The original Tomb Raider is a game that left a big impression on me growing up. The original is one of the first games that I remember playing, though I was terrible at it. I’ve been very happy to see the game rebooted in recent years, and I’m a fan of the direction taken in Rise of the Tomb Raider. It’s clear that the game designers intended to take a more modern approach to the representation of women in their games, while staying true to the character of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series.
WARNING- MAJOR SPOILERS
WARNING- MAJOR SPOILERS
Major progress in representation of women
When the original Tomb Raider game came out, Lara Croft represented a positive development for women in gaming. Lara was a “strong female character,” who could fight as well as any male hero. In 1996, the year Tomb Raider came out, Lara Croft was one of very few female protagonists. A female video game hero, just as powerful as any other hero, meant a lot to young female gamers like me.
Looking back on original Lara Croft now, it’s easy to forget that she was a sign of major progress for women in games, instead of a regressive sex object by today’s standards. So it’s important to put her in context for her time.
Nevertheless, over time, the gaming community’s standards for women in games was slowly raised. In the time of original Tomb Raider, it was enough just to have a strong female character. Today, a “strong female character” is not enough, and audiences are hungry for female characters that are realistic, believable characters, and that are equally represented compared to the male characters. From this, we can see that gaming is on the forefront of social progress.
Thus, the Lara Croft of today is still an attractive superhero, but she has an athletic, realistically proportioned build, and clothes that make sense for fighting and exploring. Such a choice makes recent Tomb Raider games more serious and immersive experiences.
Lara is now also more relatable as a character. While she still has super-human abilities and reflexes, she looks more like an actual person that players can identify with. This increases investment in her story.
Looking back on original Lara Croft now, it’s easy to forget that she was a sign of major progress for women in games, instead of a regressive sex object by today’s standards. So it’s important to put her in context for her time.
Nevertheless, over time, the gaming community’s standards for women in games was slowly raised. In the time of original Tomb Raider, it was enough just to have a strong female character. Today, a “strong female character” is not enough, and audiences are hungry for female characters that are realistic, believable characters, and that are equally represented compared to the male characters. From this, we can see that gaming is on the forefront of social progress.
Thus, the Lara Croft of today is still an attractive superhero, but she has an athletic, realistically proportioned build, and clothes that make sense for fighting and exploring. Such a choice makes recent Tomb Raider games more serious and immersive experiences.
Lara is now also more relatable as a character. While she still has super-human abilities and reflexes, she looks more like an actual person that players can identify with. This increases investment in her story.
Female protagonist, female villain
There are two main villains in Rise of the Tomb Raider: Ana and Konstantin. Thus, Rise of the Tomb Raider has not only a female protagonist, but also a female villain, Ana. They are not enemies due to a shared romantic interest, or female competition, but instead over control of a powerful relic. They are linked by Lara’s deceased father; nevertheless, they mostly discuss Ana’s secret organization, Trinity, and the Divine Source. So right off the bat this game easily passes the Bechdel Test.
As discussed in my review of Dragon Age: Inquisition, a female protagonist helps balance against the tendency for games to have male protagonists. This is something that can’t be achieved by one game alone, and thus it is not the responsibility of every single game to fix. However, by considering female protagonists a more equal possibility with male protagonists, game designers will naturally reach a more equal balance in their games.
An equal balance of female and male protagonists in games helps on several fronts. First of all, it helps differentiate games from each other, since every single protagonist won’t look like the “standard tough-looking white male with brown hair and stubble.” Secondly, it avoids creating an unintended expectation that men are the default (as discussed in my last review).
Finally, having female and male protagonists in roughly equal amounts helps gaming reach a more diverse audience. People are more receptive to games when they see their own identities represented in some way, and the absence of those identities can be an unintentional signal to people that “this game is not for people like you.” So female protagonists that women can identify with help bring in the female audience.
This is a good thing because games are art, and art appeals fundamentally to the human condition, shared by people of all identities. It is also a bonus that wider audiences increase the game industry’s bottom line. On that note, in the future, I predict, and hope to see it become standard to even have characters outside of binary gender.
Female villains are also uncommon, and when they do show up, they tend to appear, as in classic Disney movies, as older, inappropriately or disgustingly sexual women. This is consistent with gender roles; as sexual attractiveness is associated with women, female villains tend to use sex for evil purposes, whereas male villains rarely use sex as a part of their tactics.
There are also observable patterns in stories in the form of "bad" sexuality of female villains versus "good" sexual attractiveness of female protagonists. To understand why this is, we have to first understand that a secondary purpose of stories is to offer people guidelines about who to emulate, what’s right and wrong, and what kind of roles exist for people in our society.
Traditionally the symbolism used for women’s roles involved a contrast between a young virginal woman, who we are supposed to see as a “good” woman, versus the evil, unlovable, and sexually promiscuous older woman, who we are supposed to see as a “bad” and “dangerous” woman for abandoning traditional values of becoming a wife, mother, and homemaker, etc. These tropes are less relevant today since the time of these classic villainesses, as there is more sexual liberation. However, references to these problematic tropes still pop up from time to time.
Ana, the villain in Rise of the Tomb Raider, seduced Lara’s father to gain information about the Divine Source. She also manipulated her brother, Konstantin, to support Trinity. So there are hints of the classic evil stepmother in her story. Those tactics are not those normally seen in a male villain, who tend to resort more to stereotypically masculine methods, such as strength. We see those traits in Kontantin's tactics, who actually physically fights Lara.
Nevertheless, Ana is not overly sexual, and her conflict with Lara does not involve the classic jealousy for Lara’s youthful beauty. Rise of the Tomb Raider also revealed her confessions of genuinely caring about Lara’s family and feeling conflicted about her ultimate goal. So though she has hints of the classic villainess, she is also in many ways a departure from that trope in a positive way.
As discussed in my review of Dragon Age: Inquisition, a female protagonist helps balance against the tendency for games to have male protagonists. This is something that can’t be achieved by one game alone, and thus it is not the responsibility of every single game to fix. However, by considering female protagonists a more equal possibility with male protagonists, game designers will naturally reach a more equal balance in their games.
An equal balance of female and male protagonists in games helps on several fronts. First of all, it helps differentiate games from each other, since every single protagonist won’t look like the “standard tough-looking white male with brown hair and stubble.” Secondly, it avoids creating an unintended expectation that men are the default (as discussed in my last review).
Finally, having female and male protagonists in roughly equal amounts helps gaming reach a more diverse audience. People are more receptive to games when they see their own identities represented in some way, and the absence of those identities can be an unintentional signal to people that “this game is not for people like you.” So female protagonists that women can identify with help bring in the female audience.
This is a good thing because games are art, and art appeals fundamentally to the human condition, shared by people of all identities. It is also a bonus that wider audiences increase the game industry’s bottom line. On that note, in the future, I predict, and hope to see it become standard to even have characters outside of binary gender.
Female villains are also uncommon, and when they do show up, they tend to appear, as in classic Disney movies, as older, inappropriately or disgustingly sexual women. This is consistent with gender roles; as sexual attractiveness is associated with women, female villains tend to use sex for evil purposes, whereas male villains rarely use sex as a part of their tactics.
There are also observable patterns in stories in the form of "bad" sexuality of female villains versus "good" sexual attractiveness of female protagonists. To understand why this is, we have to first understand that a secondary purpose of stories is to offer people guidelines about who to emulate, what’s right and wrong, and what kind of roles exist for people in our society.
Traditionally the symbolism used for women’s roles involved a contrast between a young virginal woman, who we are supposed to see as a “good” woman, versus the evil, unlovable, and sexually promiscuous older woman, who we are supposed to see as a “bad” and “dangerous” woman for abandoning traditional values of becoming a wife, mother, and homemaker, etc. These tropes are less relevant today since the time of these classic villainesses, as there is more sexual liberation. However, references to these problematic tropes still pop up from time to time.
Ana, the villain in Rise of the Tomb Raider, seduced Lara’s father to gain information about the Divine Source. She also manipulated her brother, Konstantin, to support Trinity. So there are hints of the classic evil stepmother in her story. Those tactics are not those normally seen in a male villain, who tend to resort more to stereotypically masculine methods, such as strength. We see those traits in Kontantin's tactics, who actually physically fights Lara.
Nevertheless, Ana is not overly sexual, and her conflict with Lara does not involve the classic jealousy for Lara’s youthful beauty. Rise of the Tomb Raider also revealed her confessions of genuinely caring about Lara’s family and feeling conflicted about her ultimate goal. So though she has hints of the classic villainess, she is also in many ways a departure from that trope in a positive way.
No romantic interest for a female lead
Throughout the game, I was expecting Jacob to become Lara’s romantic interest. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she had no romantic interests at all throughout the game.
According to gender roles, romance is associated with femininity. To illustrate this, in a review of children's toys, "love" was the most common word advertised to girls. (right) "Love" did not show up on the word cloud for boys.
Rise of the Tomb Raider rejects this association completely and just avoids any romantic plot. Overall, Lara’s gender feels extremely irrelevant in this game, almost like this game came from a post-sexism society. Her gender never really affects anything that she decides to do. Her character does not revolve around her relationships with men. She even has a female friend, and a female antagonist.
At one point, she even tries to rescue her loyal friend Jonah, in a reversal of the “damsel in distress” trope.
However, Lara is still clearly a woman in her appearance and voice. It’s not as if this game has removed her gender completely. But she’s more human, like how I would imagine a normal woman who became an action hero.
According to gender roles, romance is associated with femininity. To illustrate this, in a review of children's toys, "love" was the most common word advertised to girls. (right) "Love" did not show up on the word cloud for boys.
Rise of the Tomb Raider rejects this association completely and just avoids any romantic plot. Overall, Lara’s gender feels extremely irrelevant in this game, almost like this game came from a post-sexism society. Her gender never really affects anything that she decides to do. Her character does not revolve around her relationships with men. She even has a female friend, and a female antagonist.
At one point, she even tries to rescue her loyal friend Jonah, in a reversal of the “damsel in distress” trope.
However, Lara is still clearly a woman in her appearance and voice. It’s not as if this game has removed her gender completely. But she’s more human, like how I would imagine a normal woman who became an action hero.
Exclusively male enemies and unconscious bias
I’m ashamed to say that I almost missed the biggest, most damaging gender issue in the game: the fact that every single human enemy you fight in the game is a man. One reason might be just that Crystal Dynamics wanted to save money and only have one enemy gender. But all-female enemies would be unthinkable and cause outrage, so clearly we know there is some cultural aspect to why all-male enemies were chosen. Why is this, and why is it so hard to even notice?
To answer this, we have to go look again at gender roles. According to traditional gender roles, women are associated with weakness, and men are associated with aggressiveness and strength. Men’s roles include being a fighter and a protector. Therefore violence is connected to the concept of “masculinity” in our culture. (Note - it is very important to distinguish this from the idea that men are actually inherently violent. This is not my belief, but it is a common, though deeply problematic, belief. What is observably true is that our society and culture associate masculinity as a concept with violence.)
If we, as a society, associate men with violence and aggressiveness, then it feels more comfortable to commit virtual violence against men. If we associate women with weakness and needing protection, then it feels disturbing and wrong to commit virtual violence against women. This is also why games often use violence against women as a device to convey disturbing immorality and the victimization of weak people. This contrasts with Rise of the Tomb Raider, where Lara’s killing of so many men is never suggested as being immoral or disturbing. Instead, the game tries to convey that these killings are justified, or even self-defense.
However, men and women are both human beings, and if it feels disturbing to commit virtual violence against one gender, then it should feel equally disturbing to commit virtual violence against another. But men’s gender role is so deeply ingrained in our culture that killing male enemies feels natural to the point where most people barely even notice that there is a mysterious absence of female enemies.
Needless to say this small oversight is connected to larger social problems men face, such as being drafted into the military, and facing an assumption of violent nature in the criminal justice system. Some men who are bullied also feel social pressure to stick up for themselves with violence, in order to appear masculine.
Playing this game doesn’t brainwash us into going out and killing men in real life, but the violence and masculinity association is something we risk internalizing if we don’t practice awareness.
To answer this, we have to go look again at gender roles. According to traditional gender roles, women are associated with weakness, and men are associated with aggressiveness and strength. Men’s roles include being a fighter and a protector. Therefore violence is connected to the concept of “masculinity” in our culture. (Note - it is very important to distinguish this from the idea that men are actually inherently violent. This is not my belief, but it is a common, though deeply problematic, belief. What is observably true is that our society and culture associate masculinity as a concept with violence.)
If we, as a society, associate men with violence and aggressiveness, then it feels more comfortable to commit virtual violence against men. If we associate women with weakness and needing protection, then it feels disturbing and wrong to commit virtual violence against women. This is also why games often use violence against women as a device to convey disturbing immorality and the victimization of weak people. This contrasts with Rise of the Tomb Raider, where Lara’s killing of so many men is never suggested as being immoral or disturbing. Instead, the game tries to convey that these killings are justified, or even self-defense.
However, men and women are both human beings, and if it feels disturbing to commit virtual violence against one gender, then it should feel equally disturbing to commit virtual violence against another. But men’s gender role is so deeply ingrained in our culture that killing male enemies feels natural to the point where most people barely even notice that there is a mysterious absence of female enemies.
Needless to say this small oversight is connected to larger social problems men face, such as being drafted into the military, and facing an assumption of violent nature in the criminal justice system. Some men who are bullied also feel social pressure to stick up for themselves with violence, in order to appear masculine.
Playing this game doesn’t brainwash us into going out and killing men in real life, but the violence and masculinity association is something we risk internalizing if we don’t practice awareness.
Gameplay at odds with thematic issues explored in story
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a story about Lara Croft exploring ancient tombs and artifacts to find the Divine Source, a relic which grants people immortality. On the way, Lara has to grapple with different philosophies about life and death. At the end, Lara faces a major decision in whether or not to kill Konstantine. Life and death is the core theme of this story.
Weird, then, that the actual gameplay of this game mostly involves just killing Trinity soldiers without a second thought.
The reason most of the game involves killing people is because unlike a movie or a book, a video game requires that players actually make choices and take actions. And it has to be fun. Combat is a good mechanism for that, because it involves interesting choices, resource management, and a fast pace. Game developers have used it as the main mechanism to move their players through their game since the beginning of video games.
However, just because combat is one good mechanic for gameplay, doesn’t mean it’s right for every single game. If the game is about larger themes, such as life versus death, then killing people is perhaps not the best mechanism for the game. I feel that some game designers rely on combat as a crutch because it’s fun, and treat their game’s story as if it exists separately from the experience of actually playing the game. (I’m looking at you, Bioshock Infinite)
The more challenging thing to pull off is to carefully design gameplay to convey the larger themes and story of the game. It is not an easy thing to do and it requires creative genius. But it’s what separates great games from forgettable games. And although Rise of the Tomb Raider was great fun to play, it’s extremely forgettable, as reflected in its reviews.
At the end of my playthrough, when I was faced with the choice to kill Konstantine, I just killed him without a second thought. I honestly didn’t even realize it was a choice. Killing people was just what you did in this game. That decision was intended to be impactful and to test your my moral beliefs, but instead it just fell flat because it was completely undermined by the rest of the game.
If throughout the game the player’s beliefs about life and death had actually been tested and explored in an interesting, unique way, instead of just standard combat, then maybe Rise of the Tomb Raider would actually have been a memorable experience.
Again, though playing Rise of the Tomb Raider is not going to brainwash you into going out into real life and killing real people, it did miss an opportunity to make players take a critical look at their own beliefs and attitudes about violence. In the process, it might have contributed to a larger positive discussion about violence in real life. Instead, the game just ended up being rather superficial and not particularly meaningful.
Weird, then, that the actual gameplay of this game mostly involves just killing Trinity soldiers without a second thought.
The reason most of the game involves killing people is because unlike a movie or a book, a video game requires that players actually make choices and take actions. And it has to be fun. Combat is a good mechanism for that, because it involves interesting choices, resource management, and a fast pace. Game developers have used it as the main mechanism to move their players through their game since the beginning of video games.
However, just because combat is one good mechanic for gameplay, doesn’t mean it’s right for every single game. If the game is about larger themes, such as life versus death, then killing people is perhaps not the best mechanism for the game. I feel that some game designers rely on combat as a crutch because it’s fun, and treat their game’s story as if it exists separately from the experience of actually playing the game. (I’m looking at you, Bioshock Infinite)
The more challenging thing to pull off is to carefully design gameplay to convey the larger themes and story of the game. It is not an easy thing to do and it requires creative genius. But it’s what separates great games from forgettable games. And although Rise of the Tomb Raider was great fun to play, it’s extremely forgettable, as reflected in its reviews.
At the end of my playthrough, when I was faced with the choice to kill Konstantine, I just killed him without a second thought. I honestly didn’t even realize it was a choice. Killing people was just what you did in this game. That decision was intended to be impactful and to test your my moral beliefs, but instead it just fell flat because it was completely undermined by the rest of the game.
If throughout the game the player’s beliefs about life and death had actually been tested and explored in an interesting, unique way, instead of just standard combat, then maybe Rise of the Tomb Raider would actually have been a memorable experience.
Again, though playing Rise of the Tomb Raider is not going to brainwash you into going out into real life and killing real people, it did miss an opportunity to make players take a critical look at their own beliefs and attitudes about violence. In the process, it might have contributed to a larger positive discussion about violence in real life. Instead, the game just ended up being rather superficial and not particularly meaningful.
Needs more racial diversity
I anticipate that this section will be appearing in most of my game reviews. It is unfortunately a very common problem with games.
Racial diversity is important because 1. Real life people are diverse and there is very rarely any story reason to depart from that; and 2. As explained above, when people see their identities reflected in a game, they feel like their identity is acknowledged, and like they “belong” in that game’s community or fantasy world. This is a good experience and it helps the game reach a wider audience.
The Tomb Raider series is probably stuck with its iconic white protagonist at this point. But the rest of the game sorely needs diversity. Lara has a black friend named Jonah, but he has minimal presence in the game.
What I found most bizarre was the Remnants, the extremely isolated society of people descended from the ancient Byzantine followers of the Prophet. So why are they speaking perfect English?
These people are supposed to be Greek-speaking, as Lara discovers when she translates their documents. The game should have portrayed them as ethnically Greek, instead of English-speaking, white-looking people.
Racial diversity is important because 1. Real life people are diverse and there is very rarely any story reason to depart from that; and 2. As explained above, when people see their identities reflected in a game, they feel like their identity is acknowledged, and like they “belong” in that game’s community or fantasy world. This is a good experience and it helps the game reach a wider audience.
The Tomb Raider series is probably stuck with its iconic white protagonist at this point. But the rest of the game sorely needs diversity. Lara has a black friend named Jonah, but he has minimal presence in the game.
What I found most bizarre was the Remnants, the extremely isolated society of people descended from the ancient Byzantine followers of the Prophet. So why are they speaking perfect English?
These people are supposed to be Greek-speaking, as Lara discovers when she translates their documents. The game should have portrayed them as ethnically Greek, instead of English-speaking, white-looking people.
Other aspects
To keep things in perspective, I want to briefly mention how I felt about the game as a whole. Social issues are just one aspect out of many aspects of games.
I enjoyed Rise of the Tomb Raider and I had fun playing it, and it sure was beautiful. But as I said above, I felt it was forgettable. The story was probably the weakest aspect. It involved a generic evil organization, and a generic quest for a “great relic” that anyone could guess would ultimately not amount to anything.
The combat was fun, though not anything special. (Why were arrows so OP?)
The best parts of the game were the optional tombs. As I entered them, I felt a sense of excitement and wonder at uncovering some ancient ship or burial chamber. And the puzzles were extremely fun. It’s too bad this type of thing did not carry over into the rest of the game.
I enjoyed Rise of the Tomb Raider and I had fun playing it, and it sure was beautiful. But as I said above, I felt it was forgettable. The story was probably the weakest aspect. It involved a generic evil organization, and a generic quest for a “great relic” that anyone could guess would ultimately not amount to anything.
The combat was fun, though not anything special. (Why were arrows so OP?)
The best parts of the game were the optional tombs. As I entered them, I felt a sense of excitement and wonder at uncovering some ancient ship or burial chamber. And the puzzles were extremely fun. It’s too bad this type of thing did not carry over into the rest of the game.
Please share in the comments which games you are interested in me reviewing next!
Credit to theRadBrad for some of the images used in this review