Rise of the Tomb Raider is the game I thought the last game would be mechanically: a survival lite experience with tight as hell platforming and merciless combat. I loved every moment I was climbing, exploring caves, raiding tombs, and popping heads... but any moment anyone opened their mouth I became so sad.

I feel like if you are going to make a narrative driven game, it is probably best you make the narrative good. Already off the rip, rich white lady saving a native tribe in Siberia already does not sound compelling, but consider how much blood she sheds to get there and how many bodies she steps over, this Lara Croft should not be giving any speeches about the value of human life whatsoever. The writing in this game is genuinely appalling and I'm wondering how any of it got past the editorial room.

That aside, most of the game isn't narrative driven. It is gameplay first this time around, and I can't say that I don't love it. It's probably the best Uncharted-like I've played in this regard. You need to gather resources to be able to craft on the fly equipment like arrows, traps, and heals. Not only that but this craftiness extends to the combat and puzzles, where you really have to think fast in order to ace an encounter. I had my fill of the exploration after I beat the game, it's extremely satisfying.

If you skip the cutscenes, you probably could make the case that Rise is amazing, but it only reaches slightly better than good for me.