3.5/5

Even though this is still a really good game, Rise of the Tomb Raider does things pretty much the same or better in most cases.

The scenery and world design is still breathtaking, with a beautiful South American jungle setting. The optimization and the graphics are so good that it's being used as THE benchmark even today, many years after it's release.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3305433181
The open-world is decent in size, pretty populated with a number of small side-missions, so it's still a lot of content here. It does feel like they wanted to focus more on the exploration part here rather than combat, and personally I didn't mind it - tombs felt bigger and equally cool as in RoTR, and challenges felt more engaging than before. However, the lack of combat encounters and having the same old skill tree, while also keeping all the weapon variations and weapon upgrades does feel kind of weird and pointless. One of the things I noticed immediately and has been bugging me for the whole playthrough were the NPC voice lines - in English there are only about three different voice actors that voice all the NPCs in the game. In the native language there are more actors, but still not enough to not make it obvious that there is only a handful of people doing these voice lines.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3302346318
I've already said in my previous review that RoTR has the best story line in the trilogy, and I still believe that. However, that does not mean this game's story is bad. It's a very interesting story about Mayan legends and ultimate discovery. The story is cohesive and it doesn't feel like it loses it's tempo over the time. I've also really enjoyed the interjected chapters of Lara's childhood. Why I still think this game is not as good as the previous one story-wise is because it's less emotion-driven. But I do think the side characters have been written better compared to the other games. Their motives all felt much more understanding, making them intriguing.

When it comes to mechanics they're pretty much the same compared to RoTR, which is great. There are a couple of few small additions, mostly in climbing mechanics. The combat feels exactly the same. About the only change is that most of the equipment is now obtainable via merchant shops rather than game progress itself. One thing that is new is that crypts now reward you with multiple craftable outfit parts, but all of this is on such a small scale that it doesn't really make sense to me why would this be added instead of just simple craftable outfits like it used to be. And as I said before, considering that in many missions here you're limited to a bow and the native outfit, keeping the same skill tree, weapon upgrades and then these different outfit pieces really doesn't feel necessary. It feels like the game had to be at least twice the size to make these features make some real sense.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3302333256
This game should still be considered a classic. A true Lara Croft Tomb Raider classic, focusing more on exploration and puzzles which made the franchise popular in the first place. And I personally think that playing Rise of the Tomb Raider and then this makes for a perfect little marathon where both of these amazing games compliment each other in the best possible sense with their great stories, vast open-worlds and many exciting features.

3.5/5 Even though this is still a really good game, Rise of the Tomb Raider does things pretty much the same or better in most cases. The scenery and world design is still breathtaking, with a beautiful South American jungle setting. The optimization and the graphics are so good that it's being used as THE benchmark even today, many years after it's release. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3305433181 The open-world is decent in size, pretty populated with a number of small side-missions, so it's still a lot of content here. It does feel like they wanted to focus more on the exploration part here rather than combat, and personally I didn't mind it - tombs felt bigger and equally cool as in RoTR, and challenges felt more engaging than before. However, the lack of combat encounters and having the same old skill tree, while also keeping all the weapon variations and weapon upgrades does feel kind of weird and pointless. One of the things I noticed immediately and has been bugging me for the whole playthrough were the NPC voice lines - in English there are only about three different voice actors that voice all the NPCs in the game. In the native language there are more actors, but still not enough to not make it obvious that there is only a handful of people doing these voice lines. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3302346318 I've already said in my previous review that RoTR has the best story line in the trilogy, and I still believe that. However, that does not mean this game's story is bad. It's a very interesting story about Mayan legends and ultimate discovery. The story is cohesive and it doesn't feel like it loses it's tempo over the time. I've also really enjoyed the interjected chapters of Lara's childhood. Why I still think this game is not as good as the previous one story-wise is because it's less emotion-driven. But I do think the side characters have been written better compared to the other games. Their motives all felt much more understanding, making them intriguing. When it comes to mechanics they're pretty much the same compared to RoTR, which is great. There are a couple of few small additions, mostly in climbing mechanics. The combat feels exactly the same. About the only change is that most of the equipment is now obtainable via merchant shops rather than game progress itself. One thing that is new is that crypts now reward you with multiple craftable outfit parts, but all of this is on such a small scale that it doesn't really make sense to me why would this be added instead of just simple craftable outfits like it used to be. And as I said before, considering that in many missions here you're limited to a bow and the native outfit, keeping the same skill tree, weapon upgrades and then these different outfit pieces really doesn't feel necessary. It feels like the game had to be at least twice the size to make these features make some real sense. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3302333256 This game should still be considered a classic. A true Lara Croft Tomb Raider classic, focusing more on exploration and puzzles which made the franchise popular in the first place. And I personally think that playing Rise of the Tomb Raider and then this makes for a perfect little marathon where both of these amazing games compliment each other in the best possible sense with their great stories, vast open-worlds and many exciting features.