I was pretty excited to grab my copy of the ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ (SOTR) this week, and a good 2 days before the official launch since I preordered. It also happens to be my first PS4 steelbook case title. The ‘Croft Steelbook Edition’ is a limited edition title that includes a Season Pass, 3 additional weapons & outfits, original game soundtrack, and 3 Art Cards which are basically artworks of Lara Croft in action. Besides everything, I was drawn towards the ‘Season Pass’ which was a deal breaker for me in the sense it gave me more side missions to play apart from the main story; I’m told, there are 7 Challenge Tombs, each with new narrative side missions, as well as 7 Weapons, 7 Outfits, and 7 Skills available with the DLC ‘Season Pass’. Let me also say this, that it’s a gorgeous design of the steelbook case inside and it feels like I’m holding an ancient document.
I am looking forward to diving into SOTR after experiencing the storyline in the cult prequels of the ‘Tomb Raider – Definitive Edition’ and the ‘Rise of the Tomb Raider – 20 Year Celebration’ both with out-of-world gaming and storytelling. Effectively I’m completing a trilogy, and until I play the entire SOTR I’m not sure if this would be the final episode with Lara Croft and her tryst with destiny — it’d be really tragic after Naughty Dog wiped clean Nathan Drake’s existence from the ‘Uncharted’ series (another of my favourite franchises), but keeping fingers crossed for Lara’s upcoming adventures.
For the time being though, I will bask in the glory of discovering & collecting numerous ancient relics & documents (called ‘collectibles’) and completing the challenges, then beat the extraordinary tomb puzzles and fight the battle-hardened forces of the evil Trinity forces but this time in the deep jungles of South & Central America laced with awesome environments and screenplay. I may detest the end of Lara Croft’s exhilarating adventures just as I did with Nathan Drake, but not so soon.
