They did it again folks, the worst assault rifle in gaming returns...

While i enjoyed my time overall more with the first game, this one aint too shabby itself. In fact, id say its pretty damn solid, if not a little too long.

technically, i ADORED this game. the part i loved the most was all the small engine touches like how how when you get close to a wall or tree, lara will push off it. or how when you get close to a fire, she'll turn towards it to keep warm. all these little touches and details really make the world and lara feel real. also really liked the general lighting and water/wet effects on the clothing.

in terms of the game play, it most definitely feels better in some parts (climbing and general traversal mainly), but i didnt enjoy using the guns as much and rarely found myself ever using the bow over the silenced handgun. the shotgun felt weaker this time around sadly, and the assault rifle is still one of the worst in gaming. the melee felt WAY better this time around however which i appreciated which brings me to my next point... the stealth in this game is WAY better and overall a blast to pull off compared to the first. i found myself restarting encounters and going out of my way just to do segments as stealthy as possible due to the sheer amount of options and ways to tackle a situation which i endlessly enjoyed, it almost in a way reminded me of mgs 5.
however, shifting over to the other aspects of the game play...
the platforming was most certainly improved this time around, and i loved some of the open segments that would allow you to explore and do small side quests, but largely i didnt find myself enjoying the overall experience as much as the first game. for starters, i miss the variety. tomb raider had a lot of cool segments that mixed up the game play switching from action, to horror, to stealth constantly to prevent the game from ever just becoming shoot and shoot and shoot (which this game pretty much only does outside of one or two moments, which rock too be fair). I also found A LOT of the puzzles in this game to be very confusing and infuriatingly unfun at times, youtube was my bff for sure. also lara was pretty unlikable this time around

I was a big fan of the "survival" aspects of this game, i just wish it would of went harder. i wish you needed to occasionally eat or at least get a buff for making food, replace bandages maybe. maybe have it where when you get wet, other than acting cold it actually debuffs you until you get dry or something to that effect. maybe have clothing matter and a camo system like mgs 3 depending on the outfits since it felt like a system only really added to sell dlc costumes.

The story in this game was... alright, i didnt enjoy it nearly as much as 1. i liked aspects of it and the characters were nice but it overall was pretty predictable... like... VERY predictable. doesnt mean i didnt still like it, just wasnt as campy and fun as the first.

all in all though, if you liked the first game, this game is a must play. i enjoyed it a lot more than i didnt, and although it was disappointing they didnt improve too much off the first i still had a very pleasant time. in any other scenario i would say this game is a 4/5 but with the existence of the first i just cant rate it as high