I knew of the Tomb Raider games, but I never really played them. After playing Uncharted many people suggested the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy to me saying that I would like it a lot. I picked up the trilogy and started my adventure as Lara Croft. First up of course was the first game in the trilogy. Since this was a reboot, it was a way to start fresh. With the first game it was clear that Lara is young and this is her first expedition to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai. Right from the beginning the first game is action packed with a crazy storm and the ship sinking, stranding Lara and her friends on the island of Yamatai.
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| Lara get her bearings on the island. |
Exploring the island was exciting and a bit scary with some jump scare moments. I did like the fact that I could adjust the difficulty settings in the game and turn on tutorials so I could figure out the combat system. I did like taking moments to stop and explore the island and appreciated a lot of the view. There's definitely a lot of climbing and jumping while using Lara's various tools to get around the island.
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| Lara climbs up. |
It was fun using the tools and zip lining everywhere. The battles are fun, but sometimes a little frustrating with the sheer amount of quick time events. I would die in the game and have to try again and sometimes the quick time events were not always accurate. It didn't deter from the enjoyment of the game for me because I really liked the story and reveals in the game. In order to save the game and craft items, you can rest at a campfire. This is also where you can upgrade your skills and weapons as you level up.
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| Craft and upgrade skills here. |
I had a great time with the first game and learning about the island of Yamatai. There were definitely tense moments that scared the heck out of me which added to the game. Sometimes the controls could be a little clunky, but I had fun. Next was Rise Of The Tomb Raider which opens in Syria with Lara trying to come to terms with what she saw in the first game. It was interesting to see Lara trying to wrap her mind around seeing something she could not explain from the first game. Her adventure in Rise then leads her to Siberia in search of the prophet of Constantinople. There were lots of beautiful scenic vistas in Rise Of The Tomb Raider and I stopped often to check them out.
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| Taking in a beautiful view. |
I felt the map in the second game is a little better because everything is laid out clearly with side quests, optional tombs, and the main story quest. I also loved the fact that you could place custom markers on the map because me being the derp that I am, I need to be able to see clearly where I need to go.
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| Finding my way around the map. |
I loved that you could change Lara's outfits and each outfit had a beneficial use for her with things such as better agility, more health, or bigger inventory space. The campfires seem to be the staple for all the games so they were in the second game as well. Using salvage found in different areas helps Lara to craft arrows, upgrade her tools, and even create makeshift grenades.
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| Changing up Lara's outfit. |
I loved the story in Rise because it showed us a new mystery as well as a new villain in a secret cabal organization known as Trinity. The story also showed more of Lara's back story and what happened to her father which gave great insights into why she was obsessed with finding out the truth about her father's research into various artifacts and legends. I also liked exploring the optional tombs. These offered puzzles to solve and the reward for figuring out the tombs was not only treasure, but revelations that tied into the main story. The art and music in the game was beautiful and I appreciated the thought and time that was taken to make them shine. I kept playing because I wanted to see where the story took me and it delivered greatly.
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| Lara explores a tomb. |
Finally, it was time to play Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. The story is set two months after the events of Rise Of The Tomb Raider and Lara and her friend Jonah are working together to stop the activities of Trinity. Honestly, right from the start I fell in love with Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. Lara walking around in Mexico during a Dia de los Muertos celebration, seeing the ofrendas, and all the thoughtful details that went into it warmed my heart. This is where the story really starts as Lara runs into some of the Trinity operatives, but also learns where to go next in her adventure.
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| The beauty of Dia de Los Muertos. |
Getting to explore the Amazon in Shadow was incredible. There was so much to see and do and the element of danger was definitely heightened. I had a bracing, scary fight with a jaguar and had to use all the tools at my disposal. It was also a lot of me running away and yelling, "Oh no!" because let's face it jaguars are beautiful big cats and scary as heck predators.
As the story continued, I got to learn more about Trinity and the artifact Lara was looking for. I loved interacting with the indigenous people of Paititi. I loved it because it brought up important discussions about Lara and her reckless behavior. Jonah had these conversations with Lara before about the importance of looking at the big picture and understanding that sometimes it's better to take a step back. I loved seeing the people and how they lived. There are side quests you can do in the game that are part of the story and involve helping many of the villagers. I especially loved Unuratu because she was smart, brave, and cared deeply about her people and the world. I was fascinated by her and enjoyed getting to know her as the story progressed.
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| Unuratu is amazing! |
The skills and abilities have been overhauled and is more colorful as well as adding some new abilities. Campfires are still in the game and serve the same purpose they did in the previous two games. This is where you upgrade your weapons, unlock your new skills, and craft different types of arrows. I feel that there were more options with the weapons like the bow and arrows which I liked because I tended to use the bow and arrows often for sneaking around enemies.
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| The skills menu has been updated and it's more colorful. |
You can also change Lara's outfits here and each outfit has tactical advantages. There are also outfits that celebrate the clothing the people of Paititi wear. I had a giggle over the fact that you can change the outfits on Lara to make her look like her old school original character design. Some parts of the story would have Lara automatically change into disguises which was a lot of fun.
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| Changing outfits. |
I can say with all sincerity that Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is my favorite in the entire trilogy. The story is well told and talks some about colonialism. It really turns the mirror around on Lara and forces her to self reflect on her past actions. Jonah is a good foil to Lara because he's thoughtful and kind, but he is not afraid to challenge his friend and tell her that she's wrong, that there are dangerous consequences to her actions. These interactions that Lara has with others throughout the story are important and it's interesting to see this darker side of her as well as seeing her coming to terms with her actions and trying to make things right. You get to see Lara learn and grow throughout this whole experience.
There are optional tombs with some pretty interesting puzzles. The puzzles are a little more complex, but I had a good time figuring them out. The platforming in the game is much better and I enjoyed the combat. One of my favorite parts of the game however, was getting to pat all the llamas in Paititi. I love it when a game lets me pat cute animals.
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| I can pat the llamas! |
The ending for Shadow I felt wrapped things up nicely and showed how far Lara had come from the first story and how much she had matured and learned from her journeys. I am glad that I got a chance to play the reboot trilogy because all of them were fun for me. I liked Lara, her friends, and her adventures. It was exciting to explore these different locations and see where the story took me. I liked the extra quests and puzzle solving in tombs. Overall, the games were fantastic for me!
*The Tomb Raider Trilogy is available to play on the following platforms: PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox one
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