I felt rather disappointed by Uncharated 4 as I felt it focused too heavily on automatic feeling platforming. I think Ideally the idea would be that the ambient dialogue between characters and sense of exploration through great looking areas are meant to sustain you through the mindless feeling gameplay during these sections, but for whatever reason that didn't work for me. Even more-so than the PS3 Uncharted games the platforming in UC4 felt really boring.

With this in mind I am wondering if the platforming in Rise of the Tombraider feels any better. I do really like the idea of third person shooting/platforming/puzzle solving adventure games, but don't want to be bored like in Uncharted. Is the platforming in Rise of the Tombraider feel more like real platforming, or does it feel automatic like UC4. As a reference point I loved the Platforming/Shooter combo of the Titanfall 2 campaign as the platforming there, while simplified, didn't feel automatic like uncharted.

It's pretty similar to Uncharted, but a little more interesting (grabbing walls with the climbing axe is done with a button press, for example). Still pretty simple.

Just based on the headline, I was gonna say "less stilted than Uncharted 4." I honestly couldn't stand the extended platform sections in that game.

Tomb Raider's feels a little more natural, a bit more threatening. It's also paced a hell of a lot better and you won't be stuck in a half hour platforming section while people voice act at you. In general, the gameplay of Rise feels way, way better than UC4 in every way (but that's just my opinion).

It's a a little less stiff, feels better, and the sequences to have a sense of peril to them. But it's similar to uncharted and still fairly basic and quite easy, but a lot more fun in my opinion. They're also a lot shorter

in all honesty, its not much different (or more realistic) than Uncharted 4. The platforming is the exact same as the last Tomb Raider game if you played through it.

It is less guided than Uncharted (there is no such a thing as move the stick until you see him reach out), but still not so open as Assassins Creed or other 3rd person platformers...

I am going to be the outlier here and say I actually preferred the platforming in Uncharted. It is perfectly fine in Tomb Raider, just slightly less precise. Of course this is just my opinion, and is probably bias since I've played, and loved, all the Uncharted games.

@peasforfees said:

Maybe I was confused, because I remembered a lot of places where it felt a lot more organic, like climbing walls with the pickaxes and arrows not being restricted to designated holding points or climbing over ledges not failing unless you are on the right angle.

@hermes: No, that stuff is still there. There's also that completely unrealistic "jump 5 ft straight up will hanging with a climbing axe, lol. You definitely do the reach out thing a bunch in this game and the last.

Uhh, yeah it is. If you're supposed to jump she opens her angle towards the jump. If she can't go that direction, she sticks to the wall.

At like six minutes in you can see her jump to the side she faces the jump in an open stance. When she has to jump up she looks up and sticks to the wall.

Different animation, same mechanic.

Yep. I also find it funny both added grappling hooks this go around. Between Tomb Raider, UC4, Rainbow Six: Siege, Widowmaker in Overwatch, Mirror's Edge and Titanfall 2, is 2016 year of the grappling hook?

UC and Tomb Raider are mechanically extremely similar. If you found the past UCs including UC4 boring platforming sections then this game won't change your mind. It's extremely similar and offers less dialogue in these sections than UC4 as she is by herself more often than Drake. As far as active gameplay is concerned these games are functionally identical. The only real difference is that UC4 is a little more linear and Tomb Raider has a bit of Ubi-Sandbox in it. There's a bit of crafting and resource gathering and upgrading of weapons, but other than that they're the same. I love them both, but if one isn't your thing, your opinion is most likely going to be identical on the other.

The only problem with this game's controls is the weird aiming deadzones (I played on XB1). Otherwise controlling Lara feels very smooth and responsive.

I'm playing through Rise of the Tomb Raider currently, and it gives a more metroid-y vibe to the platforming because of the gadgets. If you are interested at all in the collectibles (and I wouldn't be except for the XP and gold they give), then you'll be backtracking a fair bit through old areas looking for different paths enabled by the new toys.

The last game, Tomb Raider, wasn't a satisfying puzzle platformer, and I doubt the sequel is any better. It's too basic and easy. I recommend getting Tomb Raider: Anniversary instead.

@jdizzlefoshizzle:

It's a lot more involved than Uncharted and feels really good in my opinion. Tomb Raider already did a great job of introducing gear that was necessary to unlock certain paths, but Rise adds in a few more elements that add variety in the latter part of the game. What makes Tomb Raider feel better than Uncharted is the snappiness of the controls. Drake always felt a bit lumbering and floaty. Lara in comparison is swift and precise in her movements with almost all button presses having very little animation priority. I had completed Rise and then went on to play Uncharted 4 and let me tell you it took a while to get used to how everything moved..

That said these modern games are not as punishing as platformers of old, and for the better I might add. You lose some challenge in the manual dexterity category but you gain a much better overall gameplay flow.

These new games aren't puzzle platformers at all, so it shouldn't be satisfying that way. A fantastic action game, though? Absolutely.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary has some damn fine puzzles, though, and Underworld had some of the most complex of the entire series. Great games.

The reboot still has puzzles, though.

Being precise and nailing that maneuver was a big part of Anniversary too, which is dead in the reboot.

I think it's pretty bland as an action game.