I first tried Rise of the Tomb Raider years ago on my old laptop, but it quickly turned into the Crysis of my setup, you know, that legendary game that punishes weak rigs mercilessly. My poor laptop protested harder than Lara climbing a frozen cliff, so I eventually had to quit. Fast forward to now, and with a proper gaming rig in hand, I finally got the chance to see this classic in all its Ultra High glory, and wow, it was like watching Lara Croft come off the screen in full HD sass.

Right from the beginning, the game’s visuals slapped me awake faster than a cold Siberian wind. Snowy peaks, lush forests, ancient ruins, every scene looked like a postcard I’d be proud to wallpaper my desktop with. Seeing Lara in high definition is a joy in itself: every detail from her gear scratches to the frost on her jacket adds layers to her already iconic presence. It’s like watching her level up from pixelated adventurer to movie-ready action hero right in front of your eyes.

Gameplay still holds up beautifully, too. The mix of exploration, stealth, intense gunfights, and clever puzzle moments keeps things moving without ever feeling stale. And even though I’m a seasoned gamer now, those intense climbing sections and timed stealth sneaks still had me gritting my teeth, once or twice I muttered, “Seriously, Lara, grab the edge!” It’s a perfect blend of cinematic thrills and satisfying mechanics that proves this franchise can deliver on all fronts.

All in all, Rise of the Tomb Raider clicked with me in a way it never did back in the laptop days, and with good reason. Seeing it run on Ultra High feels like giving Lara the hero’s welcome she deserves. Whether you’re here for jaw-dropping visuals, heart-pounding action, or just to finally see what all the hype was about, this game is absolutely worth your time and your hardware’s love. Now excuse me while I go complain about freezing fields and killer wolves, same old Tomb Raider, just shinier.

I used to avoid any Tomb Raider game when I was a teenager because I've always been a huge Uncharted fan (and a playstation fanboy when it really was a customer-caring company). I was trapped in that hooligan-like mentality that makes you feel like a traitor if you root for another team, or play a "rival" series game, in this case.

I played the 2013 game and that one really didn't surprise me with anything in particular, it was a very "okay" game, but this one is really the top tier of the series.

the graphics are amazing for a 11-year-old game, there's a lot of content and different game modes, way more than the 2013 one had, the best of them are the Endurance game mode, Cold Darkness, and Score Attack levels, besides the campaign itself. there are also some other DLCs like Lara's nightmare and that croft manor missions that I don't remember the exact name of. both fun, but pretty short.

the gameplay is pretty solid and challenging. I encountered no bugs in almost 70 hours of playing and the story is interesting enough to keep your dopamine-fried brain with a goldfish attention span paying attention to the cutscenes without skipping any of them.

the only problem that you might have is the horrible netcode this game has when playing endurance co-op mode. I constantly lost connection after some in-game days in the forest and all the progress was lost. the only way to avoid that is to stay as close as you can from your partner. (there's a guide here on steam explaining it better than I just did).

this game does not have a multiplayer game mode like the 2013 one had, being the endurance co-op the only one with any online interactivity.

awesome game with an awesome price when it gets on sale, definitely a good deal.

i love it