Rate top gamesMy problem with Shadow of the Tomb Raider is that it focuses mostly on former elements of the franchise, implementing them badly, and takes away the good things.
Out of the three, this one is the most story-driven game. That's not a problem - I mean, not exactly. What makes this decision bad is the flatness around the plot. There's no substance, and the worst part about it is that the same thing happened in the last two games. The first one at least had a great premise and non-stop action. Rise had great action as well and amazing graphics, but the story, with more time-consuming cutscenes and attempts at character development, already showed some flaws. Shadow has the same issue as the last two games, but with a highlight around it, since there are too many cutscenes, exploration, and talking. The action? It's honestly rare and even feels bad when it happens - I'll talk about it later.
So... why is the plot flat? Ironically, since they even mentioned it at the beginning, you feel like everything revolves around Lara. Everything. There is not even one character that remotely grabs your attention. Not even one. The story only progresses when Lara does something, and that's exhausting. The only thing that matters to the plot is Lara's development. Everyone around her is soulless. And I'll even say more: I don't give a shit about Paititi or the box or whatever it is. Why should I care, honestly? Since the characters are flat, I don't really care if everyone dies. Just to make my point: I don't think every game should have an amazing story. The first two are also mediocre, but since most of the time you're shooting people - and it is super fun, you don't care about how silly the story is. Here, most of the time, you're walking, solving extremely easy puzzles, chatting, and doing fake climbing.
Dude, that's one of the worst climbing mechanics I've ever played. They tried to surpass the limits of difficulty here, but it feels so... automated. There is no skill behind it. The only times I died are because I had no idea what I should do, and that's it. That's almost as bad as Uncharted climbing, but at least TR has impressive graphics.
The action is rare, as I said. But when it happens, is it any good? Somehow, no. For some reason, shooting feels strange. It's unresponsive, the sound is not convincing, and the impact on the enemies looks like nerf. The only thing that remains cool is the bow.
There's a lot to talk about this game, but I'm starting to get tired, so I'll jump to the good things. The 21:9 support is really good; the optimization is incredible, honestly; HDR feels amazing, as do the graphics; the ambiance is cool, but it gets boring since there's not much variety in scenarios like the last game; and that's it.
I still recommend it. It is short, the game has amazing graphics indeed, which is good if you have a new TV/PC, and if you really like Lara Croft, the story can be bearable, like it was for me.
Out of the three, this one is the most story-driven game. That's not a problem - I mean, not exactly. What makes this decision bad is the flatness around the plot. There's no substance, and the worst part about it is that the same thing happened in the last two games. The first one at least had a great premise and non-stop action. Rise had great action as well and amazing graphics, but the story, with more time-consuming cutscenes and attempts at character development, already showed some flaws. Shadow has the same issue as the last two games, but with a highlight around it, since there are too many cutscenes, exploration, and talking. The action? It's honestly rare and even feels bad when it happens - I'll talk about it later.
So... why is the plot flat? Ironically, since they even mentioned it at the beginning, you feel like everything revolves around Lara. Everything. There is not even one character that remotely grabs your attention. Not even one. The story only progresses when Lara does something, and that's exhausting. The only thing that matters to the plot is Lara's development. Everyone around her is soulless. And I'll even say more: I don't give a shit about Paititi or the box or whatever it is. Why should I care, honestly? Since the characters are flat, I don't really care if everyone dies. Just to make my point: I don't think every game should have an amazing story. The first two are also mediocre, but since most of the time you're shooting people - and it is super fun, you don't care about how silly the story is. Here, most of the time, you're walking, solving extremely easy puzzles, chatting, and doing fake climbing.
Dude, that's one of the worst climbing mechanics I've ever played. They tried to surpass the limits of difficulty here, but it feels so... automated. There is no skill behind it. The only times I died are because I had no idea what I should do, and that's it. That's almost as bad as Uncharted climbing, but at least TR has impressive graphics.
The action is rare, as I said. But when it happens, is it any good? Somehow, no. For some reason, shooting feels strange. It's unresponsive, the sound is not convincing, and the impact on the enemies looks like nerf. The only thing that remains cool is the bow.
There's a lot to talk about this game, but I'm starting to get tired, so I'll jump to the good things. The 21:9 support is really good; the optimization is incredible, honestly; HDR feels amazing, as do the graphics; the ambiance is cool, but it gets boring since there's not much variety in scenarios like the last game; and that's it.
I still recommend it. It is short, the game has amazing graphics indeed, which is good if you have a new TV/PC, and if you really like Lara Croft, the story can be bearable, like it was for me.