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Old 09-06-19, 03:39   #1
charmedangelin
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Lightbulb What made Shadow the most divisive and controversial game in reboot trilogy?

So I came across this thread from Reddit and thought it was filled with soooooo many good points from level headed people.

I'll post my thoughts later, but give it a good read and explain why you think Shadow has been the most divisive and most controversial game in the reboot trilogy?

https://www.reddit.com/r/TombRaider/...m_source*******

Edit

I also think a thread like this would provide some good feedback for developers if they are thinking of the next game. They can see what went wrong, why it was wrong and what can be or should be done about it.

Last edited by charmedangelin; 09-06-19 at 03:41.
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Old 09-06-19, 03:56   #2
veigafd
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The difference in the art style from the graphics that sometimes it makes look like a paiting.
The blandness of the story and the main character.
The same gameplay from 2013.
Lack of memorable moments, in part because of the story.
Lack of the tomb raider that she's meant to be
Horrendous Marketing when there was way better things to show off.
ALSO, I don't think Paiiteetee must be one of the problems,BUT I'm thinking in a casual way, which are the main demographic for TR's after all, and I think they don't care, but in a fan level, specially over here, Paeeteetee really felt like a chore for some people, including myself.

Last edited by veigafd; 09-06-19 at 03:59.
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Old 09-06-19, 05:52   #3
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Taking advices from Reddit is like asking 4chan peoples to be polite in my opinion.

It's the three or four thread you have opened about Shadow but I think we already have one thread of this genre

I think and that's purely my opinion if Lara have the duals/braid/short at one moment of the game it wouldn't have been that controversial I think. Because it's clearly what some peoples want the classic iconography.

The balance between exploration and shooting can also have played a role into that feeling (wich was for me a better experience with the DLC).
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Old 09-06-19, 06:45   #4
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I think some people are harder on Shadow because it's the final game in the trilogy. We were expecting a greater change in Lara's character, gameplay, and just a more satisfying conclusion to the overall story arc. Before Shadow we could put some frustrations aside, knowing that the origin story wasn't over yet. Now I think many people are left feeling dissatisfied like 'Was that it? All that build up for... this?'

I still think Shadow improved on the previous two games in many ways, and is clearly the best Tomb Raider game in the reboot trilogy. But I also understand why some people are more frustrated now than ever.

Edit: Even without the heightened expectations that comes with being the final game, there was both a lot of highs and a lot of lows. On the one hand, the tombs were so much better. But on the other hand, Paititi. The main cutscene acting/directing was great, but the side quest acting was abysmal. It contains some of my favourite moments in the trilogy, but there's no chapter replay 😤etc.

Last edited by leomage; 09-06-19 at 07:00.
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Old 09-06-19, 09:17   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leomage View Post
I think some people are harder on Shadow because it's the final game in the trilogy. We were expecting a greater change in Lara's character, gameplay, and just a more satisfying conclusion to the overall story arc. Before Shadow we could put some frustrations aside, knowing that the origin story wasn't over yet. Now I think many people are left feeling dissatisfied like 'Was that it? All that build up for... this?'
Pretty much. As the concluding game in the origin trilogy intended to bring us closer to something familiar, Shadow stuck with things for the better and notably worse (redundant skill tree system, the unnecessary multiple weapons and upgrades, more crafting, etc.). Lara’s arc solidified her as a new character and not one of the past we’d recognise. They set themselves up to deliver on a trilogy, but between the hesitance to grow Lara and shed the fat holding the gameplay down, and the lack of foreplanning, it’s impact was much less than it could’ve been.

Saying that, it’s worth noting that Shadow partly restored faith in people who hadn’t enjoyed the reboot much at all. I’ve seen a few tier lists from people who ranked TR2013 and Rise at the bottom, only to rank Shadow in the top tiers, above some classics, even. In that sense, it’s united some fans, more than I’ve seen from the previous reboot games. Even in the reddit thread linked in the OP, there’s a good balance of criticism and praise. It’s a TR experience unlike anything post-TR4, but of course that’s just my opinion.
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Old 09-06-19, 09:33   #6
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I think it's because of Lara's iconography. The team kept repeating about Lara becoming the Tomb Raider all the time and og fans expected braids, duals etc when it was stated several times that this is not happening. Then came the ending that was changed, it included Natla and duals(On Lara's desk? Not sure) and it was something og fans needed to connect with this version of lara more but that didn't last. there is the outfit restriction that not only kept users from using their favorite outfits but also forced the team to keep releasing tribal outfits so the dlc outfits could be used everywhere (still salty about no compound bow). the game is the best tomb raider game we've had since the last revelation so............i truly believe the problem is lara's iconography! if the game was exactly the same but lara had a braid and/or duals, it would be considered one of the top 3 tomb raider games ever. i dont think the game is controversial and divisive, the fandom is. the fandom wasn't united before shadow was released. its been like that since legend was released.
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Old 09-06-19, 09:53   #7
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I believe that Tomb Raider 2013 was far more controversial. The reactions back then were so divided it literally split the fanbase forever between classic lovers like yourself and reboot lovers. LAU somehow managed to fall in between now whereas they got heavily criticized in the past as well. We also have a handful people who like all iterations but we are clearly in the minority.

Shadow got a lot of love for as far as I can tell. Some people stated they loved it at first but then suddenly changed their opinion when they saw others being negative about it. They call that the bandwagon effect.
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Old 09-06-19, 11:17   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leomage View Post
I think some people are harder on Shadow because it's the final game in the trilogy. We were expecting a greater change in Lara's character, gameplay, and just a more satisfying conclusion to the overall story arc. Before Shadow we could put some frustrations aside, knowing that the origin story wasn't over yet. Now I think many people are left feeling dissatisfied like 'Was that it? All that build up for... this?'

I still think Shadow improved on the previous two games in many ways, and is clearly the best Tomb Raider game in the reboot trilogy. But I also understand why some people are more frustrated now than ever.

Edit: Even without the heightened expectations that comes with being the final game, there was both a lot of highs and a lot of lows. On the one hand, the tombs were so much better. But on the other hand, Paititi. The main cutscene acting/directing was great, but the side quest acting was abysmal. It contains some of my favourite moments in the trilogy, but there's no chapter replay ��etc.
Well said.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maverin View Post
I believe that Tomb Raider 2013 was far more controversial. The reactions back then were so divided it literally split the fanbase forever between classic lovers like yourself and reboot lovers. LAU somehow managed to fall in between now whereas they got heavily criticized in the past as well. We also have a handful people who like all iterations but we are clearly in the minority.

Shadow got a lot of love for as far as I can tell. Some people stated they loved it at first but then suddenly changed their opinion when they saw others being negative about it. They call that the bandwagon effect.
TR 2013 while being controversial was accepted very, very, well by both fans and GP. It was controversial, but that's a part of being memorable and iconic. Maybe it wasn't the best TR game of the trilogy, but no one can deny that it was a great game. It's really weird, because with both Rise and Shadow it looks like they wanted to try and satisfy the needs of "Classic" fans as much as they could... or wanted. But GP and even majority of fans didn't accept and react to Rise and Shadow the same way they did to TR 2013. It's like instead of going up, they were going down, even tho. they improved on a lot of the things.

Problem is, while they definitely improved some things in Rise and Shadow, somewhere on the way they failed to deliver what TR 2013 had. Both Rise and Shadow just... lost that something.

Last edited by Emix; 09-06-19 at 11:24.
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Old 09-06-19, 13:52   #9
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Originally Posted by Emix View Post
Well said.



TR 2013 while being controversial was accepted very, very, well by both fans and GP. It was controversial, but that's a part of being memorable and iconic. Maybe it wasn't the best TR game of the trilogy, but no one can deny that it was a great game. It's really weird, because with both Rise and Shadow it looks like they wanted to try and satisfy the needs of "Classic" fans as much as they could... or wanted. But GP and even majority of fans didn't accept and react to Rise and Shadow the same way they did to TR 2013. It's like instead of going up, they were going down, even tho. they improved on a lot of the things.

Problem is, while they definitely improved some things in Rise and Shadow, somewhere on the way they failed to deliver what TR 2013 had. Both Rise and Shadow just... lost that something.
Yes omg well said
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Old 09-06-19, 13:58   #10
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Shadow is not the most divisive game at all, lol. It's just the newest one. Every single game from the trilogy has been trashed to death but whenever a new game gets released the previous ones are seen in a different light. And that will happen to Shadow too. Mark my words.

I did think it would be less divisive, specially seeing how TR-ry it is compared to the previous ones but apparently people don't care that much about it anymore. One would think that just because of that, the game would be more accepted but nope. It's still hated as much as TR2013 and Rise were. Not more and not less.
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