Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration Reviews

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is ranked in the 96th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Apr 6, 2017

Rise of the Tomb Raider represents a graphical leap forward from its predecessor, but the rest of the changes are merely minor tweaks and refinements to a formula that is starting to feel rather tired due to a certain other series having done this many times before.

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Az Elias
Top Critic
7 / 10
Oct 31, 2016

It is still hoped that Lara is isolated a bit more in her next quest, as minimal interaction with other characters is where Tomb Raider has worked best, but it has been necessary to shape her personality in this storyline. The rebooting isn't quite there yet, but Rise of the Tomb Raider is sure-fire proof that Crystal Dynamics is on the right track, as the essence of Tomb Raider is alive and kicking here, with plenty of promise for the future. The gameplay mechanics and Lara's determination are more or less solidified, barring an overreliance on the Survival Instincts feature, so now it's just a case of carrying that through into her next adventure and expanding on the already-great atmosphere, freedom and tomb raiding that has been applied in this chapter of Lara's story. There is certainly plenty of bang for the buck in this edition, ensuring PlayStation 4 owners are getting the best deal if they have held out to purchase it.

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3.5 / 5.0
Oct 10, 2016

I’m still excited to see how Lara grows from here; there’s clearly still a lot of story left for the teams over at Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics to tell. While it’s still niggling at my mind that Trinity was introduced in this entry just to lead into a potential sequel, there’s always the hope that we’re being set up for much grander and epic adventures.

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Oct 12, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider is frustrating on one level because it’s so completely in thrall of the blockbuster system that you can feel the creative frustration on several levels through the game, from its storytelling through level design. That frustration has resulted in a blockbuster that almost breaks free of its limitations at times, and it’s certainly an enjoyable game. It’s just that it would be interesting to see what the developers could come up with if they had a more limited budget (and thus lower sales expectations, allowing them to go after a more specific audience with a more focused game).

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8 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2016

The formulaic plot, and some immersion-breaking moments don’t take away too much from this being quite a fun adventure, with a ton to do and return to. Plus you can unlock pointy-boobs Lara from Tomb Raider.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 10, 2016

With a wealth of new content to enjoy, on top of the already excellent and expansive base game, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration just about makes up for its late debut onto PS4.

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Oct 18, 2016

The material grants a depth and poignancy to Lara’s zealous chase across the globe to finish her father’s work.

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Sep 30, 2016

The PS4 version isn’t quite the definitive edition, but the smoother frame rate and more responsive gameplay makes a great Tomb Raider even greater. The new Blood Ties mode is an interesting adventure that gives us time to go deeper into Lara’s back story, while the Lara’s Nightmare mode is a fun, fast-paced action challenge. Throw in the other extras and the enhanced, co-op friendly Endurance mode and you have a package to make the wait worthwhile. Sometimes being the second-best adventure of the year is more than good enough.

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8 / 10
Oct 13, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the complete package for both newcomers and series veterans. Barring some wonky gunplay, the base game is superb, with its sublime exploratory mechanics, wonderful semi-open world hubs that deliver tons of side content, and sensational graphics. Lara's Nightmare does feel like a bit of a throwaway, but Blood Ties and the Baba Yaga DLC are more than worth your time if you want to stray away from the main adventure. Lara Croft is back where she belongs, and you owe it to yourself to join the 20 year celebration and get back to some tomb raiding.

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Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
8 / 10
Oct 10, 2016

It was already a worthy follow-up to the Tomb Raider reboot, but with all the DLC, and some interesting new extras, this is not only a good game but also a great bargain.

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Wccftech
Top Critic
8.4 / 10.0
Oct 20, 2016

Setting foot in Croft Manor is an enjoyable afternoon experience, doubly so if you're an early adopter of PlayStation VR. While not integral to the Tomb Raider story, there's something to celebrate if you've already waited this long for the complete experience.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 10, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider remains an incredible product for action/adventures fans. The twentieth anniversary edition is obviously the most complete: there are four additional mini-adventures, which extend the game experience, focusing on the figure of Lara, and playing with the emotional value of memories.

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85 / 100
Oct 10, 2016

It was well worth the wait.

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86%
Oct 14, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider is an excellent game. The graphics are outstanding and the story is well written with interesting characters. Overall an enjoyable game.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2016

Finally the wait is over, as Rise of the Tomb Raider is available for PS4 owners with the release of the 20 Year Celebration. It’s packed with added content that ensures that one of 2015 best games now becomes one of the best games of 2016. It’s time to celebrate all things Tomb Raider!

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Oct 10, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider remains a sumptuous gameplay cake, and 20 Year Celebration just adds some nice icy frosting for those PS4 gamers who were patient enough to wait.

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9 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider is as close to flawless as video games get.

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Oct 11, 2016

While I found myself a tad bit underwhelmed when playing through 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' last year, I'm thoroughly impressed with how much has been added to the game since then. Each piece of DLC has added something unique to the package, be it online co-op or an excuse to battle hordes of zombies. Some of it definitely meshes with the 'Tomb Raider' formula better than others, but the amount of variety is appreciated. There has never been a better time to experience Lara Croft's latest adventure, and the great writing found in 'Blood Ties' makes me excited for the next entry in the series.

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Game Debate
Joffy S
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Oct 16, 2016

All in all this package escalates Rise of the Tomb Raider from a strong game to an excellent one. There were a few reservations as to how much gameplay you were getting for your money with the original, but this right here answers that with aplomb. There’s heaps to on top of the standard campaign and for the most part it’s of a good quality. The original faults remain, namely that Rise of the Tomb Raider lacks the original thinking of the reboot, but what is here is slick, polished fun. If you haven’t picked up Rise of the Tomb Raider yet then is without doubt the package to go for, but if you do already own it on a different platform then I’d recommend waiting for a sale to pick up the extras.

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4.5 / 5.0
Oct 10, 2016

After such a long wait, PlayStation 4 users finally get to experience Rise of the Tomb Raider in all its glory, and then some.

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