This is the third and final game in the Tomb Raider reboot survival series series. Taking place primarily in and around the Amazon jungle, it is a refreshing change of setting from the previous games taking place primarily in average and snowy areas.
I've also always seen Uncharted as Sony's boring answer to Tomb Raider, seeing as how it is the same thing, but with a male protagonist, no movement tech, no mysticism and no gadgets except sometimes a flashlight and grenades.
Pros:
+ A lot of improvements made over the previous game. Impressive visuals, better animations, more content, more settings, better menus, better performance/optimizations and improved mechanics. This also now supports hdr and has calibration for it, although max luminescence is limited by today's display standards
+ Decent plot contains what you expect from Tomb Raider; thrills, drama, adventure and mysticism
+ Great atmosphere
+ Attention to detail, and water now finally cleans Lara
+ Linear design for the most part. Optional side quests and tombs available, granting substantial rewards such as new or upgraded skills half the time. Additional tombs and tomb replays available from main menu
+ Tombs are often not too difficult and not too easy
+ Decent sound effects and design
+ Climbing, gunplay and bowplay is tight and good
+ Crafting is simple and not made tedious
+ Very generous with fall damage
+ Use of physics tech, such as Purehair and mud deformation
+ Large animal/wildlife variety
+ Emphasis on survival didn't make you tediously manage temp, hunger, etc.
+ Additional difficulty settings
+ Free DLC
Cons:
- Frequent, large hint overlays do not go away after encountering them numerous times. You can only disable all or leave them all on
- Story beats are the usual for these types of games; somewhat predictable
- Loading screen tips and some in-game context menu prompts don't display the correct rebinded keys
- Human enemies are still quite generic and dumb, and some animals loop their paths and act unnatural
- X-Ray vision (Survival Instincts), although harder difficulties turn it off. They've also separated it into different versions and uses, each with their own button
- A bit less linear than I prefer
- Paid DLC
Mixed:
~ QTEs
~ Perspective changed to over-the-shoulder, as opposed to the previous Tomb Raider game series always being standard third person. It is also a lot more cinematic than previous titles, along with less player agency
I'd say overall this is definitely better than both the first game of the trilogy and Rise of the Tomb Raider, and my favorite of the trilogy. While still having some unwanted AAA tropes, it is enjoyable for the most part.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
