Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 28 minutes ago
After the events of Yamatai, the once-innocent Lara Croft has become a hunter, a pillager, and a survivor. Despite her attempts to tell the world what she witnessed, all evidence of Himiko and the lost city of Yamatai has been erased, leaving Croft considered a fool — just like her late father. With a shattered psyche and a tarnished family name, Lara takes up a new challenge in Rise of the Tomb Raider: redeeming her family's legacy and proving to the world — and perhaps to some part of herself — that she isn't crazy.
After the 2013 reboot, Croft seems to be heading in a new direction. While separate from her older adventures, this new series couldn't entirely separate itself from the very franchise it inspired. Rise of the Tomb Raider is an opportunity for Lara to reach her potential and truly embody the modern Tomb Raider. Some were expecting a return to the older games, and while I can see why, I was expecting something genuinely new. The term "reboot" is worth unpacking here: while the definition is a restart or revival of a series, what I've come to expect from a gaming reboot is not just a recreation of what came before, but a meaningful reinvention. The older games had greater fantastical elements and Croft was a more unrelenting badass than she is here — but if Lara were the same in these games, many would rightfully question the need for a reboot at all. Why not just make a sequel? That's part of why the 2013 Tomb Raider wasn't received as warmly by die-hard fans, and there's real merit to that criticism — there were very few actual tombs to raid. But by the end of that game, after Lara transformed into the hardened survivor reminiscent of her previous incarnation, many players were ready for a sequel that fulfilled an adventurous power fantasy from start to finish, with better puzzles, a better story, and a better sense of what it means to be a Tomb Raider.
What we got was a developer that largely listened. Rise — as I'll be referring to it from here — is a game that allowed me to feel the developers' passion. The wider selection of outfits, locales, and weapons tells me that fun was a significant priority, and in terms of what makes a good sequel, the many quality-of-life changes are enough to keep the game enjoyable throughout. The reworked and improved mechanics make the gameplay loop feel fresh despite its familiar foundation. Improving upon and expanding the concepts and ideas of a predecessor is what makes a good sequel, and Rise does this pretty well. That doesn't mean it's without problems, but it is meaningfully better than what came before it....
After the events of Yamatai, the once-innocent Lara Croft has become a hunter, a pillager, and a survivor. Despite her attempts to tell the world what she witnessed, all evidence of Himiko and the lost city of Yamatai has been erased, leaving Croft considered a fool — just like her late father. With a shattered psyche and a tarnished family name, Lara takes up a new challenge in Rise of the Tomb Raider: redeeming her family's legacy and proving to the world — and perhaps to some part of herself — that she isn't crazy.
After the 2013 reboot, Croft seems to be heading in a new direction. While separate from her older adventures, this new series couldn't entirely separate itself from the very franchise it inspired. Rise of the Tomb Raider is an opportunity for Lara to reach her potential and truly embody the modern Tomb Raider. Some were expecting a return to the older games, and while I can see why, I was expecting something genuinely new. The term "reboot" is worth unpacking here: while the definition is a restart or revival of a series, what I've come to expect from a gaming reboot is not just a recreation of what came before, but a meaningful reinvention. The older games had greater fantastical elements and Croft was a more unrelenting badass than she is here — but if Lara were the same in these games, many would rightfully question the need for a reboot at all. Why not just make a sequel? That's part of why the 2013 Tomb Raider wasn't received as warmly by die-hard fans, and there's real merit to that criticism — there were very few actual tombs to raid. But by the end of that game, after Lara transformed into the hardened survivor reminiscent of her previous incarnation, many players were ready for a sequel that fulfilled an adventurous power fantasy from start to finish, with better puzzles, a better story, and a better sense of what it means to be a Tomb Raider.
What we got was a developer that largely listened. Rise — as I'll be referring to it from here — is a game that allowed me to feel the developers' passion. The wider selection of outfits, locales, and weapons tells me that fun was a significant priority, and in terms of what makes a good sequel, the many quality-of-life changes are enough to keep the game enjoyable throughout. The reworked and improved mechanics make the gameplay loop feel fresh despite its familiar foundation. Improving upon and expanding the concepts and ideas of a predecessor is what makes a good sequel, and Rise does this pretty well. That doesn't mean it's without problems, but it is meaningfully better than what came before it....
