When arriving at the game's extremely large central hub city toward mid-game, I recall being a little frustrated. The amount of collectibles and size of that open-world city felt a bit distracting compared to the more linear storytelling of the Uncharted series and Tomb Raider (2013), which is what I prefer usually. But who knows how many hours and 7 DLC tombs later, I've had a major change of heart.
This game is phenomenal and definitely the best in the reboot trilogy. It features the best gameplay in the entire genre, in my opinion, meaning the combination of combat + traversal. It is just incredible to come upon one of the game's new environments or tombs and zip around in numerous ways. The FPS and graphical boosts on PS5 were a welcome addition in this area, too! But seriously, the gunplay & bow usage in this game is so. much. fun. It's dynamic and because of the different shells/arrows I could craft, I was always mixing up my approach. I also used stealth a ton. Everything about combat and movement is supremely satisfying and the jungle ruins you frequent could not be more impressively structured and drawn. I literally could not get enough.
The story is interesting, and how it continues the progression of Lara's character throughout the trilogy makes sense. I was left slightly wanting as this isn't the tight/knock 'em dead character work of Naughty Dog, but it's still great. I unexpectedly found myself immersed in reading all of the collectibles that I did find, so that by the end of the game I no longer found them a hindrance or time sink but a valuable method of world-building and additional storytelling.
I really hope that this isn't the last we see of Lara. She and Nathan Drake are two of my most favorite characters in all of gaming, movies, TV, you name it. And when her next story does begin, or this one continues, I'll be as excited as I've ever been to step back into her boots, pick up that bow and those climbing axes, and venture out to see what ancient relics and tales the world has in store for me.
This game is phenomenal and definitely the best in the reboot trilogy. It features the best gameplay in the entire genre, in my opinion, meaning the combination of combat + traversal. It is just incredible to come upon one of the game's new environments or tombs and zip around in numerous ways. The FPS and graphical boosts on PS5 were a welcome addition in this area, too! But seriously, the gunplay & bow usage in this game is so. much. fun. It's dynamic and because of the different shells/arrows I could craft, I was always mixing up my approach. I also used stealth a ton. Everything about combat and movement is supremely satisfying and the jungle ruins you frequent could not be more impressively structured and drawn. I literally could not get enough.
The story is interesting, and how it continues the progression of Lara's character throughout the trilogy makes sense. I was left slightly wanting as this isn't the tight/knock 'em dead character work of Naughty Dog, but it's still great. I unexpectedly found myself immersed in reading all of the collectibles that I did find, so that by the end of the game I no longer found them a hindrance or time sink but a valuable method of world-building and additional storytelling.
I really hope that this isn't the last we see of Lara. She and Nathan Drake are two of my most favorite characters in all of gaming, movies, TV, you name it. And when her next story does begin, or this one continues, I'll be as excited as I've ever been to step back into her boots, pick up that bow and those climbing axes, and venture out to see what ancient relics and tales the world has in store for me.