Shadow of the Tomb Raider Is a Looker, but Gameplay Is Divisive

Lara Croft has returned yet again, and this time Eidos Montreal has taken the character in a darker direction. The youthful student of yore is gone, and we’re left with a highly competent – if self-absorbed – tomb raiding hard ass.

Some outlets are significantly colder on Shadow than they were on the last installment, but our sister site IGN assigned it an Amazing score of 9/10 – only a fraction away from Rise of the Tomb Raider. Lucy O’Brien, IGN’s reviewer for both titles, calls Shadow of the Tomb Raider the “most ambitious of the modern trilogy.” The focus on stealth and puzzle-solving is undoubtedly compelling, but much of the side content didn’t draw her in.

Metacritic has collected 47 reviews for the Xbox One version, and the game is sitting at 83/100 on average. Gamespot‘s reception was surprisingly lukewarm, and the Telegraph’s review of the PS4 version comes in at just 2/5 – extremely critical of the finished product. It’s clear that fewer people are wowed by Edios Montreal’s take on the franchise, but your mileage may vary since this stealthier Tomb Raider is extremely polarizing.

Both the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X enjoy two modes: High resolution and high frame rate. When you favor resolution, the frame rate is capped to 30fps, but the resolution is boosted to 1872p on Pro and 2016p on X. Favor frame rate, and you’ll get an unsteady 60fps at just 1080p. Let’s just say that some additional optimizations would be very welcome.

On the PC side, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is even better. And oddly enough, the game goes out of its way to recommend using DirectX 12. Based on early results, DF has found that using it can make a big difference in performance. So if you have a relatively new gaming PC, you’re in for a real treat.

Eidos Montreal has served as a decent steward for Tomb Raider, but now we’re interested to see what this studio does beyond this franchise and Deus Ex. More importantly, what is Crystal Dynamics really up to? It’s been a while since we heard about their Avengers game, and we’re itching to learn more. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait until E3 2019 rolls around.

[Image credit: Square-Enix]

Now read:• Rise of the Tomb Raider is outstanding, but it’s hamstrung by the Xbox One• The Best PS4 Pro Games Under $20 in 2018• Performance Analysis: Spider-Man Kills It on PS4 Pro