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. Orctownorc
    Aug 24, 2013
    5
    Agree strongly with the negative reviews. This game is a MESS of QTEs, narrow, linear levels and mediocre writing pretending to tell a deep story. The whole thing has a lot of potential, and it may get good towards the end. Who knows? I got sick of the quick-time crap pretty fast and went on to play Farcry 3, which was about 1000X better.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time    Agree strongly with the negative reviews. This game is a MESS of QTEs, narrow, linear levels and mediocre writing pretending to tell a deep story. The whole thing has a lot of potential, and it may get good towards the end. Who knows? I got sick of the quick-time crap pretty fast and went on to play Farcry 3, which was about 1000X better.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time writing reviews like an anus, think its time to set a few bad habits straight: Stop insulting designers. Show some respect for the design process and getting games in circulation. Hence (1) No Red scores. (2) Game scores as follows: Bad Game 5/10. Poor Game 6/10. Mediocre Game: 7/10. Good Game 8/10. Great game 9/10. Stella Game 10/10. To get 10/10 it must be a game that can be (theoretically) play-able for 1000+ hours. Not only great but near endless fun. Games may be bad or poor but making them should earn respect. Thus even the worst POS will still be a 5/10. 0/10 no longer exists in my vocabulary. Yellow is the new red. For the sake of accountability: you can reply if needed: Orctowngrot: Tim Rawlins: timtimjp@yahoo.com    … Expand
  2. kilozzi
    Mar 7, 2013
    10
    what a well made game
    i can't close my mouth
    this is awesome and cool
    squaer enix do it finally
    i really love square enix now
    you should buy it through anyway
    amd or steam
    but this game lose its own game style.
  3. Howard
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    I am simply astonished by this game astonished by the unbelievable praise it is receiving. This game is a litany of bad design, a shopping list of every single thing that is wrong with gaming right now. All it needs is EAs hateful "always online/MMO DRM" and it would be a perfect storm of utter dross.
    Poor, shoddily executed graphics (don’t even get me started on the Pantene hair) pale    I am simply astonished by this game astonished by the unbelievable praise it is receiving. This game is a litany of bad design, a shopping list of every single thing that is wrong with gaming right now. All it needs is EAs hateful "always online/MMO DRM" and it would be a perfect storm of utter dross.
    Poor, shoddily executed graphics (don’t even get me started on the Pantene hair) pale into insignificance when you try and play. It is not a game, but a cut scene, one in which you inexplicably have to press the occasional button to proceed. It is the QTE to rule all QTEs, a non-interactive, bewildering story of screaming, talking to yourself and boring, rehashed piffle that Ms Pratchett should be mortally embarrassed about. Worst of all though, the bejewelled turd festering atop this rotting carcass, is the camera and the controls. So desperate, so obsessed are game devs now about making their game cinematic, that CD have just gone the whole hog, removing any pretence that this is a game. The camera sways, rolls, pitches and tilts with Lara's every footfall and this game now stands as the first in 30 years of gaming to give me motion sickness. It is eye-wateringly idiotic in its execution and was the final reason I gave up and hit uninstall. This is a game, devs: you are not directors or producers, you are coders and artists start bloody acting like it! In most games I am complaining when the camera is taken away from my control in TR 2013, it is never IN my flamin' control. It rolls around, looking at whatever it pleases while the devs sit and grin, nodding sagely as they animate water rolling down its imaginary lens.
    This has to be one of the worst games I have ever seen and that it is liked by anyone at all simply terrifies me.    … Expand
  4. Fods
    May 10, 2013
    3
    Visuals pretty, especially with 3D glasses. Just like a movie... but that's all this game is.

    The "puzzles" are trivial linear only-one-path cakewalks and are entirely optional. Combat is trivial rinse-repeat with Lara insanely overpowered on Normal (didn't bother turning it up, I just wanted the game to end), and practically unlimited ammo. This franchise continues to go down with    Visuals pretty, especially with 3D glasses. Just like a movie... but that's all this game is.

    The "puzzles" are trivial linear only-one-path cakewalks and are entirely optional. Combat is trivial rinse-repeat with Lara insanely overpowered on Normal (didn't bother turning it up, I just wanted the game to end), and practically unlimited ammo.

    This franchise continues to go down with each version.    … Expand
  5. Ozimandeus
    Mar 5, 2013
    10
    Looks like GOTY just got sown up.. this is art.. this is movie and game become one. This is what we wanted and NEEDED after a lackluster and disappointing start to 2013. I love it. and cannot get enough. Awesome.
  6. SoManyGames
    Mar 27, 2013
    2
    After playing this game I wanted to kill myself. Maybe all of the voice acting, X-treme graphics, and awesome quicktime events got me so freaking IMMERSED I couldn't ever face reality again...or maybe this was just a reaallly game. Before the "modern" game itself...lets talk about the obvious to anyone who is or knows a woman...the character is grotesquely sexist. They made her aAfter playing this game I wanted to kill myself. Maybe all of the voice acting, X-treme graphics, and awesome quicktime events got me so freaking IMMERSED I couldn't ever face reality again...or maybe this was just a reaallly game. Before the "modern" game itself...lets talk about the obvious to anyone who is or knows a woman...the character is grotesquely sexist. They made her a "REAL" girl this time. You can tell by the way they shrunk her boobs and made her cry/complain at every point in the game! The whole time I found myself saying "Wait, we just established that shes a serious straight A anthropology student whose been on expeditions and has been through plenty of survival training, (something a dumb with big could never do LOLOL) why is she crying when she has to kill a deer? Why does she need a man to OBI WAN her every time she has to do the simplest task (like use a bow and arrow)" The writers couldn't figure out if she was a strong independent woman, or a girl who will grow into one...so they half assed it and made her both, a conflicted poorly written character. At least the old Lara was what she was. To simplify it, if Lara was to break the fourth wall and see me rolling my eyes at her tears, the new Lara would call me an insensitive jerk (and probably run off crying, only to get super serious when she discovers an artifact...cause no man will tell her she cant be a scientist). The old Lara would just put a bullet through my head. Now to clarify my tit beef, its simple, backtracking on a popular established character design is patronizing. You are telling the audience that you fed them and they are for liking it. Ultimately, its the New Coke. They should have spent time making her sex appeal the least interesting part of her character development, but instead they just hacked off her breasts and made a big deal about "realism" which is cruel to real girls with big breasts who wish to be taken seriously. In a nutshell, I wouldn't throw D cups on Alyx Vance and call her sexy, nor would I make Lara into slender Angelina Jolie ideal, and call it "realistic". A mans doing.

    How about that gameplay? The whole game is running through a hallway. But dont worry, the explosions and quick time events will remind you just how plot filled and immersive those hallways are. Just make sure you pay attention, sometimes you have to press e! Remember the old tomb raider? Each room was a platforming puzzle filled with traps and baddies? Here each room is a straight line filled with motion blur and ledges painted white (how else will you know that you should climb them!?!?!). Combat? I hope you like gears of war. Close zoom over the shoulder slow walking with cover. Everything else is a quicktime event...god you better love them quicktime fights...

    This game is everything I hate about the industry in one package. Remember how in HL2 you did everything yourself, left your keyboard with white knuckles and sweaty palms, and you felt like you knew Gordon Freeman better than your best friend, even though he never said a word the entire game? Yea, that was sweet...but that was Citizen Kane, this is Avatar.

    2/10 nice graphics and sound    … Expand
  7. Jarzombek
    Mar 5, 2013
    10
    Truly a great game. I haven't played the story yet but the Multiplayer kept me busy for the last 5 hours.
    The MP alone makes this a great package. I played like 1 hour of the story and it reminded me of a better looking uncharted. I am no Tomb Raider veteran, but this game look and fells very polished. Great effects plus good sound and music. After plat this game I might get into the    Truly a great game. I haven't played the story yet but the Multiplayer kept me busy for the last 5 hours.
    The MP alone makes this a great package. I played like 1 hour of the story and it reminded me of a better looking uncharted. I am no Tomb Raider veteran, but this game look and fells very polished. Great effects plus good sound and music. After plat this game I might get into the older more open games. I don't mind if this game takes me by the hand and shows me the way, it looks like it going to be one hell of a ride! After the gigantic failure of Aliens I have a little faith again.
    Thanks Square Enix!    … Expand
  8. Sh8de
    Mar 5, 2013
    7
    Game is decent especially after the first hour is over with but my only big gripe is this game seems to favor AMD rigs. I have a 690 and I have had crashes constantly and really inconsistent frame rate dips. When the game runs it does run wonderfully but it seems to have a lot of bugs as of now. If you do have a NVIDIA gpu don't even bother turning on TressFX no matter what GPU you have itGame is decent especially after the first hour is over with but my only big gripe is this game seems to favor AMD rigs. I have a 690 and I have had crashes constantly and really inconsistent frame rate dips. When the game runs it does run wonderfully but it seems to have a lot of bugs as of now. If you do have a NVIDIA gpu don't even bother turning on TressFX no matter what GPU you have it will murder your framerate. I'm about 5 hours in though and I am enjoying it.… Expand
  9. Duskspark
    Mar 11, 2013
    7
    Even though the visuals and gameplay are exquisite, Tomb Raider's voiceacting sometimes feels a bit too much. Lara always thinks out loud, and almost every single line she says ends in a higher or lower tone. The beauty of the voiceacting however is when you find relics surprisingly, that's where Lara's voice really stands above many other games.
  10. Dekal1
    Mar 17, 2013
    4
    I have been a tomb raider fan for a long time. I have liked the majority of them and this is the worst tomb raider I have ever played. The music terrible, the fast travel is a bad idea in tomb raider, it's so un original. Where is the sweetness that made tomb raider so great? Where's the linear play, going from level to level, finding artifacts and stuff like that. This game is just likeI have been a tomb raider fan for a long time. I have liked the majority of them and this is the worst tomb raider I have ever played. The music terrible, the fast travel is a bad idea in tomb raider, it's so un original. Where is the sweetness that made tomb raider so great? Where's the linear play, going from level to level, finding artifacts and stuff like that. This game is just like any other game I have played recently. It's got stupid achievements and the loot system is ripped off from FC3. This game is an embarrassment to the tomb raider franchise and the only reason this game got rated high is because things have changed. Well, there's one thing that hasn't changed.… Expand
  11. Skavenger0
    Mar 6, 2013
    7
    I really, really want to give this more that a 7 but can't quite bring myself to do it. The story, graphics and puzzles are excellent. For me there are 2 things that keep this off the 10 spot. Firstly. The quick-time events are awful, clumsy and extremely un-intuitive. I like the little ones if Lara slips while climbing but the major ones are just irritating.

    Secondly. The game tries    I really, really want to give this more that a 7 but can't quite bring myself to do it. The story, graphics and puzzles are excellent. For me there are 2 things that keep this off the 10 spot. Firstly. The quick-time events are awful, clumsy and extremely un-intuitive. I like the little ones if Lara slips while climbing but the major ones are just irritating.

    Secondly. The game tries not to be linear and encourage exploration but the map and navigation system needs improving and the objective view makes the puzzles a little too easy. It changes a puzzle from working out what to do. To working out how you are supposed to interact with the highlighted object.

    Good Game, worth getting but not the GOTY I was hoping for.

    - limited co-op options let it down aswel but I don't think that should effect the rating.    … Expand
  12. mosconstein
    May 30, 2013
    4
    It would have been a very good game, but:
    -Quick-time events are just too frequent, and they are actually the only cause of player death.
    -AI is very poor -Game dynamics looks similar to far cry 3 but levels are very small. It just looses the magic -The main character (Lara) whines could really get annoying (as long as you are not a kind of maniac) -Why is so hard for Lara to die if    It would have been a very good game, but:
    -Quick-time events are just too frequent, and they are actually the only cause of player death.
    -AI is very poor
    -Game dynamics looks similar to far cry 3 but levels are very small. It just looses the magic
    -The main character (Lara) whines could really get annoying (as long as you are not a kind of maniac)
    -Why is so hard for Lara to die if a wolf stabs her throat, but so easy if I struck the wrong button during a QTE??    … Expand
  13. zmaint
    Apr 1, 2013
    2
    I give it a 2 for being pretty. Other than that, wait until it re-releases for $4.99 on a Steam sale. Game is not open world RPG/Action. Game is a some user-participation required never-ending cutscene. Kinda sucks all the fun out of it when EVERY critical even it scripted. Whole lotta potential here before they killed it.
  14. Harlanfontaine
    May 22, 2013
    3
    Shoddy Game-play, just a third person shooter with Heaps of QTE's and Cut-scenes.
    Funny, just coming out of playing Dark souls and then going through this crap. I'm happy Square didn't meet their sales target.
    Horrible puzzles and a cliché supernatural island cult blab.
    I remember the puzzles in the original tomb raider being challenging this ain't got nothing on the originals.
  15. Hun73rdk
    May 9, 2013
    0
    with to much QTEs and to many cinematic and way linear
    This is just another console port that isent worth getting,

    They totally Ruined that IP just like everything
  16. gyigyo2
    May 18, 2013
    3
    I can't believe this is the new Lara i mean she hate tombs,The story is nothing to do with tombs.The old Lara persona was way better,story was better king arthur,mystic tombs,This game should be called the "Lost Island" or something similar.
  17. andruxand
    Nov 4, 2013
    10
    Fall in love with TombRaider...

    Usually do not succeed remakes...not the case for Tombraider who is probably one of the best games ever created.And for that all respect Square Enix&Crystal Dynamics,really. I remember the first game Tombraider played...back in time, in year 2000...for that time i was fascinating about the game and i group every year playing TR.I can say i fall in love    Fall in love with TombRaider...

    Usually do not succeed remakes...not the case for Tombraider who is probably one of the best games ever created.And for that all respect Square Enix&Crystal Dynamics,really.

    I remember the first game Tombraider played...back in time, in year 2000...for that time i was fascinating about the game and i group every year playing TR.I can say i fall in love with Lara.I remember first steps, was in the evening of 31 december when i play first time Tombraider...about 2 hours alone and another 4 with a best friend.And so i spent the new year then...don't care about the party, just found it a game call it Tombraider.

    Tombraider 2013...what a change, but still, sometimes, i play old tombraider series, for my guilty pleasure.I
    I'm not a fan of new games and throw away old series...no way! Contrary, some new games like RE(another child-start game) are not my style...and maybe for this i think TR is the best remake of a game ever.Undoubtedly.

    This game explain HOW LARA BECOME A TOMB RAIDER! And is very great accomplished.From beginning was only a explorer, a simple and naive-scary girl but when circumstances demanded, became an adventurer and...with apologies, a killer-girl of criminals.But only because it was forced...

    The new TR is just what a game need to be.Amazing graphics,sound,story,puzzles and challenges.The words are little and poor in this case, you need to see, to play TR to feel.This is not a technical review well, dx11 look amazing this is a heart-touching review of TR.
    And about a compared with...another ordinary game, NO! Would be a blasphemy...remember TR was the first game with this gameplay and all the games who next about TR was inspired by the game TR.

    In the final...play new TR...feel all whole evolution-storygame of Lara in a evolution game changed from a good and great game into a ambitious, provocative and sensational game...
    Welcome back Lara Croft!
    Old and new generations of gamers need it!

    Graphics: 10+++
    Sound: 10+++
    Voices: 10+++
    Gameplay: 10+++
    Story: 10+++    … Expand
  18. Mendel99
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    Remember the terrible movies? Did you think to yourself: I wish this was more cliche and it stopped every 30 seconds so I could hit a button? Me neither. Terrible dialog, no control of Lara (auto duck, auto balance, auto PLAY), and really boring mechanics. This is as far from a good game as you can get. Its not even a game so it gets a 0. Im really not sure what all the 9's and 10's areRemember the terrible movies? Did you think to yourself: I wish this was more cliche and it stopped every 30 seconds so I could hit a button? Me neither. Terrible dialog, no control of Lara (auto duck, auto balance, auto PLAY), and really boring mechanics. This is as far from a good game as you can get. Its not even a game so it gets a 0. Im really not sure what all the 9's and 10's are about. If TR is your first game, you might enjoy it. If you have gaming experience... move along and dont waste your time.… Expand
  19. WhateverNext
    Sep 14, 2013
    0
    Congratulations.
    I have been a fan of the Tomb Raider series since it's inception in the 80s. It was remarkably different from all other games, playable by most generations. The games always required a certain skill/coordination level as well as the ability to fathom out challenges. Locations were varied and caught one's imagination. I have always enjoyed playing them with my children as    Congratulations.
    I have been a fan of the Tomb Raider series since it's inception in the 80s. It was remarkably different from all other games, playable by most generations. The games always required a certain skill/coordination level as well as the ability to fathom out challenges. Locations were varied and caught one's imagination. I have always enjoyed playing them with my children as I knew that their interests/capabilities were being kept in mind. New games were genuinely looked forward to.
    Congratulations!!!!
    Having looked forward for ages to the release of a much loved game, I wanted to express my amazement as to the ease at which you have managed to ruin a whole series of games, on turning something that was enjoyed by many into yet another brainless shoot-em-up aimed at god knows what market which is already saturated by strikingly similar games (the cheap pornographic sound effects of Lara dying are beyond belief). The fact that the graphics are good (though utterly and unnecessarily gross. Once you've seen one severed head/arm/leg/torso.........) does not hide the fact that there are no challenges involved. All this apart from the fact the replacing the usual "mummy threat" has been substituted by having a rather brainless go at the Russians and Japanese does not make for an interesting storyline.

    All-in-all, you have done the Tomb Raider merchandise no favours. "Raiders" like my self may have bought this game but I doubt they will buy another. I most certainly will not.    … Expand
  20. kingjamesjr
    Mar 11, 2013
    4
    I stop playing Tomb Raider eons ago, Why cuz some of the puzzles in them were way to hard but then i was young thenthis plays more like max payne the anything else As i got older i went back to the series and give it another shot let me just say it gave me a real challenge back then, rather she was shooting extinct animals or not, also this tomb raider may look better then the olds ones isI stop playing Tomb Raider eons ago, Why cuz some of the puzzles in them were way to hard but then i was young thenthis plays more like max payne the anything else As i got older i went back to the series and give it another shot let me just say it gave me a real challenge back then, rather she was shooting extinct animals or not, also this tomb raider may look better then the olds ones is true but the game play is not the same by a long shot, yes they made some changes she can actually melee this time around and the actual cover system works for once for the new tomb raider, i can't say i've play uncharted 1 and 2 i gave it a shot when it was on playstation 2 didn't like it then and don't like it now.

    Now this is MY GRIPES about the new one noone else, like i stated in the very begining i felt like it had max payne 3 feel to it cuz that what i play that was similar to the game to me, the game start you off simulating that you actually need food to survive which i thought was a good start, seconds later you realize that you don't need food to survive ok Then you start to explore the map yes now you have bullet time indicator like thing that make stuff glows to actually help you find what you looking for, just press a button for you to explore basically the whole area of the map what is the point of that now that took the exploring clean out of the way, there were only a couple of times through the whole game that i thought lara was in trouble hell you had no control of that this is probably shortest game in tomb raider history.

    So now with that out of the way, how in the hell can you call this a survival game when you took out the most important parts, oh yea she has some new toys to play with wow really don't need to upgrade them just headshot any enemy with any weapon should suffice, then on top of that she wearing indestructible clothing that took the cake for me, i was playing a kids game with max payne graphics no story no depth to the characters nothing just hold my hand and the game will guide me where i need to go like a 2yr, thxs i didn't want to work any of my brains cell today anyway If you expecting to a fight a boss in this tombraider dream on.
    The caves look generic outside map were ok. Enemy characters, please one arrow to the dome its over even if they call for help, this was not tomb raider so why in the would they call it that you go into the tomb expecting traps and so forth an what you get is (gasping in awe) sigh wtf you got to be ♥♥♥♥ing kidding me right. This has zero replayability there is no real reason to get to 100% completion. The cons outweighted the pros in my book. Qtes i think that cover no need to comment on that Despite the amazing reviews on this game i have not read one that came to that conclusion on replayability from any of the professional writers for this game that's if they even play the game which i highly doubt.That kill lara croft for me will never get another tomb raider game period.    … Expand
  21. TheGuyUCanSee
    Jun 18, 2014
    0
    Terrible game, nothing really fun about it. Horrible physics, and basic, boring gun fights. Nothing very explorative about this game. This Lora isn't even attractive. Waste of money
  22. KillerHot
    Jul 19, 2013
    0
    Dissapointing very dissapointing its story is so crappy and I know the reason why peole like this garbage because of her she is hot and beutiful but story hate it and because of this game I will never buy another tomb raider game!
  23. Zzgashi
    Mar 26, 2013
    8
    In a time where it's popular to make terrible reboots that miss the point of the original series, Tomb Raider is one of the few that actually improves a series. I would of liked to see more puzzle and jumping elements like the original games (though they are still core to the game), but nearly every other aspect of the game has been improved. I really liked exploring the environments andIn a time where it's popular to make terrible reboots that miss the point of the original series, Tomb Raider is one of the few that actually improves a series. I would of liked to see more puzzle and jumping elements like the original games (though they are still core to the game), but nearly every other aspect of the game has been improved. I really liked exploring the environments and finding all the hidden items and improving your equipment and skills, however I would of liked the skill tree to have more meaningful choices (the amount of unlocks required to unlock the next tier of skills means you will get pretty much be getting everything anyway). The story has it's ups and it's downs. Discovering what happened on the island is quite interesting, and is told through the environment, enemies, and diaries, however your cadre of multicultural stereotypes that represent Lara's companions is probably the weakest link as it doesn't ever give you a reason to care for them, and luckily they are a very small portion of the narrative. Overall the game is quite good, and I feel it was worth my money.… Expand
  24. Stealthgear
    May 31, 2013
    5
    This game is a generic Japanese-style survival horror created for an imagined world market. Lara Croft is not really in the game, as this one has nothing to do with what makes her Lara (attitude, weapons, and James Bond style adventure). The character doesn't act like Lara and barely looks like her. Plenty of cutscenes interrupt the gameplay. Grostesque and bland environments are litteredThis game is a generic Japanese-style survival horror created for an imagined world market. Lara Croft is not really in the game, as this one has nothing to do with what makes her Lara (attitude, weapons, and James Bond style adventure). The character doesn't act like Lara and barely looks like her. Plenty of cutscenes interrupt the gameplay. Grostesque and bland environments are littered with junk, al-la Silent Hill. You can navigate the first areas holding down a single key. For long time fans of Lara, this is NOT a must buy. While not as crummy as TR2, I can say that the Japanese Square Enix ruined the series. TR: Legend, Anniversary, and the original game for the playstation are still what Lara Croft should be. This one is rebooted crap! The controls are ok, but compared to other 3d survival games, this one misses the mark, or is barely fun. Not a Tomb Raider game.… Expand
  25. roboticsun
    May 25, 2014
    8
    In this newer installment of Tomb raider series, we follow the young Lara's first adventure which starts her career as a treasure hunter.

    Story-wise, I think this game's content is quite confusing sometime. Unlike Nolan's Batman Begins in which Bruce Wayne became a fighter after years' training, Lara 's growth from a naive college student to an expert adventurer is so quick that it    In this newer installment of Tomb raider series, we follow the young Lara's first adventure which starts her career as a treasure hunter.

    Story-wise, I think this game's content is quite confusing sometime. Unlike Nolan's Batman Begins in which Bruce Wayne became a fighter after years' training, Lara 's growth from a naive college student to an expert adventurer is so quick that it makes little sense. I think the developers made the main story first then attached a origin story of Lara on it as a selling point. To me, it would be better making it just another story of Lara, but the stunt of "origin story" may attract larger audience.

    The strong aspect of the game is the presentation. This time, Tomb Raider completely abandoned the old gameplay formula and is more akin to Uncharted and Batman Arkham series, but the result, I have to say, is fluent and beautiful. It has none of the movement or camera problems from previous games and everything moves fluidly. The gameplay is great too. Tomb Raider introduced new ways of fighting enemies: covered gun-fighting, stealth killing, and sneaking which eventually makes the game very pleasant to play.

    Overall it's still a great action/adventure game with believable world and characters except for Lara's unbelievable transform. I will certainly recommend this game.    … Expand
  26. iamthespark
    Apr 12, 2013
    8
    This game exceeded my expectations! From the story to the gameplay (which reinforces the story), I was (or am, as I have not finished the game yet, but close!) captured into the journey and the struggle that is Lara's plight.

    This game really took me back to TR 1, 2, and 3, which I loved so much, but it is definitely its own game and no real comparison can be made between old and new.    This game exceeded my expectations! From the story to the gameplay (which reinforces the story), I was (or am, as I have not finished the game yet, but close!) captured into the journey and the struggle that is Lara's plight.

    This game really took me back to TR 1, 2, and 3, which I loved so much, but it is definitely its own game and no real comparison can be made between old and new.

    STORY

    The story is really "survival", first her own, then everyone elses'. The quicktime elements forces me to make snap movements/judgements, it forces me to be on edge, it forces me to wonder "what's around the corner", and that is exactly what Lara is feeling. These quicktime elements do an excellent job of connecting the gamer to the character.

    Of course, Lara is pleasantly fleshed out a s a character, but no one else is as she spends 99% of her time alone. So when people die, the gamer doesn't care. Its hard to make the gamer care when there isn't a chance to get to know the other characters, so I am not sure what the developer could have done to assist. They tried leaving books around, and some video, but that wasn't enough to connect. Perhaps if we got to play Lara before the crash.

    GAMEPLAY

    Lara is motivated to survive, and this is believable. There are no strange quests that have you bringing something useless to someone else, its all just centered around getting things done to live. Which makes sense.

    Gaining experience and having loot/salvage is also useful, so looking for boxes/items is valuable and also believable.

    The controls for the PC were easy to learn and I had no issues with my keys.

    Lara's clothes actually deteriorate though the game, which actually makes sense since she's battered ALL the time. I like that she's wearing full pants and two tanks, rather than short-shorts.

    TOMBS

    This is where I have my biggest beef. Its hard not to compare to previous games, it really is hard and as I said in the beginning, one should NOT make the comparison.. but the thing is called Tomb Raider, so.. here goes:

    The tomb puzzles are not puzzles. They are really easy "walkthroughs". Like.. lame easy. flick a switch and you've discovered the solution.

    I'm not sure what happened here. Did the developer think we (the audience) were 10 years old? or that we thought like them? Not sure. The tombs are almost useless (if it wasn't for the experience and the salvage). I'm only going through them now to confirm that they are all indeed that easy.

    Oddly enough, the hardest one I encountered was at the beginning with the plane.

    VOICE ACTING

    I think Lara Croft's VA did a great job in conveying pain, sadness and anger through the many different avenues that Lara communicates with the world.

    UPGRADING SKILLZ

    I wanted more from this, since I reached a point in the game that adding a skill didn't do much for Lara; though updating weapons did.

    CONCLUSION

    What surprised me about the game was the believable survival aspect of the game and how the gameplay reinforced that story, along with Lara's journey from innocent to survivor.

    I enjoyed the stealth side as well as the direct attack sequences, and I think I may always remember ziplining through the beautiful backdrops of the game.    … Expand
  27. nirax
    Mar 8, 2013
    7
    the good news is: the reboot of the series is generally far better than expected. combat is cool, story is cool, the character is believable (although empathizing more on the survival part rather than going full killer after 30 min would have been the better bet)

    one thing that doesnt works out AT ALL are those STUPID QUICK TIME EVENTS which you cant even turn off. man its like a plague    the good news is: the reboot of the series is generally far better than expected. combat is cool, story is cool, the character is believable (although empathizing more on the survival part rather than going full killer after 30 min would have been the better bet)

    one thing that doesnt works out AT ALL are those STUPID QUICK TIME EVENTS which you cant even turn off. man its like a plague since every designer and his mother thinks to involve the player in some kind of press this do this and jump around in your room stuff.
    it totally breaks immersion. On PC it doesnt even tells you what to press (you have symbols which you can look up what exactly they mean) and generally it feels totally repeatedly and unsatisfying to die over and over from QTEs. too bad i didnt read all of the reviews. would i have known that i wouldnt have bought it. at least i wont endorse the game to any of my friends.

    If you want to annoy ppl with QTEs make them optional. bah    … Expand
  28. worldcitizen19
    Apr 6, 2013
    10
    Awesome game and plots. Real challenges. Love the gameplay and graphics and found that I soon got very immersed in the game and really felt I was being hunted. My Game of the year. Beats Bioshock Infinite hands down and is the quality of Far Cry 3. This is a game worth the money whatever you pay for it.
  29. Cell1e
    Dec 26, 2013
    7
    Buggy quick time events spoiled much of this game for me. I also didn't like the very dark atmosphere. Did anyone think it strange how many dead bodies there were lying about decomposing in massive piles in various locations? I mean how logical is it that there must have been tens of thousands of people killed and decomposing but how can this be? A remote desert island that an occasionalBuggy quick time events spoiled much of this game for me. I also didn't like the very dark atmosphere. Did anyone think it strange how many dead bodies there were lying about decomposing in massive piles in various locations? I mean how logical is it that there must have been tens of thousands of people killed and decomposing but how can this be? A remote desert island that an occasional ship or plane crashes into? I think the dead and decomposing bodies were put there to satisfy the blood lust of teenagers who might be enticed into the tomb raider franchise. Its a shame really because there was much I enjoyed about the game, I really felt invested in my Lara and her struggle to survive and keep her buddies safe. I enjoyed the exploration and I liked the combat. But I did find the immersion was broken by the bugged quick time events and the over use of dead and decomposing bodies.… Expand
  30. Sablcious
    Feb 1, 2014
    5
    I nice-looking but inordinately shallow third-person adventure game / 'platformer' (*term used loosely). The platforming in the game is very disappointing, even if it weren't a TR game. The game suffers from the infamous modern day video gaming cancer known as "accessibility". Due to the shallow, hand held environment traversal, the game boils down to little more than linear progressionI nice-looking but inordinately shallow third-person adventure game / 'platformer' (*term used loosely). The platforming in the game is very disappointing, even if it weren't a TR game. The game suffers from the infamous modern day video gaming cancer known as "accessibility". Due to the shallow, hand held environment traversal, the game boils down to little more than linear progression through what's meant to be an open world environ, with ho hum shooting segments interspersed throughout. The fully automated cover system destroys any semblance of tension, as it enters cover whenever an enemy is in the vicinity; irrespective of whether they're within the player's view or not. The game is also hampered by overuse of the dreaded 'QTE's' and too many cut-scenes. The violence depicted in said cut-scenes is also way overkill for the TR franchise -- patently done in order to attract a broader [American] crowd. If you want to play Tomb Raider for what made it a fan favourite - platforming, puzzles and exploration - don't play this 'junk food' title. Stick to early Lara Croft adventures. For Tomb Raider 2013 is little more than one cut-scene followed by another linear TPS segment until the end credits. (NB: I did not play the online-only, arena-based mutiplayer component of the game due to the scathing reviews it received.)… 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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