I am always a bit hesitant when I pick a mobile game from Square Enix because they have a legacy of hit or miss. The Unity splash on the opening screen didn't do anything to quell this fear. Lara Croft Go brought to us by Square Enix Montréal is a hit. I wouldn't say out of the ballpark but it was a pleasurable play through only made better by their expanded content. This review is of the mobile version although there is a version available on Steam.
The Game:
Lara Croft Go is a puzzle adventure game that takes us into the dark reaches of a snake infested dungeon. Each area has a path that Lara can move across with nodes indicated by diamonds. You move from one node to the next by swiping a direction on your phone. All action stops between swipes but when you move monsters or traps move as well. The pacing gives you plenty of time to think about your next move and you never feel rushed to do something.
Each puzzle is solved by ridding yourself of enemies, flipping switches, or timing traps. There are also hidden objects you can tap on but they are just for collecting purposes. Some are obvious to see and others will test your ability to see outside of your focus.
There are five books in the original game with a handful of levels in each. There have been two more books released along with the game that have substantially more levels in them and also much more challenging puzzles.
My Thoughts:
I have a confession. I have never played a Tomb Raider game. I have several on my computer and they are waiting in my extremely long queue of titles to play (and now review) but I have not partaken in the experience. That being said this game has given me the desire to pick one up once I have the bandwidth to start one.
Not enough could be said about the level design of this game. From book one, you are enveloped in puzzles that never disappoint. While it does a fair job of starting out easy you get to a point where the puzzles are more than just swiping Lara through the level. Some of these puzzles left me with a noticeable smile on my face as I enjoyed what was some witty design. This really picked up in the post release book “The Cave of Fire”, which held some of the most challenging as well as smart puzzles so far. “The Mirror of Spirits” goes even further by adding more game changing mechanics.
This game is chill. I really want a better word but for lack of literary genius that is the one you are getting. The way the game is paced out and the fact it is always waiting on your move makes it a great fit for a mobile device. It is a game you can throw into sleep mode and then bring back up without having screwed yourself in some way. Not to mention I had several hour stints of this game and although my phone is an S8+ the drain on my battery was absolutely minimal. I really think this is a mentionable thing because to me it shows a studio that knows what they are doing or at least a design that isn't taxing. While two raids in Pokemon Go will knock my phone to 50% I could have binged this title on a single charge.
It also kind of has a story. A very shallow story but the way it weaves into the game play makes for a great last book.
Overall this will have to rank up there on one of my favorite mobile games. So much, in fact, I saw they had made Deus Ex Go and picked it up.
TL;DR:
Lara Croft go is a well put together, relaxing puzzle game. It doesn't have a "wow" factor but I feel like the game was pretty fulfilling and the whole time everything made sense.
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