Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration PS4 Review

Lara finally makes her way back to Sony fans, with a few new tricks up her sleeve.

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Lara’s always belonged on Playstation. It was a strange move making her Xbox exclusive for a year, but she’s home again with Rise of the Tomb Raider’s 20 Year Celebration – a package that brings all of the fantastic DLC together (and a few new surprises) for those patient fans who’ve been awaiting Lara’s return.

Story:

Following her rather rubbish introduction to expeditions in the traumatic Tomb Raider, you’d forgive Lara for chilling out away from gunfire, explosions and bad guys for a while, but thankfully for us this isn’t the case. The new, stronger Lara comes out swinging in Rise of the Tomb Raider, ready to get back to shooting and spelunking in equal measure.

After her father’s death, Lara is determined to prove his final obsessions worthwhile and to disprove his detractors. Following up on his last leads, Lara soon discovers new evidence concerning the ‘secret of immortality’, but also inadvertently helps out a bunch of bad guys known as Trinity to sniff out the trail as well. And so begins a frantic race to the finish.

The characterization is especially great in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Lara becomes more three dimensional than she ever has done before. Some excellent writing – especially campfire monologues – lend Lara an authenticity the heroine has never really enjoyed before. The villains feel a bit flat in comparison, and their motives are simple at first, but even they have twists and turns I didn’t see coming and some real depth to them before the tale reaches its end.

Gameplay:

Rise of the Tomb Raider is much the same beast we got to know in 2013. There’s an excellent balance of explosive action and serene exploration that really works. Crystal Dynamics have tapped into a near-perfect pace here, with neither aspect outstaying its welcome.

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Combat sees Lara acquiring and upgrading a huge array of multi-purpose weapons and hand-crafted, makeshift explosives as her adventure continues. This arsenal is an absolute blast to get to grips with and use to take down an endless supply of bad guys, and should you opt for the guns-blazing approach Rise is a sharp, punchy experience. I preferred to take my time with each smartly designed area, stealthing my way around every base or outpost and carefully picking guards off with distractions and silent takedowns. The fact that Rise of the Tomb Raider delivers on both these approaches so satisfyingly is brilliant, and you can upgrade and evolve your Lara to match your own playstyle through interesting level up choices.

Exploring the vast, varied world of Rise of the Tomb Raider is also fantastic fun. There are crafting components, artefacts, relics and pieces of gear to collect in every area. A collectible heavy game like this can sometimes feel like busywork, but through clues you find reading ancient stone monoliths or helpful maps left by bad guys, you can uncover each secret on your map and find them effortlessly. This removes the annoying aspect of fruitlessly searching for stuff whilst also rewarding you for smart play, and I really appreciated this step away from needless obfuscation.

You can also hunt the wildlife from treetops with a bow and arrow – an addition I liked way too much – skin your prey and craft even cooler stuff. Below ground, however, there is a huge amount of optional tombs to raid – a title drop this series desperately needed. As Lara becomes her namesake she opens up a more puzzle-driven experience that is infinitely rewarding and exciting. These tombs represent some of Rise’s best design, and I won’t spoil any of their varied challenges here; they’re truly special and must be experienced first-hand.

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There’s loads to do outside of the cinematic, set-piece infused story, but not all of it is equally as engaging. Whilst I loved the challenge tombs and crafting bigger and better gear, a lot of the NPCs you come across in Tomb Raiders world offer dull side quests. These range from shooting some computers to rescuing hostages, but they very rarely play with the game’s core systems in a way I felt worthwhile. Despite the solid gameplay these missions are based in, they still come across as lazy fetch quests, and I would have preferred they not be here at all. I completed the majority of them – though you can skip them if you feel like it – but they never really tasked me to do anything that exciting.

Good

  • Pure fun from start to finish
  • Loads of extras to see and do
  • 20 Year bonuses are brilliant

Bad

  • Villains are a little two dimension at first
  • Endless collectibles can be a little dull
9

Amazing

Story - 8.5
Graphics - 9
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 9.5
Value - 9.5
Reviewer - GamerKnights

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