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The protagonist of the Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft, is one of the most enduring and influential figures in gaming. Her ability to trek to the most bewildering and uncharted locations to unearth ancient artifacts, all while mowing down hordes of armed men and otherworldly creatures, needs no introduction to players.
Since her 1996 debut, she has been an icon of empowerment and courage for numerous users and continues to be so. With more powerful computing hardware and consoles coming out every decade, the series has seen various iterations that saw Lara face a multitude of challenges, both natural and supernatural.
With the advent of the seventh generation of consoles, the Tomb Raider series has received the most substantial change in its presentation and narrative. The new Tomb Raider series, comprising three titles, is essentially a reboot of the franchise, which reconstructs the origins of Lara as she turns from a simple archeologist to a ruthless killing machine.
Although the Tomb Raider reboot consists of only three games released within five years, they are vastly different in terms of gameplay, narrative, and immersion.
Which new Tomb Raider game brings out best of Lara Croft?
3) Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the franchise's most divisive entries, given that the original development team behind the reboot, Crystal Dynamics, did not work on the series finale. Instead, the game's development was helmed by Eidos-Montreal, known for their Deus Ex, Thief, and most recently released Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy games.
The change in direction for the finale was apparent to users. Much of the charm and identity of the reboot's first two titles were mostly absent in the finale.
Although the gameplay was practically the same, with some quality-of-life adjustments and a couple of new additions facilitating stealth, the narrative of the third and final entry in the series did not land.
The last two games felt interconnected and had a cohesiveness in their overarching plot, which made the titles fun and engaging. However, the finale's story was subpar and awful.
Apart from the massively upgraded visuals and some inventive puzzles, the final installment of the reboot is the weakest in the trilogy.
2) Tomb Raider (2013)
2013's Tomb Raider was a fresh starting point for the franchise. Developer Crystal Dynamics had experience with the franchise as a developer of the excellent remake of the original title, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and the equally good Tomb Raider: Underworld.
With the reboot, Crystal Dynamics wanted to tell a grounded story of Lara Croft and her eventual transformation into the action hero that fans know and love. The game sees her traveling to an uncharted Japanese island, searching for the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai.
On her way, Lara gets separated from her crew and has to endure the hardships of surviving alone in the wild as she tries to make her way to them. The title starts slow, with Croft being reluctant to hurt anyone or anything and only doing so to survive or protect her friends.
However, after being forced to make her very first kill, she eventually becomes a ruthless hunter, stalking the enemies and taking hordes of men out in mere minutes.
Not only is the change in character apparent in gameplay, but it's also depicted in the cutscenes and her interactions with other characters.
Apart from a stellar origin story and equally engaging and action-packed gameplay, the game also features some of the best cinematic set pieces. It also retains the core puzzle-platforming aspect of the series, with some really creative puzzles and platforming sections.
The only criticism that can be levied against the title is its overreliance on quick-time events and hand-holding, which is often distracting during general moment-to-moment gameplay and can often break gamers' immersion.
1) Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)
Rise of the Tomb Raider is not just a perfect sequel but also the best title in the entire trilogy by a long margin. The game picks up a few years after the first one, with Lara Croft having experienced the supernatural events in Yamatai first-hand.
She has dedicated her life to unearthing some of the most ancient civilizations. Just like her father, the hero has become obsessed with the wonders and mysteries of the ancient world.
The story sees Lara and her friend Jonah from the last game travel to Siberia to find the key to immortality. However, she is not alone in her pursuit, as a rival organization, Trinity, is also looking for the same.
The story features various twists and turns throughout its meaty 15-20 hour runtime, which will keep players on the edge of their seats. The bombastic action set-pieces are back from the previous title and even more spectacular thanks to its improved Crystal engine, which renders the world and characters in near photorealistic quality.
The sequel also amps up the gameplay, with tweaks made to the stealth system, making stalking and hunting enemies one by one a more viable option this time around. Gunplay is also improvised, with better weapon handling and various tools at Lara's disposal.
It also sees significant improvements to the game's general feel, with better controls, less hand-holding, and an overall better playing title than the first.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinion.
