Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The Nightmare Review

"Scary Dreams"

Campaign

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The Nightmare is the third DLC released for the game that continues the adventures of Lara Croft's latest release. This is a side mission that's activated after completing a previous fetch quest horn mission. You'll then head into the small cave of operations and get going right into the small pond that lies behind its fire. This is an interesting mission, but also a rather weird one without any direct focus. You're searching for yet another special item that will help the cause, which in turn causes a crazy hallucination nightmare.

This is another trip into the mind of Lara Croft as she debates her actions and battles a pile of enemies from the past, in tiny caves. Once this short series of memories is concluded you'll move through a very awkwardly setup area. This section was clearly meant for multiple players and it has some functionality that just doesn't feel cohesive. It gets worse when you're in the end game challenge where some back tracking is present within the puzzle. It feels random as opposed to well balanced and interesting. This is also a rather short chapter, one that retreads things too much.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The Nightmare Screenshot

The Conclusion

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The Nightmare is a side story to the main tale that really isn't necessary to the overall narrative. It's just a quick side adventure that reinforces the themes delivered throughout the core game. The combative segments were tight and perhaps difficult, though short in nature.

The visuals were excellent here, they really do deliver on the dream sequences, but they don't take it far enough for any important meaning. It's just a sequence of weird, twisted dreams that don't always connect in the right ways. It didn't have much of a meaning, with only a glimpse of the intense Baba Yaga action from the previous game's DLC experience. I found the challenge tomb to be more odd than anything, wish it was more interesting.

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Square Enix

Rating Overall: 6.5

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner