Tomb
Raider was one of the few games I played on the first Playstation
console, let alone completed. And I have distinct memories—the
unique gameplay (for its time) and satisfaction of having finished it
without assistance helping solidify this. (Online guides were still
a thing of the future in 1996.) It was thus an interesting
experience, twenty years later, to play Crystal Dynamic’s Tomb
Raider: Definitive Edition. Lara Croft for the 21st century, it
was a lesson on how far games have both evolved and devolved.
One
of my distinct memories of the first Tomb Raider is how much
discovery and problem solving was involved, and the relative
difficulty. There were various gun fights, but the majority of the
game was focused on locating puzzle pieces, finding levers to open
gates, moving bits of the environment to access other areas, locating
switches that open certain doors, and coming upon the right ledge or
tunnel to get to the next area. A lot of trial and error involved,
progress was sometimes easy, and sometimes frustratingly just out of
reach. I cannot say the same about Tomb Raider: DE—which is
not a bad thing by default, just an observation.
Tomb
Raider: DE is a story/action-based rather than puzzle-based
experience. And in the context of modern, big-budget video games,
this means silver-screen cinematics and set pieces play a big role,
similar to the Uncharted series. With the focus on problem solving
no longer primary, Tomb Raider: DE aims to be the origin story
of how Lara Croft became Lara Croft, and the gun fighting, treasure
finding, and platforming action that go hand in hand. On a ship
heading to the islands of Japan to do research, Lara starts the game
as a timid yet intelligent graduate student. At odds with Dr. Whitman
about where to begin their archaeological expedition for Yamatai the
Sun Goddess, Lara is able to convince the rest of the crew, and they
point the ship toward a group of islands where she believes new
discoveries await. Their ship caught in the teeth of a storm,
however, it capsizes and the crew is washed ashore. Lara coming to
consciousness tied up by a strange cult member inside a cave, she
escapes and finds the rest of the crew, and together they try to get
off the island. Certain forces, human or otherwise, contrive to stop
them, however.
For
the first two or three hours of Tomb Raider: DE I was saying
to myself: “This is just like Uncharted, this is just like
Uncharted…”, but the further I progressed, I was saying,
“This is just like Uncharted—but upgraded!”. The cut
scenes, the melodrama, the island/treasure adventure, the cover-based
gun fighting, the pulp storyline, the quick-time events, the mass
murder, the Parkour—all are clearly molded on Nathan Drake’s
adventures (ironic considering Drake was inspired by Lara Croft).
But Crystal Dynamics have added and subtracted from the Uncharted
formula to deliver a more rounded, satisfying game.
Where
the puzzle platforming and gun fights in Uncharted all too often
overstay their welcome (many seem to go on foreeeever) and exist
within a highly predictable cycle, Tomb Raider: DE keeps them
short and sweet and rotates in a larger number of interactive cut
scenes, one-time events, and mini-puzzles to break up any potential
formula, as well as maintain unpredictability and momentum. Dynamic
rather than rote, the game feels non-stop from the word go, not all
of which is combat. Add to this the fact developers add a wider
variety of mechanics (Lara’s bow and arrow are used for more than
just killing, the environments are more interactive, and the action
sequences are not all straight-forward shooting given that stealth is
required in some situations). Tomb Raider: DE is simply the
more variegated game.
The
other major element which rounds out Tomb Raider: DE gameplay
in comparison to the Uncharted series is the upgrade system. Where
Uncharted is streamlined into a straight-ahead experience that allows
the player to literally run and gun, picking up and discarding
weapons as they go, Tomb Raider: DE adds a basic rpg system
that allows players to collect experience and salvage points to
enhance Lara and her weapons, respectively. In order to do this, the
game expands its linear story into a semi-open world
experience—emphasis on ‘semi’. If each chapter in Uncharted
can be thought of as a corridor the player must shoot and climb their
way through, then TR: DE widens the corridors and attaches
rooms. Each chapter still has an entrance and exit, but there is
more space within to explore/locate the items and collectibles
necessary for the rpg system. In no way is this an open world
experience like Witcher 3 or Horizon: Zero Dawn where
you never know what awaits around the corner, but getting Lara
through the levels is not always a linear experience.
My
criticisms of TR: DE, however, remain in line with the
Uncharted series. Full of holes, the storyline is disjointed at best
(i.e. engaging the thumbs far more than the brain). The player is
pushed to like Lara by the plot, yet the grandest side she displays
is a mass-murdering gymnast, i.e. difficult to be fully empathetic
with. And player agency is limited. Yes, there is more room to
explore the semi-open world environments for collectibles, but aside
from this, the player is pushed through the main storyline with no
agency or decision. Speaking of collectibles, where Uncharted kept
its system uselessly simple, Tomb Raider: DE is overflowing
with stuff. Journals, herbs, salvage, posters, experience points
(yes, boxes with experience points), animals, archeological items,
GPS caches, ammo, weapon parts—and that is not a complete list of
things the player can spend their time finding. My guess is that the
total time a player could spend collecting all these items is three
or four times as much as the time needed to complete the main
storyline.
Borrowing
from Naughty Dog’s playbook, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
feels like an Uncharted cinematic experience utilizing a Last of
Us rpg-type system to tell Lara Croft’s origin story.
Production is extremely good. Graphics, sound, UI, etc. are reasons
to praise the game (though, the voice acting from secondary
characters is at times spotty). Not a game that adheres to its
Playstation 1 roots (i.e. the main focus is not puzzling and problem
solving), rather, the 21st century Lara Croft works effectively
within the mold of the current generation’s games (i.e. linear
storytelling with integrated gun fighting and platforming). This
approach detracts from player agency and lateral thinking, but works
with the technical possibilities of new consoles to deliver a
bombastic, Hollywood experience. If you like Nathan Drake, you’ll
also like Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.
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