Shadow of the Tomb Raider |OT| That Belongs in My Manor

[Billfisto]

Jonah was likeable at the start but now it's starting to annoy me, he doesn't have any solid motivation to tag along and him magically appearing at the end of each section while Lara goes through hell is just laughable.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, there's two things that bug me about the game:

1. Jonah always finds some easier path to wherever Lara's going. In most cases, Jonah wouldn't even have physically been able to take the path Lara was going (all the squeezing between rocks).
2. Once you're done doing all the ridiculous climbing and puzzling and whatnot and finally get to the end of the tomb, you usually just kick out the back wall or whatever and exit out into the normal jungle. It's like all the ancient civilizations only accounted for people coming from one direction.

 

[Deleted member 18106]

Oh hey wait a minute

Spoiler

Nothing ever came of their being a tomb or a crypt inside those giant stone faces at San Juan, did there?

There's a spot at the base of them that I guess screams "future DLC coming!," but wow, yeah, nothing.

I guess that's sorta my issue with Shadow - everything feels kinda arbitrary. There are far fewer combat encounters (not a bad thing!), but countless guns and gun upgrades and combat skills to get for them. Lara is supposed to learn consequence and responsibility from the deaths of others (they do OK with this, but only at the very end), but you never really hear her make a peep about anybody but Roth from her first disastrous expedition.

And I dunno, the idea that this centuries (?) old global paramilitary/shadow government organization all exists so one guy can throw the entire group under the bus to protect his village...eh I don't buy it.

Anyway. Beautiful, fun game. I certainly didn't have a bad time with it. But there's very little about it that's going to stick with me in the long run (especially compared to 2013 and Rise).

Any word on if the season pass DLC is going to have something on par with Rise's Baba Yaga DLC, or is it all just challenge tombs?

 

[Nephilim]

Finished the game today, also did quite most of the trophies because a lot of them were rather easy to get.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I've said it before, but its shortcomings just show how far and good some AAA games are today. Shadow would have been one hell of a game five years ago, but in 2018 certain parts of it just don't feel good enough. This is especially true for storytelling and caring about the stuff that happens on screen. The emotional connections the game tries to create between the player, Lara and her companions just doesn't work good enough.

Eidos still does a lot of things right with the third entry into the reboot trilogy. I really enjoyed the level design, Lara had to pull out a lot of tricks to get to her destinations. I think tombs were decently integrated into the main plot as well. Can't understand why some people complain Lara wasn't in tombs during the main quest, because they were. Optional cryptas and tombs were pretty good, too - much better than in the 2013 reboot for example. While the environments were mostly jungle jungle jungle, they were so beautiful that I never minded. The sound effects are just amazing, definitely play this with headphones on! I was not a big fan of the shooting mechanics, they lacked oomph, especially the machine gun. Some people might think it wasn't enough combat, but I personally welcomed it. It's quite bold for an AAA game to put the emphasis so strongly on exploration, it's truly an Action-ADVENTURE, not an action fest with some little platforming.

One thing I have to criticize is that Lara would frequently move despite I did not touch the left stick. It was rather frustrating and I've never experienced it with another game. Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere though, so I'm kinda wondering my controller might have an issue... But then, controls did not feel pinpoint accurate anyways, which would be my main point of criticism. I like challenging climbing, but not because controls don't work.

One thing I want to see in every other game: Customize your HUD and difficulty like in SoTR. It was brilliant to not use focus the whole game, it made the experience a lot better.

It's no GOTY stuff but I wasn't bored a second with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes similair stuff to me.

Click to shrink...

Little over halfway in and i agree almost on all points so far.
Didn't experience the input issue you mentioned.
One of the few things i don't like is that the player has no button to switch on and off the torchlight manually. Sometimes surroundings are too dark to see properly what's around, but Lara doesn't think to use the torchlight. Annoying.

I love this game, such an immersive and tense experience for me. SOTR makes me revaluate the whole reboot trilogy...

 

[crazillo]

Little over halfway in and i agree almost on all points so far.
Didn't expirience the input issue you mentioned.
One of the few things i don't like is that the player has no button to switch on and off the torchlight manually. Sometimes surroundings are too dark to see properly what's around, but Lara doesn't think to use the torchlight. Annoying.

I love this game, such an immersive and tense expirience for me. SOTR makes me revaluate the whole reboot trilogy...

Click to shrink...

Input issue is on my controller. I checked it with another game and already edited the post.

Will be happy to see what you think once you are finished then!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Finished. It's the best entry in what turned out to be a solidly decent trilogy. Its inflated self-seriousness remains my biggest gripe, so going forward, all I ask is that Lara makes good on her suggestion to

Spoiler

"not take myself too seriously."

Loved the ending, though. After all that time in the dank and dark, (well spent, mind you), it was nice to get a little light. The

Spoiler

T. rex

making it into the family portrait was a wonderful little touch.

 

[hydro94530]

Just found out you can check your playthrough time any time you want by turning on Frame Mode for a sec and looking in the bottom right. Awesome!

 

[Sir Guts]

A new patch just dropped. Anybody know what is it for?

 

[Gemüsepizza]

Thinking about buying the game, is there any disadvantage in buying the standard version + season pass (at a later point in time) vs. buying the Croft edition? It seems the only thing I would miss are "3 additional weapons & outfits" and "Additional Skills Booster Pack", but no exclusive missions or something like that, right?

 

[Equanimity]

Can I acquire the deadly obsession difficulty trophy in game+ mode or do I have a standard new game?

 

[Magoo]

Can I acquire the deadly obsession difficulty trophy in game+ mode or do I have a standard new game?

Click to shrink...

I got it in new game+

 

[Pilgrimzero]

I just got the shotgun and am ready for this to be over, how far from the end am I?

 

[Equanimity]

I got it in new game+

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the info. I am close to a platinum trophy, might as well get it.

 

[Tecton2]

Finished the game quite cool but..
Man I wish:

-this game had taken a more MGS Peacewalker/V approach with pockets of respawning soldiers and campgrounds to play with.
-Soldiers that change their gear depending on your style.
-Villagers to sneak in and rescue.
-Light armoured vehicles to avoid/disable.
-Hiding in the mud under small bridges etc as troops pass by cause some soldiers are super tough.
-More toys to unlock at the top end like decoys, and different pattern camos.
-electroshock /smoke arrows so I can do non lethal stealth with the bow
-Maya and Aztec melee weapons
-Soldiers with sniffer dogs which you can throw rations at to distract.
-More random jungle animals hunting each other in your path.
-Snipers in ghilley suits to take out.
-ghilley hats masks and facepaint for hiding in bushes better
-Climb almost anything gameplay within the "wide linear" map
-Randomised weather esp rainy monsoons and fogs
-photographing animals ,bugs, different frogs for info/collecting.
-playable Jonah who is melee strong but a bit slower than Lara
-jungle shorts
-braided ponytail unlocks late game
- twin pistols as the best weapons for an all out doom guy style lethal play through.
-A reason for Eli the worm.

 

[NeoRaider]

I just finished Cenotes part and i can only say: HOLY SHIT! It was absolutely incredible.
That atmosphere, that tomb, everything after that... i am still in shock. One of the best hubs in the whole trilogy, without any doubt. EM did THAT!

 

[slinch]

Finished the game quite cool but..
Man I wish:

-this game had taken a more MGS Peacewalker/V approach with pockets of respawning soldiers and campgrounds to play with.
-Villagers to sneak in and rescue.
-Light armoured vehicles to avoid/disable.
-More toys to unlock at the top end like decoys, electro/smoke arrows and different camos.
-Soldiers with sniffer dogs which you can throw rations at to distract.
-Snipers in ghilley suits to take out.
-ghilley hats masks and facepaint for hiding in bushes better
-Randomised weather esp rainy monsoons and fogs
-playable Jonah who is melee strong but a bit slower than Lara
-A reason for Eli the worm.

Click to shrink...

 

[psychedelic]

I reached Paititi recently and did some exploring and so far I'm really enjoying my time with this game, and it is already far better than Rise of the Tomb Raider to me. It feels fulfilling to explore the hub areas, and I think combat took a backseat here for good reason. I spend a lot of time just collecting stuff, crafting new items, unlocking skills, and going through the checklist of each area. Photo mode is also really cool and the challenge tombs are great. I think I would put this game right next to The Lost Legacy in terms of how good it is so far.

With that said, I think the game's main drawbacks are purely technical, and it would have been a better experience if there weren't so many glitches and odd platforming sections, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Xbox has a patch. Wonder if this fixes the tearing and some of those framedrops.

 

[Linus815]

I just got the shotgun and am ready for this to be over, how far from the end am I?

Click to shrink...

little over halfway probably.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

I'm having a great time in this game. I love the focus on exploration even though I definitely could have done with some more enemy encounters to use my weapons on. But all these cool temples, crypts, tombs are all great. Even if they are not all that challenging but honestly I don't mind that much.

But as great as all that is, some other things just seem a bit inconsistent. Right after I got the ability to shoot that arrow and string baddies up on tree branches I barely got encounters where I can actually put that ability to good use. Odd.

 

[Linus815]

I'm having a great time in this game. I love the focus on exploration even though I definitely could have done with some more enemy encounters to use my weapons on. But all these cool temples, crypts, tombs are all great. Even if they are not all that challenging but honestly I don't mind that much.

But as great as all that is, some other things just seem a bit inconsistent. Right after I got the ability to shoot that arrow and string baddies up on tree branches I barely got encounters where I can actually put that ability to good use. Odd.

Click to shrink...

If they cut the skill tree and xp bars, the game would improve quite a lot. Doing tombs would still earn you skills, but that's about it. the skill tree definitely feels like a "we had it in 2 games, we probably need it again" type of thing. There just isnt enough combat in the game to justify it.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

If they cut the skill tree and xp bars, the game would improve quite a lot. Doing tombs would still earn you skills, but that's about it. the skill tree definitely feels like a "we had it in 2 games, we probably need it again" type of thing. There just isnt enough combat in the game to justify it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the skill trees feel unnecessary indeed. They didn't think it through really because the merchants sell all kinds of guns and attachments but we don't get to put them to use often enough. I definitely applaud the dev for several things in this game but not for its inconsistencies in the game.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I wish this game had an alternate cover in the style of the 20th Anniversary Rise art.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Are there no executions in this game with the guns like in Rise?

 

[Jarrod38]

Finished the game today and it was fun. I really like the oil refinery section.

 

[Equanimity]

This game just glitched on me. I can't unlock the completionist trophy because it doesn't recognise one of the artifacts. I'm stuck on 99.88% :(

What a waste.

 

[Linus815]

This game just glitched on me. I can't unlock the completionist trophy because it doesn't recognise one of the artifacts. I'm stuck on 99.88% :(

What a waste.

Click to shrink...

This is a pretty common bug, so it may get patched.

 

[Nowise10]

Beat the game on Deadly Obsession.

Ending half of the game separates the boys from the men.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Feel like the sense of progression was so much better in Rise, it also felt natural.
So much stuff is just"here buy it from a merchant" in Shadow.

 

[Equanimity]

This is a pretty common bug, so it may get patched.

Click to shrink...

Oh I see, I am not going to wait for a patch. I was going to keep the game and buy the season pass as well but this bug has changed my mind.

 

[leng jai]

Feel like the sense of progression was so much better in Rise, it also felt natural.
So much stuff is just"here buy it from a merchant" in Shadow.

Click to shrink...

Yep that was another stupid design decision. In Rise you got most if not all of them by just playing but in Shadow you can finish the game and not get half the stuff if you don't realise it's from the vendor.

 

[WordsintheWater]

Just rolled credits on this, I thought it was pretty easily the worst of the 3. The story was overall bad, the gameplay was okay, but didn't have enough of the predator sections, there was one spot near the end of the game where it clicked and that was it, it never really occurred again and wasn't really present before this. The best thing I can say about this is the sound design was great and the graphics beautiful.

Overall the definition of a 6/10 for me, maybe a bit less than that.

The trilogy ranks like this in my opinion.

1. TR2013
2. Rises
3. Shadow

Rises and Shadow are way below the first in the series though.

 

[Valdega]

If they cut the skill tree and xp bars, the game would improve quite a lot. Doing tombs would still earn you skills, but that's about it. the skill tree definitely feels like a "we had it in 2 games, we probably need it again" type of thing. There just isnt enough combat in the game to justify it.

Click to shrink...

This is a weird mindset to me. At worst, the skill tree is superfluous and doesn't have any meaningful impact on the game. Therefore, removing it wouldn't make the game better or worse.

 

[Jack-O-Lantern]

Finished game. Overall i enjoyed more than Rise (i like jungle environments).

I played with 3D (Oled TV) and there was some greats immersive moments using the 3D effects. Very good (i wish more games used this 'dying' feauture).

 

[Yoday]

I finally installed my ceiling speakers, and tonight I got a few minutes to mess around in Shadow with Atmos. It's really impressive from what I've experienced so far, maybe the best use of Atmos I've heard outside of Dolby demo material.

 

[CosmicGP]

Finished the game quite cool but..
Man I wish:

-this game had taken a more MGS Peacewalker/V approach with pockets of respawning soldiers and campgrounds to play with.
-Soldiers that change their gear depending on your style.
-Villagers to sneak in and rescue.
-Light armoured vehicles to avoid/disable.
-Hiding in the mud under small bridges etc as troops pass by cause some soldiers are super tough.
-More toys to unlock at the top end like decoys, and different pattern camos.
-electroshock /smoke arrows so I can do non lethal stealth with the bow
-Maya and Aztec melee weapons
-Soldiers with sniffer dogs which you can throw rations at to distract.
-More random jungle animals hunting each other in your path.
-Snipers in ghilley suits to take out.
-ghilley hats masks and facepaint for hiding in bushes better
-Climb almost anything gameplay within the "wide linear" map
-Randomised weather esp rainy monsoons and fogs
-photographing animals ,bugs, different frogs for info/collecting.
-playable Jonah who is melee strong but a bit slower than Lara
-jungle shorts
-braided ponytail unlocks late game
- twin pistols as the best weapons for an all out doom guy style lethal play through.
-A reason for Eli the worm.

Click to shrink...

That sounds like a lot of fun but at that point, might as well make it a different 'female Rambo' game that's totally not about treasure-hunting. (yeah, I know, these reboots are already half-way there........ or was that your point?)

 

[Linus815]

This is a weird mindset to me. At worst, the skill tree is superfluous and doesn't have any meaningful impact on the game. Therefore, removing it wouldn't make the game better or worse.

Click to shrink...

It's just pointless clutter that breaks up the pacing and distracts the player. It also leads you to believe that the game is very combat focused with how many combat skills there are.

 

[Valdega]

It's just pointless clutter that breaks up the pacing and distracts the player. It also leads you to believe that the game is very combat focused with how many combat skills there are.

Click to shrink...

Was it really that distracting? I mean, once you realize that most of the skills are pretty useless, you can just ignore the skill tree entirely. There's nothing forcing you to buy skills and even if you feel compelled to, you can just randomly pick one because they don't really matter.

 

[ChemicalWorld]

Unfortunately putting my playthrough on hold due to Forza Horizon 4. Sorry but no game is taking me away from my car p0rn. :P

 

[Schlomo]

-photographing animals ,bugs, different frogs for info/collecting.

Click to shrink...

You go a little overboard with your wishlist, but this should absolutely have been in the game! Lara already has a camera and collects pictures, so this would have fitted perfectly. Maybe even take pictures of landmarks a la Uncharted Golden Abyss.

 

[Brutal Deluxe]

I finally installed my ceiling speakers, and tonight I got a few minutes to mess around in Shadow with Atmos. It's really impressive from what I've experienced so far, maybe the best use of Atmos I've heard outside of Dolby demo material.

Click to shrink...

I only have up-firing speakers but I agree 100%. Hands down the best use of Atmos I've heard to date. In the plane near the beginning as the rain is hitting harder and harder on the roof and when you 1st land in the jungle were standout moments so far (not too far into the game yet)

 

[Treasure Silvergun]

I've finished the game and tried a New Game+ on the highest difficulty, but I'm not going to get to the end of it. Redoing long, long stretches just because of a small mistake is unacceptable. I can't see how anyone could endure that in their first playthrough.

I'm in the camp that considers Shadow the weakest of the trilogy. The story could be interesting, if it wasn't so diluted by the bad pacing and frankly uninteresting characters. The gameplay sections are way too stretched and unbalanced. I'm not fond of the combat in Uncharted and TR, but in Shadow there's really too little of it to the point even I think there should be more. And hunting for a myriad collectibles in huge towns and jungles did become a chore by the later part of the game. Many documents are almost invisible in the environment, requiring you to abuse either Survival Instincts or Perception herbs.

Tombs seem to be as many as in previous TR games, but they were mostly more forgettable than in Rise. More than once I got to the end of a tomb and went, "That's it?". And yup, the skill tree is absolutely redundant.

Final bosses are a big problem for this kind of game. They tend to be gimmicky, unepic and unsatisfactory, and Shadow's makes no exception sadly.

In the end, the game's been the usual enjoyable romp, and no much more than that. It's hella pretty, that's for sure. I was surprised to see that even on a X1X, there was tearing and very long loading times even in Performance mode. I pretty much turned in my X1S and got a X1X to play this game properly, so I was a bit let down.

All things considered, I really think this series got it mostly right with the first game (and the original face design for Lara) and only went downwards. I enjoyed Rise even if the "sandbox" sections made the rhythm less fun, but in Shadow they went overboard with the "social" parts of the game to the detriment of pacing. After a while I was just going through the motions.

 

[thedas]

"LARA, ARE YOU OKAY?"

"ARE YOU OKAY LARA?!"

"ARE YOUU OKAY?"

FFS will Jonah ever shut up? He's so annoying. I preferred when he was just boring.

 

[noyram23]

Is it possible to get all skills on your playthrough? I'm planning to 100% it.

And god this game is wonky af. Sometimes Lara grabs to ledges sometimes she spaz out and doesn't. This is an unpolished game and you can easily see the cracks and seams within it.

And man Magical Jonah showing up in the end of each 'deadly' dungeon, always cracks me up.

 

[krae_man]

Man those primal enemies snarling gives me anxiety.

 

[sushimonster85]

Finally picked this up after finishing up Spider-Man. Its the first AAA game I have picked up on PC in a good while, do they give you the option to display PS4 controller button prompts, or do all PC games still assume you're playing with a Xbox controller?

 

[J_Viper]

The voice work from the villagers is 0/10 like holy FUCK is it bad

 

[Pilgrimzero]

"LARA, ARE YOU OKAY?"

"ARE YOU OKAY LARA?!"

"ARE YOUU OKAY?"

FFS will Jonah ever shut up? He's so annoying. I preferred when he was just boring.

Click to shrink...

"You've been been hit by, a smooth raider!" *moonwalks*

 

[Ada]

Nearing the end of the game and it isn't as good as Rise. Too much villager stuff/enemies who are easy kills. Too much Jonah, this character sucks and I don't care what happens to him. Not enough combat, wonky platforming mechanics and a tacked on jungle outfit system really bring this game down.

If this series continues in one form or another they really need to hire someone who can write a good story/characters.

 

[matrix-cat]

This is a weird mindset to me. At worst, the skill tree is superfluous and doesn't have any meaningful impact on the game. Therefore, removing it wouldn't make the game better or worse.

Click to shrink...

Was it really that distracting? I mean, once you realize that most of the skills are pretty useless, you can just ignore the skill tree entirely. There's nothing forcing you to buy skills and even if you feel compelled to, you can just randomly pick one because they don't really matter.

Click to shrink...

Look at it this way: how much of this game exists solely to feed that superfluous skill tree? An XP meter taking up a chunk of your screen ticking up every time you do anything, half the level design devoted to dead-ends hiding hundreds upon hundreds of collectibles to throw more XP at you, constant tooltips prompting you to check out the new useless ability you just unlocked, gameplay-interrupting tutorials for new moves you'll use once or twice then forget about. There is a button you click to make the screen turn black and white, ruining the game's gorgeous graphics but also highlighting all the XP pickups in gold, so you are incentivized to press this button as often as possible.

Nothing is literally forcing you to buy upgrades, but a huge portion of the game's UI and overall gameplay loop is devoted to having you pick up junk in the environment to fill progress bars and spend them on stuff. And all that stuff you unlock is useless. You spend a huge chunk of the game searching for junk, picking up the junk, and spending the junk points on more junk. And, sure, you can choose not to pick it up, but if you don't engage with any part of the game that feeds the skill tree you've basically just got an eight hour linear jog through a jungle corridor and a near constant ticker on screen counting imaginary points you gain automatically and aren't going to use.

It does negatively affect the game to have such a root-level game design feature be entirely useless. The implicit promise in having an upgrade system is that the upgrades are going to be worthwhile, and bring the player happiness when they unlock something they enjoy using. The one in this game just had me asking "Why am I doing any of this?" every time I opened it. There's no need for a useless system like this in a game; either make it useful or cut it out.

 

[leng jai]

Was it really that distracting? I mean, once you realize that most of the skills are pretty useless, you can just ignore the skill tree entirely. There's nothing forcing you to buy skills and even if you feel compelled to, you can just randomly pick one because they don't really matter.

Click to shrink...

Now we're just back to overlooking flaws because they you can just ignore them when in reality that doesn't mean they don't affect the overall experience. No aspect of the game is designed in isolation, most systems and mechanics work together to form the structure of everything. You can't just say this doesn't matter and that doesn't matter like somehow they're all completely separated.