Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Story

While the trilogy focused on Lara maturing and becoming more powerful, Shadow explored her inner struggles to maintain her morality.^[22] Unlike previous games, in which Lara is thrust into dangerous situations, she takes a proactive role in this entry and must face the consequences of her actions.^[22][24] Bisson added that Lara was "overconfident," and that this personality flaw caused her to make mistakes.^[25] The opening set piece in Mexico was described by Eidos as the game's "benchmark scenes," as it set the tone and showed that Lara's reckless actions resulted in significant casualties.^[22] The destruction Lara unleashes when claiming a key artifact was designed as an inversion of the traditional Tomb Raider approach, helping to subvert players' expectations.^[16] Jonah had a larger presence in Shadow compared to his previous appearances. As Shadow featured a personal story for Lara, Jonah served as her moral compass, challenging her views and reminding her of the human cost of her quest for revenge.^[26][25] Jill Murray, the lead writer, noted that "there's a kind of desperation, a kind of panic, and kind of anger that goes into some of Lara's actions in the game."^[27] Throughout the story, Lara must learn to overcome her guilt and align with her own principles.^[28] While her motivations are selfish at the beginning of the game, she ultimately becomes a more selfless person over the course of the narrative.^[2] Camilla Luddington and Earl Baylon reprised their roles, providing voice and motion capture for Lara and Jonah.^[29]

According to Bisson, Lara was "awkward" around people. The large hub world of Paititi was designed as a "celebration of life," where she can learn to make more human contact, trust her allies, and complete side quests to help the populace. Narrative director Jason Dozois noted that these introspective scenes helped "create more of a person rather than just a super athlete who was always getting in and out of horrible situations".^[25] During the initial design pitch, the team wanted Lara to discover a real lost tomb with a living population, a concept previously limited by the technology available at the time. Their research led them to choose Paititi due to its historical precedent over purely fictional locations like El Dorado.^[30] The setting and narrative also took inspiration from Mayan, Aztec and Incan mythology.^[31] To ensure cultural accuracy and respect, the team worked with cultural consultation groups and consulted with historians from Yale University to explore how these cultures might have integrated.^[32][33][28] The team also conducted field trips to Machu Picchu and the Yucatán to better understand ancient architecture.^[32] They also studied archeoastronomy, using it as a narrative link for Cozumel and Paititi.^[34] Through the game, the team aimed to explore "responsible archaeology", one that fosters an understanding of a culture's customs, people, and language.^[35]

Gameplay

The studio had acted in a support role on the previous entries in the rebooted series, helping with level design and multiplayer in the 2013 reboot, as well as challenge tombs and a quarter of the main single-player campaign for Rise.^[22] The levels created by Eidos were rated very highly by playtesters, which gave Crystal Dynamics the confidence to pass the franchise to Eidos-Montréal. Similar to their work on the Deus Ex series and Thief, Eidos-Montréal first gained a deep understanding of the series' basic elements, then set about building the game using both previous entries and their own design philosophies.^[18] The two teams felt that traversal, combat, and puzzles were the three pillars of the franchise, and the game was designed to split focus evenly between these segments. The team added more tombs and puzzles to the game, as they were identified as the most common player requests.^[22] Tombs were spread across the main critical path and side objectives.^[36] Bisson aimed to make these tombs "dark," "brutal," and "scary," wanting most puzzles to feature a twist that would upset the player's expectations.^[36] The environments were also designed to be more lethal, filled with traps that can kill Lara instantly. These tombs featured an elaborate design intended to showcase Lara's competency.^[36]

One of the core narrative themes was "fear." The team sought to contrast the fear a player experiences while navigating dangerous tombs with the fear Lara inflicts upon her enemies during combat. To achieve this, they gave the player significant control over combat engagements, allowing them to retreat into stealth or use hallucinogenic arrows to manipulate the enemies' artificial intelligence (AI). While the team initially developed a "fear meter" that filled as Lara terrified her foes, it was scrapped for being too intangible. Instead, drawing inspiration from Predator and Alien, they focused on making the enemies' terror and panic visible on-screen.^[36] Additionally, stealth game mechanics were prioritized.^[2] Players can use the environments to gain tactical advantages over their enemies.^[36] For instance, players can traverse the canopy, which adds an extra layer of verticality.^[37] Inspired by older games in the series, players were encouraged to stay on the move. To achieve this, the team replaced stationary "mud pits" with a camouflage system that can be used anytime during combat.^[36] Dozois described Lara as an "apex predator," with combat prioritizing repositioning to allow her to blend back into the environment shortly after striking enemies.^[38][39] Despite this, Shadow was still designed to be a challenging experience, as the team felt that players would not feel fear if the game were too easy.^[36] Movement and traversal mechanics were also expanded to provide players with more control.^[40]

South American jungles were chosen as the game's main setting because the team felt they provided a clear visual contrast with those from its predecessors.^[35] They also believed it was one of the "deadliest environments" in the world.^[36] While initially designed to be "dark" and "bleak," the team eventually decided to make the setting more colorful.^[41] The developers perceived the game's world as a "character" in its own right, requiring players to overcome treacherous environments and dangerous wildlife to uncover its secrets.^[28] Early combat encounters serve as an introduction to Lara's abilities, which are then utilized against more formidable foes in later sections.^[42] Bisson noted that as players progress, the jungle becomes less hostile and more welcoming, reflecting that they have mastered the environment and "[become] a part of that world".^[36] Underwater exploration was included to bring Lara's moveset closer to that of the classic games.^[36] These sections were designed to be "claustrophobic",^[28] similar to the cenotes in Mexico.^[28] The team viewed National Geographic videos of scuba diving while creating these segments.^[43]

The music for Shadow of the Tomb Raider was composed by Brian D'Oliveira. While following the musical styles established since the 2013 reboot, the team added new esthetic elements, incorporating the local culture and the darker portrayal of both Lara and her mission. D'Oliveira was selected due to his ability with South American instruments, and during recording at his Montreal studios worked with native musicians to achieve the right sound for each location. Martin Stig Andersen worked as Ambient Sound Designer, who focused on the sound transition for underwater segments. The team brought back "The Instrument", a specially designed percussion instrument created for the 2013 reboot's soundtrack by Matt McConnell. "The Instrument" was used to help convey the primal aspects of Lara's character, in addition to referencing her adventure on Yamatai in the 2013 game.^[44]

Related media

In a joint co-production between Netflix and Legendary Entertainment, an anime-style series adaptation based on the video game reboot franchise was in the works, titled Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. The series is set after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider^[67] and bridges the gap between the reboot trilogy and the original series of games.^[68] The first season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft premiered on Netflix on October 10, 2024.^[69]

Critical response

Shadow of the Tomb Raider received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.^[70][71][72] However, it saw less critical success than the earlier games in the trilogy.^[81]

Andy Kelly from PC Gamer praised the improved stealth mechanics for allowing players to use multiple ways to manipulate enemy AI to their advantage. He compared Lara's fighting style to those of Batman and the Predators.^[77] Nicole Carpenter, writing for Variety, praised the upgrades and added that a stealthy approach to combat provided a rewarding challenge.^[82] Eurogamer's Aoife Wilson enjoyed the game's renewed emphasis on stealth, and remarked that these sections "treat open-world combat almost like a deadly puzzle".^[83] Edmond Tran from GameSpot, however, criticized it for being simple, noting it could be clumsy and unrefined.^[74] While critics generally praised the game for allowing players to individually adjust the difficulty of different gameplay elements,^[76][73] Ben Kuchera from Polygon criticized the game for overtutorializing its gameplay systems. He added that the game often pushed the player toward a specific playstyle and lacked "a lot of patience" for gameplay experimentation.^[84]

The game's prioritization of exploration and puzzle-solving was praised as a step in the right direction for the franchise.^[76][77] Sam Byford from The Verge described the pacing as "excellent," noting that it "skewed less toward combat than ever" with "fewer forced gun battles".^[85] Several critics remarked that Shadow had the most sophisticated puzzles in the series.^[76][77] Kelly praised the design of the tombs, adding that the game successfully conveyed "a sense of place and scale." While he felt the puzzles were never overly difficult, solving them remained highly satisfying.^[77] Lucy O'Brien from IGN liked the expanded traversal options, such as the new overhang and rappel abilities, for providing more complexity and diversity to the gameplay.^[76] Kimberly Wallace from Game Informer also highlighted the significant role of traversal tools in solving puzzles.^[73] While Tran strongly praised the game's level design, he felt that the platforming gameplay was imprecise.^[74]

Wilson praised the open-endedness of the levels and described the jungles as a "gorgeous backdrop".^[83] Olivia White from The Daily Telegraph wrote that the game's structure did not fully support many of its gameplay elements, such as crafting and role-playing progression, and that newly acquired upgrades often had little to no use.^[80] Rachel Weber from GamesRadar also wrote that the implementation of these mechanics were restrictive given the game's linear design.^[75] The hub world of Paititi was praised by O'Brien for feeling like a "real, lived-in city." However, she found the activities in these areas unremarkable and the side quests unimaginative in their design.^[76] Tran also criticized the abundance of collectibles for making the experience exhausting.^[74] Several reviewers praised Eidos' world-building efforts, noting that wandering through the hub worlds provided a welcome change of pace.^[77][83] Critics generally lauded the game's production value,^[77][78] with O'Brien specifically praising the set pieces and action sequences, describing them as "wonderfully orchestrated roller-coaster rides".^[76]

O'Brien praised Lara's character development, considering it an improvement over its predecessors and a moving conclusion to the Survivor trilogy.^[76] Wallace found the exploration of Lara's unresolved trauma interesting, though he considered the ending underwhelming.^[73] Wilson wrote that the narrative often fell back on familiar tropes despite promising a darker, more mature tone.^[83] Keza MacDonald from The Guardian described the story as an "incoherent mess" filled with "narrative inconsistencies", while White called it "incomprehensible".^[80][78] Lara's characterization was criticized. White wrote that she behaved like a "whiny, bratty child",^[80] Tran found her difficult to empathize with,^[74] and Wilson argued that Eidos failed to make this iteration of Lara likable or relatable, adding that Shadow featured a "contrived revenge story that no one asked for" with no moments of levity.^[83] Several critics noted that the game's violent gameplay did not mesh with a story attempting to depict Lara as a flawed, human character.^{[77][82][73][86]} Furthermore, some reviewers criticized Lara's actions in the game as being neocolonialist in nature.^[78][87] Byford concluded that the lack of gameplay innovation and a subpar story made it a disappointing entry in the series.^[85]

Sales

Upon release, Shadow of the Tomb Raider got off to a slow start in sales, attributed by Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda to a lack of originality compared to other titles at the time. In the United Kingdom, it was the second best-selling game of the week behind Marvel's Spider-Man. Its first-week sales were 25% higher than those of Rise of the Tomb Raider, but 70% lower than the 2013 reboot.^[88] In the United States, the game was the fifth best-selling title in September 2018.^[89] By the end of December 2018, the game shipped 4.12 million units.^[90] While it saw lower sales than many other titles of that year, Eidos-Montréal was satisfied with its sales as well as its critical reception, prompting them to produce the DLC episodes.^[91] By December 2021, it had sold 8.9 million units.^[92]

Accolades