Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an action-adventure game with a third-person perspective that tells the story of Lara Croft's new adventures. Lara will have to navigate through deadly jungles and eerie tombs and survive her darkest hour. Saving the world from the Mayan-predicted apocalypse, she will face many trials and fulfill her destiny by becoming a true tomb raider. You will need not only to survive but also to establish yourself in the deadliest place on Earth. There will be a lot of exploration of nature, underground caves, underwater lagoons, and various tunnel systems.
An action-adventure with RPG elements in an open world, Shadow of the Tomb Raider concludes the trilogy of young Lara Croft's adventures. It belongs to the series that began after the reboot of Tomb Raider. The game combines all the key components of the franchise: world exploration, stealth movement, puzzles, and genuine tomb raiding!
The development used a new engine, focusing on the quality of grass, shrubs, trees, light, and shadow play, which is necessary to reveal the beauty of the tropical jungles where the game's action takes place. The PC version of Shadow of the Tomb Raider was developed with the support of Nvidia and has additional visual quality settings.
The action of Shadow of the Tomb Raider is divided into several time episodes that unfold in three large locations — there is no single game world. Lara Croft will visit the Amazon River basin in South America, the Mexican island of Cozumel, and the mythical city of Paititi in Peru.
Each region has its own set of enemies and friends, fauna dangers, and terrain types — from mountains to tropical forests, from swamps to farms. Free movement between regions is not possible, but the passage will not be linear.
Each location has sections with vertical levels, above-ground and underground. For the first time in the series, developers have added many dungeons, caves, ancient catacomb ruins, and wrecked ships. Most of the tunnel systems are underwater, so the player will have to swim a lot.
The events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider begin a couple of months after Rise of the Tomb Raider, and the plot's premise immediately suggests an adventure epic.
Lara accidentally triggered the apocalypse predicted by the Maya, and her essence was consumed by darkness, making the heroine willing to go very far. She also encounters Dr. Dominguez, a long-time adversary and her father's killer. Driven by a desire for revenge and inner rage, she forgets about saving the world.
This is the darkest game in the series, and Lara is shown as a serial killer worse than the antagonists — mercenaries from the "Trinity" military company. Throughout the story, she searches for clues and details of the main quest across several time periods, piecing together a chain of tragic events from the past.
Lara has become noticeably, even visually, stronger, more resilient, and experienced; she is no longer the young archaeologist from the first part. She has learned new techniques and honed her skills in fighting opponents — in addition to her ice axe, bow, and knife, she employs new stealth attack techniques.
В игре присутствует система сбора ресурсов и их последующей обработки, а также ролевая составляющая.
В очередной раз Лара Крофт одна против всего мира, без оружия, снаряжения и союзников. Основной упор в геймплее Shadow of the Tomb Raider сделан на скрытности — героиня не очень сильна и нужно действовать тактически грамотно, используя окружение. Грязь — универсальный камуфляж, с помощью которого можно не только спрятаться, но и напугать врагов, посеяв среди них страх и хаос.
Также Лара должна использовать джунгли в своих интересах нанося неожиданные удары, подкрадываться сзади, выныривать из-под воды или атаковать сверху и быстро удирать. Для уничтожения наемников пригодятся разнообразные ловушки.
Важный аспект геймплея — изучение гробниц с опасными ловушками, причем даже первая из них будет сложной. Чтобы пройти их все придется овладеть новыми акробатическими приемами в скалолазании и беге по стенам, управлении канатами и крюками.
Многопользовательская игра
Shadow of the Tomb Raider предлагает оригинальную механику кооперативного прохождения.
- QTE-элементов стало больше, а боевая система, напротив, упрощена;
- можно настроить сложность головоломок, паркура, игрового мира и сражений, при этом игра сама по себе очень хардкорна;
- улучшено аудио-сопровождение, Лара ведет небольшие рассуждения по мере прохождения сюжетных заданий и вставляет слово-другое в страшных местах.