39) Tomb Raider (2013)

Following the release of Tomb Raider: Underworld in 2008, the team at Crystal Dynamics began working on a new title that would once again see a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. The game, titled simply Tomb Raider, focuses on a young, inexperienced Lara Croft as she embarks on her first adventure searching for the lost island nation of Yamatai. This marks the first game in a new trilogy that would show Lara becoming the seasoned treasure hunter that she's normally portrayed as, and helps to establish the identity of the series under Square Enix leadership from 2009 to 2022.

The game begins with Lara and her ragtag team on a ship while her friend, Sam, films a behind the scenes video which introduces us to the other members of the expedition. Among them is a famous archaeologist/ TV personality James Whitman, who Lara admires at the outset. As we see the crew arguing with Whitman, the ship, which has been sailing in dangerous weather, begins to sink, leading to the team being scattered and stranded on a remote island that, surprise, turns out to be Yamatai. Lara regains consciousness having been captured by savages, and is able to narrowly escape. Thus begins what I can only sum up as Lara and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Lara and the others eventually find one another, and the goal becomes surviving and finding a way off of the island. This proves far more difficult as we learn the island is home to a band of savage cultists comprised of various other survivors known as the Solarii Brotherhood under the command of a man known as Matthias. The Solarii cult plan to sacrifice Lara and her friend Sam in the name of Himiko, the once Queen of the island who the cult believes controls the weather. As they go to sacrifice Sam, a gust of wind puts out the fire, preventing her from being harmed, marking her as Himiko's successor.

The plot of the game is a bit convoluted and, frankly, a bit odd. It begins very much grounded in realism, but quickly becomes steeped in the supernatural. What initially seemed to be a freak accident turns out to be a common occurrence, as ships and planes that come near the island are struck by odd weather phenomena that lead to them crashing on the island. The weather also prevents any attempt to leave the island, which has led to the cult that we are forced to contend with. I kept waiting and holding out for a logical explanation for what was happening that the game never gives. Instead, it turns out supernatural forces actually are at play on the island, and the spirit of Himiko really does control the weather. Wait a second... A mysterious, supernatural force that causes ships and planes to crash in an area largely untouched by civilization... Having to contend with a cult that follows an actual supernatural entity... My God... It can't be...

Thankfully, despite the plot getting a bit out there, Tomb Raider at least proves to be a fun and engaging experience. As we explore the island, we find numerous upgrades to our tool kit, including new weapons and tools. There are also plenty of optional side areas to explore, including, surprise, plenty of tombs for us to explore. Tombs that we can, in other words, RAID. Exploration is almost always rewarded, whether it be with loot or lore, and it's genuinely fun to solve the puzzles the game presents. Combat is also genuinely fun, with the weapons and tools you acquire giving you more options as you progress. In a lot of ways, the game leans more toward the Uncharted series than it does to past Tomb Raider games, which can be argued to be either a benefit or a detriment.

The biggest element that jumped out at me and lingers in my mind is just how absolutely shitty the experience is for Lara. Over the course of the game, which takes place over an unspecified period of time, Lara is constantly getting the shit kicked out of her. She gets impaled, shot, falls, and gets captured repeatedly, and has to watch, powerless, as other members of the expedition sacrifice themselves for her. It honestly started to become comical just how much shit she has to go through. If the game had ended with Lara getting off the island, taking a nice, long bath, and then never setting foot outside again, I'd absolutely understand.

As a reintroduction to both the series and our protagonist, Tomb Raider does an excellent job of drawing the player in and getting us invested in Lara's adventures. Lara's shown to be smart, competent, and capable, though she struggles with self-doubt. Throughout her adventure, she's constantly reassured by those around her, and we see her grow more confident as the game goes on. I really like how she starts off scared and, though we see her become more comfortable and capable, she never loses that fear. Instead, she learns to push through instead of becoming paralyzed. She comes across as uniquely human, which is always nice to see. It'd be easy to have her become the sort of stoic caricature that we see all too often, meeting challenges without batting an eye and shooting off quips and one liners. It makes her feel more real, and makes me far more interested to see where her next adventure takes her.