**Author’s Note: Game Pass Goodies is not intended as a review, but rather to highlight a game I found through the service. The featured game is/was available on Xbox Game Pass at the time of this writing, and depending on when you are reading this, may or may not still be available.**
Shadow of the Tomb Raider came to Game Pass yesterday, much to my personal delight. I was a fan of the first two, and the stars didn’t quite align for me when the third one released, so I had yet to experience it. It received generally favorable reviews, despite a lot of complaints that the series, and Lara herself, had gone a bit stale. I couldn’t comment on any of that before, but I can now! So let’s talk Tomb Turkey.
As if we ever needed a reason to talk about Lara Croft. As a matter of fact, the last time we did talk some TR, it was around the time Shadow of the Tomb Raider was about to release, and Merle let it be known that he didn’t really care for the direction Lara Croft was heading.
But that was then, and this is now. The game has been out for about six months, but even now it coming to Xbox Game Pass is kind of a big deal. The game hasn’t had many sales that have dropped it below $30 (that I’m aware of, at least) so in my opinion it still qualifies as a high profile addition to the library.
The first thing I noticed when starting the game was that holy crap it’s beautiful! The use of 4k enhanced visuals and HDR lighting is still some of the best on consoles. Having just had to disable HDR on my Xbox One in order to enjoy Resident Evil 2 at it’s brooding best, it’s safe to say that Capcom could learn a thing or two from Square-Enix and even Ubisoft on how to do it effectively. I probably spent more time in the Photographer Mode than I should’ve, but it did a great job of showcasing the game’s gorgeous environments and attention to detail, not to mention Lara herself is never hard to look at.
Speaking of Lara, I had noticed in the previews and footage from the game that she had been given a noticeable visual overhaul. While I admit I wasn’t quite sold on her new look at first, I’m coming around. There’s still something that seems “off” about her face, and I think it’s more of an ‘uncanny valley’ type thing rather than something that’s poorly executed. If I had to put my finger on it, I’d point at her eyelids. I just think we’re not used to seeing a character with eyelids in a video game. At least, not ones that blink and move. As I said, it’s not necessarily a “bad” thing, but it is something you have get used to.
Another thing you’ll notice, or at least I did, is that, well… let’s just say that I’ve spent many years looking at Lara’s backside, and while the recent push to create a more realistic Lara has seen her curviness reduced to that of a more proportionate human being, it’s also resulted in a bit more “junk in the trunk.” I thought I was imagining the added Charmin, but Photography Mode came to the rescue.
Nope, not my imagination. Lara truly is rockin’ the badonk-a-donk this time around. Not that I’m complaining (Merle surely wouldn’t). In fact, we spend much more time staring at Lara’s backside than we ever do her front, so this change is also not only aesthetically pleasing, but much more practical in terms of rendering and such. And it’s realistic, to boot. Anyone running and climbing as much as she does is no doubt going to have a butt that can snap a pencil in two. I applaud this attention to detail. Well done, Squeenix!
Not that Lara is the only scenery to behold. The game has some truly spectacular locations, some of which I don’t want to spoil here. I will spoil this one though, because it’s just an optional challenge tomb.
If that doesn’t scream “Goonies!” I don’t know what would. Unfortunately, there was no One-Eyed Willie to be found (oh God, no, no pun intended.) But I couldn’t help but stand and take in the scenery for a second.
The platforming and puzzle solving has been what you’d expect from this Tomb Raider series. I’m definitely nearing the end of the game and it’s been quite enjoyable so far, if a bit on the easy side. Luckily the game has individually adjustable difficulty settings, that let you set exploration, combat and puzzle difficulties individually. That’s pretty cool. I have them the default normal setting and I would actually kind of recommend cranking it up a notch. You’ll be glad you did.
As far as the criticism goes to the longevity of this series, I can kind of see the argument. I said the game was “easy” and a lot of that comes from already knowing what the game expects of me. It hasn’t really changed anything up so far, and it’s that familiarity, that lack of true surprise, that can make the game feel like it’s playing it safe, and that can bore some people.
That said, I’m still enjoying the game quite a bit. I like these types of games, I’ve been a TR fan for years and years, and even the Uncharted series gets a play-through from me about once a year. There’s nothing here that’s ground-breaking, but there’s nothing here that’s “bad” at all. I say give it a shot.
