Lara Croft Go review by Tyson
Overall
Rent
Lara Croft is back to collect some more treasure in this new puzzle game. This game is a nice spin-off from the main Tomb Raider entries due to its simple gameplay but sadly its very short length does hurt the overall package.
Gameplay
Unlike other Tomb Raider or Lara Croft games this Go version doesn't really have much of a story. This game has Lara adventuring through the amazon to collect some artifact called the Atlas of Beyond. The game never explains why Lara is out to get this artifact or what it even does. Lara Croft Go thankfully does use a good set of environments just like other Tomb Raider or the other Lara Croft games. You will go through various temples and caves throughout your adventure. But what is ultimately disappointing with this game is that you can beat this game within 3 hours or less.
Lara Croft Go main gameplay is a combination of puzzle and turn based movement. The main puzzle element of the game is to get Lara through each level and to ultimately collect the Atlas of Beyond. The game uses many of the main Tomb Raiding puzzle elements like pulling switches to manipulate platforms or avoiding deadly traps. What makes the game unique from Lara's other games is its form of movement. Lara can't move freely around the environment but she can only move specific directions as if she is following a track. What also is different is that once Lara makes a move then other objects like a giant boulder or various enemies will then make their move. Many of the games puzzles are designed for you to get enemies onto various pressure plates or to have them activate a trap so you can move throughout the level.
Like the other games with Lara Croft in them you will need to bust out the old dual pistols to defeat some enemies. Here you will face off against things like snakes, spiders, and lizards. What makes fighting enemies unique in this is that you can only attack enemies from the side or back. Trying to fight them from the front will get you killed. You can also collect a one time use spear weapon that you can use to kill enemies from a long distance. But you don't want to kill every enemy you see since some of them will need to be used to progress through the level.
Like many other puzzle games, Lara Croft Go will let you put yourself into a non winnable situation. Sadly when this happens you will need to restart the level. I do wish that there was some other mechanic like being able to respawn an enemy that you accidentally killed or something. It's just frustrating to get almost done with a level and find out that spider you killed was needed to activate a pressure plate.
Control
I really don't understand how this game doesn't have a normal keyboard and mouse control scheme. The game has you making swiping motions with the mouse to move Lara in a specific direction and I am puzzled why you can't use the arrow keys or a wasd movement setup to move Lara. While I did find myself being able to get use to the swiping control scheme over time I also wanted something more tailored to the pc platform.
Graphics
Lara Croft Go uses a much more simplified look compared to previous Tomb Raider or Lara Croft games and I really enjoyed this artistic design choice. Things looked clean and I like the chunky polygonal look to the characters and world environment. Seeing Lara in a more chunky polygonal look really brought back memories of playing the Tomb Raider games on the PlayStation console back in the 1990s.
Sound
I came away a bit disappointed in the audio department of this game. Sure the background music is good but I never found it as good as the other Tomb Raider or Lara Croft games. I would have also liked more voice work for Lara as well.