Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s predatory Lara alerts a darkish new chapter

Her descent begins in Mexico, through which a mission performed by press on the sport’s world premiere introduces the sequence’ newest menace: the Mayan apocalypse. Lara’s inquisitiveness has led each her and the insidious Trinity organisation to Central America, the place each events hope to safe an historical key. 

As the mission opens, Lara and Jonah are trailing the Trinity agent by the streets of Cozumel, a city celebrating the Day of the Dead. Sugar skulls and vibrant flowers embellish the evening streets whereas crowds chatter and sing. It’s a really completely different world for Tomb Raider, a sequence that has thrived on isolating its central characters in hostile environments. These closely populated Mexican streets really feel like an actual change of tempo, though admittedly that’s partly because of this being a gradual follow-the-target and push-aside-crowds section. 

Fortunately, this streetside stalk doesn’t outlive its welcome, and Lara is quickly descending into the ruins of Mayan civilisation. Where in earlier video games she’d have scrambled, the animations in Shadow of the Tomb Raider actually emphasise Lara’s development: she’s fully assured in every strike of her climbing axe, her notably extra muscular body crawling throughout rock faces with ease. The strategy to the primary tomb introduces the brand new potential to anchor your axes after which rappel down from them, nearly Mission: Impossible model, however other than that it’s Tomb Raider as normal. 

And that’s, largely, the image supplied by the sport’s first 45-minute demonstration: extra of the identical, albeit with welcome additions. As Lara enters the tomb she discovers that there are big, flooded chambers, which demand that she takes up a bit diving. Underwater exploration is fully what you’d count on, though no-one can deny how putting the environments look, particularly with regards to gentle sources diffusing by the water. Graphical powerhouse video games appear largely reserved for Sony-financed PlayStation four exclusives as of late, however with Tomb Raider we nonetheless have a PC triple-A journey reaching for that customary. 

This first tomb’s challenges are comparatively simple, based mostly round a wide range of weighted cages that should be altered as a way to ascend to the prize: the dagger-shaped key which Lara and Trinity so desperately need. And whereas the journey in direction of it might have simply been taken from both of the earlier two video games, it’s when Lara has this macguffin in her grasp that the scenario turns into much more attention-grabbing. 

Confronted by Trinity’s chief, Dominguez, Lara is commanded to relinquish the important thing together with a field. While Lara definitely has the important thing, there may be positively no field, and this revelation is trigger for panic. It seems that these things are consultant of Mayan gods – probably Ix Chel and Chac Chel, if my fundamental information of the civilisation is true – and do you have to take only one element of the pair from its resting place… effectively, you’ve simply summoned the Mayan apocalypse. 

It’s an enchanting beat for Lara’s character. She’s develop into so obsessive about treasure looking and outmanoeuvring her opponents that she’s resorted to haste. Her race towards Trinity has prompted her to lose sight of what makes her profession necessary – information – and as an alternative give attention to mere possession. We all have character flaws, but it surely’s uncommon that our flaws carry across the finish of the world. 

Returning to the city, the mission opens up right into a fight encounter that demonstrates Lara’s expanded preventing approach. Stealth has at all times been one thing the sequence has aimed to succeed at, however its victories in which have by no means been a core energy. As the title Shadow of the Tomb Raider suggests, this time round Lara has mastered the artwork of putting from the darkness. Thanks to the Central American setting, which guarantees full jungle locales, many surfaces are crawling with undergrowth and vines. Lara can sink herself into these in order that she is invisible to her enemies. It’s a easy, efficient mechanic that, whereas not radically altering the tempo of Tomb Raider’s punchy, gritty fight, does fulfil the fantasy of Lara changing into a ruthless, predatory adventurer. 

The gang of closely armoured Trinity operatives are the final of Lara’s worries although; simply as prophesied, the apocalypse begins to stir into movement. A tsunami cascades by the city, obliterating homes and whisking Lara into one of many sequence’ trademark set-pieces. Despite the familiarity, it’s a harrowing second: the sight of so many lives being destroyed in scenes that we’re used to in charity commercials and information bulletins feels a world away from the extra pulpy adventures Lara usually engages in. Tomb Raider’s isolation typically prevents it from inflicting catastrophic collateral injury, however as Lara fails to save lots of a stranded youngster from falling into the watery abyss, the toll of her mistake actually involves gentle. 

The chapter concludes with Lara being reunited with Jonah, to whom she tells of how she should be the one to reverse what is occurring – how she is the one one who can. Jonah’s response is stunning: relatively than nodding in settlement and operating away together with her to save lots of the day as soon as extra, he chastises her about her must be the centre of the motion. It’s on this second that Lara’s newfound flaws are actually laid naked, as her closest mates have witnessed the event of her new messiah advanced and are calling her out on it. It’s a robust story beat, one which’s extra participating than something that Rise of the Tomb Raider  supplied, and one thing that guarantees an enchanting arc for Lara over the course of her new journey. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider jogs my memory of Batman: Arkham Origins, in that, relatively than being an evolution of what the sequence will be, it seems to be an iterative enchancment on its predecessor, providing the identical model of play however bolstered with just a few good mechanical additions. While that gameplay might not shock and delight as effortlessly because it as soon as did, Lara nonetheless does, and it’s her character growth that guarantees to offer the actual pull for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Come for the predatory stealth and underwater struggles, however keep to witness Lara discover her approach out from the shadows and into the sunshine as soon as extra.