Rise Of The Tomb Raider Should Be The Blueprint For The Series Going Forward

From TheGamer: "Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider reboot trilogy never seems to get a fair shake. Its place in the general series’ perception likely wasn’t helped by the fact it ended on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which is not only the weakest of the trio but one of the worst Tomb Raider titles full stop. It’s not awful, but Tomb Raider games have been consistently high quality, and Shadow dips below that bar far too often. While Rise of the Tomb Raider had shown the new formula at its best, Shadow came along and showed it at its worst."

[isarai]

No, the first was a great start, but each iteration was a half step at best, not to mention some dodgey writing at times. Also the fact that literally all 3 were touted as "become the tomb raider" yet by the end of the trilogy that never happened. The tease yet complete disregard for the classic lara and trying to replace her iconic pistols with a pickaxe and bow (which seriously made little sense after the first game) was as insulting to fans as the DMC reboot.

Honestly i would like it best if the ip were given to a completely different team and we just acted like this trilogy never happened.

[gamer7804]

Yah the trilogy was decent but was expecting more story and character wise. She used to be able to do cool acrobatics.

[Tech5]

" but each iteration was a half step at best, not to mention some dodgey writing at times."

...none of the tomb games before had "brilliant writing".....she fought dragons and dinosaurs with infinite ammo enabled. The games were made in a day when most didn't think on the logistics. Like Michael bay films.

Anyways the new series is supposed to lead into the original trilogy, as her butler makes his debut in the third game. But since the original trilogy consisted of a bunch of expeditions not much of it connected anyways.

It'll be interesting where the series takes off to.

[-Foxtrot]

"Honestly i would like it best if the ip were given to a completely different team and we just acted like this trilogy never happened"

Exactly

Just go back to the original Lara Croft and reboot her story about being stranded in the Himalayas, go from there.

Sad thing is they were talking a while back and they said something along the lines of bringing the "timelines together"...I feel they are going to do some weird retcon and make these new reboot games part of the original trilogy despite making no sense.

Least Tomb Raider Legends / Underworld had 90% of the same origin story with the Himalayas, only thing they changed was her mother surviving the initial crash and then being lost through that mysterious portal.

[bloop]

It would be great to get some of the original Lara Croft attitude back in to the character as well. The reboot trilogy Lara really grates on me, and I found myself mumbling at the TV "oh just shut up Lara, stop whining and get on with it" in nearly all the cut scenes.The original Lara was a bad ass. It would be nice to get that character back.

[KyRo]

Admittedly they did get worse after the first game in the trilogy but the games themselves were solid and not really worth the hate they receive. They just needed better writing and a bit more polish out side of the graphics which still hold up now.

People seem to forget the state of TR before the reboot. They were levels worse than what this trilogy gave us. They just missed the old Lara personality but that ain't what this trilogy was about.

[isarai]

I mean, they were games with decent mechanics and graphics, but the QTEs overstayed their welcome, and i got got sick and tired of shimmying through tight gaps. Lara was nothing more than a whiney brat which made sense in the first game, but not the next two, and dont even get me started on the puzzles.

Which brings me to your statement "people seem to forget the state of TR before the reboot. They were levels worse than what this trilogy gave us" i greatly disagree, the puzzles were always great, the settings always beautiful and adventurous. I would've appreciated the trilogy's more grounded tone if they at least got the basics of what a tomb raider game is down, but they never did. And actually that's exactly what the trilogy was about, to "become the tomb raider" and as the devs said multiple times "how she became the lara we all know and love" we didn't see either of those happen.

Did it need to be as campy and cliche? No, but it should've at least at some point resembled, y'know, Tomb raider and it's iconic Lara

This case in particular just fruatrates me cause i LOOOOVED how the TR series stuck to it's guns as a puzzle adventure game when everything else was changing. Then it changed but with devs promising we would rebuild it into a better version of what fans loved, and they wasted 3 games, 3 purchases and so much of my time doing none of that. Just a slow death of one of my favorite series for me personally

[Tapani]

Agreed. And in my opinion this new trilogy just got better. Less mind-numbing killing. I don’t understand why people want a Lara who kills animals with an assault rifle or twin pistols. Then she leaves them in the nature to rot. I mean anyone who ever spent time in nature knows that killing animals like that is not normal. Anyone who fired a gun knows you cannot fire two guns and hit something. Or what, these people want this to be a Doom / Serious Sam game? Or just another Uncharted?

In my mind they should make it a Dark Souls-esque survival RPG exploration game, where fighting doesn’t happen with guns. Disco Elysium level writing/plot + Dark Souls level design and RPG system + Tomb Raider exploration and survival focused combat. Maybe fists, tools, bow. One gun, max. Used as a last resort, and narratively explore what ot means to take a life, and what’s it worth and if it is ever okay, and how it changes a human being. Some kind of karma meter that makes Lara go crazy if she kills a lot of people. Or make her go and see a shrink afterwards, and see what he/she says about her killing. Make her struggle with it, put that struggle in the gameplay, not to a side sentence at a camp fire.

I think she killed maybe 600-700 people by the end of the trilogy, and people want even more gunplay and more ludicrous stuff like acrobatics??! And with hyper realistic graphics? Stop to think and imagine that situation on your screen!! How the hell would that look and feel? You got a hyper realistic ninja Lara with twin guns killing deer with hip shooting while doing backflips in the mountains in her bikinis? Absolutely ridiculous.

The new trilogy was a huge step up in gameplay, graphics, and narrative, but it could have done more. The games were not deep and focused enough. Eidos’ game was the best in my opinion.

[Imalwaysright]

isarai

Calling any Tomb Raider a puzzle adventure game just goes to show that you don't know shit about the IP. TR games all the way to the ones from Core Designs were ACTION adventure games. In fact they were pioneers in the genre and many of the things we see as standard in the action adventure genre today were introduced by them so when I see people saying that any Crystal Dynamics TR games weren't in any way inspired by the originals or don't have the basics of what a TR game should be they are as ignorant as they come or are full of shit.

Crystal Dynamics Tr games (and Uncharted) would not exist without the games that pioneered the genre so for you to say that the latest trilogy doesn't have the basics of what TR is all I can do is laugh because last I checked exploration, puzzle solving, combat, climbing, platforming and supernatural elements were very much part of the latest trilogy.

[CrimsonWing69]

Dude, I’m so with you. The first was great. The 2nd one bores me to tears. The 3rd started off incredibly and once you get to that Peruvian village is dragged on forever. It just became of chore to go through. Also, why did they introduce the dual wielding pistols in the first at the very end and then never let you do that again in any other entry.

[Aloymetal]

Exactly! first part of the game felt great but once you find the hidden city everything turned to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. Go out fetch something come back, rinse n repeat.

[porkChop]

The first one was great, and was such a good foundation. I don't think Rise or Shadow were bad, but they didn't really make good on the promise the series had.

[isarai]

Exactly, i don't think they're terrible games, they're just disappointing given the promise and what the series is supposed to be about.

[Levii_92]

Nooooo ! Bring back classic Lara feel and gameplay.

[solideagle]

yeah, I think they tried too hard to copy uncharted cinematic style etc
It should have its own identity. Don't get me wrong the first one was a great game but Classic is still classic

[Levii_92]

Exactly what i was saying ever since the first game came out. It needs to be it’s own thing not a copy of something that’s far better. Just bring the classic feel back and add to it, modernize it and improve it. Ohh wait but then the dumb casuals and kiddies might not like it and it wouldn’t be a financial success if things does not constanly explode around Lara while she makes porn nosises all the time.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I think Shadow of the Tomb Raider would have been the best game in the series had it featured more combat situations. The Tomb Raider reboot trilogy’s biggest flaw is its story telling. The story across all three games is clunky.

[autobotdan]

Shadow of the Tomb Raider was a great game. I loved it. Its was one of the best Tomb Raider games. It was better than Tomb Raider 3 and 4 from the past

[Kyizen]

Rise was awesome. Shadow not so much. Had to struggle to complete Shadow and finish the prequels trilogy

[X-23]

The first one of the trilogy in my opinion was the highpoint of the series.
I had high hopes for the sequel, but it was underwhelming. The story wasn't as interesting and Lara didn't seem to develop as a character at all between the two titles.

[TheDoomedGuy]

The only good game was the first one.
Then they kind of failed hard with the following games.

[tombfan]

I loved shadow tho...

[Terry_B]

No..just let the reboot trilogy die already and make a real Tomb Raider again.

[nommers]

Why are people complaining about the writing and then lamenting the past TR games? The story was never TR's strong suit to begin with. They can be fun and campy, but I can't help but eye roll when I hear this complaint about an expectation that "ought" to have happened in the survivor trilogy. It's weird. I'm fine with both the campiness of past TR games and the more serious tone of the survivor trilogy, but to bring up story quality complaints against the survivor trilogy while disregarding (imo much worse writing) how TR was before feels like bandwagoning.

[Imalwaysright]

Because these people are just complaining for the sake of complaining and some are even point blank telling us that they never played the originals considering the utter ignorance they're displaying.

[wiz7191]

That’s because I come to understand some gamers weren’t around to play some of those classics. I love the survivor trilogy it could be better, but they are solid games in their own rights.

[KONG22]

Agreed 100 %
https://i95creative.com/tra...

[SeTTriP]

I'm curious as to how they got worse from the first game?

The only story element that stands out from the first one was, she wasn't a killer and had to adapt other then that what else is their.

[kayoss]

First game was awesome, second game was good, third game, "WTF happened?".

[PixelOmen]

No way, Tomb Raider shouldn't be a third person shooter, it should be about platforming, exploration, and puzzle solving. Shooting stuff should be an afterthought at most. Shadow is probably the closest that trilogy ever came to being what Tomb Raider should actually be, which is very weird considering the other 2 were developed by the studio that made Anniversary and Legend.

[SeTTriP]

I'm playing it for the first time on ps5 and I think this game got screwed by the press.

[Imalwaysright]

What a load of crap. Here's a video walkthrough from the final level of TR2 https://www.youtube.com/wat... and the number of total kills at the ending is 471. The amount of time played was almost 7 hours so that's about 67 kills per hour. Why are people in this thread pretending that combat was an afterthought in the original TR games when it wasn't? When they had plenty of kills, acrobatic moves with the porpuse of avoding getting shot at, plenty weapons and even different types of ammo? Did you people even played the original games or are you just complaining for the sake of it?

[PixelOmen]

No, now that is a load of crap. That's clearly the climax where her home is being invaded and is pretty much 100% combat. That's not representative of what the vast majority of the game is like. You fight small groups of enemies between platforming and puzzle sections.

Compare that to this clip of RoTR where she kills around 40 people in less than 10 mins, and it's not even one of the set pieces that are just all out firefights.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Also, here's the breakdown of total human kills per game:
https://i.redd.it/0z9t28wch...

[Imalwaysright]

Are you stupid in the head? I'm not talking about the level itself, I'm talking about the final stats of the game that appear at the end of the level because it's the last level and those stats prove that the narrative that combat was just an afterthought in the original TR games is a lie repeated by parrots that never played them and I never denied that the most recent trilogy was more action focused than the originals, I'm saying that combat being an afterthought in the originals is bullshit.

[PixelOmen]

You're clearly the slow one here. I'm aware of that, and everything I said was in that context.

[Imalwaysright]

And we come full circle with you making an empty statement since you can't counter what I actually said in my initial response to you instead of the crapola you spewed that doesn't adress what I said. You are full of shit so own it.

[Pyrofire95]

It certainly was the best of the 3, I think.

[46player]

I disagree. Shadow of the tomb raider is still a good game. I agree they could have innovated more with each new game. And I’m loving the updated graphics on PS5.

[lellkay]

I agre, Rise was head and shoulders the best of the new trilogy.

[JayRyu]

^^^ I agree with this. Reboot was great and shadow was great but Rise was the best of the trilogy.

I liked the direction of the games. I did like the action of each of them. I do want a more acrobatic Lara though In the next game

[Blackcanary]

No, just no we want the TR series to go back to the style of TR Underworld. Go back to being about exploring tombs.