My only real criticism of Rise of the Tomb Raider’s puzzle-solving is that there isn’t more of it. There are a couple by the end I spent a good hour or two on, but the elation I felt upon solving them was huge. Rise of the Tomb Raider’s ‘challenge tombs’, those that speak most strongly to Tomb Raider’s heritage, are its highlight imaginative, environmentally gorgeous, and increasingly tough as you progress through the world. While puzzles have been baked deeper into the main storyline than they were in Lara’s last outing, the most interesting ones are still those that you have to hunt down on the side. A couple left me lingering idiotically around a rope-wrapped stump, clueless as to what to do with it, until that rush of relief when I spotted another in the distance. One saw me blowing up a statue, another had me slowly and delicately equalizing the weight on a platform.
Lara’s rope arrows get a lot more use, too, and the puzzles which utilize these span a remarkable range. The most heart-hammering moments in Rise of The Tomb Raider come from frantic, acrobatic chases as I fumbled for the right button hundreds of feet above ground. All her tools - which now include a wire spool for latching onto hooks while airborne and arrows Lara can use to climb up vertical surfaces - can be used in quick succession to keep her in the sky for longer. Lara’s means of traversing her world has also been expanded upon.
To talk about these two - and the mysterious organization they associate with - in too much detail would spoil some great twists, but they’re morally grotesque foes, and their clash of wills result in moments of real darkness. Unlike 2013’s Tomb Raider, I wasn’t wincing at her constant broken bones - she’s now a formidable fighter who inflicts more than she takes - but I did see the cracks in her moral compass.Įlsewhere, Rise of the Tomb Raider’s supporting cast are less developed, but fortunately they occupy far less screentime than Lara’s juicy antagonists. This time round she’s driven by obsession, not survival, and for the first time we see her in shades of grey. As a character, Lara Croft has never been so endearing. Yet she’s scarred by her last adventure, so she carries a sort of charismatic weariness that tinges her quips with self-deprecation. She’s confident and smart, and reacts to danger with an action hero’s calmness and intuition.