Hello, Tomb Raider fans!!!

As you know I have returned from E3 and had a WONDERFUL TIME! As an ambassador, we were allowed to play Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There was a demo and then we were taken to a special room to play another section of the game. We are not supposed to display any photos of the gameplay nor screen caps so I will illustrate my impressions with lifted embargoed concept art and screenshots from SOTTR!

Did I feel like I was living a dream? Yes, I did. Did I feel super excited to meet everyone? Heck yes indeed. I was also very happy that we all got on wonderfully and meeting Earl Baylon and Camilla was fantastic too. Both are sweet humble people. I made new friends lasting beautiful memories and now I love Tomb Raider even more than before and I never thought that would be possible. From super fan to Superdidooper fan! LOL

My Gameplay Impressions of Shadow of the Tomb Raider …

The First play Demo …

Lara has skills in this game that are on fire. For one thing, she can smear mud on herself for camouflage one way to be “one with the jungle” She can also go in and out of stelf-mode while you play the game. I really appreciate that feature for one. The game is dark in presence as well as theme. I like this; because we are seeing Lara rising from the ashes of her past into a much more confident woman that means business when she is on a mission.

Lara does a lot of swimming I the beginning of this part and her ability to maneuver underwater is far more improved. I played this game on Xbox so the controls were a bit different for me, but that is fine.

Combat:

Lara is more realistic in her combat. It feels better and more physical in this game. Her expressions are a big part of feeding the gamer her emotions. I have never seen her more animated. She felt more grounded and tangible in this game than I ever remember. The way she can ambush enemies is better and more articulate than in RotTR.

The Next Hands-on Experience

We were treated to another gaming experience with Shadow of the Tomb Raider that will be the shining moment of all gaming experiences. This opens in an area of the game where Lara must get to the top of a certain pyramid. She works hard to find her way and whilst she is you have to figure out a bit of mechanical puzzle play that I adore!

Everything is realistic, I could not see anything that didn’t look like a scene from the real world in texture, color, and scope. Wow, it was truly breathtaking.

Ther are areas where you have to shoot a rope arrow to one wrapped in rope post to another rope wrapped post, handle, plank etc. This, in turn, will make something work down the line like maybe allow Lara the height to jump to another area for example.

You will take Lara through her paces from one vast environment to another. There is a scene where Lara hears some news that sends her off the edge! She is told that Jonah is dead. Rather he is or not is not clear so I will not say. It makes Lara’s blood boil and she becomes a true warrior. We see her rising from the fire in the water surrounding her, and she walks from it strong and unbending towards her victim. The scene gives you cold chills and brings many emotions into play. Everyone felt it!

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah

 

 

 

 

 

 

He has come into his own and is a type of stability for Lara. He has seen his friends killed from past experiences with Lara and now has become a best friend and voice of reason for her. He expresses himself in a big way that lets her understand “It is not all about you, Lara!” His character has grown immensely through the reboot trilogy. Earl has done a marvelous job with him.

Game Modes

Challenge yourself! If you like a full-blown challenge you can have it now. There are places as fans we know to jump to and climb etc. However, with this game, you can take the white highlighted areas away. You can take the voice clues away and anything else that would serve as a guide. You can go completely on your own through the vast jungle environment and others. It makes the experience very difficult but that is what an adventure on the scale Lara goes on more authentic. In reality, you will not find highlighted areas to jump from or climb. Now you can experience it close to the way real life would be in this situation. I love it and YES I am going to do that when I get through it the first time.

Paititi Huge Hub!

 

 

 

 

We saw a hub in a presentation with Jill Murry and Robert Darryl. We were told that the game will take place in Paititi a place I had a very strong idea it would be as soon as I heard about the Lost City in Peru! I nearly said “Yay” when it was mentioned but I kept my mouth shut. LOL

Lara travels through this giant hub and interacts with the people throughout. This is similar to the remnant village in Rise but far more developed and vaster I feel. Though the culture historically would not be Maya for it is Peru, that is not an issue, for this is a game.

I adore what they did with this part of the game. The colors are crisp, vibrant and authentic. Maya architecture boasts bright color throughout the Mesoamerican world. The languages you hear as Lara walks by these people is authentic Maya among others. I adore the touch of reality this brings. Llamas are friendly in Paititi and if you hear “Llama Lara” somewhere that joke developed from this fact! I love it!

Lara wears some beautiful tribal clothes in this game as she goes through this hub. She even trades with gold. How fitting is that for it is the Lost City of Gold after all. They thought of everything to give this game a wonderful feel, look, and experience. There is a scene with a waterfall that will blow your mind. It looks quite real even down to the misty spray you will find if you stand by one as I have many times. It was breathtaking and a small example of the improvements in this game and how I feel Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the best one in the reboot series by far.

Elements …

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water:

• The Swandive is back! That was so exciting to see in the gameplay. Swimming is filled with traps, piranas, and electric eels. Also, Lara must find bubbles to breathe.

 

Tombs:

• Darker and deeper than ever before. Treacherous traps everywhere. They will challenge you for sure!

Puzzles:

• Far more intense and they make you think. I liked this about it a lot.

Grapple:

• Far better than before. More choices than before.

One with the Jungle

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Lara uses her environment to her advantage such as mud smeared over her skin for camouflage as she goes in and out of stelf She has become an efficient killer in this game out of necessity and blends into her environment seamlessly.

 

“I’m coming for you!”

 

When you hear Lara say that you will have cold chills. It is sinister and very effective! Usually, Lara is fighting to get to the object before Trinity in this case. Example: The Atlas

However, in this case, Dr. Dominguez wants the same thing Lara does and her getting to it first may not be a good thing. We shall see about that.

 

Well, my overall impression of this game is 100 % a 10 five stars! Yes, I highly recommend it and know it has something for everyone. It is a success and I cannot wait to play it in its entirety! Bravo to the writers and developers and everyone in between that made this game possible. Off the charts success! Loved it!

Shadow of the Tomb Raider Gallery

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Explore the World!

 

~Emma

 

I also want to give a shout out to Meagan and Morrigan for organizing everything wonderfully and getting us out of the sun! You both made our experience fantastic. Outstanding job!

 

“Square Enix sponsored my travel and accommodations to this event.”