Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Price of Obsession

Well...here we are; we've reached the conclusion - at least for the moment - of the main Tomb Raider series. Now, this review is going to be very different from the other reviews in the series. I wasn't able to get this one to run properly on my PC, so I'm going to approach this one the way I'd approach a film review...it might seem like a cop-out, but I've got thoughts that I'd like to share.

With that in mind, let's get to it.

The Conclusion of a Storyline

Development on Shadow of the Tomb Raider began shortly after everything wrapped up on Rise of the Tomb Raider. Development duties were handled largely by Eidos Montreal as Crystal Dynamics wanted to focus on their Avengers game - a game that wouldn't come out until 2020.

Still, it was the largest project to date (at the time), costing somewhere between 75 and 100 million dollars to make.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider was released on September 14, 2018, to a generally positive reception. The visuals and music were well-liked. The more open-ended level design, improved combat, and stealth mechanics were also given significant praise. Players also loved the new traversal options.

Critics and players alike enjoyed the character development for Lara Croft, but they also found her hard to empathize with. One review went so far as to say that Lara behaves like a bratty child...ouch.

The Storyline is A Slight Re-vamp

Lara is in South America working to stop the organization, Trinity. When she picks up her latest find, it triggers Armageddon, and now she has to fight Trinity and stop the world from ending.

What did I Like?

• The storyline is one that we've seen before, in The Last Revelation, when Lara accidentally unleashed the Egyptian god of chaos. Only this time, the consequences are immediate and devastating. We also get to SEE the consequences of Lara's choices. Removing the dagger destroys an entire region quickly and brutally. Earthquakes, crumbling buildings, it's a shocking sight and far more impactful, in a way, than what we get in The Last Revelation.
• The music and voice acting are great. Camilla Luddington absolutely killed it as Lara and her performance feels very natural.
• Character development is pretty good. We get a pretty good look at how Lara has to adapt her viewpoint on the world. She's forced to confront the fact that her actions have serious consequences.
• The story is well-written and well-paced, and the ending is a fitting book-end to the trilogy.

Anything I didn't Like?

Well...not really. If I had to mention something, it would be that Lara just seems to be...not Lara.

This probably needs some explaining. For starters, the self-pity parties where she's complaining about circumstances - while rare - are very frustrating. Lara Croft doesn't do the 'woe-is-me everything's falling apart' deal. She's confident, and yes, occasionally arrogant and/or cocky, sure, but ultimately she gets the work done.

The idea of the bad guys using an artefact to re-shape the world in their own image is so cliched that it's honestly not funny anymore. It takes the idea of a serious, intimidating group and changes it into an overdone James Bond-esque villain. The Bond villain archetype isn't bad, but it doesn't fit in the Tomb Raider series.

Writing from Observation is...Difficult

Most of the reviews I write are written from experience, but this time around, I had to write as if I'd watched a film instead of playing a videogame. It was surprisingly difficult because I had no idea what I was supposed to do or how I would do it.

Still, playing this one proved impossible because of the lag in the gameplay. This made things difficult for me, but I hope