Rise Of Tomb Raider

' It doesn't have to end this way Lara, another croft doesn't have to die for this. But I am willing to....'

Square Enix bought to a franchise something new, a fresh and unique approach to story telling, in may ways resembled an uncharted game but was different enough to carve a niche for itself. That was 3 years back. Faster forward 2015 we got the sequel to that much acclaimed game 'Rise Of tomb Raider'. Thanks to Microsoft the game was released as an exclusive for the PS4 and remained so for a year, Well now that a year has passed and Lara herself is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her creation, we the PS4 owners get the game in all it's glory as the 20th anniversary edition, complete with all DLC and every extra content ever released for the game. If you ask me it was totally worth the wait.

The game picks off right when the first one ends, Lara has just witnessed the truth behind immortality and is more convinced than ever that the myth her father had been chasing all along was indeed true. She sets out to clear her father name, uncover the truth and in the process rediscover a bit of herself as well. Well all that sands between her and the truth is of course trinity, they are after the same thing as her and it's a race of cat and mouse to see who reaches the divine source first.

The game along with all the top notch story and gameplay elements also contains one other important thing, lore narration. To me this would be one of the strongest points of this game simply because it was done so beautifully and every audio clip, every message we uncovered we learnt something of both the source and it's prophet. It is truly remarkable how square enix has taken this campaign to the next level with amazing story telling passively and actively. Next off is hunting, Lara's ability to detect animals and use a variety of weapons to deal with them, where she is as much the hunted as she is the hunter. From wolves, bears ,deers and everything inbetween the game world is filled with many opportunities and each offer something interms of gameplay.

That brings us to the topic of skill management, Lara is given an assortment of skills ranging from brawler , hunter and the healer. each have their own unique set of capablities and each offer amazing and outright fun enhancements to the gameplay element. There are base camps throughout the game and this is where lara gets to craft new weapons, learn new skills and is also a point of fast travel. It is also a time for introspection and lara speaks her mind out, thinks back to fond memories and truly there never is a dull moment.

There are a lot of Uncharted-ish moments where the game shows you it is willing to take risks on behalf of both itself and the player. The graphics have had a significant overhaul and lara looks gorgeous , so does her surroundings. Stealth is very much an important part of gameplay and you are given the option to either survive simply through intense stealth moments or adreline pumping combat, either way the fun had is ten fold. Special kods to those amazing twists and dejavu moments. Some of it truly made me see how much effort has been put into this game to make it as authentic and relatable as possible. Hats off to Square Enxi for the effort. Thanks to the 20th anniversary edition, I got to play the much acclaimed Baba Yaga DLC as well. Despite being short the story is sure to keep you on your toes. The hallucinations Lara goes through and the lore quotient to it all is what pulls off one of the best DLC moments in game. Craft manor and the survival mode each offer unique replay ability and is a must for those looking for a challenge.

Final Verdict : Rise Of Tomb Raider is a worthy successor to the first game, it corrects all it's short comings and  adds a bunch of new features with one amazing story to truly shine as an example as to what a game about Lara Croft can achieve if she is in the right hands. Thank you Square Enix, You did good ^_^