Lara Croft is one of the most well-known video game characters. She is a tough, smart lady with two guns and a penchant for falling. She can find relics in bizarre places and solve puzzles with the best of them. Now, she has arrived with a mobile game that is surprisingly fun to play.

Lara Croft GO 1

The game starts out fairly straight forward. You must maneuver Lara through various puzzles using simple swipes to move her from one point to the next. You can tap the screen if you see a glowing pot with a collectible or to throw a spear, but most of the game is done using swipes to move Lara. However, don’t be fooled by the straight forward controls, there are plenty of brain teasing puzzles mixed in.

Tomb Raider games are known for more than just Lara’s double pistol wielding ways, with most puzzles including pressure plates and timed switches. The same is true in Lara Croft GO.

Lara Croft Go 2

The game starts off fairly straight forward, slowly increasing the difficulty as players must learn how to kill off the snakes, trigger the necessary pressure plate and maneuver to the exit. With the addition of rolling boulders, potential pit falls and even giant lizards who chase you around the map, each level offers some unique puzzling as you progress towards the final goal of that unique relic. Death isn’t too big a deal thanks to the kind check point system, allowing you to restart again from the latest part of the puzzle. While there were some “a-ha!” moments, I did wish the game ramped up to become a bit more challenging and hope that there will be some extra chapters or levels added in the future.

With 75 puzzles split into five chapters, there is plenty of content here, although fans might just motor through in a matter of hours and wish for more. Still, if you play it like most mobile games, it should at least last you a bunch of time, more so if you go back through puzzles to find any collectibles you missed the first time around. Collectibles actually serve a purpose, though, beyond just satisfying your OCD. Collect all the relic pieces in a chapter to unlock a new outfit for Lara and find all the gems throughout the game to grab yet another outfit. This might seem like silly aesthetic stuff, but it really is nice to play with Lara dressed in her arctic gear, or her traditional shorts and crop top.

Lara croft go 3

Beyond the easy to navigate controls and the deep and enjoyable puzzling, Lara Croft GO takes the mobile game to a higher level thanks to its gorgeous aesthetics as well. Environments are beautifully crafted and fun to explore, especially seeing as collectibles are often hidden in the lavish backgrounds. Add to this some gentle and unobtrusive camera work that adds depth to the isometric view and the visuals take on a heightened quality. The music and sounds are equally immersive, particularly the zen-like music, and I often found myself utterly engaged and immersed in the game, despite its humble mobile gaming limitations. In fact, unlike other Tomb Raider games, the Lara Croft GO is decidedly calming, which is a nice new way to experience Lara’s quest for lost relics.

With a price point of $5, it is well worth the time you’ll get out of it, even if the veteran puzzle solvers among us might complete the game in 3-4 hours. Sure, it’s not the longest mobile game out there, but it is still of high quality and a real treat for fans of puzzlers and Tomb Raider alike.

Last Updated: September 1, 2015

Lara Croft GO
Enjoyable and immersive mobile adventure with Lara Croft. The fact that I wish there were more to it is a testament to how much fun I had with it. While it's not always as challenging as I might hope, it still offers plenty of fun for puzzle fans.
7.8
Lara Croft GO was reviewed on iOS

29 Comments

  1. Alien Emperor Trevor

    September 1, 2015 at 14:20

    Damn it. I was hoping it was F2P so I could call it Lara Croft Pay-As-You-Go. You ruined my joke!

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      September 1, 2015 at 14:27

      It wouldn’t have been funny anyway!

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Returns

        September 1, 2015 at 14:27

        Agreed. Into the sea he must go

        Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        September 1, 2015 at 14:34

        YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!

        Reply

    • AfricanTimeZA

      September 1, 2015 at 14:28

      “joke”

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        September 1, 2015 at 14:32

        Tough crowd. 🙁

        Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      September 1, 2015 at 14:35

      I don’t get it

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        September 1, 2015 at 14:36

        He doesn’t either 😛

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Returns

          September 1, 2015 at 14:41

          What? Wimmins?

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 1, 2015 at 14:43

            Meh. Not DirectX 12 compliant.

          • Admiral Chief Returns

            September 1, 2015 at 14:46

            That sounds like a complicated pre-nup

  2. RinceThis

    September 1, 2015 at 14:27

    Never understood why she doesn’t wear trousers if she’s bashing through thorns and stuff… 0_O

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Returns

      September 1, 2015 at 14:29

      Trousers are in the sea…

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        September 1, 2015 at 14:32

        Along with any useful garments? I think the caption for Quiet should have been ‘A sniper deprived of her clothes…’

        Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      September 1, 2015 at 14:32

      She breathes through her skin, like Quiet. Duh.

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        September 1, 2015 at 14:32

        See below 😛

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          September 1, 2015 at 14:33

          No need, I always look down on you.

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            September 1, 2015 at 14:34

            Rather literally than figuratively 😛

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 1, 2015 at 14:35

            Or both! I mean… yes. You’re right, of course.

          • RinceThis

            September 1, 2015 at 14:35

            Still better than your joke!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 1, 2015 at 14:36

            Based on feedback that’s a really low bar. 😀

          • RinceThis

            September 1, 2015 at 14:39

            So was your joke!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 1, 2015 at 14:40

            It’s a bar for ants!

          • RinceThis

            September 1, 2015 at 14:41

            HAHAHAHAHA!

  3. DragonSpirit009

    September 1, 2015 at 14:44

    I remember playing my first Lara Croft game. It was my first PC game… That and The Neverhood! Such good memories!
    For a pass time I wouldn’t mind playing this!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Returns

      September 1, 2015 at 14:47

      TR2 was the second game I actually bought for PC (first was Duke3d)

      Shareware games was my life back then

      Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        September 2, 2015 at 08:19

        TR2 was the first limited/collectors edition I bought… came with a t-shirt which I wore until it fell apart.

        Reply

  4. David García

    September 6, 2015 at 00:32

    Does anybody know if the Windows 10 version of the game works with the Xbox PC controller?

    Reply

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