The first is underwater, with flooded passageways and caverns proving unexpectedly nail-biting – Lara can only hold her breath for so long, and attempting to dodge piranhas while occasionally popping up for air led to some of the game’s tensest moments. There are also two key dimensions added to traversal in the game.
#How long is shadow of the tomb raider how to
Those challenge tombs know how to set the scene. There are plenty of side missions and collection quests as usual, which – like the Challenge Tombs – remain optional, and can either flesh out the story as you go or add an incentive to retread old areas after you’ve finished the bulk of the game.
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Shadow of the Tomb Raider is more concerned with volcanos and jungles than frozen wastes, and the result is a lush environment teeming with life, from birds and croaking frogs to the game’s populated city hubs, full of people going about their days. The setting is somewhat… warmer than Rise of the Tomb Raider’s trek through Siberia. When it comes to exploration, there’s plenty of variety to keep you busy. You’ll often have to go out of your way to find them, but they offer some suitably challenging puzzles and breathtaking level design, all while expanding the mythology and scale of the world you’re in. It means you’re never dumped in a chamber with no explanation or support, while never feeling like it’s spoonfeeding you, either.Ĭhallenge Tombs return in style, with plenty of optional areas scattered throughout the game. Lara will occasionally mutter the aim of each chamber if you’re having trouble figuring it out, while on the right difficulty her ‘survival instincts’ will highlight important objects for the task ahead. The puzzles in Shadow of the Tomb Raider are as smart as ever, and the interlocking parts of each mechanical chamber are satisfying to navigate even if you’re playing through with full ‘white ledge’ signposting showing you where to go. Shadow of the Tomb Raider will tailor the difficulty to your personal playstyle.If you want to rush through Trinity’s goons and spend your time mulling over physics-based puzzles in a lost Peruvian city, or master your gunplay without having to figure out the route ahead, you’re in full control of how much assistance Shadow of the Tomb Raider gives you, if any. Whether you’re playing primarily for the exploration, the puzzles, or the combat, Shadow of the Tomb Raider delivers on all fronts - with a new scalable difficulty setting for all three areas of gameplay.
There’s been a clearly huge amount of resources put into animating Lara’s hair and facial expressions, even if her commercial-ready ‘do stands out when she’s otherwise covered in dirt and blood. But the animation is winningly realistic, from the crumbling stone cliffs to the coiled muscles of the jaguars hunting you in the jungle, and you’ll be in awe of the endless vistas and set pieces tying the levels together.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is explicitly ‘cinematic’, to the point where it doesn’t always tell you whether you should still be pressing buttons or just watching the action unfold.