Rise of the Tomb Raider Review, Guide & Beginner Tips

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a polished action adventure with strong traversal, attractive semi-open hubs, optional tombs, stealth, combat, and crafting. Its villain plot is conventional, but exploration and progression improve substantially on the 2013 reboot.

Rise of the Tomb Raider follows Lara Croft to Siberia in search of the lost city of Kitezh and a source associated with immortality. The journey combines cinematic story missions with larger hubs containing tombs, caves, side missions, documents, challenges, and crafting resources. Traversal is the game's strongest system.

Climbing axes, rope arrows, ziplines, swimming, and environmental tools gradually open new routes through spaces already visited. Optional challenge tombs concentrate the best puzzle design and reward useful abilities. Combat supports bows, firearms, improvised explosives, stealth takedowns, and environmental distractions.

Lara can approach many encounters quietly, although later battles still rely on waves of armed enemies. Crafting ammunition and upgrades encourages collecting wood, animals, minerals, and salvage. The hub structure provides freedom without becoming an unfocused open world.

Survival Instinct highlights useful objects, which improves readability but can reduce the satisfaction of observing environments independently. The central Trinity conflict and supporting villains are less memorable than the locations and Lara's movement through them. Rise balances spectacle with exploration better than its predecessor.

Players who prioritize tombs and side paths receive richer puzzles and upgrades, while those following only the main marker encounter a more conventional shooter. The complete editions may include additional story content and challenge modes, so platform packages should be checked separately.

Explore each hub before advancing the main story, but accept that some routes require tools unlocked later. Mark inaccessible barriers mentally or on the map and return after gaining rope arrows, climbing equipment, explosives, or rebreather access. Use Survival Instinct sparingly to identify resources and objectives without turning every room into highlighted icons.

Search for murals, documents, caches, and tomb entrances that provide language progress or upgrades. In combat, tag enemies and identify isolated targets. Use the bow and distractions for stealth, then reposition after detection rather than remaining behind one cover point.

Craft special arrows and explosives when groups cluster. Spend skill points according to play style, but acquire resource, traversal, and ammunition conveniences early. Upgrade a small group of weapons rather than dividing rare parts evenly.

Complete optional tombs because their abilities often improve the entire campaign. On higher difficulties, prepare ammunition and healing before story transitions. Check whether downloadable chapters are included in the purchased edition instead of assuming all storefront versions match.