A few people have left similar comments regadring my choice to tackle a certain scene the way I did for this video. So I thought I'd tweak a reply I made to one of those comments to give further clarity. Firstly, the thing I mostly wasn't comfortable about was delving into the whole controversy surrounding the scene where it looks like Lara was about to be come a vicitm of sexual assault, and risking this video becoming yet another hit piece aimed at the team who made this game. I try to keep things as light as possible when whilst being informative about the behind the scenes goings on, but the more I looked at what I had originally wrote for discussing this moment, the more my personal bias towards the scene became apparent, and that section ended up reading like I was making things too personal, or like I was targeting certain people by naming and shaming, which is not what I'm about as a creator. The bottom line I guess is that this scene has been covered, discussed, decried and; imo rightly criticised by a lot of people, some far more qualified than me, to a point where this scene is the one thing most people clearly remember about this game, and I didn't want this video to be about that again. I wanted to put aside all the controversy for a moment and just let the rest of the game take priority, and whilst I have my opinions on them using an outdated trope for this "new and improved" origin story of such an important female pop-culture icon, I felt it important to try and change the conversation a little about 2013. Hopefully this all made some sense about my position on the whole thing, and I hope you enjoyed the video🙂
Great post! In all honesty I thought it looked like sexual assault, and at the end of the day, thats the reality of war. Or rather how a group of savage men on a remote island might act.
@@kieranwillis395 when the guy is speaking russian and telling Lara how he did a thing with his sister? That's what they did in Bucha, Izium, Mariupol. Nothing surprising. Only way to resist is to fight back.
@@paulwoodford1984I find it bit odd too, but I think that's a quirk of open-world adventure games; not a lazy writing. Far-cry series also get the same criticism where the protagonist goes from innocent to berserker in very short time.
One moment from the game that really stuck with me all these years later is the diary entry you can find of one of Himiko's handmaidens being favored by Himiko and getting special treatment. She mentions Himiko holding her face and gazing at her with admiration. But the handmaiden finds it unnerving, "as if she's looking at herself in a mirror." Which was great foreshadowing of what happens eventually.
some of the writing was great in the game.. i liked how the black woman was rude to lara because she blamed her for her husband's death.. that felt very realistic to me
That's explained in the Croft Manor DLC. She's still grieving Roth and using the dual pistols reminds her of him. It's not until Shadow that she comes to terms with her trauma. Still disappointing that it's not like an unlockable in at least Shadow after beating the game.
@@coolman229 Well, the reasoning is whatever the writers and devs decide. They could've easily made her continue using the duals to honor Roth, but nope, they decided to come up with something that prevents it instead.
I can't believe how dumbed down the gameplay is. TR was never the height of complexity but the reboot series is essentially CoD : Lara Croft.....being that's what it amounted to, it's enjoyable in the same way truly terrible fast food is.
To be fair, Eidos Montreal seemingly agrees - there are animations for dual-wielding in Shadow that can be dug up, and hopefully some day modded back in.
The world building and lore is pretty interesting in this game if you look into it. In the 1950s, there were claims of a mysterious island off the south coast of Japan where "military ships" supposedly went missing. In reality, these claims were much exaggerated and they were actually mostly fishing boats. A research vessel sent to study the cause of the sinkings in 1954 ended up sinking itself and it turns out that the cause was an underwater volcano erupting and trapping pockets of air under the surface, which lowered the buoyancy of the water so it could no longer support the boats. Then you had the fact that the location of the remains of Himiko, ruler of Yamataikoku, weren't known at the time in 2013. However, her grave was actually discovered not long after on Japan's main island of Honshu. And the boat in the game is named the _Endurance_ after the ship in which explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew famously survived being shipwrecked in Antarctica in the early 20th century.
The humor, the editing, the references, the script. Everything's just great! The game itself is pretty fun, it was a good reboot try, I really enjoyed. Climbing the radio tower was the most memorable moment. But I gotta say I miss old Lara.
@Equus21 they'd have to find right actor, Camilla did a good job for the most part, but she doesn't have the kind of voice to pull off that side of Lara. it works for this Lara, but if they wanna return to familiar territory but with modern graphics, there not need someone new. some people might miss Camilla's voice, but there's been alot of people who voiced her over the years. the original VA did the first two games, maybe Tomb Raider 3 but I'd have to play that one again to refresh my memory. i know she was different in Last Revelation, and Angel of Darkness. Legends Lara had someone new, but one thing they all had in common, they had the kind of vocals perfectly suited for sassy talk.
Having beat this just the other day, the radio tower was one scene that made me say out loud holy crap with a genuine smile on my face. The music rushing up as you climb the tower to actually finding a radio frequency and hearing back from the pilot, really made me start to enjoy the game. I kept comparing it to uncharted which is understandable considering uncharted came before this one which is ironic with how uncharted was made in the same mold as the first few TR games, so essentially it's come full circle. Overall a great experience and I'm really looking forward to starting rise and shadow soon.
@sherrie553 ok so 2 & 3 were voiced by someone else. well i knew somebody did the voice, but when i played the games back then i didn't pay much attention. but i was a kid then, one thing they all had in common, the voice was similar. where i noticed the voice difference, was in Last Revelation. And of course Angel of Darkness, but i forget who did that one.
Such a great video! Love what you do Steve! Fun fact: If you stay and listen to one of the crazy prisoners in the Thermal caves you find out he is the Dad of the two girls toys you find. He says their names if you stand by his cell.
That whole "you know sacrifice and not loss" bit was amazing writing. While I live the campy and sometimes schlocky writing of the core design era of the franchise, parts like that are why the survivor trilogy is what I most often go back to.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw this, I’ve been looking forward to this retrospective for a long time! Can’t wait! Edit: I new this was going to be a great retrospective but the editing and jokes made this 10 times better, great work as always Steve!
As a proud Yorkshire denizen, I can confirm that Lara should have had a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea. They’d all have been off Yamatai 50% faster. Seriously though, absolutely fab work as per usual! Thank you, Steve!
1:02:35 actually that’s a homage to The Descent where the exact same kind of scene happens when one of the girls falls into a deep pool of spilled blood in the crawlers’ pantry. The frantic climb out of a root cave under a tree at the beginning of the game also references the movie’s ending and the climbing axe as your melee weapon is also from the film.
This game was the most recent AAA game, and TR, I have acess to for 10 years. I still cant believe it has been that long, and how many dozen times I have seen the credits. My PS3 even has a skin with one of the concept art! PS4 and PS5 are still really expensive in county, and a powerfull PC is also out of question. Thank you sm for remembering once again why I loved this game so much
When I first encountered Tomb Raider, I was a 5-year-old girl. My first Lara was the Core version but being a little girl, the whole "tits and guns" aspect wasn't even something I thought about. I didn't even see the sexualised advertisements until much later. It was just a game my dad brought home one day with interesting environments and puzzles. It was also the first time I saw a woman be an action star which made Lara a positive rolemodel because for me she was capable and confident and I didn't have a sister to look up to in that way. The only aspect of her physical appearance I cared about was the ponytail and it's the way I wear my hair to this day.
I was so obsessed with game hair physics for some reason and 7 year old me first saw Lara and thought "oo ponytail" and that started my obsession with Lara to this day
I never knew shantytown was so hated. Its verticality alone endeared me to the area. I liked the visuals of the giant pile of rickety houses stacked on one and another. Plus I found the combat encounters and setpieces pretty good. I agree about the brown era of gaming though. Grit and realism can be achieved without sacrificing visual appeal.
As someone who regularly still says "my eyes!, the goggles do nothing!" in every day life (much to the empty looks of unknowing from my friends a lot of the time) I fully respect you using it in this video lol
The thing is, these games borrowed heavily from the Uncharted games but failed to bring over their strongest features - a good script & and a likeable cast of characters. Without those elements, and having largely abandoned the Tomb Raider series own strongest feature ever since Crystal Dynamics took over the series (exploration) - there wasn't much left to pull the player through to the end of the game. You either play through the games because you enjoy the action / puzzle gameplay and want more of it. Or you don't. For someone who always enjoyed the exploration & isolation of the original Core Design Tomb Raider games (and found their supernatural elements and the idea's behind their artifacts & enemies somehow compelling) & equally enjoyed the Uncharted games for their cast, banter between characters, sense of adventure, and roller coaster pacing - these latest Tomb Raider games were an unsatisfying compromise between the two (this first one was the best for me, I think because it had the best narrative, supernatural enemies & a good sense of mystery as the story of the island is slowly revealed). I think I'd prefer either a complete rollback to bring back abandoned Tomb Raider gameplay & design elements, or a different developer to work on something completely new with the basic idea's of the franchise - I've lost faith that Crystal Dynamics are likely to deliver a Tomb Raider I'm interested in given the directions they seem interested in developing.
Except the Uncharted games (except 2nd one) are as boring as it gets, extremely linear (all 4 games are a giant corridors with almost no optional paths), over simplistic gameplay (which has not evolved by an inch, to the point it felt out-dated in Uncharted 4, especially the climbing, not challenging at all), unbalanced difficulty (in the lower modes, the game could be beaten by a 4 years old, in the harder modes, you can't move without instantly dying, which kills the pace).
I honestly can't say anything that Steve hasn't already said in this incredibly detailed video, wow was this worth the wait! The speech at the end about the series' legacy especially hit hard, it inspires me to make my own videos on this series I played since childhood some day. Thank you!
Great video as always, Steve! In particular I liked the part where you expressed how much the ending meant to you, very touching stuff. But we all know the best part was when I showed up.
The new TR games are excellent on their own but I personally think the main character should have been someone else, not Lara. We love Lara for who she is - strong, skilled, cheeky, elegant and fearless. In these games she feels more like a victim of the circumstances, bunny lost in the woods full of wolfs. She feels weak and unskilled. All of her actions look more accidental than deliberate calculation. Her survival is mostly luck rather than skill. If that is the realness they were going for then it sounds pretty bad as they make it sound as if a strong, skilled, cheeky, elegant and fearless woman is less realistic than a whiny and unskilled little girl. No acrobatics? Just a big portion of what we loved her for was just totally taken away from her. What comes to the changes they made to the gameplay of the series - I am not sure why modern games hop onto the trend of realism in their gameplay. Realism is not an indicator of a good game, actually it is the opposite way too often imho, it just adds unnecessary complications to the games that make them quite often nightmarish to play. A good example of this is constant catastrophe Lara goes through the entire game. Everything is falling apart, all of the buildings are unstable, every ledge she grabs on crambles, she constantly struggles and it's not pleasant to watch a person suffer the entire game. She doesn't like to be there. I just finished playing the last one and I walked out of this experience as if I personally just survived a catastrophe of some sort. It's not inspiring like the previous ones which leads me to the next point. Tomb Raider used to be an exploration game but became a survival-shooter which is a huge switch. I think it's very important for a game to stay in the niche that it fills which usually seems to producers to be too specific so they try to go for more mainstream approach leaving us with pop games that are no different from a million others. You could put Drake there instead and nothing would change about it. The niche that Lara used to fill is empty now and nothing can fill it. It used to be a calming game that evoked the sense of wonder and mystery where you could explore locations at your own pace in peaceful solitude which added depth and uniqueness to them but now it's just a very stressful, fast paced, very crowded and sometimes pretty awful experience of being in very ugly places filled with corpses or just looking like trash (ruins in siberia or most of the locations on that island from 2013 one). I don't know why someone would think it's going to be enjoyable to be in such places, they just look and feel depressing as if we don't have all of that in our everyday life. Lastly rewriting Lara's history this many times is not a good idea either and expanding on unknown parts of her life would make a more seamless transition not only from the previous games but also for the potentially future ones. This rewriting has the side effects of disregarding and erasing the previous games completely (which is literally spitting to the face of the fanbase) but also creating this feeling that we don't know who Lara is anymore. Is there going to be a new Lara again in the future? Will Richard Croft have another version of his death as well as Amelia Croft? I doubt that as this version of Lara is dull and resurrecting the previous one is desperate which just means that these last 3 games were simply the last nail in Lara's coffin. Pretty disappointing. Don't get me wrong, the games are very good, the fact that it's Lara Croft makes them bad. P.S: I think Anniversary is the perfect example of the perfect Lara Croft game. Perfect balance of control, environment, locations, music, combat, puzzles and story behind. Pure exploration in blissful solitude. No chaos.
Damn, mate. Now we know why it took so long, this is a huge review video. And on point, too. I really appreciate how you take the time to do justice to these games, like explaining that the old games weren't just, quote, "tits and guns". I personally remember playing them with glee and curiosity of what environments I would see in the next level, what vehicles I would drive, what mind-blowing jumps and platforming would I have to do. In fact, these series of games had an impact on my life, throughout the years. I played most of them as a kid / young teenager and replayed them over the years and they convinced me to get into exciting hobbies like mountain hiking and motorcycle riding. I vividly remember how much I loved the Venice levels in TR2 (my first ever interaction with the series) and I recently visited Venice, now being in my 30s and loved that place. We are fortunate to have played and enjoyed these games for what they truely are. Thanks for relaying that to others that might do the same! Keep up the good job, m8.
Another banger, but I mean who would ever doubt that!!!! Still cannot believe my favorite game franchise that has been a part of my life since childhood, gets to be featured in these quality retrospective videos, it almost feels weird having such perfectly tailored quality videos to enjoy. Truly brilliant work Steve! ❤
I'm very excited!!! I've seen all your TR Retrospective videos multiple times, even sometimes just in the background, like a relaxing ASMR video. Can't wait to watch this during dinner today
I laughed so much, my word. More than most comedy films. The Yorkshire tea bits, literal tears! Beautiful delivery of those wonderfully written jokes. Though, I can't help myself feeling a bit sad. I know there are only two videos like these left. I look forward to them, EAGERLY.
A fantastic retrospective, Steve. I have a vivid memory of enjoying this game when it initially released, but over time I began to feel like it was not a Tomb Raider game overall and I found myself uninterested with the subsequent titles as a result. I can respect a great deal of how they attempted to "reinvent" the series, but I do feel like a certain layer of identity was lost in the transition. Especially since Lara's character moving forward literally becomes so focused towards her father, (way more than the Underworld trilogy) that she becomes a figure where I could not tell you who she necessarily is as a person. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Outstanding video and well worth the wait. The passion you put into this is fully on display and I am proud to see such quality content every time. Much love
My man, I would like to thank you and say amazing work with your Tomb Raider coverage, this time beginning with the modern rework of Tomb Raider 2013. The commentary, the concise points and opinions, the meme edits, and the quality is exceptional! I found you on a nostalgia hunger looking for PSX-era Tomb Raider playthroughs, and stuck by your content ever since. And seeing you get this far is definitely a sight to see! I wish you nothing but success in your efforts, my man! Looking forward to the next installments.
You do such an amazing job with these retrospective videos. I’ve rewatched all of them so many times! Thank you for all the time and passion that you put into these projects they’re all fantastic 👏🏻
Just caught up on all the Retrospective videos for the tomb raider games you have done over the years. I find your style of review quite an interesting take as you take your time to explain your views and why you have arrived at them as opposed to trying to squeeze everything into a 10-20 min vid, cant wait for you to do one for the last 2 current Tomb Raiders :D
Recently discovered your channel and really enjoying your tomb raider revisits! Watched them all in a weekend filled with nostalgia. Never played the recent Tomb Raiders so was nice to have a little peek through your videos. Keep up the great stuff, and also, nice use of Psycho Mantis' theme there at the end ;)
Out of the Survivor Trilogy, this has the best sense of progression. Each new gameplay element is introduced at the right time, doesn't feel tacked on and has a certain gravitas upon aquiring (see grenade launcher), the later games are much worse in that regard. It is my second favorite of them, it has the most coherent experience but lacks the excellent puzzles and exploration of Shadow.
About 47:00 - Planes are hit by lightning very frequently, and they don't catch fire, nor crashland. There MAY be some interference with on board instruments, but generally nothing permanent nor fatal.
Very good analysis. I liked the comparison to the critically underrated TR: Anniversary. I played SotTR which really dragged along for me. halfway through i started Anniversary which i had neglected back in the day and found myself completing it long before SotTR. Anniversary was a brilliant Remake of the first game.
Can't say how awesome this retrospective has been to watch, Steve. Thank you for the hard work. As many others have said, you really do justice to this series. Take a well earned rest 😁. Keep it up! Sincerely, a random TR fan from Chile.
1:03:46 The caves are an active volcano and the floor collapsing exposes the lava chamber. The chain reaction caused by the explosions in fact causes the volcano to erupt which is why the palace and shantytown is set on fire. The bad bit is it isn’t a lava eruption and more the Mt St Helens kind which is lame. An escape through the burning town from a flood of lava would have been awesome especially if Himiko used pyroclastic flows to her advantage to down the chopper. Shadow made this mistake too using a lahar for its eruption late game. The DLC for Shadow thankfully didn’t make the same mistake this one does with its lava in that it’s too far away for Lara to fall in, merely acts like a bottomless pit and you only get lava twice in the game, the second time also being an almost identical looking pit on the volcanic peak you climb to reach Sam at the end.
Steve, that was a brilliant piece of work you put out there. Thank you so much. I am a bit intimidated by the divide in the tomb raider community (and seldomly take part in it because of that) as someone who grew up obsessing over classic TR and got back into gaming years later with TR 2013 and the reboot series to the point where I am kind of a game developer myself these days - it's kinda hard to find places where all TR generations are celebrated and also fairly analyzed, discussed and criticized, so I am very thankful to you to provide such a place. The one thing I love about the reboot series above all others (and there is a lot I really love about them) and I pray that it will somehow survive into the unified timeline is Lara's portrayal as an archeology nerd. The collectibles are great for environmental story telling and little side stories as you mentioned, but they also perfectly demonstrate Lara's profound knowledge of ancient cultures and her passion and excitement for the subject. I love that she cares for these things so much, that she forgets all the chaos and world-ending-affairs for a brief moment just to marvel about her latest discovery. That's what's making her relatable for me and something I don't see very often in AAA video game characters.
This was well worth the wait. This series of retrospectives is what brought me to your channel, and what convinced me to subscribe. TR 2013 gets a much worse rap than it deserves, imo. The narrative, gameplay, and atmosphere is gripping, even if it does stumble in places, and Shanty Town aside, Yamatai is a fascinating place to explore. And I agree that something feels off with the facial expressions for Lara in the Definitive Edition. In the side by side comparison clips, DE Lara's face looks... vacant, as if she hasn't got a single thought running through her head.
❤ After a decade I started playing TR2013. It took me 'some time' to convince myself to touch this part after being hardcore fan of 1-5 parts. Thank you for this retrospective as you had your part in all this.
You did an incredible job covering this game as fair as possible, just like with AOD, and the waiting for this video has really paid off. The editing style and jokes are still as good as ever; it's main reason why I love rewatching your retrospectives. They are just so entertaining! I especially liked the Yorkshire Tea bit xD
This whole retrospective project has been invaluable and no doubt, look like a lot of work went in to going this in depth for each title, and they've only gotten better with each analysis. Love the series and your take on them. The next game you're covering is one of my absolute favorites from the franchise, and I hope you'll love it too!
Just like a delicious 90 minute film - but with additional scenes to add to the story. We thank you for taking your time and out of your personal life to provide us this long awaited retrospective! One of my favorite channels here! Thank you ❤❤❤❤
Excellent video Steve! Definitely worth the wait! This game really was the game that got me into the series as a whole with my first exposure to it being AOD. I actually remembered buying this game at launch back in the day. One of the things that I loved about this game was the progression of Lara’s character. Just seeing her go from a scared girl just trying to survive by any means to AN ABSOLUTE WARRIOR is so satisfying to see. I made me cheer her on throughout the game lol I feel that this game doesn’t get as much appreciation for the community as it deserves. Yes it is VERY different from the previous titles but the ideas this game brings to the table are really good imo. Dare I say but this game is honestly is one of my favorite games of all time and I’m glad it was done justice!
31:49 - not the only moment like this. I'm actually surprised you didn't point out "the survival" moment where she is impaled in a cesspool of human waste and remains, crawls through this with a pretty large and deep open wound and then it takes her several DAYS before even thinking about doing something about that injury (namely is offered a bandage). As the "canon" is right now, she should be long dead from various infections and/or bloodloss. I hunt, make a campfire and crawl through WW2 bunker before thinking: "Oh, I got a pretty big hole in my stomach." The "survival" bubble burst pretty damn early for me. Edit: Great job, loved the video. Liked and subscribed.
Another great review Steve, the wait was worth all the way! I remember my father, brother and I waiting for another Tomb Raider game for so long after not having so much fun with TR Underworld beforehand. 2013 we didn't rent the game like we normally always did, we full on bought it. Us three played 1/4 of the game then and there the whole night and I have so many fond memories of this game because of it. Also at 42:57 that barrel was going crazy! 😂
Also Toby Gard did an external work as an advisor/director for the cutscenes etc. And I think it shows. Its also the last Tomb Raider he worked on. Really loved the ending of this game and its a shame CD went a completely different direction.
Such a phenomenal retrospective video as always!! and i must say the humor was the highlight of this video to me JFSKSDFJK i was dying after every 5 minutes ESPECIALLY THIS MOMENT 48:37 TOOK ME OUT 😭😭😭
Incredible work! While I am more of a LAU fan, because that's the Tomb Raider I grew up with, this made me remember what a great game TR2013 is. Come to think of it, it might be the strongest in the Survivor trilogy, though it's hard for me to judge as it's been a while since I last played any of them. Looking forward to the next retrospectives in due time!
This is such an excellent retrospective. When I think back to my 1st encounter with the game (in 2016) I hadn't, at that stage, played any video games for about 5 years prior. I was totally out of the loop and didn't even know that this title was made. I was gifted this game and I expected to be greeted with nostalgia. This new iteration being devoid of that style completely threw me and I kept waiting for "Tomb Raider" to happen. But, this retrospectively undoubtedly brings out the fact that this game is a really great game, with great ideas, a different kind of tone and mechanics to match. A great video for a really good game that I now want to play through again ❤
finally found the time to watch your video from TR 2013 😊. And it didn't disappoint! It was perfect in every way and I can only imagine how much work you put into it! You've really progressed a lot since your first TR retrospective. It's an honor to watch you grow in your talent that i saw you had since the beginning. Keep it up Steve and the ending gave me goosebumps from the Metal Gear Solid 1 soundtrack you used 😝! Looking forward to your next retro Steve! My highest respect for all the hard work you put into your videos!
thank you for all of your hard work . it is truly appreciated! i hope you will gain so many more of everything that you already have right now, your videos are like precious gems in this world!
Superb retrospective of my second-fave reboot of this series, thanks, Steve (Legend was my mid-2000s TR love!). Subscribed to this gem of a channel, and looking forward to watching many of its videos.
Interesting explanation for her accent. With this game it was definitely jarring for me: "Mayday mayday, this is Lara Craft, Rath and I need to get aff the island" but she sorts it out for the sequels. Great video! Fair, unbiased, and hilarious as always 🤩
My biggest issues with the newer games is... where's the interesting enemies? There's no crazy hidden dinosaurs, mummies, mutants, or obviously supernatural monsters. All of the "monsters" we fight in the new games are basically just bulky humanoids with nothing interesting going on. The games are fun and all, but they just don't feel like Tomb Raider games. Even AOD feels like more of a TR game than the new ones do.
This video came just in time. The first time I watched these retrospectives it helped me through a really tough time. Here we are again. Thanks, Steve. (,=
Well done, you indeed managed to create a fair and unbiased retrospective of this game imo (1:41:23), a game that is easy to dismiss or trash-talk by taking things out of context or purposefully distort, but you did neither (and if you gave your personal opinion on something it always was genuine and well-argued). Bravo!
Your editing and production value is so good and has improved so much since your first Tomb Raider review. The Time Crisis bit had me laughing so hard.
Another great entry Steve, I guess its time to go back to the start and rewatch the entire retrospective! I remember loving this game at the time, and to a certain extent its sequels; although I never finished Shadow, and with the LAU era being my first experience with TR, at the time it felt so fresh and exciting. I havent played this entry in a long time so I can't say my feelings are accurate, but having since played the original CORE games and seeing what Tomb Raider was for so long, I have come to feel as though this game hasn't aged well and is quite derivative of many other games at the time. Ever since Crystal took over I feel the series has slowly lost its identity and what made it stand apart from other popular franchises, particulary after the LAU era ended; with a lot of difficulty, true exploration, discovery and tricky puzzle solving absent, as well as Lara gaining a very different personality and outlook over the three games. In my opinion this trilogy, despite its efforts really lost its way in capturing what Tomb Radier was, and who Lara Croft is... as you said at the end, what the games and what Lara REALLY used to be outside of marketing and what popular culture had come to paint her as, as years went by. Whatever is next for Tomb Raider, I hope they lean on what made the series special at the beginning - from rumours I hear I'm not sure thats what we're getting, but we can hope.
34:27 I feel as though it needs to be pointed out that, during Lara's very first QTE fight with Larson, he will attempt to shoot Lara dead out of frustration and will succeed if you fail. It's even revealed later that he questioned Natla if she's sure Lara wouldn't actually give up the Scion as instructed, not wanting to have to confront her. Later, he will attempt to only knock Lara out with his shotgun during the QTE at the end of Egypt (the one where he deliberately misses his clear shot on her) while his cohorts will actively try to kill her. Larson's portrayal is somewhat inconsistent/messy and the whole thing would have been better if he'd never raised his weapon against Lara until he had to defend himself at the end.
@30:00 she wasn't traumatized over killing the man. She was almost raped and killed. Yes, killing wasn't necessarily fun for her, but the escaping rape and death was the point IMO. that's why it's not an issue to do that going forward.
Writer said she was supposed to have an enemy-free section after and curl up in fetal position and have a talk with her friend over trauma and THEN fight more but devs forced to have 42 enemies between the two scenes so it WAS jarring for everyone involved. It feels unnatural how it switches into a combat sequence.
Welcome back. Before I watch, I find TR13 mechanically satisfying and the visuals of the survivor trilogy (by which I mainly mean ROTR) almost on the OG games' level, but I hate the fact every single character was a cliche. Like it's so predictable that everyone would have just shot the archeology guy the moment they were out of the reach of civilisation
I liked Tomb Raider 2013. Can't believe its been 10 years. I bet in another 10 years it will still feel like the "new" Tomb Raider. The classic games on the other hand (TR 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) will always just feel 'classic'. That all may just be my nostalgia however.
Thanks you Steve, I started with the franchise with Legends, but first I was trying to find a retrospective video and I found yours, and now, big fan of your videos, thanks again !!!
shame that this game did such a good job of setting up a origin to the OG tombraider, especially the ending with the duel pistol reveal but unfortunately they went in a different direction and focused more on what made reboot lara different from her predecessors rather on what made her similar.
A much awaited and beautifully delivered video ! I remember initially playing this game with a lot of prejudices in mind (it's not a real TR game, this isn't the Lara I know and love...etc.) and being very pleasantly surprised to find a really good game with a really compelling origin story for my favorite fictional character ever. Lara's character building is amazing. It's a shame the sequels didn't quite follow through with this, Rise of the Tomb Raider especially (a good game in itself, but not enough of a great sequel as it completely shifts the initial game's focus, which was Lara's growth)
53:47 normally I would agree with you but Crystal takes EVERY opportunity to $#!T on old Lara and Core Design and this is not the first or last time ALSO they MADE THIS ALL HAPPEN this isn't an ACCIDENT or a REAL persons LIFE tis is a NARRATIVEthey created to make the character know as the Tomb Raider HATE TOMBS there by dismantling her, and trying to suppling her with they SLOP, The fact that it is Plausible just means that are GOOD at DESTROYING a character that is this Beloved, and it work on you at least, you just called CLASSIC Lara a SPECIAL kind of PSYCHOPATH and that is EXACTLY what Crystal Dynamics WANTED!
I'm going to be watching this at a more opportune time, giving it all the attention it deserves! I've been so excited for this. Love all of your previous videos on these games. Tomb Raider 1 is the one from the series I grew up playing and it's still the only one I've revisited and actually completed as an adult. I barely play any modern games, but enjoy tremendously your reviews and hearing all of your criticisms and "what could have been" suggestions - the last one especially for The Angel of Darkness. Thank you for all of your hard work Steve! Greetings from Hungary.
My ideal Tomb Raider game would be: -Lara's Home with engineer and of course the Butler (and empty museum) -World map with 20 locations or so to travel to, with guides and mules to put items on -explore each location freely, explore tombs, find trinkets, obstacles where you can't go past -You can put some trinkets in your backpack, but not too many -Empty your backpack at the hub point -go back to Lara's Home and fill it up with artifacts, buy/develop new gear/vehicles/outfits at the engineer shop -Not too many human combat, but there can be rival explorers or some natives -Some trinkets are dangerous, if you pull them out you have to face the consequences -Gameplay is classic TR, but modernized somehow, graphics can be a bit like Zelda Botw.. -It could feel more like a Nintendo game, fun & light hearted. Not generic and super realistic like Uncharted. -Lara is a cool Comic Book hero, bigger than life!
Fun fact: when you defeat the muscle guy boss on the boat, you can see--attached to his belt--a teddy bear. I felt so sad when I stood over his corpse....
A few people have left similar comments regadring my choice to tackle a certain scene the way I did for this video. So I thought I'd tweak a reply I made to one of those comments to give further clarity.
Firstly, the thing I mostly wasn't comfortable about was delving into the whole controversy surrounding the scene where it looks like Lara was about to be come a vicitm of sexual assault, and risking this video becoming yet another hit piece aimed at the team who made this game.
I try to keep things as light as possible when whilst being informative about the behind the scenes goings on, but the more I looked at what I had originally wrote for discussing this moment, the more my personal bias towards the scene became apparent, and that section ended up reading like I was making things too personal, or like I was targeting certain people by naming and shaming, which is not what I'm about as a creator.
The bottom line I guess is that this scene has been covered, discussed, decried and; imo rightly criticised by a lot of people, some far more qualified than me, to a point where this scene is the one thing most people clearly remember about this game, and I didn't want this video to be about that again.
I wanted to put aside all the controversy for a moment and just let the rest of the game take priority, and whilst I have my opinions on them using an outdated trope for this "new and improved" origin story of such an important female pop-culture icon, I felt it important to try and change the conversation a little about 2013.
Hopefully this all made some sense about my position on the whole thing, and I hope you enjoyed the video🙂
Great post! In all honesty I thought it looked like sexual assault, and at the end of the day, thats the reality of war. Or rather how a group of savage men on a remote island might act.
@@kieranwillis395 when the guy is speaking russian and telling Lara how he did a thing with his sister? That's what they did in Bucha, Izium, Mariupol. Nothing surprising. Only way to resist is to fight back.
2013 Lara: oh my God I’ve killed a man!!
1996: eat lead Pierre!
Until she instantly is comfortable in killing everyone. Terrible writing
2013: poor deer, I can't
1996: eat lead wolves, bears, T-rex, everything. I'll extinct every last one you.
@@paulwoodford1984I find it bit odd too, but I think that's a quirk of open-world adventure games; not a lazy writing. Far-cry series also get the same criticism where the protagonist goes from innocent to berserker in very short time.
One moment from the game that really stuck with me all these years later is the diary entry you can find of one of Himiko's handmaidens being favored by Himiko and getting special treatment. She mentions Himiko holding her face and gazing at her with admiration. But the handmaiden finds it unnerving, "as if she's looking at herself in a mirror." Which was great foreshadowing of what happens eventually.
I agree, those little Things added more to the Game than the actual Protagonists imo :)
some of the writing was great in the game.. i liked how the black woman was rude to lara because she blamed her for her husband's death.. that felt very realistic to me
I still cant believe she NEVER uses dual pistols again for the whole damn reboot series
That's explained in the Croft Manor DLC. She's still grieving Roth and using the dual pistols reminds her of him. It's not until Shadow that she comes to terms with her trauma. Still disappointing that it's not like an unlockable in at least Shadow after beating the game.
@@coolman229 Well, the reasoning is whatever the writers and devs decide. They could've easily made her continue using the duals to honor Roth, but nope, they decided to come up with something that prevents it instead.
I can't believe how dumbed down the gameplay is. TR was never the height of complexity but the reboot series is essentially CoD : Lara Croft.....being that's what it amounted to, it's enjoyable in the same way truly terrible fast food is.
To be fair, Eidos Montreal seemingly agrees - there are animations for dual-wielding in Shadow that can be dug up, and hopefully some day modded back in.
The world building and lore is pretty interesting in this game if you look into it. In the 1950s, there were claims of a mysterious island off the south coast of Japan where "military ships" supposedly went missing. In reality, these claims were much exaggerated and they were actually mostly fishing boats. A research vessel sent to study the cause of the sinkings in 1954 ended up sinking itself and it turns out that the cause was an underwater volcano erupting and trapping pockets of air under the surface, which lowered the buoyancy of the water so it could no longer support the boats. Then you had the fact that the location of the remains of Himiko, ruler of Yamataikoku, weren't known at the time in 2013. However, her grave was actually discovered not long after on Japan's main island of Honshu. And the boat in the game is named the _Endurance_ after the ship in which explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew famously survived being shipwrecked in Antarctica in the early 20th century.
The humor, the editing, the references, the script.
Everything's just great!
The game itself is pretty fun, it was a good reboot try, I really enjoyed. Climbing the radio tower was the most memorable moment.
But I gotta say I miss old Lara.
Same. I'd love the similar stories and the updated graphics with two pistols and a sassy attitude :)
@Equus21 they'd have to find right actor, Camilla did a good job for the most part, but she doesn't have the kind of voice to pull off that side of Lara. it works for this Lara, but if they wanna return to familiar territory but with modern graphics, there not need someone new. some people might miss Camilla's voice, but there's been alot of people who voiced her over the years. the original VA did the first two games, maybe Tomb Raider 3 but I'd have to play that one again to refresh my memory. i know she was different in Last Revelation, and Angel of Darkness. Legends Lara had someone new, but one thing they all had in common, they had the kind of vocals perfectly suited for sassy talk.
Having beat this just the other day, the radio tower was one scene that made me say out loud holy crap with a genuine smile on my face. The music rushing up as you climb the tower to actually finding a radio frequency and hearing back from the pilot, really made me start to enjoy the game. I kept comparing it to uncharted which is understandable considering uncharted came before this one which is ironic with how uncharted was made in the same mold as the first few TR games, so essentially it's come full circle. Overall a great experience and I'm really looking forward to starting rise and shadow soon.
@@Jeymezshelly blond only did Tr1, TR2 and 3 was by Judith
@sherrie553 ok so 2 & 3 were voiced by someone else. well i knew somebody did the voice, but when i played the games back then i didn't pay much attention. but i was a kid then, one thing they all had in common, the voice was similar. where i noticed the voice difference, was in Last Revelation. And of course Angel of Darkness, but i forget who did that one.
Such a great video! Love what you do Steve!
Fun fact: If you stay and listen to one of the crazy prisoners in the Thermal caves you find out he is the Dad of the two girls toys you find. He says their names if you stand by his cell.
No way! I'll have to go back and check that out now 👍
Never even imagined that.
@@SteveOfWarrthat place is so so creepy. Especially as you only have a bow. The crazy guy that chances you 😳😳
omg WHAT??? Thanks for the tip!! I HAVE to play that again now
For Steve to have only around 16k subs yet create videos like this. Feels too good to be true. We appreciate your work!!
The fact that he only has 16k subs amazes me. They are easily on par, in quality, with some of the biggest video games essayists on the platform.
This video has 75k viewers and only 3k of them went to like the vid. People really just seem to forget to do so unless you ask them to
Roth's monologue just before Lara goes to save the pilot is really heart wrenching and favourite part of this video.
I did it for Yorkshire
That whole "you know sacrifice and not loss" bit was amazing writing. While I live the campy and sometimes schlocky writing of the core design era of the franchise, parts like that are why the survivor trilogy is what I most often go back to.
It was cringe
My heart skipped a beat when I saw this, I’ve been looking forward to this retrospective for a long time! Can’t wait! Edit: I new this was going to be a great retrospective but the editing and jokes made this 10 times better, great work as always Steve!
Never related more to a youtube comment in my life.😁
As a proud Yorkshire denizen, I can confirm that Lara should have had a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea. They’d all have been off Yamatai 50% faster.
Seriously though, absolutely fab work as per usual! Thank you, Steve!
1:02:35 actually that’s a homage to The Descent where the exact same kind of scene happens when one of the girls falls into a deep pool of spilled blood in the crawlers’ pantry. The frantic climb out of a root cave under a tree at the beginning of the game also references the movie’s ending and the climbing axe as your melee weapon is also from the film.
This game was the most recent AAA game, and TR, I have acess to for 10 years. I still cant believe it has been that long, and how many dozen times I have seen the credits. My PS3 even has a skin with one of the concept art!
PS4 and PS5 are still really expensive in county, and a powerfull PC is also out of question. Thank you sm for remembering once again why I loved this game so much
When I first encountered Tomb Raider, I was a 5-year-old girl. My first Lara was the Core version but being a little girl, the whole "tits and guns" aspect wasn't even something I thought about. I didn't even see the sexualised advertisements until much later. It was just a game my dad brought home one day with interesting environments and puzzles. It was also the first time I saw a woman be an action star which made Lara a positive rolemodel because for me she was capable and confident and I didn't have a sister to look up to in that way. The only aspect of her physical appearance I cared about was the ponytail and it's the way I wear my hair to this day.
I was so obsessed with game hair physics for some reason and 7 year old me first saw Lara and thought "oo ponytail" and that started my obsession with Lara to this day
I never knew shantytown was so hated. Its verticality alone endeared me to the area. I liked the visuals of the giant pile of rickety houses stacked on one and another. Plus I found the combat encounters and setpieces pretty good. I agree about the brown era of gaming though. Grit and realism can be achieved without sacrificing visual appeal.
As someone who regularly still says "my eyes!, the goggles do nothing!" in every day life (much to the empty looks of unknowing from my friends a lot of the time) I fully respect you using it in this video lol
The thing is, these games borrowed heavily from the Uncharted games but failed to bring over their strongest features - a good script & and a likeable cast of characters.
Without those elements, and having largely abandoned the Tomb Raider series own strongest feature ever since Crystal Dynamics took over the series (exploration) - there wasn't much left to pull the player through to the end of the game.
You either play through the games because you enjoy the action / puzzle gameplay and want more of it. Or you don't.
For someone who always enjoyed the exploration & isolation of the original Core Design Tomb Raider games (and found their supernatural elements and the idea's behind their artifacts & enemies somehow compelling) & equally enjoyed the Uncharted games for their cast, banter between characters, sense of adventure, and roller coaster pacing - these latest Tomb Raider games were an unsatisfying compromise between the two (this first one was the best for me, I think because it had the best narrative, supernatural enemies & a good sense of mystery as the story of the island is slowly revealed).
I think I'd prefer either a complete rollback to bring back abandoned Tomb Raider gameplay & design elements, or a different developer to work on something completely new with the basic idea's of the franchise - I've lost faith that Crystal Dynamics are likely to deliver a Tomb Raider I'm interested in given the directions they seem interested in developing.
Very well said. My sentiments exactly.
Except the Uncharted games (except 2nd one) are as boring as it gets, extremely linear (all 4 games are a giant corridors with almost no optional paths), over simplistic gameplay (which has not evolved by an inch, to the point it felt out-dated in Uncharted 4, especially the climbing, not challenging at all), unbalanced difficulty (in the lower modes, the game could be beaten by a 4 years old, in the harder modes, you can't move without instantly dying, which kills the pace).
@@quentinhirschfeld9382 ah yes, a totally unbiased opinion.
I honestly can't say anything that Steve hasn't already said in this incredibly detailed video, wow was this worth the wait! The speech at the end about the series' legacy especially hit hard, it inspires me to make my own videos on this series I played since childhood some day. Thank you!
Great video as always, Steve! In particular I liked the part where you expressed how much the ending meant to you, very touching stuff.
But we all know the best part was when I showed up.
Always humble 🙏😎
The best thing about this game, by far is the shooting mechanics. They really nailed it on this one.
Thank you, mate, for all your hard work. It's truly inspiring, and I mean it. 😊
The new TR games are excellent on their own but I personally think the main character should have been someone else, not Lara. We love Lara for who she is - strong, skilled, cheeky, elegant and fearless. In these games she feels more like a victim of the circumstances, bunny lost in the woods full of wolfs. She feels weak and unskilled. All of her actions look more accidental than deliberate calculation. Her survival is mostly luck rather than skill. If that is the realness they were going for then it sounds pretty bad as they make it sound as if a strong, skilled, cheeky, elegant and fearless woman is less realistic than a whiny and unskilled little girl.
No acrobatics? Just a big portion of what we loved her for was just totally taken away from her.
What comes to the changes they made to the gameplay of the series - I am not sure why modern games hop onto the trend of realism in their gameplay. Realism is not an indicator of a good game, actually it is the opposite way too often imho, it just adds unnecessary complications to the games that make them quite often nightmarish to play. A good example of this is constant catastrophe Lara goes through the entire game. Everything is falling apart, all of the buildings are unstable, every ledge she grabs on crambles, she constantly struggles and it's not pleasant to watch a person suffer the entire game. She doesn't like to be there. I just finished playing the last one and I walked out of this experience as if I personally just survived a catastrophe of some sort. It's not inspiring like the previous ones which leads me to the next point.
Tomb Raider used to be an exploration game but became a survival-shooter which is a huge switch. I think it's very important for a game to stay in the niche that it fills which usually seems to producers to be too specific so they try to go for more mainstream approach leaving us with pop games that are no different from a million others. You could put Drake there instead and nothing would change about it. The niche that Lara used to fill is empty now and nothing can fill it. It used to be a calming game that evoked the sense of wonder and mystery where you could explore locations at your own pace in peaceful solitude which added depth and uniqueness to them but now it's just a very stressful, fast paced, very crowded and sometimes pretty awful experience of being in very ugly places filled with corpses or just looking like trash (ruins in siberia or most of the locations on that island from 2013 one). I don't know why someone would think it's going to be enjoyable to be in such places, they just look and feel depressing as if we don't have all of that in our everyday life.
Lastly rewriting Lara's history this many times is not a good idea either and expanding on unknown parts of her life would make a more seamless transition not only from the previous games but also for the potentially future ones. This rewriting has the side effects of disregarding and erasing the previous games completely (which is literally spitting to the face of the fanbase) but also creating this feeling that we don't know who Lara is anymore. Is there going to be a new Lara again in the future? Will Richard Croft have another version of his death as well as Amelia Croft? I doubt that as this version of Lara is dull and resurrecting the previous one is desperate which just means that these last 3 games were simply the last nail in Lara's coffin.
Pretty disappointing. Don't get me wrong, the games are very good, the fact that it's Lara Croft makes them bad.
P.S: I think Anniversary is the perfect example of the perfect Lara Croft game. Perfect balance of control, environment, locations, music, combat, puzzles and story behind. Pure exploration in blissful solitude. No chaos.
Damn, mate. Now we know why it took so long, this is a huge review video. And on point, too. I really appreciate how you take the time to do justice to these games, like explaining that the old games weren't just, quote, "tits and guns". I personally remember playing them with glee and curiosity of what environments I would see in the next level, what vehicles I would drive, what mind-blowing jumps and platforming would I have to do. In fact, these series of games had an impact on my life, throughout the years. I played most of them as a kid / young teenager and replayed them over the years and they convinced me to get into exciting hobbies like mountain hiking and motorcycle riding. I vividly remember how much I loved the Venice levels in TR2 (my first ever interaction with the series) and I recently visited Venice, now being in my 30s and loved that place. We are fortunate to have played and enjoyed these games for what they truely are. Thanks for relaying that to others that might do the same! Keep up the good job, m8.
It scares me that when i was in middle school, Tomb Raider 2 was as old as this is now
Another banger, but I mean who would ever doubt that!!!! Still cannot believe my favorite game franchise that has been a part of my life since childhood, gets to be featured in these quality retrospective videos, it almost feels weird having such perfectly tailored quality videos to enjoy. Truly brilliant work Steve! ❤
I'm very excited!!! I've seen all your TR Retrospective videos multiple times, even sometimes just in the background, like a relaxing ASMR video. Can't wait to watch this during dinner today
Me too!!
I laughed so much, my word. More than most comedy films. The Yorkshire tea bits, literal tears!
Beautiful delivery of those wonderfully written jokes.
Though, I can't help myself feeling a bit sad. I know there are only two videos like these left. I look forward to them, EAGERLY.
A fantastic retrospective, Steve.
I have a vivid memory of enjoying this game when it initially released, but over time I began to feel like it was not a Tomb Raider game overall and I found myself uninterested with the subsequent titles as a result. I can respect a great deal of how they attempted to "reinvent" the series, but I do feel like a certain layer of identity was lost in the transition.
Especially since Lara's character moving forward literally becomes so focused towards her father, (way more than the Underworld trilogy) that she becomes a figure where I could not tell you who she necessarily is as a person. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Outstanding video and well worth the wait. The passion you put into this is fully on display and I am proud to see such quality content every time. Much love
My man, I would like to thank you and say amazing work with your Tomb Raider coverage, this time beginning with the modern rework of Tomb Raider 2013. The commentary, the concise points and opinions, the meme edits, and the quality is exceptional!
I found you on a nostalgia hunger looking for PSX-era Tomb Raider playthroughs, and stuck by your content ever since. And seeing you get this far is definitely a sight to see! I wish you nothing but success in your efforts, my man! Looking forward to the next installments.
Lara is basically the British museum with a gun 😂 cracked me up
You do such an amazing job with these retrospective videos. I’ve rewatched all of them so many times! Thank you for all the time and passion that you put into these projects they’re all fantastic 👏🏻
As soon as I found your retrospective videos on tomb raider I instantly became a fan I really enjoy the content
Your tomb raider retrospectives truly are the best!, always a joy to come back and watch them
Your edits will never cease to be entertaining.
Just caught up on all the Retrospective videos for the tomb raider games you have done over the years. I find your style of review quite an interesting take as you take your time to explain your views and why you have arrived at them as opposed to trying to squeeze everything into a 10-20 min vid, cant wait for you to do one for the last 2 current Tomb Raiders :D
Me too !!!❤
Recently discovered your channel and really enjoying your tomb raider revisits! Watched them all in a weekend filled with nostalgia. Never played the recent Tomb Raiders so was nice to have a little peek through your videos. Keep up the great stuff, and also, nice use of Psycho Mantis' theme there at the end ;)
The Yorkshire Tea bits are sending me
Out of the Survivor Trilogy, this has the best sense of progression. Each new gameplay element is introduced at the right time, doesn't feel tacked on and has a certain gravitas upon aquiring (see grenade launcher), the later games are much worse in that regard. It is my second favorite of them, it has the most coherent experience but lacks the excellent puzzles and exploration of Shadow.
Shadow was a big POS.
About 47:00 - Planes are hit by lightning very frequently, and they don't catch fire, nor crashland. There MAY be some interference with on board instruments, but generally nothing permanent nor fatal.
Very good analysis. I liked the comparison to the critically underrated TR: Anniversary.
I played SotTR which really dragged along for me. halfway through i started Anniversary which i had neglected back in the day and found myself completing it long before SotTR.
Anniversary was a brilliant Remake of the first game.
Can't say how awesome this retrospective has been to watch, Steve. Thank you for the hard work.
As many others have said, you really do justice to this series.
Take a well earned rest 😁.
Keep it up! Sincerely, a random TR fan from Chile.
This lara is where I took a break from the series. And I really hope going forward they drop this vision of lara.
Holy shit. Finally, I've been waiting for this for soooo long. Luckily I'm not working over the weekend so I can watch this in one sitting.
This retrospective was so worth the wait! Thank you so much my dude, for your dedication and effort when it comes to your vids! Cheers!
Thanks Steve, your videos are able to convey all of our thoughts as tomb raider fans. I cannot wait to see the latest episode. Great, great work!
1:03:46 The caves are an active volcano and the floor collapsing exposes the lava chamber. The chain reaction caused by the explosions in fact causes the volcano to erupt which is why the palace and shantytown is set on fire. The bad bit is it isn’t a lava eruption and more the Mt St Helens kind which is lame. An escape through the burning town from a flood of lava would have been awesome especially if Himiko used pyroclastic flows to her advantage to down the chopper. Shadow made this mistake too using a lahar for its eruption late game. The DLC for Shadow thankfully didn’t make the same mistake this one does with its lava in that it’s too far away for Lara to fall in, merely acts like a bottomless pit and you only get lava twice in the game, the second time also being an almost identical looking pit on the volcanic peak you climb to reach Sam at the end.
Steve, that was a brilliant piece of work you put out there. Thank you so much.
I am a bit intimidated by the divide in the tomb raider community (and seldomly take part in it because of that) as someone who grew up obsessing over classic TR and got back into gaming years later with TR 2013 and the reboot series to the point where I am kind of a game developer myself these days - it's kinda hard to find places where all TR generations are celebrated and also fairly analyzed, discussed and criticized, so I am very thankful to you to provide such a place.
The one thing I love about the reboot series above all others (and there is a lot I really love about them) and I pray that it will somehow survive into the unified timeline is Lara's portrayal as an archeology nerd. The collectibles are great for environmental story telling and little side stories as you mentioned, but they also perfectly demonstrate Lara's profound knowledge of ancient cultures and her passion and excitement for the subject. I love that she cares for these things so much, that she forgets all the chaos and world-ending-affairs for a brief moment just to marvel about her latest discovery. That's what's making her relatable for me and something I don't see very often in AAA video game characters.
This was well worth the wait. This series of retrospectives is what brought me to your channel, and what convinced me to subscribe. TR 2013 gets a much worse rap than it deserves, imo. The narrative, gameplay, and atmosphere is gripping, even if it does stumble in places, and Shanty Town aside, Yamatai is a fascinating place to explore.
And I agree that something feels off with the facial expressions for Lara in the Definitive Edition. In the side by side comparison clips, DE Lara's face looks... vacant, as if she hasn't got a single thought running through her head.
That ending bit was really well-done, commenting just so you know it was seen
Thank you so much 🙏
❤ After a decade I started playing TR2013. It took me 'some time' to convince myself to touch this part after being hardcore fan of 1-5 parts. Thank you for this retrospective as you had your part in all this.
You did an incredible job covering this game as fair as possible, just like with AOD, and the waiting for this video has really paid off.
The editing style and jokes are still as good as ever; it's main reason why I love rewatching your retrospectives. They are just so entertaining!
I especially liked the Yorkshire Tea bit xD
Having Roth obsessed with Yorkshire Tea will forever change my perception of him and his role in this story. Thanks Steve.
I love the dramatic pause before you said "stronger now". :D
This whole retrospective project has been invaluable and no doubt, look like a lot of work went in to going this in depth for each title, and they've only gotten better with each analysis. Love the series and your take on them. The next game you're covering is one of my absolute favorites from the franchise, and I hope you'll love it too!
Just like a delicious 90 minute film - but with additional scenes to add to the story.
We thank you for taking your time and out of your personal life to provide us this long awaited retrospective!
One of my favorite channels here! Thank you ❤❤❤❤
Excellent video Steve! Definitely worth the wait!
This game really was the game that got me into the series as a whole with my first exposure to it being AOD. I actually remembered buying this game at launch back in the day.
One of the things that I loved about this game was the progression of Lara’s character. Just seeing her go from a scared girl just trying to survive by any means to AN ABSOLUTE WARRIOR is so satisfying to see. I made me cheer her on throughout the game lol
I feel that this game doesn’t get as much appreciation for the community as it deserves. Yes it is VERY different from the previous titles but the ideas this game brings to the table are really good imo. Dare I say but this game is honestly is one of my favorite games of all time and I’m glad it was done justice!
31:49 - not the only moment like this. I'm actually surprised you didn't point out "the survival" moment where she is impaled in a cesspool of human waste and remains, crawls through this with a pretty large and deep open wound and then it takes her several DAYS before even thinking about doing something about that injury (namely is offered a bandage). As the "canon" is right now, she should be long dead from various infections and/or bloodloss. I hunt, make a campfire and crawl through WW2 bunker before thinking: "Oh, I got a pretty big hole in my stomach." The "survival" bubble burst pretty damn early for me.
Edit: Great job, loved the video. Liked and subscribed.
Another great review Steve, the wait was worth all the way!
I remember my father, brother and I waiting for another Tomb Raider game for so long after not having so much fun with TR Underworld beforehand.
2013 we didn't rent the game like we normally always did, we full on bought it.
Us three played 1/4 of the game then and there the whole night and I have so many fond memories of this game because of it.
Also at 42:57 that barrel was going crazy! 😂
I liked at the, "Let's have a proper brew," joke. Very nice. Good timing. 10/10
Also Toby Gard did an external work as an advisor/director for the cutscenes etc. And I think it shows. Its also the last Tomb Raider he worked on.
Really loved the ending of this game and its a shame CD went a completely different direction.
Such a phenomenal retrospective video as always!! and i must say the humor was the highlight of this video to me JFSKSDFJK i was dying after every 5 minutes ESPECIALLY THIS MOMENT 48:37 TOOK ME OUT 😭😭😭
Another fantastic video Steve! Once again you have absolutely smashed it! You should be very proud! Perfection! 👌🏻
Thank you Ash 😁
Incredible work! While I am more of a LAU fan, because that's the Tomb Raider I grew up with, this made me remember what a great game TR2013 is. Come to think of it, it might be the strongest in the Survivor trilogy, though it's hard for me to judge as it's been a while since I last played any of them. Looking forward to the next retrospectives in due time!
Thanks!
The constant falling and sliding ended up really grtting on my nerves lol. It borders on slapstick
It was worth the wait, nicely done. Can't wait to see you ranting about how Lara never uses her dual berettas ever again. Cheers
The Roth skits were making me howl! Brilliant video mate, well worth the wait!
This is such an excellent retrospective. When I think back to my 1st encounter with the game (in 2016) I hadn't, at that stage, played any video games for about 5 years prior. I was totally out of the loop and didn't even know that this title was made. I was gifted this game and I expected to be greeted with nostalgia. This new iteration being devoid of that style completely threw me and I kept waiting for "Tomb Raider" to happen. But, this retrospectively undoubtedly brings out the fact that this game is a really great game, with great ideas, a different kind of tone and mechanics to match. A great video for a really good game that I now want to play through again ❤
finally found the time to watch your video from TR 2013 😊. And it didn't disappoint! It was perfect in every way and I can only imagine how much work you put into it! You've really progressed a lot since your first TR retrospective. It's an honor to watch you grow in your talent that i saw you had since the beginning. Keep it up Steve and the ending gave me goosebumps from the Metal Gear Solid 1 soundtrack you used 😝! Looking forward to your next retro Steve! My highest respect for all the hard work you put into your videos!
thank you for all of your hard work . it is truly appreciated! i hope you will gain so many more of everything that you already have right now, your videos are like precious gems in this world!
Superb retrospective of my second-fave reboot of this series, thanks, Steve (Legend was my mid-2000s TR love!).
Subscribed to this gem of a channel, and looking forward to watching many of its videos.
Interesting explanation for her accent. With this game it was definitely jarring for me: "Mayday mayday, this is Lara Craft, Rath and I need to get aff the island" but she sorts it out for the sequels.
Great video! Fair, unbiased, and hilarious as always 🤩
Thank you so much for this Retrospective! I've been waiting for this for so long and finally it's here. What a great job!
My biggest issues with the newer games is... where's the interesting enemies? There's no crazy hidden dinosaurs, mummies, mutants, or obviously supernatural monsters. All of the "monsters" we fight in the new games are basically just bulky humanoids with nothing interesting going on. The games are fun and all, but they just don't feel like Tomb Raider games. Even AOD feels like more of a TR game than the new ones do.
This video came just in time. The first time I watched these retrospectives it helped me through a really tough time. Here we are again. Thanks, Steve. (,=
Well done, you indeed managed to create a fair and unbiased retrospective of this game imo (1:41:23), a game that is easy to dismiss or trash-talk by taking things out of context or purposefully distort, but you did neither (and if you gave your personal opinion on something it always was genuine and well-argued). Bravo!
Your editing and production value is so good and has improved so much since your first Tomb Raider review. The Time Crisis bit had me laughing so hard.
Amazing work as always 👍. I was in tears with the Yorkshire tea joke. 🤣
That Time Crisis part was chef's kiss
I love this video! Really balanced and fair critical take on this game. Your research has paid off so well! Thank you for all the work you do!
Another great entry Steve, I guess its time to go back to the start and rewatch the entire retrospective!
I remember loving this game at the time, and to a certain extent its sequels; although I never finished Shadow, and with the LAU era being my first experience with TR, at the time it felt so fresh and exciting.
I havent played this entry in a long time so I can't say my feelings are accurate, but having since played the original CORE games and seeing what Tomb Raider was for so long, I have come to feel as though this game hasn't aged well and is quite derivative of many other games at the time. Ever since Crystal took over I feel the series has slowly lost its identity and what made it stand apart from other popular franchises, particulary after the LAU era ended; with a lot of difficulty, true exploration, discovery and tricky puzzle solving absent, as well as Lara gaining a very different personality and outlook over the three games.
In my opinion this trilogy, despite its efforts really lost its way in capturing what Tomb Radier was, and who Lara Croft is... as you said at the end, what the games and what Lara REALLY used to be outside of marketing and what popular culture had come to paint her as, as years went by.
Whatever is next for Tomb Raider, I hope they lean on what made the series special at the beginning - from rumours I hear I'm not sure thats what we're getting, but we can hope.
34:27 I feel as though it needs to be pointed out that, during Lara's very first QTE fight with Larson, he will attempt to shoot Lara dead out of frustration and will succeed if you fail. It's even revealed later that he questioned Natla if she's sure Lara wouldn't actually give up the Scion as instructed, not wanting to have to confront her.
Later, he will attempt to only knock Lara out with his shotgun during the QTE at the end of Egypt (the one where he deliberately misses his clear shot on her) while his cohorts will actively try to kill her.
Larson's portrayal is somewhat inconsistent/messy and the whole thing would have been better if he'd never raised his weapon against Lara until he had to defend himself at the end.
@30:00 she wasn't traumatized over killing the man. She was almost raped and killed. Yes, killing wasn't necessarily fun for her, but the escaping rape and death was the point IMO. that's why it's not an issue to do that going forward.
Writer said she was supposed to have an enemy-free section after and curl up in fetal position and have a talk with her friend over trauma and THEN fight more but devs forced to have 42 enemies between the two scenes so it WAS jarring for everyone involved. It feels unnatural how it switches into a combat sequence.
Welcome back.
Before I watch, I find TR13 mechanically satisfying and the visuals of the survivor trilogy (by which I mainly mean ROTR) almost on the OG games' level, but I hate the fact every single character was a cliche. Like it's so predictable that everyone would have just shot the archeology guy the moment they were out of the reach of civilisation
Nice video. Very entertaining. Now ROTTR
Glad you enjoyed it! RoTT's time will come but all in good time 👍
Thanks!
You're more than welcome, thank you for the donation ☺️💖
holy SHIT this video was so well-made !!!
great work man, glad to have found you
Brilliant retrospective, can tell how much hard work and effort was put in! Now, why do I fancy a mug of Yorkshire tea.....
I liked Tomb Raider 2013. Can't believe its been 10 years. I bet in another 10 years it will still feel like the "new" Tomb Raider. The classic games on the other hand (TR 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) will always just feel 'classic'. That all may just be my nostalgia however.
As a gamer born n bred in South Yorkshire i do have a smile and a laugh everytime you say 'do it for Yorkshire'.
Brilliant video. ❤
Thanks you Steve, I started with the franchise with Legends, but first I was trying to find a retrospective video and I found yours, and now, big fan of your videos, thanks again !!!
shame that this game did such a good job of setting up a origin to the OG tombraider, especially the ending with the duel pistol reveal but unfortunately they went in a different direction and focused more on what made reboot lara different from her predecessors rather on what made her similar.
everything about these retrospectives is just SO GOOD, I'll be sad when we run out of games!
Your skills have really improved in comparison to the previous TR Retrospectives, Steve. Amazing work as always ❤
Loved it and the entire Tomb Raider retrospective series. Thank you.
A much awaited and beautifully delivered video ! I remember initially playing this game with a lot of prejudices in mind (it's not a real TR game, this isn't the Lara I know and love...etc.) and being very pleasantly surprised to find a really good game with a really compelling origin story for my favorite fictional character ever. Lara's character building is amazing. It's a shame the sequels didn't quite follow through with this, Rise of the Tomb Raider especially (a good game in itself, but not enough of a great sequel as it completely shifts the initial game's focus, which was Lara's growth)
She didn't felt like Lara Croft to me and the game contradicted itself.
53:47 normally I would agree with you but Crystal takes EVERY opportunity to $#!T on old Lara and Core Design and this is not the first or last time ALSO they MADE THIS ALL HAPPEN this isn't an ACCIDENT or a REAL persons LIFE tis is a NARRATIVEthey created to make the character know as the Tomb Raider HATE TOMBS there by dismantling her, and trying to suppling her with they SLOP, The fact that it is Plausible just means that are GOOD at DESTROYING a character that is this Beloved, and it work on you at least, you just called CLASSIC Lara a SPECIAL kind of PSYCHOPATH and that is EXACTLY what Crystal Dynamics WANTED!
I'm going to be watching this at a more opportune time, giving it all the attention it deserves! I've been so excited for this. Love all of your previous videos on these games. Tomb Raider 1 is the one from the series I grew up playing and it's still the only one I've revisited and actually completed as an adult. I barely play any modern games, but enjoy tremendously your reviews and hearing all of your criticisms and "what could have been" suggestions - the last one especially for The Angel of Darkness. Thank you for all of your hard work Steve! Greetings from Hungary.
My ideal Tomb Raider game would be:
-Lara's Home with engineer and of course the Butler (and empty museum)
-World map with 20 locations or so to travel to, with guides and mules to put items on
-explore each location freely, explore tombs, find trinkets, obstacles where you can't go past
-You can put some trinkets in your backpack, but not too many
-Empty your backpack at the hub point
-go back to Lara's Home and fill it up with artifacts, buy/develop new gear/vehicles/outfits at the engineer shop
-Not too many human combat, but there can be rival explorers or some natives
-Some trinkets are dangerous, if you pull them out you have to face the consequences
-Gameplay is classic TR, but modernized somehow, graphics can be a bit like Zelda Botw..
-It could feel more like a Nintendo game, fun & light hearted. Not generic and super realistic like Uncharted.
-Lara is a cool Comic Book hero, bigger than life!
I looooove this!
@@nova3530onyt I will send it to Crystal Dynamics then! :D
Fun fact: when you defeat the muscle guy boss on the boat, you can see--attached to his belt--a teddy bear.
I felt so sad when I stood over his corpse....