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My Year of Gaming: ‘Tomb Raider’ (2013)

My Year of Gaming: Tomb Raider (2013)

At the beginning of 2017, I purchased a Playstation 4, and it was the first time I have had a console since 2011. Needless to say, I have quite the backlog of games. I played through 23 titles in my first year getting hardcore back into gaming, and still have a long way to go. Now that we’ve entered 2019, I figured I would look back on some of the games I played this past year.

I have never played a Tomb Raider game in my life. I am absolute rubbish as shooting games, and so I always shied away from things I know would be trigger happy. The price of the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise kept dropping on PlayStation Network, so I thought it might be worth it to spend a couple of bucks. Before I continue, I have seen the Angelina Jolie movies and watched the 2018 reboot with Alicia Vikander, and because of those, I am a big fan of Lara Croft. It was after I watched the 2018 movie that I decided to give the new game a chance, and I’m really glad that I did.

My Year of Gaming: 'Tomb Raider' (2013)
Tomb Raider/Square Enix

Tomb Raider (2013) follows Lara Croft in the years before she becomes a tomb raider, and this game acts her origin story, shaping her into the woman she will soon become. I was very surprised how graphic the game was; within the first cut scene I missed a quick command and was smashed by a rock. What is cool about this game (and something that was nicely done in the 2018 film) is that it was grounded in reality. I believed that Lara was struggling to survive and adapting to her dire situation. As you moved through the game and learned, so did Lara. I thought it was a strong origin story and it made me excited to continue the journey with her in Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Another reason why I decided to give the games a chance is because I enjoy worlds where I can explore and learn new things. I had had a conversation with a coworker asking his opinion on Tomb Raider and Uncharted (trying to decide if I should invest), and he said that the thing Tomb Raider has over the other is more freedom of exploration. Plus, it’s more puzzles than straight-up gunfights, so I was definitely onboard. There is a lot of exploration within the game, but it never got to the point of being overwhelming, which was nice. In addition to the main story, there are several bonus tombs that are itching to be found. Some of my favorite moments were going through these tombs and solving the puzzles to reap their rewards.

My Year of Gaming: 'Tomb Raider' (2013)
Tomb Raider/Square Enix

I will say that the game is long, maybe a little bit too long, and I know some people who dropped off because of the length. There were times when I was just ready for it to be over, but I’m glad that I pushed through and finished. Again, it’s a great origin story for Lara and really shows how she becomes the tomb raider we know.

If you’re on the fence about purchasing the game, I would say go for it because it is a really great game. What’s even better is that you can then move on to Rise of the Tomb Raider which is, in my opinion, the best of the three games. It was an amazing game and probably within my top ten video games of all time. I think that the reboot is successful and is a good way to usher in a whole new generation of fans. I really hope that they continue with this re-imagined Lara in the future.