Tomb Raider

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5047 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,086 out of 5047
  2. Mixed: 727 out of 5047
  3. Negative: 234 out of 5047
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  1. tazdevil41
    Mar 5, 2013
    6
    I am trying really hard to love this game as there is so much to love.
    The quicktime events need to go though. They are just so frustrating on PC and drag down the experience.
    Who on earth thought adding so many was a great idea? The game was strong enough to work without these elements and it seems to just be lazy programming that resulted in them. Leave them as an option if people    I am trying really hard to love this game as there is so much to love.
    The quicktime events need to go though. They are just so frustrating on PC and drag down the experience.

    Who on earth thought adding so many was a great idea? The game was strong enough to work without these elements and it seems to just be lazy programming that resulted in them.

    Leave them as an option if people want it that way but there should have been an option to skip as an instant death over and over again for not pressing a button on a controller or a key on a keyboard within a millisecond is pretty cheap.
    Visually this game is great and sound and exploration in parts is fun too but please no more quicktime events ever     … Expand
  2. behastie
    Mar 5, 2013
    5
    I've only been playing for a couple hours but I really had to quit. This game isn't awful and if you really like the run of the mill AAA shooter genre then you might find this game worthwhile, but if you aren't a fan of quicktime events or linear set pieces then you won't enjoy yourself that much. Just about everything that Lara does is a quicktime event: fighting wolves, fighting people,I've only been playing for a couple hours but I really had to quit. This game isn't awful and if you really like the run of the mill AAA shooter genre then you might find this game worthwhile, but if you aren't a fan of quicktime events or linear set pieces then you won't enjoy yourself that much. Just about everything that Lara does is a quicktime event: fighting wolves, fighting people, climbing things; all of it is just onscreen prompts. Crystal Dynamics has made less a game and more a movie that occasionally checks to see if the audience has fingers.… Expand
  3. Ciugi
    Mar 5, 2013
    5
    Which generation do you belong? Despite all the marketing tricks, TressFX (top notch performance-eater!) and a famous franchise title Tomb Raider, this game is a great example of a dumbed-down experience. Linear levels, scripted events... Every linear element is there to pretend you're an idiot who cannot learn how sand-box works, make your own decisions that could matter, change theWhich generation do you belong? Despite all the marketing tricks, TressFX (top notch performance-eater!) and a famous franchise title Tomb Raider, this game is a great example of a dumbed-down experience. Linear levels, scripted events... Every linear element is there to pretend you're an idiot who cannot learn how sand-box works, make your own decisions that could matter, change the outcome, etc. You're thrown into a pile of garbage. Follow your only path and do only what game tells you to. You're too stupid to decide. If you like games which take your hand and lead from point A to B all the time, you'll like this. Otherwise, prepare for a nightmare. And BTW, story is average. I don't play games for SFX. Ignore this game, if you truly love freedom. Ciugi out.… Expand
  4. Lorenna
    Mar 5, 2013
    5
    It could be any other game..besides Tomb Raider. Its very easy and its more of a movie you interact with than a game. Its about 70% Quick Time Events as far as I can see..which are very buggy to say the least. I have to keep restarting the client as they just don't work..and after googling it seems to be a common problem. For anyone who's a fan of the older Tomb Raider games likeIt could be any other game..besides Tomb Raider. Its very easy and its more of a movie you interact with than a game. Its about 70% Quick Time Events as far as I can see..which are very buggy to say the least. I have to keep restarting the client as they just don't work..and after googling it seems to be a common problem. For anyone who's a fan of the older Tomb Raider games like myself..don't get too excited. Its still enjoyable...just not as a Tomb Raider game. Its not even Lara..they messed with the character too much.… Expand
  5. praXis
    Sep 3, 2014
    7
    Like quick-time events? Goofy cutscenes? Button mashing? Over-the-top gore? This game is for you!
    Like pathfinding and puzzle-solving to gain access to... you know... tombs? You probably want to buy something else.
    Very pretty game with some nicely designed big maps, but gameplay is uninspired at best, and annoying as hell at worst. Combat and movement is laggy while the camera jerks    Like quick-time events? Goofy cutscenes? Button mashing? Over-the-top gore? This game is for you!
    Like pathfinding and puzzle-solving to gain access to... you know... tombs? You probably want to buy something else.
    Very pretty game with some nicely designed big maps, but gameplay is uninspired at best, and annoying as hell at worst. Combat and movement is laggy while the camera jerks around wildly. Very linear in many sections, and the hand-holding for the console kiddies (despite being a very rated M game) is blatant. Tacked-on terrible multiplayer is worth nothing. Single-player campaign has little to no replay value.
    It's amazing how much good content manages to shine through this though, and ultimately it's a mildly entertaining diversion - for those that can stomach its glaring problems.    … Expand
  6. Tridus
    Oct 14, 2014
    7
    When you're actually allowed to play, the game is pretty fun. The problem is they have this nasty habit of throwing in awful QTEs all over the place, some of which just require flat out memorization of the sequence to get through. I'm docking points for that alone, because they should have known better.
  7. TitaniumDragon
    Jul 1, 2017
    5
    Tomb Raider – or, as it more accurately might be called, QTEs and Shooting From Behind Waist-High Walls – is not a game about raiding tombs. There is only one tomb you “raid” to any meaningful extent as part of the story, and then only at the very end. If you were hoping for a large number of platforming puzzles and overcoming ancient traps and suchlike, you’re going to be disappointed.Tomb Raider – or, as it more accurately might be called, QTEs and Shooting From Behind Waist-High Walls – is not a game about raiding tombs. There is only one tomb you “raid” to any meaningful extent as part of the story, and then only at the very end. If you were hoping for a large number of platforming puzzles and overcoming ancient traps and suchlike, you’re going to be disappointed.

    Tomb Raider is, instead, a cinematic action game. Where the game excels is in movie-like action sequences – bits where you run through a burning building and fight your way out, or run across a disintegrating bridge, or maneuver around a boat which is being shot apart around you. It is in these scenes that the game excels and feels exciting, as Lara Croft makes her way through the environment.

    Sadly, this game offers very little else that excels.

    The game is ostensibly a “how Lara Croft became who she is” story, but at that, it actually doesn’t do a very good job at all. The biggest problem – which I’m afraid is kind of crucial – is that the game does a rather poor job of doing exactly that. Lara Croft apparently learned how to do many things before this game even started, as in the tutorial sections towards the beginning, she constantly refers back to things she learned from other characters. As such, this is really the first time she used those skills.

    Beyond that, I don’t know who Lara Croft is by the end of the game. She is, frankly, a generic power-fantasy action hero who is kind of whiny about it. When she kills a bad guy for the first time, she freaks out a bit and cries – but this is an event which has zero meaningful emotional impact on the audience. The problem is, we’ve all killed bad guys in video games before, and this particular rendition thereof is not particularly remarkable. Worse, Lara Croft herself is a certified badass – perhaps not at the beginning of the game, but by reputation, we know that Lara Croft is one of gaming’s Big Heroes. And indeed, throughout the rest of the game, Lara Croft kills many hundreds of bad guys, with pretty much zero impact.

    As such, the game is already undermining the idea that taking a life is a big deal here at all – mechanically, it isn’t, players have already done all this before, Lara Croft herself is reputationally someone who kills lots of people, and in the game she kills hundreds of people.

    She is scared for much of the game, until she resolves herself at the end, but this is simply not communicated mechanically – you feel powerful as you slaughter your way through hundreds of bad guys. When she starts shaking in the cutscenes after having escaped death and gone through numerous ridiculous movie setpieces, it just doesn’t sell itself to the audience at all emotionally.

    This results in a sharp disconnect between the audience and the character, and indeed, between the character in cutscenes and the character outside of cutscenes, as she is actually played. It just doesn’t work.

    And this means that the entire story falls flat on its face.

    The plot itself is a mess – numerous characters come in and out of the story, but the reality is that there is just no reason to care. There are at least two characters who are introduced to you and then killed off a scene later, negating any possible emotional impact their deaths might have had. The only good guy character who spends any significant amount of time with the player through much of the story is Roth, but his presence, too, is too ephemeral for the player to care about what happens to him, and his eventual fate is not something that the player feels in any way responsible for.

    It doesn’t help that the characters themselves are all extremely flat. Lara talks about her dad’s theories, but we don’t get a good grasp of who were dad was. Sam, the person you’re trying to rescue, is not someone you forge any sort of meaningful emotional bond with as a player – there are a couple of flashback scenes, which I thought were there to try and establish the bonds with the absent characters, but then they end and I’m left going through the rest of the story trying to rescue someone that I have no real emotional connection to. I mean, sure, you’re going to save them – you’re the hero – but as the player, you have no reason to care. Likewise with the rest of the surviving crew, who mostly only show up towards the end of the game.

    The bad guy himself is a standard crazy cult leader/survivalist, and the bad guys are dudes with guns, occasionally mixed up with dudes with machetes and a few dudes with riot shields. Almost everyone you confront throughout the game falls into those categories; there just isn’t enough variety. There’s a handful of wolves, who only feel threatening in any way at the beginning, and a tiny number of "boss-like" enemies - maybe two or three in the entire game, and none are particularly exciting.    … Expand
  8. Liquidlizard
    Aug 3, 2013
    6
    More of a movie than a game. More of a console than PC game. Quick Time events can get annoying and cutscenes are overused. Visually appealing, yet not optimal for PC gamers.
  9. chocobo
    Mar 23, 2014
    7
    I've played every TR except 1, and I've replayed Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld just to prep for it, that's how much I'm into TR.

    And here's some unpolished thoughts: Puzzle-wise it's lacking in scale and coherence--understandably because it's now in semi-open world format, which means open world travel > tomb/confined spaces > open world travel. And this actually hurts the    I've played every TR except 1, and I've replayed Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld just to prep for it, that's how much I'm into TR.

    And here's some unpolished thoughts:

    Puzzle-wise it's lacking in scale and coherence--understandably because it's now in semi-open world format, which means open world travel > tomb/confined spaces > open world travel. And this actually hurts the immersion you get from tackling long series of great looking puzzles in a grand tomb/ place alone which defined TR. Interestingly, Assassin's Creed's large tombs had given that same kind of immersion to me.

    Social aspect is strong, but i just don't know was it helping or hurting the game because solemn exploration and comrade-helping is somewhat contradictory in nature, and either needs a lot of time and content to be memorable. There were too many different characters, and the focus on each of them was scattered and short-lived (except Sam), not allowing any deep memorable connection to develop.

    The extras (hidden stuff, journals, artifacts) again were overambitious in that they were all trying to cue the player towards various of lore/ side story that would be interesting, but were not quite resolved.

    Enemy placement was unbelievable at times, like spawning from a cave entrance behind which you'll discover afterwards that it's a slide > jump > cling wall place

    It's still a good game in that It has good graphics, focused back story, detailed character movements, fluid combat system, and a solid chunk of non-repeated scripted interactive scenes. But again everyone knows that focusing the game's development resources on these things takes it away from other things (in this case, actual playable puzzles and interactive time between characters).

    To be fair, given the scope/ experimental stuff they did to the game, this TR could only be seen as a prequel (if there will be any sequel since SE thought they didn't sell enough)

    From a player's perspective the game is totally worth it, but critically, it's an experimental TR that misplaced too much of its resources in things that did not define the franchise. The end product is another modern AAA title that doesn't stand out an awful lot.    … Expand
  10. mugen_is_here
    Mar 29, 2023
    6
    With its exhilarating parkour and entertaining shooting mechanics, this game offers a thrilling experience that is sure to captivate players. However, some may find themselves struggling with certain frustrating elements, such as constantly falling off ledges or smashing into objects. Additionally, the game's over-the-top explosions and tough enemies - which require multiple grenades toWith its exhilarating parkour and entertaining shooting mechanics, this game offers a thrilling experience that is sure to captivate players. However, some may find themselves struggling with certain frustrating elements, such as constantly falling off ledges or smashing into objects. Additionally, the game's over-the-top explosions and tough enemies - which require multiple grenades to defeat - can prove to be irksome at times. Despite these minor setbacks, the game manages to deliver an overall enjoyable experience that is well worth checking out. So if you're willing to overlook its occasional annoyances, this title is definitely worth your time.… Expand
  11. theirrelephants
    Apr 22, 2019
    7
    Good game, not as good as Rise of the Tomb Raider but still pretty enjoyable. I rushed through it because I played the second one first and wanted to get to the third game... the tombs are almost entirely optional, so I only did a few, not that there were many to begin with.

    Story was neat, unlike the second game this one has more of a fantasy twist than scifi. A good first person    Good game, not as good as Rise of the Tomb Raider but still pretty enjoyable. I rushed through it because I played the second one first and wanted to get to the third game... the tombs are almost entirely optional, so I only did a few, not that there were many to begin with.

    Story was neat, unlike the second game this one has more of a fantasy twist than scifi.

    A good first person adventure game, I recommend it. If you like it, you'll enjoy the second one even more - as it improves on the first in every single way.

    Downsides:
    The side characters who aren't lara are all extremely irritating. Fortunately, you don't interact with them much at all.

    I figured out who was going to betray me before the end of the game in the PROLOGUE. Geeze.

    Combat can be a bit janky. Probably only noticeable if you've played the second one, which was much more smooth.

    In hindsight, if you play the games out of order, Lara's freakouts in the second game over murdering someone make zero sense. You're in the triple, if not quadruple digits as far as kill counts are concerned by the end of this entry.    … Expand
  12. Danny83
    Aug 26, 2013
    6
    Graphics are great... the rest is the pinnacle of consolitis. The game play is ordinary and linear, and quick time events are everywhere, not even one is acceptable. why they feel they need to put rpg elements in all these games is beyond me, it feels fake and draws me away from immersion. The perfectly placed zip lines feel stupid, and why can i only climb in certain areas? hunting isGraphics are great... the rest is the pinnacle of consolitis. The game play is ordinary and linear, and quick time events are everywhere, not even one is acceptable. why they feel they need to put rpg elements in all these games is beyond me, it feels fake and draws me away from immersion. The perfectly placed zip lines feel stupid, and why can i only climb in certain areas? hunting is pointless and must have been an after thought. what is with games and collecting things? if i felt like collecting random i would clean my house. does any idiot actually collect hundreds of these pointless items? are we rats? i might go and play dues ex again. not human revolution, that was consolized crap also.… Expand
  13. Melanie_Han
    Jul 27, 2013
    6
    More a movie with quick time events than an actual playable game. Though nothing like Metal Gear Solid, there's still way too much cinematic. You can tell that's where the effort went, to the expensive of everything else. You spend about 45% watching some cinematic while remaining vigilant in case a random quick time event pops up, about 40% running and jump around small enclosures to findMore a movie with quick time events than an actual playable game. Though nothing like Metal Gear Solid, there's still way too much cinematic. You can tell that's where the effort went, to the expensive of everything else. You spend about 45% watching some cinematic while remaining vigilant in case a random quick time event pops up, about 40% running and jump around small enclosures to find little trinkets and talisman, most of which don't have any purpose, and rest of the15% staring at the scenery. Well, there's some combat too, and it's not bad. I guess Tomb Raider has always been about level exploration than anything else, but if so than there's no justification for how small the levels are. Excellent graphics though. Good voice work, not too many cheesy lines in the dialogue. Overall, not the greatest game, but if you really like cinematic and crazy fast paced explosion then go for it.… Expand
  14. natefifield24
    Jan 1, 2014
    6
    I won't lie, this game was linear. I absolutely hate linear games, but I paid 30 usd for it so I gave it a go.

    The game was so much fun I had trouble putting it down, played all 10 hrs I have into this game in four or five sittings. While it was incredibly fun, it was annoying at the same time. Here is my list of most disliked things 1. It is darn near impossible to find enough    I won't lie, this game was linear. I absolutely hate linear games, but I paid 30 usd for it so I gave it a go.

    The game was so much fun I had trouble putting it down, played all 10 hrs I have into this game in four or five sittings.

    While it was incredibly fun, it was annoying at the same time.
    Here is my list of most disliked things
    1. It is darn near impossible to find enough parts and salvage to upgrade all the weapons and equipment to full levels.
    2. Very linear, there is a certain path that you must take,and there are very few options if that isn't true.
    3. Button mashing, I about ruined the 'x' key on my keyboard from all the button mashing I had to do in order to get through this game.
    4. The format of cut-scene after cut-scene and designated save points appearing were frustrating, It led to me knowing when a certain fighting area was over or to prepare for the next bit, it left nothing to be a surprise or to my imagination of what was coming up next.
    5. Basically 0 replay value unless you are the kind of person who likes to collect pointless little bits from all over the playable area.

    My favorite parts:
    1. I thought the story was very well developed and quite cool and interesting.
    2. it looks utterly fantastic.
    3. The controls were well thought out and key-bindings easily changed if you disagree with me.
    4.It stayed mainly true to my perceived concept of a tomb raider game, fun puzzles, good level navigation (climbing), and a great story related to some ancient civilization and the supernatural.

    I give it a 6/10 for the fact it was wicked fun and very good looking, but was linear had some silly gimmicks and game-play mechanics and has virtually no replay value.    … Expand
  15. JusticeReview
    Jun 17, 2014
    5
    The amount of things I didn't like about this game can not compare to the things I did like. I'm a big fan of female protagonist games, particularly action adventure games. I was never a big tomb raider fan however, but my god did they make this game blow. Past titles I've played in tomb raider have taken the cake compared to this.

    Lara is significantly less badas* than ever before. And    The amount of things I didn't like about this game can not compare to the things I did like. I'm a big fan of female protagonist games, particularly action adventure games. I was never a big tomb raider fan however, but my god did they make this game blow. Past titles I've played in tomb raider have taken the cake compared to this.

    Lara is significantly less badas* than ever before. And her main weapon of choice is the bow instead of dual handguns (who decided this I have no idea). There is no way a bow is cooler than twin pistols. You can't even use twin pistols in the game, which is what I believe to be her iconic weapon choice. It's just corn on the cob every which way in this game.

    The combat in this game is well. It's boring. It's just like every other bad third person shooter game with absolutely zero substance. You don't feel in control of the character, you never get to do anything cool. Your dodge move is a fast crawl on the ground instead of a cartwheel or roll (unless you tap it twice then you roll, hurray?). The game is littered with QTE that punish you if you press the button too fast, you have to push it slower as if you had downs.

    Sometimes the fights are unfair, one time I was in a throne room with enemies coming from all sides and I could only hide behind destructible pillars, while the enemies lobbed grenades and used machine guns. The pistol, not only was it discarded as her weapon of choice, but is also the worst weapon in the game and nearly completely unusable. The enemies come in droves of 20+ at a time, but only 4-6 can be on screen at once.

    One of my biggest gripes is that only 4 corpses can be on screen at once. So if you kill 20 guys, you can only loot the four. Which forces you to scramble around like a mouse looting corpses mid fire fight if you want to collect the in game currency (which gets you nothing interesting btw). The entire leveling system is contrived and unnecessary (which is common of main stream titles these days).

    Also to be noted your always in danger. You can't even climb a ladder without a strong gust of wind cracking it in half. You almost never feel safe when traversing the world. Although it's meant to be dramatic or something, sometimes my eyes roll when a 2000 year old temple waits for me to show up before crumbling apart, despite being the home of a cult of samurai for the past 1000 years.

    Nearly everything is scripted. There are only 2 enemy models. Man and wolf. Later on you fight big man, and sometimes the enemies wear different types of armor (who cares). Was it too much to add a bear to the game, mountain lion, shark, or anything besides wolf and man. Even werewolf, a combining of the two might have been interesting. You just sit there fighting the same dudes with different armors and guns nearly the entire game, and it's incredibly boring.

    The story is pretty much nonexistent. There isn't a single plot twist or particular development that matters. Within the first hour of the game you've figured it out. Evil island, Jackass Backstabber Friend, Sun Queen, bunch of guys who want to solve the plot in a completely illogical way.

    A major theme is supposed to be survival. But survival is one thing, and killing an army with a wooden bow is a completely different story. The game introduces a ton of concepts and fails to deliver consistently on any of them. Combat, Platforming, Hunting, Survival, Tomb Raiding, blah blah, no single element shines in this game. It's just a mish mashed potato.

    So lets wrap this up with what I did like about the game. I liked the fire temple level, it was very well scripted for a scripted sequence and pretty to look at. Most of the game is pretty to look at, and the environments and levels have an interesting design. It offered an average level of entertainment, but was ultimately boring.

    So I'm giving this a 5. Because I didn't have fun playing this game but I managed to beat it anyways. I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did.

    If your bored or are tomb raider fan it's worth picking up if you have spare change.    … Expand
  16. Vidyafan9999
    Jun 15, 2013
    6
    I honestly don't care much about the previous games, this is a reboot after all, so I'm reviewing it for what it is, a mediocre Uncharted clone with a touchy feely girly protagonist that goes from frail scared little girl to female Rambo by the end of the game. My main problems with it are the gameplay, which is derivative, very similar to Uncharted but less polished, underdeveloped meleeI honestly don't care much about the previous games, this is a reboot after all, so I'm reviewing it for what it is, a mediocre Uncharted clone with a touchy feely girly protagonist that goes from frail scared little girl to female Rambo by the end of the game. My main problems with it are the gameplay, which is derivative, very similar to Uncharted but less polished, underdeveloped melee and stealth, grimdark graphics, and story that conflicts with the gameplay and the premise of the game.

    The gameplay is basically third person shooting with regenerative health, with platforming and stealth elements. It's enjoyable but very derivative. The game has some light RPG elements, such as weapon upgrading, which is not that fleshed out and nonsensical (how do you craft a modern day tech bow starting from a caveman style bow using just scrap metal?). You also get experience points, you can upgrade your abilities and gain more moves, and later on, some really over the top, Rambo style takedowns that make the game very easy. There are no survival elements, outside of one tutorial session->cutscene in the beginning, you don't need to get food or anything, so really, this game has zero survival elements, even though the game's tagline is "a survivor is born". The game also has some minor "metroidvania" elements, as you can backtrack and explore areas you already completed in search for upgrades and other hidden stuff, but it's mostly pointless considering how easy the game is. This game also has hidden tombs that you can raid, which are basically one-room puzzles, very easy and not rewarding at all, they only give you exp. There are collectible artifacts and other stuff, but again, no reward other than exp.

    The story is very mediocre and the supporting cast is awfully clichè. There are some heavy supernatural elements that don't make much sense. Also, by the end of the game you kill so many people it's pretty crazy. You will get to single handedly destroy an ancient army of undead samurai by yourself, which is pretty crazy. The game also has many set pieces with QTEs, it doesn't really go overboard but they are pretty uninspired, Uncharted did this much better. Finally, there are some very gory areas just for the sake of being dark and gritty. I'm not a big fan of the setting of the game, which is a really bleak, brown island with skulls and skeletons everywhere.

    Voice acting is good for Lara, decent for everyone else. Music is unremarkable and sound effects are alright.

    The graphics on PC are pretty good, the game sports some advanced graphical effects not present on consoles (on consoles this game looks much worse than Uncharted), such as TressFX hair, which is cool. If only the game wasn't so brown and bleak for no reason, I'd be ok with the graphics. On release though, it had a lot of glitches and crashing issues.

    Overall, a mediocre action third person shooter, which is very derivative and uninteresting, with poorly executed mechanics, you play it once and forget about it.    … Expand
  17. RathHood
    Feb 29, 2016
    5
    Good gameplay, fast paced, most of the quicktime events are ok - some are extremely tedious. Why low score? Because storyline, characters, dialogues and overall writing is worse than Mortal Kombat single player mode. It's so bad that most of the cutscenes /dialogues I was squirming and just want it to be over and get back to killing baddies. In most of the games cutscenes are this littleGood gameplay, fast paced, most of the quicktime events are ok - some are extremely tedious. Why low score? Because storyline, characters, dialogues and overall writing is worse than Mortal Kombat single player mode. It's so bad that most of the cutscenes /dialogues I was squirming and just want it to be over and get back to killing baddies. In most of the games cutscenes are this little rewards for progress in the game. Not here - it's like watching worst Hollywood action movie. I have no idea how they spend so much money/time to develop this game and there's clearly a lot of good in there and they can't hire 1 guy with decent writing skills. About midway point in the game I found myself just rushing through it just to get it over with - something I never do. Another thing (but minor in comparison) is stealth mechanics - very undeveloped and it's a shame because there was so much potential.… Expand
  18. ShodanSpectre
    Jul 14, 2016
    6
    This is a review from a person who is familiar with the Tomb Raider / Lara Croft franchise, but not a particular fan of the game series.

    The game starts out fairly good, the first hour or two of the game bring up some puzzle-solving, almost Portal-style, and a bit of combat which is appropriate for the setting of a sole young woman in the woods, not some one-man-army macho - you fight    This is a review from a person who is familiar with the Tomb Raider / Lara Croft franchise, but not a particular fan of the game series.

    The game starts out fairly good, the first hour or two of the game bring up some puzzle-solving, almost Portal-style, and a bit of combat which is appropriate for the setting of a sole young woman in the woods, not some one-man-army macho - you fight wolves with a bow or pistol and two wolves may be enough to kill you if you screw up. The searching for food and shelter quest was very nice, brought somewhat of a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. feeling, but with the protagonist being Lara and not some mysterious dude.

    But after the first couple hours - the game turns into a typical shooter with arcade jumping - now Lara can take out dozens of armed men (while 2 hours ago struggling against a couple wolves remember!). There's a mediocre backstory for why the guys are aggressive.

    There will be a few stupid/illogical quests aka "make something greatly visible from the air" - WHILE SITTING ON TOP OF 150+ m TALL RADIO TOWER WITH A RED LIGHT ON TOP OF IT! But no, go blow up barrels of gas to make a fire.

    What made me quit is coming to an area where there are houses attached to the side of a vertical cliff. Why would anyone build houses like that is beyond me. And of course they crumble and fall under the weight of Lara which is anything but fat, maybe 55kg by the looks. Oh yeah that should be more like 100kg with the guns and ammo, but still :-D Anyway this part looked like a very badly designed platform-jumping part with no backstory of why the heck must I jump through there now, of all places... So that was it for me.    … Expand
  19. niknuk
    Mar 12, 2013
    6
    A nice game, but they really pushed it too far with the quick time events. They take you out of immersion every time, and we could have lived so fine without them. What`s the thought behind them, is beyond my comprehension.
  20. OwenSaund
    Mar 28, 2013
    7
    The story takes place in an island, this is a prequel to the other games and shows Lara developing as a strong character. Going through various trials to get to the end goal of getting off this island. At the start you are put in a situation where you are alone in a cave where you have an hour of fun filled… quick time events. Well at least the graphics are good and you get to see her haveThe story takes place in an island, this is a prequel to the other games and shows Lara developing as a strong character. Going through various trials to get to the end goal of getting off this island. At the start you are put in a situation where you are alone in a cave where you have an hour of fun filled… quick time events. Well at least the graphics are good and you get to see her have super human strength by grabbing on to massive ledges and pulling up her bodyweight with minimal training. Archaeologist must be from some sort of different planet. But yes you will find throughout the game that this woman can literally do anything. Except from raid tombs, this barely ever comes up, except for a couple of side missions. There are a couple of rewarding mechanics, shooting a deer or a human with a crossbow is always fun. And the gunplay is rewarding and there are upgrades to keep you engrossed all through the game. The island has a lot to explore and multiple collectables. This is a very gory game so I would say it should be for a 15 year old or higher.… Expand
  21. workingpixels
    Mar 7, 2013
    5
    I was VERY happy seeing all these grrreat scores and terrrrific reviews around the www and I was starting to believe in TR being reborn, You know. I gave the game like 8 hrs now. it's just fair. m e d i o c r e. yes- this is sad. i'm not freaking out. i am just an idiot, I actually bought this game, because it is sooooo dumb. PROS: .great CGI .Lara is nice .great SOUND .cool weapon feelI was VERY happy seeing all these grrreat scores and terrrrific reviews around the www and I was starting to believe in TR being reborn, You know. I gave the game like 8 hrs now. it's just fair. m e d i o c r e. yes- this is sad. i'm not freaking out. i am just an idiot, I actually bought this game, because it is sooooo dumb. PROS: .great CGI .Lara is nice .great SOUND .cool weapon feel CONS: .FAR CRY3 resemblance .QUICK TIME EVENTS! .not so cool story .MORE LIKE A SHOOTERslasher then the LARA CROFTish tombRAIDING .QTE QTE QTE! NO SANBOXING… Expand
  22. Anaya
    Mar 28, 2013
    6
    The game play and story both were both enjoyable, however the ending was very weak. There were hardly any bosses or harder enemies to kill. This is not a typical Tomb Raider game and my biggest compliant would be the embarrassingly easy puzzles, which there were very few of.
  23. tech-noir
    Sep 5, 2013
    7
    The graphics, environments, and weather effects are beautiful. Everything about this game is high quality and consisting of high production values. Its only flaws are the excessive amounts of quick time events and the overusage of cutscenes to tell a surprisingly good story. There are also many extras to collect.
  24. Alien91
    Jun 3, 2014
    7
    Straight to the point: This is the worst tomb raider ever made gameplay wise. Every moves are linear and it feels like you are watching more than you are playing. It's a fake open-game that only let you one path to choose, beside some mystic temples aside your path once in a while. When you think about it, does it really differ from past games? Not that much, but still it's a step backwardStraight to the point: This is the worst tomb raider ever made gameplay wise. Every moves are linear and it feels like you are watching more than you are playing. It's a fake open-game that only let you one path to choose, beside some mystic temples aside your path once in a while. When you think about it, does it really differ from past games? Not that much, but still it's a step backward with it's linearity and those infamous Quick Time Events that constantly ask you to tap a specific button, either X or Y so you can see Lara suddenly escape a trap, hitting back some dude by her own without your help. Feels like Shenmue. I don't like Shenmue. I hate it. This sort of gameplay doesn't reward you, it makes you watch while you do absolutely nothing. This is for vegetative gamers that can't move a character by their own. Do you remember the moves you were doing by yourself in the first Splinter Cell games 10 years ago? You could take out a guard the way you wanted, you had to be creative and it added replay values. It was more difficult but it was rewarding, then Conviction game out and it became retarded and over simplified. Press a big WIN button and your enemies are down.. talk about stealth. This is the same feeling I had with the most recent iteration of Tomb Raider. This is why this game gets a 7 instead of a 9. The animations on the other hand are amazingly good, the tress-FX adds alot to the beauty of Lara and the textures are really good for a vanilla game. The music is alright and the voice acting is top class. This game hasn't been praised by it's intelligence and freedom, it has been praised by the media because of it's high-professional execution, whether it's the graphic, the sound but most importantly, the presentation, which is stellar compared to previous Tomb Raider games. It's true that it might feel like an Uncharted game and it's no coincidence, it sells. I'm enjoying it despite the linearity and the dumbed-down gameplay, so should you if you are searching for a non-puzzling game. Yes, there are basically no puzzles anymore in Tomb Raider, it's too difficult to search for a door switch for the new generation of tax-payer. Hope you enjoy this non-biased, honest review.… Expand
  25. Scottixboy
    Apr 18, 2013
    5
    For the first 5 hours of game-play, you will come to love Lara Croft and her journey to being an official bad ass, Being ruthless and aggressive, Being stealthy. At this point, I was ready to give the game a 8-9 even 10 Score, That's how much I was falling in love with this title, The random Tombs hidden around, The great graphics, the very well scripted events. But then, about 5 hours in,For the first 5 hours of game-play, you will come to love Lara Croft and her journey to being an official bad ass, Being ruthless and aggressive, Being stealthy. At this point, I was ready to give the game a 8-9 even 10 Score, That's how much I was falling in love with this title, The random Tombs hidden around, The great graphics, the very well scripted events. But then, about 5 hours in, Lara Croft Turns into your average Dull shooter, It's difficult to explain why, but I think I know. First, The gun physics aren't great, but I can excuse that because I like to go into all the situations stealthy, which brings me onto my second point, At about 5 hours in, the game stops giving you the option to use stealth, You are FORCED! into Shooter situations which then, turns the game into a dull 3rd person shooter with a bad cover mechanic, So lets treat it like a shooter then, Well it has a bad recoil system that doesn't make much sense, seems like Lara is always firing from the hip and can't actually AIM a gun, the spread system is the same, just like firing from the hip bullets fly off in random directions meaning you need to use the rifles in a semi auto style, but that's difficult considering there's no firing mode options, The gun models aren't great either they look all washed out and fake, The upgrades system is very sub par. Now this takes me to my third point, You cannot go into and out-of stealth, the game decides whether you use stealth or not, and it's not like Splinter cell, Deus ex, Far Cry and Crysis, where the play can run and hide from the enemies giving them a chance to sneak up again, Nope, as soon as your detected, The AI knows where you are like they have some magical Laradar, You cannot hide after being detected, which ruins the entire stealth mechanic. Now my fourth point is about a common thing in gaming these days, Lara croft is plagued with the Button presses in uncontrollable action cutscenes(Known as quick time events) I personally think if these were more dynamic and would let user control effect the outcome, It would be better, as you would feel more in control of what your actually doing in a "VIDEO GAME" which costed you £40.

    BUT The game excels well in the "TOMB RAIDING" part of this game, Sadly there are far too little tombs and puzzles, some of them are too easy to solve, there is almost no challenge compared to the old Lara Croft/PoP/TLOZ games.

    So what are you left with? Your left with a dull third person shooter with poor shooting mechanics. A broken stealth system that has more quick time events than gameplay, An interesting story with a weak ending and finally a pretty puzzling mechanic which looks fantastic but is too easy and unsatisfying.

    I had high hopes for this game, It has it's good points, But they are overshadowed by the games crippling problems.

    If your interested in the story your better off watching a play through, if you want a proper jump puzzler, Go for Prince Of Persia: The forgotten sands, If you want a proper stealth-shooter game, get Far Cry 3.    … Expand
  26. Captiosus
    Mar 5, 2013
    7
    (After five hours of playing, I'm currently at 12% complete.) As an old fart of a gamer, I remember when Lara Croft first burst onto the scene and how she changed the gaming landscape. Since then, many others have duplicated the success of the Tomb Raider series (see: Uncharted) while Tomb Raider, itself, was left to languish as an aging property. The new Tomb Raider doesn't really change(After five hours of playing, I'm currently at 12% complete.) As an old fart of a gamer, I remember when Lara Croft first burst onto the scene and how she changed the gaming landscape. Since then, many others have duplicated the success of the Tomb Raider series (see: Uncharted) while Tomb Raider, itself, was left to languish as an aging property. The new Tomb Raider doesn't really change the genre like the original did but, instead, is content to merely copy off of successful IPs that had originally copied Tomb Raider itself. In case that line sounds confusing, think of it this way: Get rid of Sully and turn Nathan Drake into a woman, and you have the new Tomb Raider. Both games play the same, are loaded with quick time events, and are graphically appealing. The critical difference between the two is that the story of Lara is more gritty and realistic than the over the top stories of Nathan and his quests. Graphically the game is quite a treat. With DX11 support and TressFX, the game looks beautiful. Even something as mundane as rain can make you stop and just look around at the rich graphical detail. Of course, this all comes at a cost. DX11's SSAO and Tesselation are, as always, some of the biggest perfomance consumers and TressFX, while nice, costs a considerable amount of performance just to have more realistic character hair. To elaborate, running on a i7-3770 with a GeForce GTX 550 Ti, I have no problems running "High" level graphics and maintaining a consistent frame rate. Turn on TressFX, however, and the frame rate plummets into the 40s. Not worth it for "hair effects", in my opinion. Despite the graphical polish and more realistic Lara, the game thus far is higher than mediocre but falls just short of greatness. The major complaint I have is that it is TOO linear with a LOT of hand holding. Stand in one place long enough and Lara, no matter how injured, will tell you EXACTLY what to do next. Even if you ignore her constant dialog, tap one key and the world will light up all the critical elements like the Grizwold family Christmas Tree. I know people hate the term "linear" but, much like Uncharted 3, there's little reason to explore beyond the predetermined paths. Actual tombs to raid are few and far between (I've seen 3, one of which was only thanks to having the Survival Edition) while the puzzles within the tombs themselves have not been very challenging. Lara's story starts out engaging but starts to unravel after only a few hours of gameplay when the entire story line becomes muddled. Part of this is due to the way Lara turns from shrinking violet into action heroine. The transition is too rapid and incredulous which causes the game to drop focus on the other characters including the main antagonist. All in all, it's a good reboot that brings Tomb Raider on par with the Uncharted series but what does that really say when Uncharted owes its existence to Tomb Raider itself? Crystal Dynamics did an amazing job graphically and have made a story better than a lot of AAA titles so I do recommend playing the game. However, I can't see it having any real longevity beyond the first playthrough since the only reason to go back is to obtain missed collectables, as the scriped story never changes and the tomb raiding is such an afterthought that any tomb-adding DLC will likely fall flat. At $49.99 (current Steam PC price) or $59.99 (console price), I'm not so sure the price/entertainment ratio is quite worth it for a title that will collect dust after one playthrough. Your mileage may vary of course but, based on the gameplay experience thus far, it is my opinion that anyone interested in the new Tomb Raider should wait for a Steam sale or rent the console variety from Gamefly.… Expand
  27. cennsor
    Mar 7, 2013
    6
    looks visually pleasing, decently story-driven, with movement mechanics that did give me that old TR feel, but it's sadly just the umpteenth QET fest.
  28. EchoBlack
    Mar 11, 2013
    6
    Tomb Raider's return to form is an enthralling ride, a third person shooter recommended for all fans of action games. The overuse of QTEs does grate, and they are sadly frequently paired with on-rails "cinematic" set pieces in which gameplay becomes reduced to simply moving ahead and perhaps occasionally jumping while peril closes in, in true Indiana Jones fashion. Thankfully the game doesTomb Raider's return to form is an enthralling ride, a third person shooter recommended for all fans of action games. The overuse of QTEs does grate, and they are sadly frequently paired with on-rails "cinematic" set pieces in which gameplay becomes reduced to simply moving ahead and perhaps occasionally jumping while peril closes in, in true Indiana Jones fashion. Thankfully the game does intermittently give up on being a film, and at these times the player gets to experience some interesting puzzles and environments they can explore. The combat is competent and familiar, if forgettable, and gets too much focus at times. Tomb Raider gets enough right to be called an above average experience, though I recommend purchasing it when it's cheap.… Expand
  29. giappone
    Mar 15, 2013
    7
    Yet again, a great miss. This could have been the game of the year, but in the end ruined by laziness and stupidity. Yet again Square Enix gives us a game that could have been so great and end up average by bad game design and not giving a f**k about the PC gamer community... They need our money, but they sell us ported console-sh*t. Sad.
    From the first moment this game captures you, as a    Yet again, a great miss. This could have been the game of the year, but in the end ruined by laziness and stupidity. Yet again Square Enix gives us a game that could have been so great and end up average by bad game design and not giving a f**k about the PC gamer community... They need our money, but they sell us ported console-sh*t. Sad.
    From the first moment this game captures you, as a blockbuster action movie (a better one). And you think wow, I never liked Tomb Raider's platforming jumpandjackandpush gamestyle but this is something different. And it is, up to the 1st QTE. It's not that they are THAT hard, but it's just not for the PC. The two wont go together, dear developers. Brainless timed button smashing is for the young ones and they buy console. It's as simple as that. A game with QTE is a badly designed game (for the PC). Period. The other thing is performance. I had to take down resolution to 1024x768 to pass a the wolfie QTE, after 7 retries on 1920x1200... Its just missing my button hits... TessFX, thank you very much. 8-10 fps. And I wont buy a new machine fo r ONE game only, given that ALL my other games I play run smoothly on my machine, above 20-30 fps (even the newest ones Far Cry 3, etc). It's like Crysis I had to wait for 2-3 years till I got a machine I could run it maxed out. You can say its my problem, but Crysis 2 ran smoothly on the same rig and looked better. Coding, optimizing VS laziness. Just as here. In Deus ex HR, the bosses screwed up everything (and the console optimized controls), now the QTEs (and the console optimized controls). These games had so much potential. But no. I can't imagine how game companies pay a wealth for designers, who make so stupid mistakes and screw up a game mistakes that even I could tell them not to make...
    So it gets a 7, above average. Its not bad, but if you take the opportunity it had missed... It's a major flop, sadly.    … Expand
  30. Helts_47
    Mar 6, 2013
    7
    Let me start out this review by stating that I've never played any previous tomb raider games, so I was going into this sight unseen.

    Pros - Story - I really enjoyed the story, it moved along at a nice pace and there was a lot of tension to be had. Lara's character progression throughout the game was interesting though perhaps a little hurried at times. Puzzles, Platforming    Let me start out this review by stating that I've never played any previous tomb raider games, so I was going into this sight unseen.

    Pros -

    Story
    - I really enjoyed the story, it moved along at a nice pace and there was a lot of tension to be had. Lara's character progression throughout the game was interesting though perhaps a little hurried at times.

    Puzzles, Platforming Level Design
    - While most of the puzzles are pretty easy, I did have to stop and think a few times, and most of them are very well constructed. The platforming was a highlight of the game for me, there is a lot of different ways you can climb onto things and the level design in general was very solid. Weapon Customisation Scavenging
    - The crafting system in the game revolves around finding crates and boxes full of "salvage" which you can then use to upgrade your weapons. This is handled well in the game, as it forces you to go off the beaten track to look for salvage so you can keep your weapons at the same level as your enemy's. Almost every upgrade will change the appearance of your guns bow, and even the higher level ones still look handmade which is a nice touch.

    Combat
    - Whilst easy, the combat is nice and satisfying, the guns feel nice for the most part, though the pistol could use some work to make it seem less peashooter-y. The bow was the most outstanding weapon in my opinion and it felt great. Lara is not able to hold the bowstring back indefinitley like in other games featuring a bow, and when you shoot someone with it, the arrows actualy act like arrows, they pierce through people with sickening sounds and they are full size, even when sticking out of your prey.

    Enviroments The enviroments are very dark and gritty for the most part which I really enjoyed, and there was quite a lot of tension and atmosphere that really impressed me. You will be playing through caves and tombs, but also through shipwrecks and crashed aircraft ranging from recent to world war 2 era, all on a tropical Japanese themed island.

    Cons -

    Side Characters
    - Most of the characters that the developers obviously want you to care about, cheif amongst which being Sam (who is no exception to the rule) are bland and one dimensional. This isn't helped by the fact that the game will constantly push you outside of the group and force you along by yourself, further distancing you from the characters.

    Difficulty
    - Even on hard difficulty I had little to no problems dispatching massive hordes of enemies either through stealth or by shooting them in the face. This did severly limit my enjoyment of the game. The game is made easier by the fact that you will quite literaly never run out of ammo. I found myself actualy deliberatly not picking up ammo crates to limit myself in combat and I still didn't struggle.

    Linear Gameplay
    - The game is very linear. It pushes you in a certain direction whilst attempting (rather poorly) to disguise this by providing multiple ways to get to your destination. The only redeeming factor here is that there are many many collectibles to find and salvage to get, so there is reason to explore the levels more fully.

    QTEs
    - If you don't like QTEs be warned this game is FULL of them. I don't mind them myself though it is annoying to instantly die because you didn't press a button at the correct time. More annoying is the fact that the prompts that appear don't tell you which button to press. ie. a symbol of a hand will flash up, which means you need to press 'E', a symbol of an exclamation mark means 'F' etc. It would have been much better to just show the letter the game wants you to press.

    Conclusion -
    Overall this is a good cinematic game with great storytelling and character progression. The game is very linear and is peppered with QTEs, but has good level design and intreaging enviroments and puzzles. If you don't mind playing linear games then I would wholeheartedly recommend this game. If however you hate the very notion, then stay clear.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PC Game of 2013
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
17
#17 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 10, 2013
    92
    The new incarnation of the iconic Lara Craft might very well be one of the best games out there right now. [April 2013]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Mar 30, 2013
    90
    Everything you could want from an archeological adventure, except having to press six keys to mantle. [Apr 2013, p.80]
  3. DarkStation
    Mar 19, 2013
    80
    While not every promising idea Tomb Raider has is pulled off successfully, it nevertheless turns in a tense and memorable ride that combines modern game design with its forebears’ adventurous spirit in some exciting ways. Some of its missteps may well come at the cost of your enjoyment, but most can’t hope to hurt the adventure in the long run. Although it never fully finds its identity, this is a game and a story worth seeing through.
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