Deviation Actions
Description
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No MAJOR SPOILERS.
To start, I applaud the breathtaking visuals in Crystal Dynamics’ and Edios Montreal’s gritty reboot of Tomb Raider. On many occasions I’d soak in the gorgeous atmosphere, structures, nature, sounds, and score as Lara stood there waiting for me to continue her adventure. It is one of my favorite parts of the entire game.
Alas, it is a shame that the beauty of the island’s section are stripped, serving as yet again another backdrop for the player to gain experience, locate collectibles, and upgrade Lara’s arsenal of weaponry. She’s an archaeologist. So, why is Lara burning ancient stuff?! Why is she fine with breaking artifacts?! Why can Lara unearth equipment for her weaponry inside of lost tombs?!
…It confounds me so.
Similarly, besides sequences that result in grisly insta-kills when failure occurs, I cannot remember an area of Tomb Raider that existed to merely observe, appreciate, and explore. Without enemies nor items to find. What a missed opportunity.
Furthermore, I liked the more believable approach taken by Mirror’s Edge and Overlord video game writer Rhianna Pratchett and Susan O’Connor with Lara’s character, making this reboot the only TR game I have completed from beginning to finish. I found the solutions to puzzles, locations of items, and the actual tombs just difficult enough without them ever being overwhelming or controller-breaking worthy. Meaning they remained fun and weren’t a burden to me.
On the other hand, I found the juxtaposition between the narrative and the gameplay strange. Early in Tomb Raider, Lara shows remorse for killing a deer with her bow and arrow (influenced by Katniss Everdeen’s popularity I’d wager) the first time the player slays it. But, each subsequent time she doesn’t. She changes that quickly?
This is taken a step further when she kills a human being trying to choke her: the horrible ordeal leaves her sobbing and seemingly regretful. Everything is impeccable. However, immediately following this cinematic, the player is forced to contend with lethally taking out armed enemies. The game awards additional experience points for succeeding with head shots! Um, what?
Despite her previous emotional reaction I’d think most of us would feel after taking a life, the game curiously doesn’t offer a non-lethal method for incapacitating foes, as if this is the only way. This part of the game couldn’t be stealth related while Lara processes and copes with her action? I guess that’d be asking for too much.
Due to this clear disconnect in Pratchett’s and O’Connor’s writing aiming to humanize Lara versus the killing spree gameplay, Tomb Raider suffers as a whole. This is amplified by the brutal efficiency and kinds of weapon modifications that make ending the lives of bad guys easier Lara has access to during her journey’s progression. I don’t comprehend how something this jarring made it into the final product. This paradoxical decision made identifying with Lara Croft next to impossible for me.
Also, to a degree, the developers of Tomb Raider revel in killing and tormenting Lara. Akin to the demises of Resident 4′s Leon Kennedy, Lara’s death scenes are graphic, creative, and violent (not always at the same time though). From the get-go, after surviving a shipwreck, being captured and hung upside down, the moment she frees herself Lara sustains a significant injury that plagues her throughout the rest of the game. Later on, Lara can’t find bandages after risking her safety to reach inside of a chopper. Luckily, there’s a lighter. Using the lighter and an arrowhead, Lara painfully punctures her flesh to cauterize said wound. I’ll never forget the screaming.
When you think Lara has endured enough, the game disagrees then proceeds to inflict more pain upon her or let her death be via cruel impalement. Whoa, ‘kay, she’s proven herself as a survivor, jeez. Was this really necessary? Ease up will ya?
While I appreciated some pieces of Pratchett’s and O’Connor’s writing for Tomb Raider, others I furiously shook my head about. Especially both writer’s recurring insistence of including the damsel in distress trope through Lara’s best friend Samantha Nishimura, siiiiigh. Escaping an inescapable fictional island that causes storms didn’t cut it, somehow. Or introducing new characters to have them die not long afterword. So pointless. I grew tired of rescuing Lara’s crew mates countless times as well. I desired to interact with them more: since the majority won’t survive and I want some character development/emotional impact. Don’t pull that “Luis Sera meets the protagonist a couple of times before he’s murdered in front of Leon’s eyes crap” I hate because its lazy writing. I felt nothing when Luis died even though Leon yelled his name in anguish: I had an instance in Tomb Raider that echoed this, of course.
The designs of the enemies are a tad too generic for my taste. Even the cult leader antagonist is boring. Pardon the hat trick, but Los Illuminados leader Osmund Saddler from Resident 4 was done better. Relying on the default male foes (no females? They’d probably been overly sexualized anyhow) bothered me too. Towards the conclusion of Tomb Raider, Lara is expected to face a fresh nonhuman threat. Its inclusion isn’t haphazard, I was just disappointed it didn’t show up prior to in the game’s yarn. Instead of continuously butchering foes with my assortment of overpowered weapons, it felt great to be challenged.
All in all, Tomb Raider’s writing and gameplay are at odds with one another. Oh, and there’s very little tomb raiding. Unless you fork over more cash for DLC. I enjoyed the varied environments, the ideas it had (execution’s off), climbing parts, the music, equipment, and the realistic quieter moments with Lara Croft courtesy of Camilla Luddington (voice/motion capture) the game offered. Ultimately, a lot needs to be re-worked on and considered throughout the sequel’s production.
Maybe a richer overall experience will be had as a result.