Review of the shadow of the tomb robbers

There is an old Dril tweet that came to my mind while I was playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The tweet itself talks about the pardon of pedophile Jared Fogle, but what is more iconic is what Subul's spokesperson says about Dril's appreciation. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm trying to take it off [sic], "Writes Dril.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is essentially this tweetbut in the form of a video game.

This is a new developer. (Although Crystal Dynamics is still at a certain level.) A new writer. A new version of Lara Croft. But it is not only Lara's face that has changed yet, but also her personality. Like apologies for the first two games by making her a discreet sociopath so soon after crying the first man she murdered for her survival in 2013. As her slogan proudly says, It is here that Lara becomes games, she apparently does not loot graves. Or as generalized complaints have noted, never enough.

This is the first item on the agenda of Shadow remedies of the Tomb Raider. There are more graves in this one and crypts too. Crypts are essentially crossing puzzles to get a new useful item at the end, while tombs are complete challenges that end with an ability and no object (given the story I wonder if flight). Sometimes they involve a fight, sometimes they do not, but they still harbor a puzzle to solve. Some graves are easier than others. For example, in one of the most difficult parts, it was fighting a pack of wolves even before entering the puzzle area. Another had a mirror room that took me two hours to resolve. (In retrospect, I thought a lot of a fool trying to solve it.)

The tombs at Shadow of the Tomb Raider are the best of the series, easily. My only complaint is that I would have liked there to be more, even if there are probably more than its predecessors. Through the playable areas, there is usually only one to three graves and perhaps a crypt, the smaller areas relying on the old number. The graves are dense and take a long time to complete, leading to the most clever puzzles of the game; on the contrary, the riddles you encounter in the main story usually do not take more than two minutes. At least, the season pass promises other graves in the future.

Similar to previous games, environments are sometimes linear and sometimes open, with plenty of space to travel and explore. I would argue that he has more in common with the first Tomb Raider than his successor Rise of the Tomb Raider, as the biggest hubs are new cities that are not as teeming with danger as the central hub of Rise. It's a good change too; The cities of Paititi and Kuwaq Yaku are all animated by locals who are surprisingly ready to offer you, a very white stranger, races to do for them. (Fortunately, all side quests are relatively unique and do not fall into the classic quest quest formula.)

Swimming is also presented as a new way to explore environments, both above and below water. Usually you will find gold or jade to drive your ax to the bottom of a lake, as well as plants to pick. In some places you have to deal with piranhas or eels, and the first ones are particularly boring to swim in (although there are large grasses to hide: just hope that 's not a bad thing to do. a place to swim for the air is close). . The upgrade system hosts an upgrade for how long you can breathe underwater, although I have never drowned or been out of breath, except when a mission of History required it. Usually I find myself swimming in games, but in Shadow, I have never felt hated or loved. It was right there.

Stealth has improved considerably, Lara now being able to attack enemies in the trees and slip into the mud to blend against the walls, adding new dimensions to the encounters. She is full on Rambo in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It is a bit ironic to think that most of the story is about empathy with other people and cultures for the first time. Of course, she cares about the people of the ancient civilization of Paititi, but she will also brutally slash a knife in the neck of a Cultist (the primary enemies) if she has the opportunity!

While stealth works and the bow stays among the best in video games, it's when the arms come in that things go apart. Guns in Shadow, frankly, do not feel good. The goal is not as sharp as it should be and they tend to feel overwhelmed most of the time. This almost negates the need for stealth, which was my favorite way of playing, knowing that if I wanted, I could blow through a whole bunch of enemies with my equipped shotgun. Throughout the main story, guns are used in the chaotic situations in which Lara is located. rather than just shooting a red barrel.

The fight is in contradiction with the story. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the conclusion of Lara's original trilogy, ending her long fight against the naughty Trinity entity and solving the death of her parents again. One of the major problems of the series is that the characters surrounded by Lara feel subscribed. In Shadow, this trend persists, especially with respect to his best friend and confidant Jonah. Throughout this, I remained confused as to Why Jonah even flew over Lara after all these years, especially after a start sequence where she selfishly insisted on chasing Trinity rather than helping people whose city had been swept away by a tsunami. , supposedly trigger the apocalypse. It's the most fascinating character moment of all the game, where Jonah calls Lara on his bullshit, and he's almost never mentioned again.

In Lara's internal monologues at campfires, she reflects constantly. Once, she remembers how stupid she was to think that Paititi would be a bunch of ruins and not a prosperous city. His inner thoughts always go in that direction, astonished by the actions and cultural touchpoints that not everyone would be surprised.

There are two games in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There is the big one. The one without guns – only bows, other gear and your intelligence to guide you. Where to smear Lara with mud and hide from the vines is the only tool that a small woman needs to survive against a dozen men armed with rifles and shotguns. Where tombs and their puzzles are a challenge and a wonder to explore. The one with Lara's moments reflecting on his actions and the do not to feel hypocritical in some way.

And then there is the game where the fight collapses with the introduction of firearms. Where everything feels at odds with each lesson of Empathy 101 that Lara is supposed to have learned throughout the journey. When looting tombs (and often, as other characters point out, destroying cultural artifacts in the process) is considered disrespectful, it does it anyway. With each step forward, there are two steps back. I love this first game, but the second one left me cold and disappointed. Its summits are as high as the mountains that surround the hidden city of Paititi, while its depressions are as deep as the tombs in which Lara is found, barely a hint of regret.

Review of the shadow of the tomb robbers
Caty McCarthy
Uncharted (3) territory.
2018-09-10T13: 00: 00-04: 00

3.5
5

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