6/10
Apr 24, 2019
Beat·Xbox One
A soft reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, this game reintroduces us to Lara Croft and serves as an origin story for this new "Survivor" trilogy. It lifts a lot from fellow action-adventure alumnus Uncharted, but despite an effort to place Lara in a gritty new setting, it falls short in too many ways to really be a modern great.
Set on a remote Japanese island, Lara finds herself shipwrecked and injured, left scrambling to survive in the midst of a murderous cult. While the broad strokes are exciting, the game suffers from a bland cast and a threat that begins rooted in a thrilling reality but eventually gives way to the series' usual supernatural bent that unfortunately rings hollow in this grimmer narrative.
Gameplay is strictly standard fare as Lara pops up from cover to take potshots at enemies, solves fairly straightforward puzzles, and hoovers up collectibles for the usual reward of experience points and upgrades. Beneath the blood, gore, and slightly fetishistic torturing of Lara, this new Tomb Raider is a safe game, rarely taking any chances or surprising the player.
Check out my full review! The Almighty Backlog, review #40:
https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/tomb-raider/)
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