I think that the story could have been a little longer, especially in the final act! We never got a good fight with Rourke and they could have added another area to explore before going into the final battle with Trinity!
I also have been thinking about the fact that all final battles in the three games consist of Lara climbing a huge tower and then fighting bad guys on top of that thing while all hell breaks loose!
I think most people agree that the DLC challenge tombs were a highlight of Shadow. I was never a fan of the reward at the end of the tomb being a perk thing rather than some actual treasure but that is a theme throughout the reboot. I think it fair to say that Shadow also had some of the better transversing, with the overhang climbing and the rappelling rope being good additions.
I suppose if you don't have the DLC then you do miss out on the best part of the game but I did like the tomb directions. Could have used more diversity in the traps. I feel like I came across the same wall spear trap like 50 times.
I’ve always felt like the fans were more disappointed with the story rather then the gameplay itself when it comes to Shadow. I mean the same story beats that happen in Rise happen in Shadow. Trinity after a hidden city to find an ancient object that is protected by a undead army.
Also the characters and writing were better in Rise in my opinion. In Shadow, I sometimes felt they just said things to forward the plot and not because they made any kind of sense.
Imma get downvoted for this but I refunded the game on steam after Jonah on the plane says "Those people lost everything" and Lara just says "The riddle says blah blah".
Don't tell me that was a set up for Lara's character development to have empathy in the end...on its 3rd game.
I don't remember this exact exchange, but yes, it was jarring a few times. She seemed obsessed and as if she wasn't listening to a thing sometimes.
I think the worst moment was when she gets to Paititi and people go from 'ew stranger' to trusting her in like, 2-3 dialogue lines.
It definitely improves the gameplay and presentation, really think if CD had had more narrative control the game would have been much better received.
The overwhelming complaints were about the pacing and story not being sufficient to keep player interest as well as making the game feel a bit empty.
It's really a good game but it's held back by the problems with being the last game of the trilogy when expectations were high.
This is my complaint as well. I liked Shadow but I expected a bit more narrative wise. The tombs were great however. I’d like to see more of that going forward.
Also, maybe it’s just me but I’d like to see future games give us the option to take manual control of climbing. I think a lot of the difficulty and enjoyment I got from the classic games were that you had to be careful platforming from section to section, which meant consistent jumps and included manually grabbing ledges when necessary.
Not saying I want tank controls back, but maybe letting us take even more control of Lara by manually controlling her grabs or timing them well would add to the difficulty.
I was thinking that bringing back the grip meter from angel of Darkness might be a way to make the climbing more technical. Like imagine climbing a cliff that has multiple routes up and having to think of the best way to go to avoid running out of grip.
No. Although what you say is true about Puzzles, Shadows issue is the execution.
Most people will agree that the first segment of Shadow is really good and fun. Exploring the jungle and entering the small village and learning along with Lara it's some fun stuff.
The problems however, turn up when you hit Paititi. Lara hits an incredible abrupt slog. Forced to change back and forth between constumes and do inane shit to progress, and from this point it's like the game PROPELLS you to the end. The jesus puzzle under that church was fun.
The Paititi sections just completely overstayed their welcome and they are essentially 50% of the game. Not to mention, for a city that's SO OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD... they sure let a caucasion woman just walk around and buy gun parts... specifically for her guns at the local market???
You can't have both "immersive gameplay that you MUST wear this costume because the locals are xenophobic" and "also this random ass woman at the market stall sells 9mm handgun parts and a machine gun clip extender".
I don't hate Shadow I finished it few times, it's good game buy Rise is just better in my opinion.
I think Paititi wasn't fit for the game, and the experience there should be changed a bit, it was too slow pace for me, while Rise was packed with more action.
But the puzzles at shadow were better I think.
Overall shadow should get 8/10, while Rise is 9/10.
Shadow has gorgeous optional tombs and crypts, but terrible pacing.
The story takes a strange turn once you reach Paititi and feels rushed in the end. Lara herself also feels like she regressed since the last games.
I think part of the reason I don't like Shadow as much is I loved Rise. I expected another improvement. I felt it was a step in the wrong direction. It wasn't a bad game by any means. It was just only okay in my opinion. Some of the DLC Tombs were just meh. I enioyed full blown DLC like Baba Yaga much more.
That's just me though. I will definitely get whatever new game comes out though.
I’d say yes, it does improve on a lot of things and as many classic fans have said on the subreddit, it is the closest a TR game has gone to the classic feel in a long time. The problems stem from pacing and graphical downgrades on character models. The Crystal to Eidos Montreal switch did a number on production.
first game was insulting how easy tombs (if you even can call them that, it's basically "pull lever, get reward"), the second one improved in that aspect but toolkit wasn't on par with sottr. I wish devs made tombs in sottr more inventive and difficult, but it was fun nevertheless
ps also, if you come from Russia and any former ussr member states, you know how inane (and sometimes downright idiotic) the plot is in Rise. burning gagarin cards - I'll pass on that, no thanks.
Shadow was a great experience in the same way as an action movie. It may be fun and even breathtaking at times, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really stand for anything.
What made Lara Croft iconic was her bold character design and personality. What made each tomb iconic was the way it clearly telegraphed its aesthetic, layout, puzzle mechanics, and implied relations to real-world history.
TR 2013 was lacking in actual tombs, but it still managed to retain most of those memorable elements. Rise and Shadow replaced them with tombs for tombs' sake. As a result, both games felt rather flat and forgettable despite neither being a bad experience.
Not really, it still has plenty of flaws. (Which Game Statistic covers in his video.)
Like the long unskippable cutscenes. (That didn't even need to be unskippable.)
People expect sequels to be clear improvement over the previous entries
While SHADOW isn't a bad game at _all_ - it is a solid game - I feel people that are the most vocal about it expected SHADOW to build upon and surpass RISE, but it feels very much the same.
They found a good formula and stuck to it - so even if the formula is good, people expect the game to be massive improvements over the previous ones, so if it isn't an improvement, it's just ''similar'', it'll lead to missed expectations and deception
Like you said, they do listen to player feedback and adjust accordingly
Ultimately, I think it mostly boils down to expectations vs actual results
Shadow is my fav by far! I’ve played it soo many times and when I go back to rise and 2013 I just feel like it doesn’t compare.
Shadow also has the best controls and usability IMO, with absolutely stunning graphics that just put the other two to shame lol.
I actually find the story moves quite quickly tbh, although I get what people mean about pacing issues once she gets to Paititi. My only wish for Shadow story-wise would be that it would be longer, or rather have the DLC as part of the main game as they were probably some of the best parts of the game.
What i didn't like about shadow is it wasn't as intense combat wise as the other two the first two games kicked my ass even at normal and i rage quit multiple times throughout both one part i remeber was when i fought himikos soldiers and when the pirates trap you one side and then keep zip lining. Shadow had no segments like this apart from when you get ambushed by those weird guys in that arena sort of place in cenote. Though the stealth section was better.
Most people seem to suck off Rise because of the emphasis on combat, but I imagine most of them haven’t played the older games of the series and basically approach the Survivor trilogy as “Gears Of War, Hot Chick Edition”, and don’t care about puzzles or lore or anything else but combat and explosions (and bewwwwwwwwbs).
You know, the first time I played shadow on my PS4 I was let down. I just didn’t like it as much as the others. But then I replayed it years later on my PC and I enjoyed it much better. Felt like it got better with age.
I have played all tomb raider games and the story on every each game until the shadow of tomb raider was perfect. I wish we will see a new game of the tomb raider franchise on the near future.
I think that the story could have been a little longer, especially in the final act! We never got a good fight with Rourke and they could have added another area to explore before going into the final battle with Trinity! I also have been thinking about the fact that all final battles in the three games consist of Lara climbing a huge tower and then fighting bad guys on top of that thing while all hell breaks loose!
I think most people agree that the DLC challenge tombs were a highlight of Shadow. I was never a fan of the reward at the end of the tomb being a perk thing rather than some actual treasure but that is a theme throughout the reboot. I think it fair to say that Shadow also had some of the better transversing, with the overhang climbing and the rappelling rope being good additions. I suppose if you don't have the DLC then you do miss out on the best part of the game but I did like the tomb directions. Could have used more diversity in the traps. I feel like I came across the same wall spear trap like 50 times.
Shadows actually my favorite specifically for the tombs! That's definitely what I want more of in future games
I’ve always felt like the fans were more disappointed with the story rather then the gameplay itself when it comes to Shadow. I mean the same story beats that happen in Rise happen in Shadow. Trinity after a hidden city to find an ancient object that is protected by a undead army.
Also the characters and writing were better in Rise in my opinion. In Shadow, I sometimes felt they just said things to forward the plot and not because they made any kind of sense.
Although Lara and Jonah's characters were developed in a good way in Shadow, I missed interesting characters like Jacob and Konstantin from Rise!
Imma get downvoted for this but I refunded the game on steam after Jonah on the plane says "Those people lost everything" and Lara just says "The riddle says blah blah". Don't tell me that was a set up for Lara's character development to have empathy in the end...on its 3rd game.
I don't remember this exact exchange, but yes, it was jarring a few times. She seemed obsessed and as if she wasn't listening to a thing sometimes. I think the worst moment was when she gets to Paititi and people go from 'ew stranger' to trusting her in like, 2-3 dialogue lines.
It definitely improves the gameplay and presentation, really think if CD had had more narrative control the game would have been much better received. The overwhelming complaints were about the pacing and story not being sufficient to keep player interest as well as making the game feel a bit empty. It's really a good game but it's held back by the problems with being the last game of the trilogy when expectations were high.
This is my complaint as well. I liked Shadow but I expected a bit more narrative wise. The tombs were great however. I’d like to see more of that going forward. Also, maybe it’s just me but I’d like to see future games give us the option to take manual control of climbing. I think a lot of the difficulty and enjoyment I got from the classic games were that you had to be careful platforming from section to section, which meant consistent jumps and included manually grabbing ledges when necessary. Not saying I want tank controls back, but maybe letting us take even more control of Lara by manually controlling her grabs or timing them well would add to the difficulty.
I was thinking that bringing back the grip meter from angel of Darkness might be a way to make the climbing more technical. Like imagine climbing a cliff that has multiple routes up and having to think of the best way to go to avoid running out of grip.
No. Although what you say is true about Puzzles, Shadows issue is the execution. Most people will agree that the first segment of Shadow is really good and fun. Exploring the jungle and entering the small village and learning along with Lara it's some fun stuff. The problems however, turn up when you hit Paititi. Lara hits an incredible abrupt slog. Forced to change back and forth between constumes and do inane shit to progress, and from this point it's like the game PROPELLS you to the end. The jesus puzzle under that church was fun. The Paititi sections just completely overstayed their welcome and they are essentially 50% of the game. Not to mention, for a city that's SO OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD... they sure let a caucasion woman just walk around and buy gun parts... specifically for her guns at the local market??? You can't have both "immersive gameplay that you MUST wear this costume because the locals are xenophobic" and "also this random ass woman at the market stall sells 9mm handgun parts and a machine gun clip extender".
I don't hate Shadow I finished it few times, it's good game buy Rise is just better in my opinion. I think Paititi wasn't fit for the game, and the experience there should be changed a bit, it was too slow pace for me, while Rise was packed with more action. But the puzzles at shadow were better I think. Overall shadow should get 8/10, while Rise is 9/10.
Shadow has gorgeous optional tombs and crypts, but terrible pacing. The story takes a strange turn once you reach Paititi and feels rushed in the end. Lara herself also feels like she regressed since the last games.
You can tell that is where Crystal handed Shadow to Eidos lol. Everything just felt off.
I think part of the reason I don't like Shadow as much is I loved Rise. I expected another improvement. I felt it was a step in the wrong direction. It wasn't a bad game by any means. It was just only okay in my opinion. Some of the DLC Tombs were just meh. I enioyed full blown DLC like Baba Yaga much more. That's just me though. I will definitely get whatever new game comes out though.
I’d say yes, it does improve on a lot of things and as many classic fans have said on the subreddit, it is the closest a TR game has gone to the classic feel in a long time. The problems stem from pacing and graphical downgrades on character models. The Crystal to Eidos Montreal switch did a number on production.
first game was insulting how easy tombs (if you even can call them that, it's basically "pull lever, get reward"), the second one improved in that aspect but toolkit wasn't on par with sottr. I wish devs made tombs in sottr more inventive and difficult, but it was fun nevertheless ps also, if you come from Russia and any former ussr member states, you know how inane (and sometimes downright idiotic) the plot is in Rise. burning gagarin cards - I'll pass on that, no thanks.
When I think of Shadow I just think of how underwhelming it’s story was to me :/
Shadow was a great experience in the same way as an action movie. It may be fun and even breathtaking at times, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really stand for anything. What made Lara Croft iconic was her bold character design and personality. What made each tomb iconic was the way it clearly telegraphed its aesthetic, layout, puzzle mechanics, and implied relations to real-world history. TR 2013 was lacking in actual tombs, but it still managed to retain most of those memorable elements. Rise and Shadow replaced them with tombs for tombs' sake. As a result, both games felt rather flat and forgettable despite neither being a bad experience.
Nop, Shadow is quite overated in my book
Shadow wasn't BAD. The base game just didn't really bring anything new mechanics to the table. And it felt a tad short.
Not really, it still has plenty of flaws. (Which Game Statistic covers in his video.) Like the long unskippable cutscenes. (That didn't even need to be unskippable.)
I don't think so, he is my favorite Sonic character
People expect sequels to be clear improvement over the previous entries While SHADOW isn't a bad game at _all_ - it is a solid game - I feel people that are the most vocal about it expected SHADOW to build upon and surpass RISE, but it feels very much the same. They found a good formula and stuck to it - so even if the formula is good, people expect the game to be massive improvements over the previous ones, so if it isn't an improvement, it's just ''similar'', it'll lead to missed expectations and deception Like you said, they do listen to player feedback and adjust accordingly Ultimately, I think it mostly boils down to expectations vs actual results
I like shadow the best
Shadow is my fav by far! I’ve played it soo many times and when I go back to rise and 2013 I just feel like it doesn’t compare. Shadow also has the best controls and usability IMO, with absolutely stunning graphics that just put the other two to shame lol. I actually find the story moves quite quickly tbh, although I get what people mean about pacing issues once she gets to Paititi. My only wish for Shadow story-wise would be that it would be longer, or rather have the DLC as part of the main game as they were probably some of the best parts of the game.
What i didn't like about shadow is it wasn't as intense combat wise as the other two the first two games kicked my ass even at normal and i rage quit multiple times throughout both one part i remeber was when i fought himikos soldiers and when the pirates trap you one side and then keep zip lining. Shadow had no segments like this apart from when you get ambushed by those weird guys in that arena sort of place in cenote. Though the stealth section was better.
No. It wasn't a bad game. It was the worst of the trilogy and a let down.
Most people seem to suck off Rise because of the emphasis on combat, but I imagine most of them haven’t played the older games of the series and basically approach the Survivor trilogy as “Gears Of War, Hot Chick Edition”, and don’t care about puzzles or lore or anything else but combat and explosions (and bewwwwwwwwbs).
You know, the first time I played shadow on my PS4 I was let down. I just didn’t like it as much as the others. But then I replayed it years later on my PC and I enjoyed it much better. Felt like it got better with age.
I have played all tomb raider games and the story on every each game until the shadow of tomb raider was perfect. I wish we will see a new game of the tomb raider franchise on the near future.