The beautiful settings and environments along with undeniably fun gameplay help make up for a painfully generic story. Predictable story beats and totally unremarkable and one note characters make for a pretty shallow experience that makes it hard to get emotionally invested. That being said, the gameplay is as rich as the first game, offering plenty of fun with puzzle solving, exploring and in combat. Even the simplest things as climbing in new environments is fun throughout.

Bugs here and there can add some unwanted aggravation, particularly with the climbing arrows which I found more cumbersome and time consuming to use than anything and dreaded any time I was forced to use them.

Rise of the Tomb Raider didn't quite have the punch that the first reboot game had, especially in its writing. However, the gameplay and look of the game are back and as strong as ever. Rise of the Tomb Raider overall succeeds for that. It's not something I don't think I'll ever be driven to play again due to a lack of any real emotional connection, but I'll look back on this game as a fun, scenic and at many times exciting adventure with one of gaming's most iconic heroines.