For a game released in 2013, it still holds up impressively well. Visually, it has aged much better than I expected. Some animations, textures, and smaller details obviously show their age, but overall it is still a very enjoyable game to look at and play today
The story is one of its strongest points. It works very well as an origin story for this version of Lara Croft, mixing adventure with emotional moments, tense situations, and even a few genuinely creepy sections. Throughout the game, you can clearly see Lara evolve from someone more vulnerable and unsure of herself into someone much more capable of surviving everything the island throws at her.
The combat is also still very enjoyable. The bow is excellent, but it is far from the only weapon that feels good to use — the pistols are very satisfying as well, along with the other weapons you unlock and upgrade throughout the campaign.
The game does a good job of mixing combat, exploration, climbing, puzzles, tombs, and large cinematic sequences, which helps keep the adventure varied and well paced.
On PC, the controls were probably one of the things I struggled with the most. The frequent use of the E and F keys for certain actions and quick-time sequences never felt completely natural to me, and even after several hours I still had moments where I pressed the wrong key or took too long to react.
The tombs and puzzles also help add variety and break up the more intense combat and exploration sections.
Technically, I also came across a few small stutters and occasional bugs, but nothing that seriously ruined the experience.
In the end, it is impressive to think that this is a game from 2013 and that, so many years later, it can still deliver such a solid, cinematic, and entertaining campaign, with strong moments of action, emotion, tension, and exploration
