I'll start with the graphics and performance. I have an i5 3550 @3.5ghz and a GTX 970 at 1531mhz/2020mhz just to note. Game has great graphics of course. Even on a 240p image, the game can look stunning. FXAA and SMAA in this game are horrid though. I would highly recommend using Reshade SMAA as the default SMAA leaves a lot of jaggies unchanged. I don't like FXAA as it feels like a blur filter (it basically is though). A temporal aa solution would have been welcome. Temporal aa may produce a lot of softness but its great for eliminating jaggies, and this game is full of them. Consider downsampling or using SSAA if your card is high end. My i5 proves to be a bottleneck in the village level. I get drops to around 50fps, even with foliage and level of detail set to medium. My 970 holds up really well though. Only two options make the card struggle, which is VXAO and the very high texture settings. The max texture settings does require more than 4gb of vram, and VXAO isn't available in the dx12 version of the game but isn't really worth its performance cost anyway unless you can handle it. Dx12 is pretty pointless on nvidia cards, may be good on amd cards as amd has better dx12 support. The only thing i find graphically disappointing besides the anti aliasing solutions is the shadow quality. Even the maximum shadow quality with maximum sun soft shadows setting still shows a bit of shimmering in the shadows. The game can also be a bit of a hit and miss with its global illumination method. I won't get too into detail about the graphics, but it's definitely still impressive seeing what my graphics card is capable of. End of graphics discussion.

I was highly anticipating this game. I loved the predecessor to this, and the uncharted series (which this is similar to). Right from the beginning, the game was great. Lots of variety in its locations and a big scope. Unfortunately, the game lost its grand scale after around 30 minutes into the game. I was expecting constant location variety as you get with uncharted, but this game wanted a free-roam element available as it did with the first game. I shouldn't expect constant location variety of course, this isn't uncharted. It's just when the first levels are very varied compared to the rest of the game, it can feel a bit disappointing. It's no rushed game by any means.

Story also failed to hook me properly. Was interesting at first but quickly became quite basic, with characters conveniently and cheaply tying into the story. Character development was okay, though i barely rooted for supporting characters. I also rarely felt the stakes in this game, unless some animal was trying to attack me. A bear chasing you is pretty scary. The story is something that could've been highly improved. Crystal Dynamics need to hire a much better writer for the sequel.

Gameplay wise, i was a little disorientated at first as it was very different from the first. It's different in a great way though. The crafting mechanic and (sometimes) optional stealth is great. The previous Tomb Raider allowed for stealth in some cases but only by a small amount and not to the level this game allows. The options available at campfires have also been improved, with more outfits available and more upgrades.

After the first playthrough of the game, i did some of them expedition challenges and earned credits to get card packs. Enjoyment didn't last long at all though. The game just wasn't my cup of tea at the time.

20 year celebration DLC got announced some time after. I decided to buy the season pass before its release, was only around i think £12 at cdkeys. Previously released DLC was available to play, so i obviously played through them. Loved the zombie type and endurance mode add-ons. Didn't like the babaya-yegaa thingy. Honestly i would slap myself if i had brought that babaya thing on its own. £7 at the time down the drain for mediocre DLC lasting around an hour. Decided to replay the game though and actually realised i really like the gameplay. Sure the story and lack of variety was disappointing at first, but focusing on gameplay and DLC adding variety made things better.

20 year celebration DLC released, was intent on playing the Extreme Survivor mode. Extreme Survivor i think is no different from Survivor mode, except the only checkpoints being campfires. It was a satisfying and challenging mode to play, but not challenging enough. Yes i may have died around 30 times but i also finished the story within 9 hours in that mode. Then again i wasn't hardcore enough to also explore dangerous tombs during the story. Maybe playing with a controller would make extreme survivor mode highly difficult. Endurance co-op mode hasn't been good for me. Haven't been able to get into a server, i'll try on a more busy day but it definitely doesn't have much demand.

I still prefer the main setting of the previous Tomb Raider, being set on that Island. In some ways, the previous game manages to feel more epic and big. Not too sure why that is maybe that's just me or the island setting or the fact that this game was a timed exclusive which hurt its reputation. This is still a great game though, with some of the best DLC to any game. I just wish it had a better story. Do consider buying the game bundled with its DLC if you like this game type.

I'll start with the graphics and performance. I have an i5 3550 @3.5ghz and a GTX 970 at 1531mhz/2020mhz just to note. Game has great graphics of course. Even on a 240p image, the game can look stunning. FXAA and SMAA in this game are horrid though. I would highly recommend using Reshade SMAA as the default SMAA leaves a lot of jaggies unchanged. I don't like FXAA as it feels like a blur filter (it basically is though). A temporal aa solution would have been welcome. Temporal aa may produce a lot of softness but its great for eliminating jaggies, and this game is full of them. Consider downsampling or using SSAA if your card is high end. My i5 proves to be a bottleneck in the village level. I get drops to around 50fps, even with foliage and level of detail set to medium. My 970 holds up really well though. Only two options make the card struggle, which is VXAO and the very high texture settings. The max texture settings does require more than 4gb of vram, and VXAO isn't available in the dx12 version of the game but isn't really worth its performance cost anyway unless you can handle it. Dx12 is pretty pointless on nvidia cards, may be good on amd cards as amd has better dx12 support. The only thing i find graphically disappointing besides the anti aliasing solutions is the shadow quality. Even the maximum shadow quality with maximum sun soft shadows setting still shows a bit of shimmering in the shadows. The game can also be a bit of a hit and miss with its global illumination method. I won't get too into detail about the graphics, but it's definitely still impressive seeing what my graphics card is capable of. End of graphics discussion. I was highly anticipating this game. I loved the predecessor to this, and the uncharted series (which this is similar to). Right from the beginning, the game was great. Lots of variety in its locations and a big scope. Unfortunately, the game lost its grand scale after around 30 minutes into the game. I was expecting constant location variety as you get with uncharted, but this game wanted a free-roam element available as it did with the first game. I shouldn't expect constant location variety of course, this isn't uncharted. It's just when the first levels are very varied compared to the rest of the game, it can feel a bit disappointing. It's no rushed game by any means. Story also failed to hook me properly. Was interesting at first but quickly became quite basic, with characters conveniently and cheaply tying into the story. Character development was okay, though i barely rooted for supporting characters. I also rarely felt the stakes in this game, unless some animal was trying to attack me. A bear chasing you is pretty scary. The story is something that could've been highly improved. Crystal Dynamics need to hire a much better writer for the sequel. Gameplay wise, i was a little disorientated at first as it was very different from the first. It's different in a great way though. The crafting mechanic and (sometimes) optional stealth is great. The previous Tomb Raider allowed for stealth in some cases but only by a small amount and not to the level this game allows. The options available at campfires have also been improved, with more outfits available and more upgrades. After the first playthrough of the game, i did some of them expedition challenges and earned credits to get card packs. Enjoyment didn't last long at all though. The game just wasn't my cup of tea at the time. 20 year celebration DLC got announced some time after. I decided to buy the season pass before its release, was only around i think £12 at cdkeys. Previously released DLC was available to play, so i obviously played through them. Loved the zombie type and endurance mode add-ons. Didn't like the babaya-yegaa thingy. Honestly i would slap myself if i had brought that babaya thing on its own. £7 at the time down the drain for mediocre DLC lasting around an hour. Decided to replay the game though and actually realised i really like the gameplay. Sure the story and lack of variety was disappointing at first, but focusing on gameplay and DLC adding variety made things better. 20 year celebration DLC released, was intent on playing the Extreme Survivor mode. Extreme Survivor i think is no different from Survivor mode, except the only checkpoints being campfires. It was a satisfying and challenging mode to play, but not challenging enough. Yes i may have died around 30 times but i also finished the story within 9 hours in that mode. Then again i wasn't hardcore enough to also explore dangerous tombs during the story. Maybe playing with a controller would make extreme survivor mode highly difficult. Endurance co-op mode hasn't been good for me. Haven't been able to get into a server, i'll try on a more busy day but it definitely doesn't have much demand. I still prefer the main setting of the previous Tomb Raider, being set on that Island. In some ways, the previous game manages to feel more epic and big. Not too sure why that is maybe that's just me or the island setting or the fact that this game was a timed exclusive which hurt its reputation. This is still a great game though, with some of the best DLC to any game. I just wish it had a better story. Do consider buying the game bundled with its DLC if you like this game type.