Rise Of The Tomb Raider Is A Secret Collect-A-Thon
Crystal Dynamics’ follow-up to its 2013 reboot is more than just a quality sequel, although that’s certainly accurate. It’s also far more than the guerilla combat, stealth elements, and tomb raiding that were advertised. The true nature of Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of 2015’s biggest surprises: it’s a hardcore collect-a-thon in the proud tradition of games like Banjo-Kazooie or old-school Spyro the Dragon.
You spend over 90% of the game guiding Lara through ancient wildernesses and broken ruins, traversing achingly beautiful spaces in an effort to, quite simply, collect all the shinies. There are trinkets stuffed into every corner of this world, all ripe for the taking. The team at Crystal ensured that you will want to collect every single scrap you come across, as the game features an enhanced version of the original’s progression system. Lara’s ability to succeed in combat encounters is directly proportional to the time a player spends fully exploring Rise's environments and it is ultimately possible to create a Lara that is almost comically overpowered.
For players that adore exploring and collecting in beautiful game environments this is the greatest reward for their efforts that they could ask for. The more you explore the more minimal the non-exploration elements of the game become, until they fade into the background and the experience becomes just you, Lara’s nervous breathing, and the cold Siberian wind freezing your bones as you sink your climbing axe deeper into a wall made of solid ice. When it’s firing on all cylinders Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the most paradoxical games of 2015, equal parts frantic action and quiet intimacy. That it’s one of the best collect-a-thons gaming has seen in years is just icing on the cake.
*This article was originally published as part of a larger feature.
