One unpopular gaming opinion of mine is that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is easily the best in the Survivor Trilogy. While it has its share of issues, its emphasis on exploring tombs and solving puzzles is what makes it so engaging. Following the release of Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider on Nintendo Switch 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider has finally debuted, but does it hold up? 

On her quest to stop the mysterious organisation known as Trinity from gathering powerful artefacts from around the world, Lara inadvertently triggers the Mayan Apocalypse as natural disasters begin to tear the continent apart. Lara steps up as the Tomb Raider we all know and love, facing the consequences of her actions and setting things right before its too late.

I can’t wait for Legacy of Atlantis!

As is standard for the Survivor Trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a darker entry that focuses on Lara dealing with the consequences of her actions that caused innocent deaths. However, those actions sets her on the path to being a hero and right her wrongs before its too late. It turns her from prey always on the back foot into a full-on predator, hunting her prey to right her wrong. Although, it’s not a perfect story, especially as the trilogy continues to struggle to develop compelling side characters or villains. Jonah is still around for some reason, and some questions from previous games still don’t get a satisfying answer here.

The Survivor Trilogy has always felt like an Uncharted clone. An action-heavy third-person shooter that emphasises outrageous set pieces, and that’s largely the same here. If you’ve played the previous games in the reboot series you will know what to expect. A competently crafted survival action game set in a mixture of larger hub maps and linear action sequences.

However, Shadow of the Tomb Raider in particular mixes things up a little and feels closer to classic Tomb Raider, where raiding tombs is the focus. This one has far less action; instead, it puts puzzles and exploration front and centre. The climbing and platforming mechanics are pretty straightforward, and the puzzles are mostly solid enough, a huge step up from previous entries where they were largely absent. 

This game came out…. eight years ago?!

When you do encounter enemies, though, Lara is much more prepared and willing to hunt. Moving away from being the survivor and now becoming the hunter. Lara is absolutely brutal. She has much more movement, able to blend into the environment to hunt her prey. You’ll even encounter more dangerous wildlife, which helps bring back that classic Tomb Raider feeling. Though some might be a little disappointed by the reduced action sequences, I found it a bit more refreshing. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider still looks absolutely fantastic, with densely packed environments from a Day of the Dead Festival to the depths of the Peruvian Jungle, with a variety of villages and tombs you will need to make your way through. And on Nintendo Switch 2, that mostly rings true as well. For the most part, I was impressed by the visual presentation, which manages to deliver most of the big console features, though there are some issues. 

Like previous Aspyr ports, Shadow of the Tomb Raider  runs at a 30FPS cap with occasional drops. There are no graphics settings to remove that cap; DLSS seems out of the question here. Not even settings for motion blur or depth of field. And it certainly doesn’t take advantage of the Switch 2’s unique hardware features: no motion controls, no gyro aiming, touchscreen or even mouse controls. It’s as basic a port as you would expect, given the previous two Aspyr games; if you had a good time with them, you’ll have the same experience here. 

Lara accidentally causing an apocalyptic event is a fitting story for this iteration.

Finally, as the definitive edition, Shadow of the Tomb Raider includes all previously released DLC, mostly several challenge tombs and a wealth of costumes for Lara to use throughout the story. There are no real surprises here, but at least everything is included. 

Despite some issues, I still stand by the fact that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is not only an excellent entry in its own right but also the best in the survivors trilogy, feeling closer to a classic Tomb Raider than the other games. And whilst playing it on Nintendo Switch 2 has been somewhat underwhelming with a disappointing 30FPS cap, it’s not an outright terrible port either. It plays well enough, with no real surprises. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

A copy of Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition was provided by the publisher.