Lara Croft Go PlayStation 4 Review

Back on the PlayStation Lara Croft’s adventure dealt more with solving intricate puzzles than survival. Lara Croft Go recaptures this gameplay for the modern audience into an impressive puzzle platformer. The sights and sounds are impressive but what made Lara Croft Go a true Tomb Raider game are its deep puzzle gameplay mechanics. 

Lara Croft Go’s story is simple, Lara is in search of legendary treasure and must travel to dangerous dungeons to recover these artifacts. Throughout the adventure, you’ll encounter a series of obstacles and enemies that will impede your path and it’s up to you to use the resources in the environment to solve each challenge. Each area is thick with sights and sounds that have been carefully crafted, from dark caves to tropical jungles exploring every new area felt like an adventure.

Each stage is separated into sections that the player must solve to continue. In this turn-based game, Lara moves along a diamond highlighted path and cannot stray from it. Using the left thumbstick controls your movement and the face buttons allows you to interact with the environment. Collectables are littered throughout each chapter and using the right thumbstick control a cursor to pick up these items. These items range from rare gemstones to parts of a complete artifact.

Pits, snakes, giant lizards, and many other dangers litter each stage. The fluid integration of various mechanics constantly made the experience feel new. In one level you’ll a new enemy type an in another how to kill it by manipulating the environment. Things become increasingly more complicated but never overwhelming as the game slowly teaches you how to use each new addition. 

Levels in Lara Croft Go are engaging and smart. The difficulty slowly increases as the game progresses with new aspects constantly adding new layers of difficulty. What was shocking is that the developers were able to add a boss fight without sacrifice the game’s core mechanics. 

If you do find yourself stuck a helpful hint system is available to aid players. When triggered the stage is restarted and a red dotted pathway showcases how to complete the puzzle. The hint system prevents you from input commands outside from it’s showing you and is helpful for those who find themselves stuck.

As much as Lara Croft Go succeeds I did have some critiques. For example, I wish a quick restart option was available. A restart option is present but it requires you to go into another menu to trigger. Load times are quick but for a game that predominantly depends on trial and error to succeed offering this option would’ve made solving these challenging puzzles much more efficient. 

Lara Croft Go captures the original essence of the Tomb Raider games, filling each new chapter with a sense of adventure and mystery. If you’re more a fan of the action saturated gameplay found in the reboot series from Crystal Dynamics then this game won’t cater to your taste. However, for puzzle fans, this is a must. Lara Croft Go is a challenging puzzle platformer that feels like a classic Tomb Raider experience. 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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