Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the sequel to Crystal Dynamics' critically acclaimed Tomb Raider reboot. Following the story of Lara Croft after the events of the first game, she seeks to uncover the truth behind her father's assumed suicide. Before his death Richard Croft was researching rumors of immortality that could be found in the lost city of Kitezh and Lara follows these clues not only to uncover the mysteries of Kitezh but to find out the reasons to why her father had committed suicide.

Pros:

• Engaging and interesting plot that contains both obvious and not so obvious twists.
• The story further provides the player with information about Lara and her past as well as possible future.
• Great voice acting across the board.
• Visually spectacular locations and settings which spans across different environments in a linear open world.
• Well designed zones and maps that provide the player with multiple ways to deal with enemies or puzzles.
• Zones are designed to have a completion list allowing the completionists to strive towards 100% the game.
• Tight controls and movements of Lara allows the player to engage the enemy smoothly.
• Large arsenal of weapons and gadgets that allows the user to deal with a situation in their own style; going complete stealth or guns blazing.
• Maps have multiple sources of materials from plants to animals and chests that lets the player use to upgrade their gear.
• Consistency of acquiring the materials lets the player progressively upgrade their gear without being a grind or being too easy.
• Whatever action Lara performs will grant experience that can be used to unlock both passive and active abilities for Lara.
• Unique outfits that gives a few buffs to Lara, although the amount of buffs isn't that many.
• Compared to the last game tombs are a lot better designed in that the puzzle solving is a lot more intricate.

Cons:

• Somewhat short, similar to the previous games.
• Although interesting the plot is predictable.

Overall, I would recommend Rise of the Tomb Raider to anyone who enjoys action adventure games. If you enjoyed the last title in the series than Rise of the Tomb Raider improves on every aspect present in the last game. The story is also picking up as it's no longer telling of Lara's origin story but more so crafting a story with interesting characters by itself.

9/10