Tomb Raider is a video game series and has been an iconic game since 1996, when the very first installment was released. Lara Croft immediately became a well-known video game character and her explorations would captivate many. Tomb Raider would eventually fade out like many series, but it would come back twice as strong in 2013 with a revamped and reimagined start to a trilogy: Tomb Raider. 

2013’s Tomb Raider was a reintroduction to the series for the newer generation of gamers. This Tomb Raider is many people's first-ever Tomb Raider game, me included. Tomb Raider was released March 5, 2013 and would mark the start to a new trilogy that would be deemed the Survivor Trilogy. Tomb Raider would be followed by Rise of the Tomb Raider, released two years later on November 10, 2015. Rise of the Tomb Raider would then be followed by Shadow of the Tomb Raider, released September 14, 2018. The three games, all developed by Crystal Dynamics, take 12 to 14 hours to complete the main game. All three games are available to play on PlayStation, Windows, and Xbox. 

Twelve years later, the first game of this trilogy still stands strong. Can that much be said for the other two games? Let’s find out. 

Tomb Raider 

Tomb Raider is the story of how Lara becomes a rugged adventurer. Her character goes through many changes that are masterfully woven into the story. Some changes are subtle and others are more noticeable, but all of them build up to a survivor being born.

The Story

The game begins with Lara on a ship looking for an ancient city. She and her team are arguing over where to find this ancient city. Lara believes she knows where it is and directs her crew to a place called the Dragon's Triangle. When their ship gets there, they are involved in a catastrophic storm at sea. The storm sinks the ship, leaving Lara and the other characters stranded on an island. Now, Lara and her team have to fight for their lives and witness supernatural phenomena while they try to escape the island together.

The story is rather basic and stereotypical at times, but that’s not to the games detriment. There’s also the factor that the player can miss out on connecting major dots in the story if they don’t collect the artifacts found around the island. 

There are plenty of sad beats throughout the story that really drive home the desperation to escape the island and be free of this tragedy and torture. There are also a few triumphant moments that really balance out the isolation and desperation of the characters. 

The story itself may be bland but that is hidden by the gorgeous graphics and setting. The setting of the game is on a tropical island and there are a load of old structures that can be explored and are beautiful to examine. However, the name of the game suggests that there would be tombs within the game and there aren't really any tombs. There are some but they're not a part of the main story and in order to do them, the player has to deviate from the story. They're also kind of underwhelming, and not as intriguing as the main part of the story. 

Graphics and Sound

The graphics of the game are absolutely gorgeous. The environments are very detailed and beautiful. The camera angles can sometimes be rather annoying as well as some effects, but I think this adds to the stressors of the scenes. Sometimes the camera will shake or become blurry because Lara is in a situation in which it's stressful and to have this additional obstacle for the player to overcome conveys this feeling to the player. 

The most impressive graphics is Lara’s hair. In some scenes I found her hair almost distracting. Her hair is heavily detailed when compared with other characters. It can sometimes be very evident that there's a lot more thought put into Lara’s design over the side characters. 

I love the attention to detail shown when Lara is hurt her speed of running slows down. Additionally, Lara’s clothes get dirty and ripped throughout the game. This attention to detail shows Lara’s transformation from a new adventurer who's set out with bright hopes to a nitty gritty survivor who will do anything to survive.

Lara herself is a very interesting character. Tomb Raider does a great job diving into her character and showing you who she is. The game also does a fantastic job of introducing you to side characters and sharing their personalities and why they are who they are.

Something that completely caught me off guard was how graphic Lara can die in certain circumstances when the player fails quick time events or parkour. I think this drives home how realistic this game feels. Sometimes, the graphics almost make it feel like it could happen in real life. 

The sound designs throughout the game were really interesting and the voice lines are very convincing and well acted. The only thing that I found almost a little disappointing was the lack of remembrance of the score. To me, a score is something very powerful and can be used to play with the gamer’s emotions. Yet, after I was done playing, I couldn't think back to a single moment where the score shined the most to me. 

The Features

Tomb Raider games have what I consider a perfect mix of puzzles and fighting. The fighting in Tomb Raider is very simple and as someone who's not a big fan of fighting games, I didn't feel stressed out when fighting enemies because the controls made it simple. It pieced together nicely and the aim assist was heavily helpful but it was also not overbearing. There's also a variety of weapons that the player can upgrade and get them to fit their playing style. 

The enemies of the game are very simplistic but also very interesting to deal with. There are ones who will rush you, ones who will stay at a distance, and a combination of the two. There are multiple types of enemies and it keeps the fighting aspect of the game interesting. 

There is a leveling up system that allows Lara to learn new skills and gives the player the ability to dabble in different ways of fighting and playing the game. There is also the ability to upgrade weapons and make them more useful in certain parts of the game. 

The controls and parkour and ways of navigating the map are very easy to learn and use. However there is a lot to remember and it can be hard to recall what button to press. Even though there are so many controls, there are very few glitches when it comes to the way that the character is controlled. I only had the occasional moments where the character would go where I didn’t mean, but that honestly could have been player error and not the game's fault. 

Multiplayer?

A strange part of this game is that there is a multiplayer function, however, I could not get it to work and, from the research that I did do, there aren't many people who could get it to work either. This could be because the game is over a decade old. It just seems to be a part of the game that is forgotten. 

—

Overall, Tomb Raider is a fantastic game and it blends many things masterfully. I may have pointed out a few nit-picky things (like Lara’s hair being better than others’) but, when I think back to the game and my time playing, I barely remember the bad things. This first installment to the Survivor Trilogy is the perfect introduction to Lara Croft and her adventures. 

Rise of the Tomb Raider 

Rise of the Tomb Raider is just as good as Tomb Raider, if not slightly better. The player gets Lara at her prime. She’s finally a tomb raider and a full-fledged confident adventurer. 

The Story

The game follows Lara as she searches for a legendary city in Siberia. Just like in the first game, she is battling other people as well as supernatural forces. 

This time the story is set in the cold, harsh mountains of Siberia instead of the deserted island of the previous game. Unlike the first game, the story in Rise of the Tomb Raider feels a whole lot more fleshed out and that makes it all the more compelling. There was actually one part of the story that brought me to tears because of how masterfully crafted it was.

The Graphics

The graphics are even more captivating. This time Lara’s hair doesn’t steal the show- though it does deserve a shout out- the design of other characters have just as much detail as Lara. All the side characters are just as fleshed out as well. They’re understandable and believable. There is one recurring character- Jonah- throughout the trilogy alongside Lara. He is an easily loveable character and it's good to have a familiar face other than Lara’s.

The camera angles and effects also continue to be messed with and increase tension just like in the previous game. A lot of Rise of the Tomb Raider is very similar to its predecessor. There are only subtle differences that make it better. 

Functions

Rise of the Tomb Raider somehow has an even better mix of puzzles and fighting. The fighting is just as basic and understandable as its predecessor. There’s the same type of leveling up system and it has the same features that lets Lara learn new skills and upgrade weapons. 

The controls are relatively the same, which means there still is the downside of a long list of things the player needs to remember. However, Rise of the Tomb Raider does a better job of catering to its forgetful audience and will prompt players with the correct button to press on occasion. 

—

Rise of the Tomb Raider is even better than Tomb Raider and my hopes were high that Shadow of the Tomb Raider would be just as perfect.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Boring. That’s the only word that comes to mind when I think of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I physically had to force myself through this game, and believe me, there were many times I would straight up quit and not return for days. 

The Story

The story follows Lara into a new setting, in search of another legendary city. In this game, Lara is racing against time to undo a mistake she made, and while that sounds like it would make a good story, it makes a story where you constantly have to deal with a whiny Lara. 

All Lara does is complain about the mistake she made, and she seems to be weaker than she was in Rise of the Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider. This typically wouldn’t bother me–I mean, who doesn’t like a good redemption arc?–but Lara’s previous adventures built her up as a strong and unstoppable force; to see her knocked down so easily makes two games worth of character development feel completely and utterly useless. 

There were some decent parts of this game. While seeing Lara so easily defeated sucks, there is a new element to her character. She becomes even more brutal and it almost seems her desperation is taking away her humanity. 

There’s also the highlight of recurring character Jonah who never fails to disappoint. Many of the new characters are interesting, because Shadow of the Tomb Raider pays extra attention to developing and exploring the multiple cultures of its characters. 

Graphics

The graphics had their moments and the setting shined more than once, but the beauty of Lara’s hair is lost. Overall, it feels as though the graphics worsened with this installment. 

Comparing All Three Games

There are only three consistent things through all three games. The controls stay the same, which makes returning players feel at home with the movements. The leveling system functions the same, albeit Shadow of the Tomb Raider expands upon this function and makes it a tad bit more complicated. The balance between puzzles and fighting remains perfect. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider wasn’t the worst game I’ve played but when side to side with its predecessors, it’s a major let down. 

—

The Survivor Trilogy is now 12 years old. The first two games hold up and both are a perfect introduction to the Tomb Raider Series for new gamers. While Shadow of the Tomb Raider is my least favorite of the series, many people love it and consider it a good conclusion to the trilogy. I urge people who have never played a Tomb Raider game or old fans who have played the original games to give this remaster of a classic story a chance.