The next screen shows the skill tree, which is color-coded according to the three types. Scavenger (green) skills enhance her crafting and stealth skills. Warrior (red) skills increase her combat and weapon abilities. If you open the Skills menu, you'll see a brief overview of the 3 skill types: Seeker (blue) skills enhance Lara's exploration and observation abilities. This opens the Base Camp Menu.ĬHOOSING SKILLS: At this early stage you only have one option: Skills, but if you've been following this walkthrough you should have earned several Skill Points by now, possibly 4.
Use the next branch to swing across the gap, slide down the muddy slope, then slog through the mud toward the wreckage.Īpproach the campfire and press Interact to sit down at the Plane Wreckage Base Camp. ( screenshot) Follow the branch down to the crotch of the monkey tree and pick up some more feathers. Then jump down to the next ledge and press Interact to hang on. Continue forward, jump to grab the tree branch, and pull up. ( screenshot) There's a brief scare when the ledge crumbles under Lara's feet, but you'll be fine. This takes you along a narrow, rocky path. Lara spots a "silver-crowned mountain" in the distance, then sees a flare launched from somewhere below.Ĭontinue southwest toward the objective beacon. ( screenshot) Soon you'll come to a low ledge. If you get disoriented amid all the foliage, just use Survival Instinct (Q on the keyboard or Right Stick button on controllers) to highlight collectibles, wildlife, and the current objective. You'll also find some yellow-flowered plants that you'll be able to use for Focus Mixtures once you unlock a the Scales of the Serpent skill. Pick some health herbs and gather hardwood by stripping small saplings along the way. Without gear or weapons, there's not a whole lot you can do at this point, so make your way toward the objective. Your journey through ancient Mayan ruins will be memorable in terms of the sights and sounds you can discover in every nook and cranny.As you begin the level, another photo, Doctor Dominguez, is added to the Artifacts menu, in the Lara's Notebook Story. The second greatest strength of Shadow of the Tomb Raider is its beautiful graphics and cool sound direction. Gameplay is the game’s biggest strength as the overall experience is very entertaining and very rarely devolves into frustration. There’s also some Uncharted style moments involving running and jumping out of danger in cinematic set pieces as well as the survival mechanics from the previous games. The tombs in particular are a welcome addition as they had been relatively ignored in the previous two entries.
Aside from that though, there are a large number of tombs and optional side quests that you can explore for added fun and challenge. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a pseudo-open world game where you can explore large open environments while still being propelled from one place to another as you complete the main story. There wasn’t much more they could’ve added, aside from her still absent ability to dual wield her iconic pistols, which is understandable if a bit bland overall. Overall the selection is pretty complete which mostly makes up for the real lack of any new additions. She can use stealth, climb and do all manner of acrobatic moves to get from point A to point B. Lara has a large arsenal of weapons and tools including her bow, pickaxe and basic guns from the first game Tomb Raider. This is undoubtedly Shadow’s biggest weakness and failing. There are some highlights, particularly in the flashback sequence where we see Lara’s roots as a child, but aside from that and some interesting conversations between her and her friend Jonah, there’s not much going on here that will be remembered for too long after you finish it. Unfortunately despite some interesting moments, the game doesn’t really feel very impressive and disappointingly features a relatively shallow and mundane plot. Shadow of the Tomb Raider follows up and is the conclusion to the rebooted Tomb Raider series.