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Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix in 2013. It is the tenth title in the Tomb Raider franchise and works as a reboot that tells from scratch the origins of Lara Croft.

The game takes place on Yamatai, a fictional lost island in the dragon’s Triangle off the coast of Japan. This island is shrouded completely with mystery and has gained a fearsome reputation over the years due to all the storms and weather phenomena that happen close to its location.

Very little is known about Yamatai’s history, aside from an old story that says that this kingdom was once ruled by a queen named Himiko and that she was known later on in history as the “Sun Queen”. A legend created by common folk saying she had some sort of shamanistic powers that allowed her to control the weather.

This title is presented in a third-person perspective and combines action-adventure, exploration and survival mechanics. The player takes on the role of the iconic Lara Croft, a young and ambitious archaeology graduate who stumbles upon some theories about the lost kingdom of Yamatai and the “Sun Queen”.

Lara is set out on her first expedition aboard the ship Endurance, led by Dr. James Whitman (a celebrity archaeologist struggling with some financial problems) and a six man crew: Conrad Roth (an old croft family friend and a mentor to Lara herself), Samantha “Sam” Nishimura (Lara’s friend and a Nishimura family descendant), Joslyn Reyes (the skeptical and temperamental mechanic), Jonah Maiava (a kind fisherman and a true believer of the paranormal), Alex Weiss (the goofy electronics specialist) and Angus “Grim” Grimaldi (the gruff Glaswegian helmsman).

The gameplay itself is very intuitive, even tho if you never played a Tomb Raider game before, it might take a couple minutes for you to get adjusted to it. Players can easily traverse between visited camps across the island and also use available footpaths, ziplines or climbable tracks to get to different areas of the map.

Quick time events (QTE) play a small but also important part in the game and are used wisely throughout the story, to remark crucial points in the game’s plot.

The combat uses multiple elements, free aim when using a bow or a gun to hunt down either human enemies or wild animals and the ability to engage in close-quarter combat and perform some beautiful stealth kills.
All weapons used can be upgraded as you progress using the salvage you collect by exploring the island and that same salvage can be used to craft arrows and healing items.

The player is also given a very useful tool (Lara’s “survival instinct”), which is an ability to scan the area around you and highlight mission points, interactable objects, collectibles and even enemies.

It features a good single player story to keep you busy for quite some time but also introduces for the first time a multi player option for the franchise.

Well what can i say about the looks in this game? Really good actually and i do hope you have a good graphics card also because watching miss Lara in high quality is on another whole level, hats down!

It is pleasing to the eye, no point in lying about it. It was well done and it shows the wonders of how far the technology in the gaming industry has evolved. It becomes more realistic and well detailed as the years go by, how they use the scenery to make the island come to life and also on the little things that transform the characters into the unique individuals that they are, their facial expressions, body movement, the acrobatics involved, voice acting and all the special effects used. Awesome job!

The enemies and wild life are also well polished, aside a few minor bugs but nothing that i wasn’t expecting to find. The uneasy feeling of being surrounded by nature and that at any given moment something can come out of the shadows or the bushes to grab you, it’s really a very good quality.

The design of the puzzles are nowhere near the difficulty of the ones in the old titles but the developers gave it some justice and you can finish them without too much pain or struggle.

The music and soundtrack used are quite pleasing to my ears, i enjoyed it. Nice key moments with audio cues related to some kind of changes in the scenario or the sudden appearance of an enemy. Helps to really keep the game flowing and to keep you on your toes.

Voice acting was also a strong point for me here, good job for all the voice actors and all their time and effort put into this project. They really gave life to their characters.

The only thing i have to point out is that, even tho i actually really enjoyed Lara’s voice actress, she was indeed quite unique and gave that youthful touch to it (and trust me i am not saying this in a bad way or even complaining really) i just think that a tiny bit less emphasis in some hurtful noises would be better suited for the character. That’s it. Aside from that, Lara’s voice is quite feminine, sexy, young and has all the qualities this character is supposed to have to be a female badass. She is not yet the femme fatale we know from the previous titles, she still needs time to grow and mature but she will get there eventually.

I strongly recommend this game to all the fans and non fans too, it will not let you down. And you will spend countless hours enjoying yourself playing a fun and fearless character. This game has a lot to offer and for you to explore. Just keep an open mind and enjoy it without the influence of what others tell you about it.

I really enjoyed playing it, was quite fun and exciting. The story is actually well presented and draws you in until the end. You will have to put some effort into some areas and be quick on your fingers with the QTE’s, you miss one too many and is bye bye peaches to Lara! XD
It really hurt me inside to see her die because of my mistakes and bad gameplay, i felt sorry for her and my bad gaming skills. T_T