Crafting on the fly is almost identical to last time but it still feels great. Lara can add collected materials to fuel containers for massive petrol bombs for example,engulfing the trees and structures in fire as your enemies run screaming.

There is a slight sense of deja vu with some of the puzzles and weapon upgrades,but overall Lara does feel like she's evolved. New gear that lets you abseil or climb around horizontal overhangs expands your options for getting around,for example,and there were a few genuinely head-scratching tombs despite them mostly relying on the rope arrows and lever puzzles we've seen before. There's also a number of new features that tie into the overall darker theme (you can now dive through eel-infested underwater caves or cover yourself in mud for extra-sneaky jungle murders),or into the ancient South American setting (herbal mixtures let you heal,slow time or even craft hallucinogenic fear arrows to terrorise your enemies).

It must be said that,of the three games,this is the only one where I was ever bothered by the occasional technical hiccup,including enemies that were clearly glitched and in the wrong place,invisible objects and momentary freezes when moving from area to area. These aren't the kind of issues that have any lasting negative effects on the experience,and some will no doubt be cleaned up in an update if they haven't been already,but it's noticeable given how polishedRise was at launch.

Parts of the narrative also betray the fact that the game would have benefited from extra development time,with scenes in the middle of the story that definitely seem truncated. It feels as though the big action set-pieces were built,but there was no time to make the scenes that connect them. This is only true of one specific part of the story,but overall the pacing does come off feeling less confident than previous games.

Those issues aside however,the stories told here are certainly worthwhile. This Lara Croft continues to be by far the most interesting and likeable version of the character to date,exuding awe and academic excitment about the discoveries she's making even as she drowns half a dozen would-be assailants. She does get pretty dark here,and actually goes completely off the rails at one point which I kind of love,but by the end it ultimately humanises her,and I'm eager to see where her adventures take her next.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is out now for Xbox One (reviewed),PC and PlayStation 4.