My journey through the Tomb Raider trilogy has come to it's end, and it's been quite the adventure. The trilogy started out a little bumpy with Tomb Raider (2013), but then eventually found it's stride with Rise of the Tomb Raider, which was a vast improvement over it's predecessor. In the end it all ended on a high note with Shadow of the Tomb Raider which followed directly in the footsteps of it's predecessor with some slight improvements.
Overall, I would say that Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider are equals, if it weren't for some small things that nudges Shadow of the Tomb Raider slightly above it's main competitor. The game does pretty much all that it's predecessor does, but with some small additions to the gameplay that add some more flavour and variety. The mud concealment mechanic for example doesn't really do much on a mechanical level, but it finally adds that ferocious jungle predator vibe that I was longing for in Tomb Raider (2013), but misleadingly never got. The biggest addition though is the underwater segments that are a bit of a double edged sword. It brings a new dynamic to the world which is often visually stunning to explore, but with some slightly cumbersome controls that brings the experience down a bit. Especially when you combine the controls with subpar underwater stealth segments that involve piranhas that are frustratingly enough one-hit kills.
So that's it for the Tomb Raider trilogy. As I said in the beginning of this review, which incidentally happens to also be the name of the trophy I got for completing the game; it was quite the adventure. Not perfect, but a nice adventure nonetheless (as long as you skip the first game).
Overall, I would say that Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider are equals, if it weren't for some small things that nudges Shadow of the Tomb Raider slightly above it's main competitor. The game does pretty much all that it's predecessor does, but with some small additions to the gameplay that add some more flavour and variety. The mud concealment mechanic for example doesn't really do much on a mechanical level, but it finally adds that ferocious jungle predator vibe that I was longing for in Tomb Raider (2013), but misleadingly never got. The biggest addition though is the underwater segments that are a bit of a double edged sword. It brings a new dynamic to the world which is often visually stunning to explore, but with some slightly cumbersome controls that brings the experience down a bit. Especially when you combine the controls with subpar underwater stealth segments that involve piranhas that are frustratingly enough one-hit kills.
So that's it for the Tomb Raider trilogy. As I said in the beginning of this review, which incidentally happens to also be the name of the trophy I got for completing the game; it was quite the adventure. Not perfect, but a nice adventure nonetheless (as long as you skip the first game).