Next up in the Gaming Photo Album is Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the epic conclusion to a trilogy of games I utterly adore – I can still remember my immense excitement for the third game like it was yesterday (somehow, it’s already been 3 years… ). Closing out the modern origin trilogy of Lara Croft, Shadow of the Tomb Raider impressed me with how it continued to evolve the gameplay of the franchise, whilst telling a bold story that delved into the vulnerabilities and fears of Lara and how she overcomes them.
Amongst the luscious environments, thrilling set pieces, and intriguing exploration, there were plenty of photo opportunities – and for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, there was even a dedicated photo mode introduced! This let you further customise the angles, filters, depth of field, and more, including various expressions for Lara and plenty of other welcome details that give the player more options. In this post, you’ll see my personal results from taking screenshots, and it nicely closes out my own trilogy of Gaming Photo Album Tomb Raider posts, following on from Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Rise of the Tomb Raider! However, don’t necessarily think this is the end, as I often replay games in the trilogy, and will likely end up posting follow-ups. After all, if you’ve played the games, you’ll probably notice there are some sections I have not taken photos in. This is probably because I was too caught up in the action – after all, playing on Deadly Obsession difficulty is quite intense!
Right then, onto the photos. Enjoy!
Lara Croft: Close-Up Profiles
Lara Croft: Medium Profiles
Lara Croft: Side-On Profiles
Lara Croft: Black & White Profiles
Lara & Jonah
Archer
Landscapes
Light & Shadow
Doorways
Into Water
Leap of Faith
Descending (With A Smile)
Confrontation
Steadfast
Croft Manor… ?
We’re at the end of the photos – I hope you enjoyed them! Now, we wait for Square Enix to announce where Tomb Raider goes next, eh? Meanwhile, you can see more of my Gaming Photo Album posts here! Have an amazing day!
WCRobinson 
I’m curious how you found this particular title in contrast to the first two games in the series? from a personal perspective it ‘felt’ a little unnecessarily depressing in parts, though that certainly contrasted to the more traditional narratives of the earlier games.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi! Thanks for reading the post. Personally, I think this game does not get enough credit; the story takes Lara to some really vulnerable and introspective places without making her appear weak or dependent on others, and too often I saw that read as the character being “unlikeable” for example. Whilst I do not think that it topples Rise of the Tomb Raider as the best in the trilogy (ah, Rise is SO good), my opinion is that Shadow closes the trilogy out really well, with a new tone of story and some really fun gameplay advancements.
For me, I enjoyed that less of the encounters were gunfights against groups of enemies – they were there, but spaced out more, and with a leaning towards stealth, and that softened the excess of gunfights in the previous two games. Playing on the Deadly Obsession difficulty might have had a positive impact, too – the brutal settings of that mode, which includes going back to the last campfire (not autosave) if you die, really upped the tension of some of those suspenseful jumps and climbing moments. In general, the range of accessibility options are fantastic.
As I say, I think Rise is slightly the better game, with an overall more polished experience and balance of action against exploration (and I really like snowy settings aha). Shadow stands around the same level as the original reboot for me. As you can probably tell, I could keep talking about these games for a long time, but I’ll stop there for now. Would be intrigued to know your overall thoughts on the trilogy!
LikeLike
From a personal perspective I probably ‘enjoyed’ the more balanced tone of Rise as it felt a little bit more like a ‘traditional’ cinematic narrative though as part of a trilogy the more grim tone of Shadows probably would have served better as middle chapter ‘Temple of Doom’ style approach. I enjoyed the elements of self doubt at times though it did feel a little shoe horned in for gravitas at times. The moment that really stood out for me for the wrong reasons was towards the end after the action sequence in the refinery area.
I really enjoyed that element of self awareness in the first game when the reality of her actions sunk in and it just stood out in contrast to every other third person action game. By Shadows, you may have come to expect Lara to come to peace with her actions, inserting those elements of self doubt again just didn’t feel as natural this time. I did enjoy the inclusion of Croft Manor and glad they started to introduce more elements of the traditional lore.
LikeLike