Rise of the Tomb Raider Reviews
The story takes bigger risks, and is all the better for it. By no means is it perfect, but the negatives are so slight they don't really warrant full disclosure. This is a bigger, meatier sequel, one that improves on an already great game. And again, it gets the balance right. The balance between survival, in terms of facing off against an army of foes as well as giant killer snow bears, and exploration, in the form of archaeology-by-the-way-of Lara being genuinely excited when she comes across an ancient trinket or mural.
As a package Rise of the Tomb Raider is sublime pure Hollywood blockbuster entertainment with the only real negative that some could level is that the minute to minute gameplay presents very little that would be considered groundbreaking or new and at times it might feel similar to the previous iteration. This is really clutching at straws though. Looking at the package as a whole, as a cinematic adventure experience one of this stuff matters. Lara took it up a notch!
If you've enjoyed Crystal Dynamics' reboot, then chances are you'll love Rise of the Tomb Raider that much more. Lara's latest adventure is bigger and better in nearly every way. The settings and environments are bigger, the tombs are plentiful, the combat is exciting and Lara herself is once again brought to life thanks to Camilla Luddington's fantastic performance.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is neither a revelation nor a revolution. However, it's still a gorgeous, solid and extremely fun action adventure experience. Even with its familiar platforming and combat, Rise of the Tomb Raider shouldn't be missed.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is exactly what we needed. While there has been an influx of open world games over the last few years, Crystal Dynamics have been able to find a perfect balance of cinematic action and strong adventure elements. There are far more tombs to raid this time around, not to mention an open world filled with challenges, artifacts, documents and expansive story elements. Speaking of the story, while it's not particularly deep, it does contain a strong antagonist duo and an even more compelling heroine. While Lara's drive becomes a bit obsessive at first, she has grown up to be a capable woman, looking death in the face rather than fearing it.
A fun adventure hampered by a lack of vision
Ultimately, Rise of the Tomb Raider is akin to a direct-to-DVD sequel. It apes the look and style of the original but nothing comes together in a way that's nearly as impressive. I played the reboot four times over and it remains one of the few games I've reached 100% completion, going around and collecting every trinket just because I wanted to explore every inch of its fantastic world. I doubt I'll ever touch its sequel again. It's a decent action-adventure game with some nice moments but it's also lacking in the ambition and artistry embodied by its predecessor. In the end it's merely a fun but mostly forgettable time.
A worthwhile follow-up to Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider is also an incremental improvement over its predecessor, with more spectacular sites to explore and sights to behold. And tombs! More tombs!
The initial adventure in Rise of the Tomb Raider is around 6-8 hours, but every minute of it is fun, especially with retooled gameplay controls and unlockables for incentive. Adding to that time frame is a large amount of worthwhile exploring and wonderful backtracking once the campaign is completed. If you're into that, then this game is going to make you happy.
I don't know about you, but Rise of the Tomb Raider, while not a complete masterpiece, is pretty damn close to being one in the Action-Adventure genre.
If you already own Rise on Xbox One or PC, there's no reason to buy it again. The new content is absolute crap and neither the additional skins, nor the included DLC warrant buying this game again. That being said, the core game remains excellent in almost every way; if you're solely a PS4 owner, now is your time to experience the next chapter in Lara's epic tail.
A must-play action-adventure story that solidifies Lara Croft's position as one of the best video game characters ever.
While 2013's Tomb Raider reboot was great, fans of the series were pining for more tombs to explore and relics to collect. Crystal Dynamics addressed that and then some in Rise of the Tomb Raider, improving on its upgrade system, telling a fun story, more puzzles, and adding bears, tigers, cheetahs, and more packs of wolves to kill and skin. Just like we remember.
From little things like a damage system to gameplay on a larger scale like world exploration, "Rise of the Tomb Raider" expertly nails everything it sets out to do. From the narrative angle, Lara is developed as a driven force better than she ever has been before. In a genre that has been dominated by characters like Nathan Drake or whichever assassin leads the annual "Assassin's Creed" series, Lara stands as the new queen of action.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a solid followup to the series' reboot, offering a nice mix of adventuring, puzzle platforming and action in a pretty-looking setting. Admittedly, it doesn't really break any new ground but it's a very polished rendition of the genre that continues the story of everyone's favorite Croft. If you're a fan of the reboot or never tried it but love the classic games in the series, Rise of the Tomb Raider is one game you'll want to climb onto.
With Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has made a stellar sequel, but hasn't yet reached the full potential glimpsed in 2013's reboot. It is visually fabulous, boasting stunning environments, and improves the core exploration and combat gameplay, but there's still room to improve further. With even bigger open worlds, dialled down violence and a stronger script, the inevitable next instalment could really be special. There's no doubt that Crystal Dynamics deserves the chance to make that happen.
With Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has created a well-polished and impressive sequel to one of the best reboots I've ever played. It isn't perfect, and can be a bit overwhelming at times, but it's still an excellent game and well worth checking out.
Over the course of my 14.5 hour playthrough of the game's story and the many, many more completing side content, it's very easy to see why Microsoft made the investment they did. Say what you want but Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best games released in 2015. Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best Xbox One exclusive in 2015. Fans on other platforms will absolutely love this game when it arrives elsewhere next year. Rise of the Tomb Raider is the type of journey you will want to visit a lot more than just one time.
Ultimately, Rise of the Tomb Raider is definitely one of the best games released in 2015. It improves on its predecessor massively, and on basically every aspect of the game. It looks better, it plays better, it comes with more and better puzzles, a better story and a better Lara Croft to boot. While the Tomb Raider we got in 2013 wasn't by any means a bad game, I have no hesitation in saying that this is the game that finally does Lara Croft's glorious franchise justice.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a big-budget title that delivers a breathtaking adventure with all the trimmings.