‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ is good but awfully familiar

Lara Croft is one of a handful of characters the video game industry has produced who scarcely needs an introduction. Three Hollywood films and a slew of cultural criticism have served to fix her in the public imagination as a successful Indiana Jones-clone and a metric of how the industry has (and hasn’t) shifted in its portrayal of women.

When Crystal Dynamics rebooted the Tomb Raider franchise five years ago, it was widely noted that the studio took a page from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series which itself began life as a Tomb Raider knock-off. Both series

are based around exploration, shooting, and puzzle solving. “Tomb Raider’s” (2013) use of cutscenes and action-set pieces made it impossible not to trace the cinematic imprint that Nathan Drake’s globetrotting had on Laura’s. But as I scrambled through Laura’s new adventure, I couldn’t resist thinking about Nathan’s latest for different reasons. Just as “Uncharted 4” highlighted his narcissism, “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” shines a light on the suffering others endure due to Lara’s single-minded impulses. Evidently, Naughty Dog and Crystal Dynamics approached the task of concocting another entry in a series with well-defined parameters by playing up the negative aspects of its heroes.

“Shadow of the Tomb Raider” opens with a crisis. On a storm-tossed plane above Peru, Lara struggles to gain control of the vessel that’s ripping apart. After the back half of the plane is torn off, taking her best friend Jonah along with it, the game cuts to two days earlier. In Mexico, Lara and Jonah are on the hunt for Trinity, a secret society that murdered Lara’s father, a renowned archaeologist. At a Day of the Dead festival, they learn that Trinity has discovered the location of an underground temple in the area. Obviously, it’s but a matter of time before Lara is standing in its inner sanctum. There, she finds a star chart positioned in the room like a stone table.

It’s a foregone conclusion that Lara will meet every challenge head on. What’s essential is that, for most of the adventure, Lara finds herself in a jungle where she can work to prevent the apocalypse or explore tombs.

Though I generally stuck to the main questline and sidequests, the optional tombs that I sampled were diverting puzzle boxes that sometimes stumped me but didn’t flabbergast me. Moreover, to the developers’ credit, they have implemented a number of quality of life tweaks. “Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s” difficulty can be adjusted.

“Shadow of the Tomb Raider” is a familiar thrill ride with new scenery. It’s good at what it does, it’s simply not big on surprises.

“SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER” Developed by: Eidos Montréal and Crystal Dynamics Published by: Square Enix Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One