Game Review - Tomb Raider GOTY

Game Review: Tomb Raider GOTY by Crystal Dynamics
Score: +6/-3

Amazed that I actually got this free from the Epic Games Store, including other Tomb Raider titles. If you don't already know, the Epic Games Store gives away full titles every week, and not cheesy indie titles either.

Although there are various ways that it could have been done better, it's hard to overstate the plusses here: The story experience is basically unmatched -- not just by other games but even the latest Hollywood action releases. The game was initially released in 2013 and enhanced since then -- the GOTY edition is a 2021 release. And still there's very little out there that can compare with the action-movie experience here.

Tomb Raider is a critically acclaimed action adventure that explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a young woman to a hardened survivor. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold. The Game of the Year edition includes the Tomb of the Lost Adventurer, 6 single player outfits for Lara and 4 characters.

Despite the fantastic cinematics, in the end I actually did NOT like Tomb Raider. The reason is the filler gameplay between those scenes is quite boring and blunts the momentum. Tomb Raider is really much better as a movie, and you can basically watch it as one on Youtube.

• +1 Overall awesome visuals. It probably helped that they limited the map sizes, especially for the plot scenes, so they can focus resources on giving you the best visual experience while retaining smooth gameplay.
• +1 Plus interesting and epic environments.
• +1 The archaeological settings are very nicely done not just in the clever design but in the experience of how you get to them. There's a satisfying feel of discovering a hidden and lost ancient place.
• -1 It's ruined by player prompts.
• For example, bright white rope wound in implausibly large quantities around a tree trunk or pillar means it's a location you can anchor a rope arrow. However it's very obtuse visually and just ruins the overall look of the location.
• Instead, they already have a "survival instinct" visual mode where objects you can interact with in special ways are highlighted. They could have just encouraged players to use that more and shown those rope anchor points only during this survival instinct visual mode.
• Also, standardized objects like junk hanging from nets that you are supposed to burn are generally implausible. They form little puzzles to solve in the environment, but overall I feel the cost to the look and feel of each location is too great.
• +1 Superb direction for the story action scenes. Really can't understate this. If you even just youtube the cutscenes, you're watching a better movie than most of what was available in theatres between 2013 and 2021.
• +1 Feels like you are watching a movie but fortunately you are not just watching -- they try to let you control Lara Croft through most of the scenes (mostly for platforming but the occasional shooting and combat).
• +1 Smart automatic camera, most of the time. A lot of games flub this but somehow Tomb Raider does this so well you pretty much never even think about wanting to adjust the camera yourself.
• However sometimes melee angles are very bad and you find yourself staring at a wall with no idea what is going on.
• -1 Rather terrible melee combat
• By not putting melee combat as a weapon you can switch to, they overwork your hand controls with a separate button for attacking. Which wouldn't be so bad except a lot of maneuvers and skill upgrades also rely on you coordinating a dodge to trigger. It feels too busy and it's hard to master and actually access those skills; and the opportunities for practice are very few.
• I recommend swapping the dodge key with the mouse button for aim. That way during melee you can spread out the work between both hands instead of trying to do everything with your one hand.
• -1 Lousy rewards for skill
• You can headshot an enemy in the thick of combat for +15 XP (versus just killing them for +10)... or you can shoot a rabbit and skin it for the same. Or kill and skin a deer for +50 or more.