With the new release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, hitting the market since September 14, 2018; many people have been praising nonstop on the game’s immersive gameplay as well as its detailed story. While being the third installment of the reboot series since the release of Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015), the game has already exceeded most expectations that critics and fans originally had. Steam gave it a 7/10 while Metacritic said the game is about 78% on their scale which shows that the game has already received positive reviews since its initial release. Currently, the game is valued at $59.99 at most retailers, both online and in-store.

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The game is set in the present as well continue to follow the main character, Lara Croft, and her battle against the world terror organization called Trinity which wants to recreate a new order in a new world that they want to establish. We play through many environments including desolate island off the coast of Japan in the first Tomb Raider (2013), Syria/Siberia in Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015), and finally, we play in South America in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018). Specifically, Lara and her longtime friend Jonah are located in deep with Peru looking for two artifacts that could bring the world to the apocalypse if they don’t beat Trinity to them. They become acquainted with the residents in the hidden city of Paititi as well as its leader Unuratu. The main protagonists later find out that Trinity has already infiltrated the city as they play the role of the Kukulkan which is a cultist group worshiping the snake god, Kukulkan. You play as Lara, as you try to find the last missing artifact called, The Box.

The gameplay aspect of the game is very fluid as well as easy to become accustomed to. The game heavily focuses on the climbing/parkour ability that your character often performs when fleeing from enemies or exploring a new area. The game allows a substantial amount of “free roam” gameplay which adds a nice semi-open world aspect to the game which was not present in the earlier games. Your character also has the option to fulfill small side quests that the locals of Paititi often ask her to do. The quests are often small favors such as retrieving an item of theirs or going to talk to someone on their behalf. This small addition allows the player to learn and experience what the lives of the locals would potentially be like as well as the reward for those side quests are often a decent amount of gold that they can use to buy gear and supplies from a merchant. The also contains a decent amount of puzzles to solve to progress through the game but it doesn’t have as much as the earlier titles. I believe this installment is more story driven with action providing some context to certain situations. I believe the developers tried to add more action to offset the lack of action the earlier games had. I remember in certain parts of Rise of the Tomb Raider, your character had to do puzzle after puzzle to get through an area which felt like the story seemed to slow down too much which caused myself to lose some interest.

The controls are very similar compared to the earlier games. The controls vary between platforms such as the PS4 and Xbox One. Your character has access to a plethora of weapons to use from her iconic bow and arrow to something more modern such as her handgun or assault rifle. The sneaking element to the game is very creative. One new addition to the series is that; if there’s a mud puddle nearby, she can cover herself in mud to blend into bushes, trees, and walls covered in vegetation. This allows the player the option to chose between a more stealthy approach in a certain area or rather a more action-packed, gun slinging one. Within the game, your character can use campfires as a checkpoint to save their progress as well as the player can use their skill points to unlock new abilities and tools and you can improve the attachments to your weapons and gear you use throughout the game. Also, every campfire you discover will allow you to fast travel at any point or anywhere in the game to reduce repetitive traveling between areas.

Overall, I would reward Shadow of the Tomb Raider an 8.7/10. because I believe the story is very accurate to the details they have added to the story as well as the gameplay is very hard to lose interest due to the constant flow of action and story that is present. I would recommend anyone who loves a good stealth game with action behind every corner. If you love a good story as well, then this s the game for you. I would also recommend playing or reading up on the previous story that has happened in the two previous games to catch yourself up to speed. Hopefully, you can enjoy the game as much as I have and appreciate the time and effort it took to produce a quality game such as this one.