A few months ago, I finished Tomb Raider: Legends, a reboot that aimed to modernize the classic franchise. Although it did receive two sequels, I didn't find Legends to be all that great for me to return to its world.
However, after finishing the Uncharted trilogy, and ending up loving it, it did get me in the mood to play this 2013 reboot. After all, the reboot trilogy and the Uncharted trilogy are often compared to each other.
I did play this game before, a few years back, and I remember loving every moment of it, so much that I even considered this to be in my Top 10 games of all time. And it makes me happy that even all these years, the game remains a delight to experience.
If Uncharted may be presented as a Hollywood blockbuster action, Tomb Raider on the other hand is a suspenseful thriller with a hint of horror in between. Delivering so many jaw-dropping moments that I will never forget anytime soon. Especially those horror-esque moments, those really made me wish they'd make a horror-centric Tomb Raider game in the future.
Controlling Lara felt just as great as it did before. While she may be a bit floaty compared to Nathan Drake, it does go a long way towards making the platforming so much more enjoyable, removing the fear of making many blind jumps.
The level design of this game is also a commendable feat, as it manages to provide an open playground for you to explore, made even better by the fact that they all connect to each other, even if some optional path may only lead to meaningless rewards.
It's a shame though that the tombs, if you could even call them that, are so brief to the point that it would often surprise me when it was already over. It was like a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. This also applies to the boss encounters of the game, as it lacks variety and is often almost over in an instant.
I would have also loved to experience the multiplayer mode of the game, as I also remember loving it before, but it seems as though the server may now be dead.
While I do vastly prefer this gritty reboot of Lara's adventure to Uncharted's first entry, it's also quite difficult to turn a blind eye to some of its missteps, robbing it out of a perfect star.
However, after finishing the Uncharted trilogy, and ending up loving it, it did get me in the mood to play this 2013 reboot. After all, the reboot trilogy and the Uncharted trilogy are often compared to each other.
I did play this game before, a few years back, and I remember loving every moment of it, so much that I even considered this to be in my Top 10 games of all time. And it makes me happy that even all these years, the game remains a delight to experience.
If Uncharted may be presented as a Hollywood blockbuster action, Tomb Raider on the other hand is a suspenseful thriller with a hint of horror in between. Delivering so many jaw-dropping moments that I will never forget anytime soon. Especially those horror-esque moments, those really made me wish they'd make a horror-centric Tomb Raider game in the future.
Controlling Lara felt just as great as it did before. While she may be a bit floaty compared to Nathan Drake, it does go a long way towards making the platforming so much more enjoyable, removing the fear of making many blind jumps.
The level design of this game is also a commendable feat, as it manages to provide an open playground for you to explore, made even better by the fact that they all connect to each other, even if some optional path may only lead to meaningless rewards.
It's a shame though that the tombs, if you could even call them that, are so brief to the point that it would often surprise me when it was already over. It was like a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. This also applies to the boss encounters of the game, as it lacks variety and is often almost over in an instant.
I would have also loved to experience the multiplayer mode of the game, as I also remember loving it before, but it seems as though the server may now be dead.
While I do vastly prefer this gritty reboot of Lara's adventure to Uncharted's first entry, it's also quite difficult to turn a blind eye to some of its missteps, robbing it out of a perfect star.