Lara Croft is more confident than ever in this installment & wrecking up enemies easily whilst doing everything that Lara does. Grappling, shimmying death defying ledges, swinging ropes to reach places normal humans would not be able to. The story is very well put forth and detailed & yet simple enough. Graphics have never been more beautiful. From lush green forests, mountains, to richly detailed catacombs.
The story is concentrated to the group Trinity. The NPC elements are well put together in the game. Villages are live and bustling; the hidden city is thriving and beautiful as well.
The puzzles are the best than any other Tomb Raider games. Logical and brain stirring, these puzzles give you a good sense of accomplishment once you figure out what it is you actually need to do. Apart from main missions, the tombs, crypts & various side mission along with lots of collectible stuff (plants, animal hides, treasures, relics etc) keep you busy for a good 20 hour. Solving Tombs gives you upgrades as well as specific items. They are well worth it. In some ways, you do not get tired of the collectibles in the game, because you are well rewarded for it all. You can also sell everything you collect for cash in the market. Some side missions are very well made and quite gritty.
Lara can upgrade her skill set from the experience gathered and use them to add new crafting attributes or add to some passive abilities. The firefights are great and challenging. The enemy surrounds you, hunts for you and throws grenades to flush Lara out. But the stealth kills of Lara make it just too easy in most cases where stealth is involved. They are Croft fodder. That being said the game has lots of traversing and finding your way out, rather than fighting enemies (which is the essence of Tomb Raider games), but I felt the game could have done with a bit more action. The last boss fight was disappointing to say the least. However as they say its the journey and not the destination that matters, Shadow of the Tomb Raider as one heck of a journey.
The underwater sequences are beautiful as well. There were times when I would just rotate the camera angle to view the beauty the game portrays from atop the mountains as you looked down upon waterfalls and lush jungles. Everything said and done, its 20 hours very well spent.