SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER

The concluding chapter of this prequel trilogy promises the final steps of Lara Croft’s journey to “become the Tomb Raider she was destined to be”. Yet there’s little evidence she’s ready: the game begins with Lara stealing an ancient dagger, setting off a Mayan apocalypse that can only be stopped by finding another artefact. And so she heads to the Mexican island of Cozumel, in a race against militant organisation Trinity.

However, they’re only a sporadic threat. Outside a few stalk-and-stab sequences in which Lara must smear herself in mud to avoid detection from

armed patrols, this marks a shift away from the more combat-heavy recent instalments, with a keener focus on exploration. True, there are more crypts and caves to probe, environmental puzzles to solve and treasures to pilfer this time around. But recurring control prompts take the joy out of traversal, and the challenges require little thought to complete.

Cozumel offers some breathtaking scenery, though the (barely) hidden city of Paititi never quite convinces, coming off more like a tourist resort. The storytelling is a mess, its po-faced dialogue and sombre mood at odds with the fanciful plot. And early hints that Lara’s thoughtless actions might finally be addressed are swept aside by a tonedeaf climax that attempts to paint her as some kind of righteous saviour – one last stumble in an adventure that rarely puts a foot right. Chris Schilling