This review contains spoilers
What a wild fucking ride. I don't think the game is very flawed, but there's a whole lot of "good enough" elements here that limit it in some ways from being a favorite. Otherwise though, this is somewhat an unsung classic of the PS3/360 era I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did.
I think the story is a bit all over - I also have this issue with Uncharted, where I don't mind the slight sprinkling of "the mystical and unknown" but I think the adventure and globetrotting is enough to be exciting without it. Thus, I never fully was on board with the "Sun Queen" plot, along with the multiple other weird setups. (the hell was with the cannibal cave prison?) If anything, all the memes about this game's weird fetish for torture and survival was undersold - this game is a bit too weird about really putting Lara through it, to make a point about her "being a survivor". I do think her growth in mannerisms over the game is very interesting, but the method to get there felt over the top as a whole.
The gameplay though? God damn, stellar. I never felt like I truly "mastered" combat until basically the last two areas of the game, but I still enjoyed the flow of it nonetheless (+ it felt somewhat synonymous with the story). There's a fun fluidity you get with swapping between weapons, each having a very situational use. Using that in conjunction with the enviormental hazards ends up with a combat flow that feels amazing when you really get it right, but still good enough even beefing it. It's only flaw is not having a good way to deal with being surrounded - both with being aware of enemies behind you and having a combat solution for those situations.
More than the combat though, the open world was great. I always found myself super impressed with the openness of the map, yet its super smart guiding to lead the player exactly where the next plot point was. I never felt lost in the slightest - maybe to even the game's detriment, as I never felt much of an inkling to go out and hunt for scrap or hidden tombs. The tombs themselves are sadly a mixed bag. I find it kind of incredible these feel like a prototype or early implementation of Breath of the Wild's Shrines, but they also feel so much smaller and shorter in scope for it. Every time I finished one, I felt wanting more exploration of its specific "mechanic" or puzzle. They were still really rewarding moments regardless.
All in all, truly an amazing title I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did and really nails the Ubisoft "open map" gameplay style in a way that feels both a great homage to the original trilogy and truly setting a path for its own.
I think the story is a bit all over - I also have this issue with Uncharted, where I don't mind the slight sprinkling of "the mystical and unknown" but I think the adventure and globetrotting is enough to be exciting without it. Thus, I never fully was on board with the "Sun Queen" plot, along with the multiple other weird setups. (the hell was with the cannibal cave prison?) If anything, all the memes about this game's weird fetish for torture and survival was undersold - this game is a bit too weird about really putting Lara through it, to make a point about her "being a survivor". I do think her growth in mannerisms over the game is very interesting, but the method to get there felt over the top as a whole.
The gameplay though? God damn, stellar. I never felt like I truly "mastered" combat until basically the last two areas of the game, but I still enjoyed the flow of it nonetheless (+ it felt somewhat synonymous with the story). There's a fun fluidity you get with swapping between weapons, each having a very situational use. Using that in conjunction with the enviormental hazards ends up with a combat flow that feels amazing when you really get it right, but still good enough even beefing it. It's only flaw is not having a good way to deal with being surrounded - both with being aware of enemies behind you and having a combat solution for those situations.
More than the combat though, the open world was great. I always found myself super impressed with the openness of the map, yet its super smart guiding to lead the player exactly where the next plot point was. I never felt lost in the slightest - maybe to even the game's detriment, as I never felt much of an inkling to go out and hunt for scrap or hidden tombs. The tombs themselves are sadly a mixed bag. I find it kind of incredible these feel like a prototype or early implementation of Breath of the Wild's Shrines, but they also feel so much smaller and shorter in scope for it. Every time I finished one, I felt wanting more exploration of its specific "mechanic" or puzzle. They were still really rewarding moments regardless.
All in all, truly an amazing title I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did and really nails the Ubisoft "open map" gameplay style in a way that feels both a great homage to the original trilogy and truly setting a path for its own.