. The art design is a big stand out here, everything feels as if it was picked from a bag of Lara's best adventures. The tropical jungle setting is perfect for Ms. Crofts adventure, which does become a more gruesome horrifying one as the game progresses.
As a matter of fact, while the previous games danced with themes and horrific imagery, Shadow takes full advantage of the fact that these kinds of settings can be quite frighting when using the right tone and texture. While the new trilogy has had a grounded tone, even with the supernatural plot points, this game truly feels far more grounded with it's setting, enemy and character designs. The story still retains the supernatural edge that Lara is known for, but it feels far more sincere and natural this time around. Lara is also not the only well-written character this time around, Jonah makes a welcomed return and finally has far more to do within the game's plot, giving Lara a much-needed friend, and the story a different perspective other than Laras.
The game's pacing is something to take serious note of, a lot of game's try to space out their faster and slower moments, but often the game skews too far in one direction or the other. Finding the balance between all gameplay assets is what makes for a varied, fun and addictive experience that never once feels repetitive. The new Lara has finally come into her own, both as a character and a game series. They have taken all the best parts of the new series, and combined them with the expectations that players have for a true Lara Croft adventure. While many may think the new direction is a far too violent one, I appreciate the varied and starkly different take on well-worn genre material. This is the closest the new games have come to feeling like a classic Tomb Raider game, albiet with a heavy dose of horror and gore. If your major issues with the new series are it's direction and gameplay style, that has not changed. I doubt die-hard old-school fans will be converted by Shadow still, it is a worthy adventure in the Tomb Raider tradition, and the new Lara's best yet.
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