Rise Of The Tomb Raider - 10 Things It Can Finally Get Right

3. Balancing Puzzles With Shooting

While the 2013 reboot featured puzzles that were implemented within the main bulk of the gameplay, it€™s fair to say that these small sections rarely ever reached the complex, interesting and challenging heights of previous games. And sadly, when the title did allow you to stop shooting people for a moment and tackle an environmental challenge all on its own, it was often entirely separate from the main game itself, giving you no real incentive to seek out and complete it. Which was a shame, because the few crypts you could explore provided some of the most interesting set-pieces of the entire title when it came to both a visual and mechanical perspective. The reboot managed to absolutely nail the core shooting mechanics and the actual act of exploring, but sadly didn€™t give the same care and attention to the aspect of the game that made the series great in the first place. Going forward there needs to be a more seamless integration between shooting, exploration and puzzles €“ and the act of raiding tombs cannot be reduced to only a glorified cameo again. It€™s not like that€™s the title of the game or anything.
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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.