Shadow of the Tomb Raider Reviews
It has all the trappings of a triple-A game at first glance, but it doesn't quite manage to distinguish itself from the rest of the series. This is especially apparent when compared to its predecessor that took the series in drastic new directions. In an overcrowded fall season that is packed with $60 games, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" needed to do more.
Eidos Montreal applies its signature gameplay touches to Tomb Raider, making for the series's most satisfying balance of combat, exploration, and puzzle solving. Unfortunately these mechanical successes are let down by a journey that fails to deliver a compelling study of Lara's personal shadows.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is darker, more beautiful and more creative than its predecessors, making it definitely the best part of the reboot series.
Review in German | Read full review
Lara Croft still does not make the most coherent decisions (let alone the wisest ones), but at last she shows a bit of that vulnerability that they had shown us, hand in hand with their more visceral aspect.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Review in Italian | Read full review
As what may be the last hoorah for this particular story arc, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a stereotypical stealth-action game, but one which manages to separate itself from the pack by excelling in everything that makes this genre what it is.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a perfect example of a modern AAA video game. It has all the polish and extraordinary visuals you'd expect from the third entry in a huge franchise, but it's also held back by uninspired writing and an emphasis on archaic video game conventions like boring gunplay. These weaknesses detract from the overall experience, but it still manages to be a fun, polished, and absolutely beautiful game.
Devoid of context, this is the action-adventure title of our dreams, executed on an astonishing technical level.
That being said, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is still absolutely worth playing, and it's an easy recommendation. There's challenge to its gameplay, of which every facet feels great to control.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an enjoyable action-adventure for the most part, yet frequently falls victim to a haphazard narrative and structural pacing that stops the trilogy's finale from truly standing out.
The ability to play your way, no matter what, make Lara Croft's latest journey worth taking.
With Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we get one of the best episodes of the whole franchise. It doesn't intend to revolutionize the formula the reboot put in place in 2013, but it has a quite interesting story and a dashing setting, offers a well balanced experience and has a huge amount of challenges that will surely please a lot of virtual explorers.
Review in French | Read full review
Shadow of the Tomb Raider ends the series reboot, and it serves as a wonderful final chapter, bringing back all of the things that made the franchise a hit, while adding so much more.
Playing more like a massive expansion to Rise of the Tomb Raider rather than a new entry in the series, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is still a solid, if derivative, game.
All new Tomb Raider games were good, but Shadow of the Tomb Raider – despite some flaws – is the best of them all. It's the most balanced game in the series, with all the things Croft’s fans hanker for (with emphasis on fantastic exploration).
Review in Polish | Read full review
Lara is the main reason you'll play this game, and as long as you go into with the right expectations, you won't be disappointed.
Overall, you get a bigger adventure with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, as well as a bigger world to explore. To cap it all off, the story does the character justice by pushing Croft towards a more mature and badass persona through her obvious and logical flaws. It hits all the right notes and tries new things to give the series a different direction. In the end, it's an impressive upgrade from the last game.
Give me a female lead who wakes up, pisses out her diaphragm and does a shot of Jager while she's still on the toilet. Give me someone who is messy, who makes mistakes not out of a misguided and entitled sense of right and wrong, but because human beings are flawed and have complicated motivations. It's a tall order in an atmosphere where AAA games are designed just as much by their investors as they are their writers, but in the case of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I still wish they'd actually get their hands dirty.
Despite some minor flaws, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an excellent addition to the new trilogy that started with the reboot in 2013. The fact that this game favors exploration over action sequences is a huge plus for me. It's also worth mentioning it's one of the most beautiful looking games you will play all year long. If you liked the new Tomb Raider games, then you will certainly enjoy playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider as this game brings back to the roots of the series where it focuses more on exploration rather than action.