Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a fantastic game. What went wrong?
- Thread starter Fiery Phoenix
- Start date
The most annoying thing about Shadow (well, not really, but one annoying thing about Shadow) was that there wasn't a coincidental isometric shooter spinoff starring Classic Lara. I had a lot more fun with Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris more than the reboot series.
I think is possible this game has one of the worst stealth mechanics in a long time. It really feels tacked down, with ridiculous AI, bad level design and just not fun to play, I wish the focused way more on the shootbang that the atrocious stealth.
Pretty much this. The combat and exploration was great and the main hub world was beautiful but the story was kind of dumb.
Same here. Something just felt...off. I can't even say what. But I shelved it for something else at the time, and I've never gone back to give it another chance.
It's a shame all the excitement around TR's revival is gone now.
Some amazing puzzle tombs. BUT...
Uninspired combat, and a complete mess of a progression system that offers so little in the way of desirable skills, they might as well throw it out all together. This being bad hurts the rewards you get from exploration and tombs as well. There are no carrots driving you forward.
Not to mention this game is so on the fence about trusting the player to handle themselves. I CAN'T BELIEVE you cannot turn off the awful notifications that tell you a tomb is nearby. I'm SO mad about this because they did other smart things with the difficulty.
Ultimately the world design feels really artificial and dated. Linear and ***low stakes*** platforming is so lame, and we are in a post-BOTW world. This needs to be better.
The story is also bad, for people who care about that.
Uninspired combat, and a complete mess of a progression system that offers so little in the way of desirable skills, they might as well throw it out all together. This being bad hurts the rewards you get from exploration and tombs as well. There are no carrots driving you forward.
Not to mention this game is so on the fence about trusting the player to handle themselves. I CAN'T BELIEVE you cannot turn off the awful notifications that tell you a tomb is nearby. I'm SO mad about this because they did other smart things with the difficulty.
Ultimately the world design feels really artificial and dated. Linear and ***low stakes*** platforming is so lame, and we are in a post-BOTW world. This needs to be better.
The story is also bad, for people who care about that.
I really enjoyed Tomb Raider 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raider but Shadow fell flat. I liked things it was doing and its de-emphasis of combat, but I was never terribly invested in it.
I liked it for its sparse use of combat but it still feels a bit off. The upgrades etc are basically useless and the shooting is not fun. Also seems so strange that the best puzzles ie the tombs are optional extras most of the time. The story was also really awful and I must admit I missed the 'set pieces ' The other games had. I feel like they were trying to go down tomb raider's old routes with trying to stay in the realm of the reboot and it sort of failed.
Art design and setting though are beautiful, I love the visuals of the setting. Story was god awful and just downright bad in parts and just ridiculous in others. I'd like to see it go back the temples and Egypt etc though.
Art design and setting though are beautiful, I love the visuals of the setting. Story was god awful and just downright bad in parts and just ridiculous in others. I'd like to see it go back the temples and Egypt etc though.
Mechanically it's ok, but the plot is poor and Lara is really annoying.
Uncharted-alike wasn't the way to go for TR imo, I do think the first game was superior to any of the Uncharteds in fairness, but I want more Tomb Raider in my Tomb Raider. To me St Francis Folly etc is what TR should be.
Uncharted-alike wasn't the way to go for TR imo, I do think the first game was superior to any of the Uncharteds in fairness, but I want more Tomb Raider in my Tomb Raider. To me St Francis Folly etc is what TR should be.
The game was pretty boring. It didn't manage a good cross between exploration/puzzles & combat. So often you just kinda ran around until something happened.
I feel it needed more expanded platforming to really shine. Could've been a more prince of Persia-esque Game.
I feel it needed more expanded platforming to really shine. Could've been a more prince of Persia-esque Game.
For me it wasn't just Shadow but Rise as well.
I adored 2013, the new take and the relationship with Sam had me fully on board and hyped for the follow ups.
However when Crystal/Square Euro went ballistic when 2013's writer spoke to how she wrote them as almost romantic and a lesbian pairing it really spurred me on the whole thing. I haven't seen such blatant fridging and what is in my mind pure homophobia in AAA gaming.
it honestly shocked me that people just let them off the hook.
I adored 2013, the new take and the relationship with Sam had me fully on board and hyped for the follow ups.
However when Crystal/Square Euro went ballistic when 2013's writer spoke to how she wrote them as almost romantic and a lesbian pairing it really spurred me on the whole thing. I haven't seen such blatant fridging and what is in my mind pure homophobia in AAA gaming.
it honestly shocked me that people just let them off the hook.
Also I hate Lara in this game.
Is such a unlikable ass and the game keeps trying to frame her as a cool hero and survivor but she constantly comes as a selfish bastard with a white savior complex. She was bad in the first 2 games but I kinda could see what they were trying to do with the character, in the 3rd one she's plain as a board floor with nor redeming qualities or interesting character arc.
They should reboot this whole mess
Is such a unlikable ass and the game keeps trying to frame her as a cool hero and survivor but she constantly comes as a selfish bastard with a white savior complex. She was bad in the first 2 games but I kinda could see what they were trying to do with the character, in the 3rd one she's plain as a board floor with nor redeming qualities or interesting character arc.
They should reboot this whole mess
I really liked the gameplay and exploration. I just couldn't follow the story. Part of that is my fault because I couldn't distinguish between names used for different NPCs and within the lore, but I'm not still not sure what I accomplished at the end of the game. I was also annoyed by how much they do the, "Will Jonah survive this time?" I had enough of that in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and they did that even more here.
"Fantastic game" is the disconnect here. It's my favourite of the new Tomb Raider trilogy, but in the end it's just spinning the wheels and not really advancing the reboot in any real notable way; I prefer the less combat focused approach (and think it did it better than Uncharted 4), but it still did little to make the actual non-combat mechanics engaging, so I can fully understand how people didn't like that as much. For my issues with it (which the sequels never really tried to fix) Tomb Raider 2013 was a good template for sequels to heavily build on and advance, and then they never really did that and just made slightly modified, better looking variations of it.
Uncharted 3 messed up the general combat design compared to it's predecessor, while Shadow almost removed combat, so they're almost opposites in that way.
Uncharted 3 messed up the general combat design compared to it's predecessor, while Shadow almost removed combat, so they're almost opposites in that way.
I loved the game and one of the best looking games on Xbox One X. I am currently playing it on PC with a 2080ti with RTX and in some areas it looks as good if not better than the UE5 demo they recently had (imho). The game got a lot of shit for the 1 year exclusive deal...but outside of that imho it is and still is a great game.
Brand was already damaged by early gen marketing fuckery, perception of being developed by the "B-team", lukewarm reception, lots of competition/better options available.
Basically it just felt like the inevitable end result of an IP that has been poorly managed for many many years.
Basically it just felt like the inevitable end result of an IP that has been poorly managed for many many years.
I literally just finished this game eariler today after playing all three of the reboot games back to back over the last two weeks....I thought it was the best one,it actually felt like a more modern take on Tomb Raider because it had lots of tomb raiding and the setting was a good fit for that....saying that,I thought all three were pretty much AAA gaming 101 and they did virtually nothing that surprised me over the course of all three games....they also had an insane amount of collectables that were a constant distraction from actually playing the games.
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I would disagree with the premise of this thread, that it's fantastic. I played a good 8 or so hours before stopping, and it frankly felt extremely similar to the previous games. I liked those games, quite a bit in fact, but it definitely felt like a game that was treading water instead of doing anything new for the series. Review scores for the game seem about right, maybe even a little higher than they should be based on my time with it. Generally I think the deal is that not too many people liked it as much as OP, so it didn't get the review buzz and word of mouth needed to carry it sales-wise. I'm genuinely curious what Square Enix plans to do with the series next, whether they reboot it again or try some other drastic shift for it.
Felt like a wet fart to me, like you know there's some good shit there but it barely scratched the surface.
I liked it, but there are definitely parts that drag on and whoever thought that underwater stealth segments with moray eels and piranhas were a good idea...jesus christ.
I started a hard-mode playthrough the other week and it definitely feels better that way. What little combat there is has you on your toes a lot more, platforming is not highlighted and with saves only happening at campfires I find myself being a lot more methodical with everything.
I started a hard-mode playthrough the other week and it definitely feels better that way. What little combat there is has you on your toes a lot more, platforming is not highlighted and with saves only happening at campfires I find myself being a lot more methodical with everything.
Well I'd agree with you here, the jungle environments were lush, detailed, and fun to explore. But that's just one aspect of a mediocre game overall, I'm not seeing where "fantastic" enters the picture.
Too little too late for me. I just don't like the direction that they took with the rebooted series. The first game had some cool ideas but the writing was awful and there was too much of an emphasis on combat. I've heard that Shadow has more emphasis on tombs and exploration but I just can't bring myself to give a shit about the characters. The combat gives me major ludonarrative dissonance. I wish the combat felt more like The Last of Us. Limited supplies and multiple ways to stealth/avoid combat altogether. They had all the pieces there but then it just devolved into generic gunplay and over the top action. It's also hard to be interested in checking out a sequel when you don't care about the narrative at all after the first game.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a gorgeous game and that's it. The gameplay is average and the story sucks. Let's hope this is the last time we see this version of Lara Croft.
It's not my fave of the trilogy, but I still loved it. My biggest issue was the skill tree/progression system. A good third of the options were just useless. I remember there being one for breathing underwater longer, but those sections only pop up a handful of times in the game, and they're designed with enough air pockets to get through.
other than that, I loved it. I really loved the lesser focus on combat. these numbers may not be exact, but it really felt like i killed less than 25 people in the entire first half of the game
other than that, I loved it. I really loved the lesser focus on combat. these numbers may not be exact, but it really felt like i killed less than 25 people in the entire first half of the game
According to my save I got to 29% completion before stopping. Despite having loved 2013 and Rise I just felt like this game was missing something. I actually restarted it yesterday thinking I'll give it another shot since its been a while but even in the bit I played I'm not sure.
The only good things about this game are the tombs, and some puzzles, imo (also there's a pretty cool setpiece tho). Gameplay feels basically the same since 2013. Graphics looks decent, sometimes above the average.
Not to mention the characters and story, generic, mediocre, forced voice acting. Soundtrack is boring.
Lara Croft as character has no development whatsoever, and her "personality" is listless.
Not to mention the characters and story, generic, mediocre, forced voice acting. Soundtrack is boring.
Lara Croft as character has no development whatsoever, and her "personality" is listless.
this game felt slight in comparison to the first two. 2013 was my favorite due to the horror vibe. They were never able to capture that again
I beat Shadow a few days ago actually and thought it was pretty middling. A gorgeous, but pretty mediocre game.
I was a fan of the first game of this trilogy, but this one just didn't feel all that great to play. The platforming and puzzle solving super simple and repetitive (the same "uh oh, the ledge is crumbling!" "uh oh, a slope!" "oh no, the wall is crumbling!")
I did most of the optional tombs and thought they were pretty basic too. Only one short part of the game impressed me, it was the big spinning death cylinder that you climb up. It was a large platforming puzzle section that actually required you to look around and figure things out a tiny bit.
Sadly that was pretty much the only part that was that memorable.
I liked the combat in the first Tomb Raider reboot game, but felt like it hasn't been as good in with Rise or Shadow. There wasn't much combat or stealth in Shadow, but what was there was pretty basic and just felt lacking some punch.
The whole Trinity storyline that continues from Rises is just stupid, but it was never good to begin with so I wasn't even playing for the story.
I did laugh during a ridiculous combat moment when some evil henchman who I had completely forgotten about (I think they were in RotTR) pops up and starts taunting me. It was like "Hey Lara! Remember me! I'm gonna kill you!" and I had no idea of who they were, haha.
If nothing else, this game did make me want to go back and replay the first game in this reboot series, as well as Tomb Raider Anniversary which I also reinstalled. I love the platforming and puzzle solving in that game, I remember the levels being huge and so satisfying to finally solve.
I was a fan of the first game of this trilogy, but this one just didn't feel all that great to play. The platforming and puzzle solving super simple and repetitive (the same "uh oh, the ledge is crumbling!" "uh oh, a slope!" "oh no, the wall is crumbling!")
I did most of the optional tombs and thought they were pretty basic too. Only one short part of the game impressed me, it was the big spinning death cylinder that you climb up. It was a large platforming puzzle section that actually required you to look around and figure things out a tiny bit.
Sadly that was pretty much the only part that was that memorable.
I liked the combat in the first Tomb Raider reboot game, but felt like it hasn't been as good in with Rise or Shadow. There wasn't much combat or stealth in Shadow, but what was there was pretty basic and just felt lacking some punch.
The whole Trinity storyline that continues from Rises is just stupid, but it was never good to begin with so I wasn't even playing for the story.
I did laugh during a ridiculous combat moment when some evil henchman who I had completely forgotten about (I think they were in RotTR) pops up and starts taunting me. It was like "Hey Lara! Remember me! I'm gonna kill you!" and I had no idea of who they were, haha.
If nothing else, this game did make me want to go back and replay the first game in this reboot series, as well as Tomb Raider Anniversary which I also reinstalled. I love the platforming and puzzle solving in that game, I remember the levels being huge and so satisfying to finally solve.
For a game focused on an iconic character, this core aspect is a massive failure. Lara is inconsistent, shallow, and just plain boring. They might as well have put a character creator in there so you could make your own Tomb Raider, that would have been more interesting, because they don't have a single good idea for the character of Lara Croft.
I loved Tomb Raider 2013, but I gave up on Rise fairly quickly. For some reason the upgrade trees and back tracking bothered me more in Rise than it did in the original. I wanted it to be a more linear game.
Didn't even bother with Shadow.
Didn't even bother with Shadow.
You can't deliver the exact same shitty characters, story, and samey adventure three times in a row and expect the reviews to stay the same.
Shadow doesn't offer anything noteworthy except some good exploration and tombs and is noticeably worse in the narrative department. Therefore it had very little impact, as you'd expect.
Shadow doesn't offer anything noteworthy except some good exploration and tombs and is noticeably worse in the narrative department. Therefore it had very little impact, as you'd expect.
The story is so bad I couldn't bother to finish it after the jungle section/ 1st hour of the game. I really enjoyed the 1st game, played on the 360,PS4, and PC, finished it on all 3 systems. The 2nd game wasn't as good, the story took a massive nose dive, and the characters were unlikable. Still I beat it on PS4,XB1, and PC. Cant see myself going back to finish it, the games just got worse after each release.
I legit feel this a valid angle too.
Franchise had massive hype after TR2013 and it... well went places for sure
Regarding game mechanics, it's not the most outstanding title out there regarding exploration or action, and it was difficult to pull a Naughty Dog since story-wise they didn't make Lara Croft interesting to follow as a character, as AcidCat said, nor the worldbuilding captivating enough.
It was funny how Jonnah was basically a different character every entry 😅 His faces didn't help...
Next time, if they are going to have Ms. Gail Simone around, instead of the comic tie-ins, let her write the main game story, a self-contained story, with a proper arc allocated in one single title.
But dunno, let Ryota Suzuki direct the next one or something. Do something fun and new with the franchise, more dinos :D
It was funny how Jonnah was basically a different character every entry 😅 His faces didn't help...
Next time, if they are going to have Ms. Gail Simone around, instead of the comic tie-ins, let her write the main game story, a self-contained story, with a proper arc allocated in one single title.
But dunno, let Ryota Suzuki direct the next one or something. Do something fun and new with the franchise, more dinos :D
I loved the first two, and I dropped SOTTR (playing on an Xbox One X) at the point you get to the open world village.
Looking back, my issue wasn't the open-ness of the world; the series had explored this before.
It was the pointlessness and lack of reward of some of the side quests. They honestly started to feel like filler, which I had not encountered in the other two games.
It's a fine balance. There's a lot to be said for Uncharted's linear, polished, focussed experience that never loses your attention. Personally, I love open world elements - but they have to feel rewarding.
For me at least though, they didn't in SOTTR; and that's when I dropped the game for other pursuits. I hope to pick it up again one day, and deliberately mainline the story through to the finish.
(Not for nothing though - I really don't like the look of this new Lara. Something about the character model is off-putting, and I couldn't really get into the mindset she was the same character as the protagonist I'd followed in the first two entries).
Looking back, my issue wasn't the open-ness of the world; the series had explored this before.
It was the pointlessness and lack of reward of some of the side quests. They honestly started to feel like filler, which I had not encountered in the other two games.
It's a fine balance. There's a lot to be said for Uncharted's linear, polished, focussed experience that never loses your attention. Personally, I love open world elements - but they have to feel rewarding.
For me at least though, they didn't in SOTTR; and that's when I dropped the game for other pursuits. I hope to pick it up again one day, and deliberately mainline the story through to the finish.
(Not for nothing though - I really don't like the look of this new Lara. Something about the character model is off-putting, and I couldn't really get into the mindset she was the same character as the protagonist I'd followed in the first two entries).
