Why Rise of the Tomb Raider Should Be Game of the Year

It’s currently Twinfinite’s Game of the Year week! All week long, our Editors and Writers will be nominating games from this year that stood out in 2015. Today, Managing Editor Ed McGlone tells us why Rise of the Tomb Raider is worthy of being Twinfinite’s 2015 Game of the Year.

Rise of the Tomb Raider could have been a disaster but instead, we’re nominating it for Game of the Year. Going into its second game following a new reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider had a lot of obstacles it needed to get over to get where it is now. It was a controversial, high-profile exclusive for Xbox One, its predecessor did well enough to create expectations, and it had to compete against tons of other amazing AAA titles that came out within the same time period. Also, many will hold it up against Uncharted, a legendary series within the same genre. Despite all that, Rise of the Tomb Raider exceeded my expectations.

So much so in fact, that the argument can be made that Tomb Raider, not Uncharted, is the class of its genre now. Many people, which includes nearly all of my fellow, wonderful editors, couldn’t fathom tearing Nathan Drake’s beautiful face from the Mount Rushmore of modern gaming. In fact, the Tomb Raider series might still be floundering like it did for nearly two console generations if Uncharted didn’t come along and give it a model to reboot the series with. The similarities are just too obvious.

However, just because Uncharted paved the way, doesn’t mean that someone can’t come along and do it better. I’m ready to say it: Right now, in the present day, (at least until Uncharted 4 comes out next year), Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best game in the Action-Adventure, Indiana Jones/National Treasure simulator genre. And if you ask me, it’s not even close. And because of everything Rise of the Tomb Raider was able to accomplish, amidst a minefield of other incredibly worthy games, makes it worthy of my nomination for 2015’s Game of the Year

The first step to the solidification of Lara Croft’s comeback this year was the execution of its story. If you’re going to compete with the likes of Uncharted (or any action movie-like game), you need to have a blockbuster, exciting story worth showing off. Rise of the Tomb Raider accomplishes that with ease. Lara Croft’s romp through the Siberian wilderness in an attempt to redeem her late-father was every bit as entertaining as the competition’s offerings, within its genre and otherwise this year. Sure, obviously Rise of the Tomb Raider doesn’t have the density of say The Witcher 3, but more doesn’t always mean better. They both serve completely different audiences and excel in what they set out to do.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is compact, exciting, and has just enough side activities to extend the game’s life, but not too much to the point where it drags on. People who play games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted never (or at least shouldn’t) go into it expecting 40-plus hours of non-repetitive fun; most people know that you’re getting somewhere between 10 and 20 hours before you’ve seen it all. Any more than that and you’re probably going to be tired of mass murdering henchmen and just want to see how it all ends.

However, Rise of the Tomb Raider added an excellent and beautiful open world that perfectly compliments its linear story. Want to take a break from searching for the Divine Source? Go out hunting and scavenging for new parts to upgrade your equipment. Or better yet, go searching for optional tombs to raid in search of the secret abilities that are hidden there. On normal difficulties, it’s a fun distraction and a means to make you overpowered. For people that want a challenge and want to play it on the harder difficulties, it becomes an integral part of gameplay that immerses you in the whole survival aspect that Eidos Montreal wants to sell you. Another example of fine game design.

Eidos Montreal also had another hoop to jump through in order to succeed enough to be a Game of the Year candidate and that was not screwing up Lara Croft. The Tomb Raider reboot told Lara’s origin story. She started off confused and scared, a far cry from the Lara Croft most people remembered. However, because it was an origin story and a reboot, most fans tolerated that with the understanding that in the inevitable sequel we’d start the see the Lara fans loved. Using the Tomb Raider brand became a double edged sword in that way. You can lean on the name recognition, but screw it up, and you’ll draw the ire of longtime fans. Fans desperate to see a decent Tomb Raider game gave the developers a free pass the first time around to be as creative as they wanted to be in telling a new Lara Croft story, as long as the game was decent. But by succeeding in that, the pressure was on for game number two.

Luckily for everyone involved, Eidos Montreal pulled off yet another victory in that regard. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a return to form for the Lara Croft character, and fans were rewarded for their patience from the reboot. She’s not as arrogant as she once was (for better or worse), but she’s definitely no longer the scared archaeologist just trying to survive from the 2013 game. Lara is once again an over-confident, tomb raiding, bad ass that isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone to get what she wants. Fans and critics alike rejoiced. Not only that, she’s just as charismatic and likable a character from any other game we’re nominating this year. Finally getting to see the real Lara Croft (a retro icon) back in a game that isn’t mediocre, was just as memorable a gaming moment for me in 2015 as anything else.

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal rightfully earned fans with the reboot to make a game that is worthy of the illustrious Tomb Raider brand. However this year, they finished putting all the pieces in place and took the series to the next level. I live in the now, and right now in 2015, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the cream of the genre. That’s not a knock on Uncharted, as there hasn’t been a new one since the Tomb Raider revival has taken place. Rise of the Tomb Raider had to innovate. And that it did. It has all the drama, twists, and turns that you would expect and it has deeper combat that stays fresh thanks to its crafting system. It also has way more to do outside of the story with its open world gameplay, and a multiplayer that gives truly die-hard fans an avenue to go down to keep playing.

If this were last year, I’d make the argument that no one commanded their genre better than Rise of the Tomb Raider did. But it’s not last year, it’s 2015 and the competition is fierce. There are certainly other games that went straight to the top just like Rise of the Tomb Raider. Still, though, consider all the nostalgia hoops Rise of the Tomb Raider had to hop through. Also, consider that within the genre, there is an undisputed champion to contend with. Finally, consider how Rise of the Tomb Raider overcame all that, and became a great game that can go toe to toe with any other 2015 GOTY candidate, and, most importantly, solidified the comeback of a beloved character and franchise. Factor that all in, and Rise of the Tomb Raider at least needs to be considered a 2015 Game of the Year Contender.

Keep checking back all this week for more opinions from Twinfinite on which game should be Game of the Year! And finally, next week, we’ll announce our Game of the Year!