Rise Of The Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is a thrilling action-adventure game that continues the story of Lara Croft, a fierce archaeologist who scours ancient locations for lost treasures. Pursued by the paramilitary organization called Trinity, Lara heads to the snowy country of Siberia as she hunts for a legendary city. As in previous adventures, Lara must use her wits, agility, and combat skills to survive a brutal journey through the mountains, enemy outposts, and beyond. With more action, better puzzles, and a strong story, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration exceeds the quality of its predecessor.

Main Game Features

• Exciting third-person action adventuring
• Includes the base game and new expansion
• New difficulty options and modes

Story

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration takes place one year after the events of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, with Lara Croft suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to her inexplicable experiences. Curious for any clues that will help her understand her recent bout with the supernatural, Lara begins investigating the lost city of Kitezh, which is said to contain the power of immortality. After a run-in with Trinity, Lara travels to Siberia looking for more answers, but the unpredictable weather and rough mountainous terrain separates her from her allies. With Trinity on her back and the mysteries of Kitezh left to uncover, Lara must fight back against her pursuers while surviving the brutal and cold wilderness.

In addition to the base story content, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration includes all of the expansions from the season pass, as well as a new single-player story called “Blood Ties”. In this new expansion, Lara explores her childhood home of Croft Manor while attempting to prove her rightful ownership of the property. Like the other expansions, Blood Ties is brief but enjoyable, adding more character development for Lara and fleshing out the universe of the game.

Gameplay

Like the original Tomb Raider franchise and games like Uncharted, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is a third-person action game that includes exploration, shooting, and puzzle-solving. Playing as Lara, you must explore several open-ended areas, full of hidden puzzle tombs, enemy encounters, and collectibles. In combat, Lara has a decently sized arsenal to use, including rifles, shotguns, bows, and more. However, players can also choose to use stealth, silently eliminating enemies from the shadows. As you defeat enemies and complete objectives, you'll earn experience points that can be spent on three different skill trees, unlocking new abilities in the process. Lara's combat skills, scavenging proficiency, and bodily strength can all be upgraded, making her a more fearsome warrior as the game progresses.

As an explorer and self-proclaimed tomb raider, a lot of Lara's time is spent searching through damp caves and treacherous environments in hopes of discovering lost valuables. You can find various treasure tombs by exploring the map, where players must complete challenging physics puzzles to earn their prize. Searching for treasure is hard work, and as such, Lara must craft supplies to keep herself ready for any encounter. While there is no multiplayer mode, players can enjoy the additional “endurance” mode in both solo or cooperative play, which adds additional survival restraints. Overall, the mixture of exploration, combat, and additional features makes Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration a great gameplay experience.

Conclusion

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration takes all the great things about the 2013 reboot and makes them even better, reducing the annoying quick-time events while adding more cinematic moments and polished gameplay. The drastic change of scenery from a tropical island to snow-covered mountains takes a bit of getting used to, but this wintry adventure is one of Lara's best.

Pros

• Addictive upgrade system
• Treasure tombs offer cool puzzles
• Expansions are brief but fun

Cons

• Some areas feel bloated with collectibles
• The story is kind of predictable
• Lots of backtracking