Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Game images by RAWG

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Feral Interactive

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo SwitchPremium

Health Score

DECENT

Watch Gameplay

About This Game

Super Review

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition offers compelling adventure and challenging exploration, but its Mature rating is well-earned. Players engage in intense combat, often with graphic violence and gore, strong language, and some suggestive themes. While it’s a complete premium package with no in-game purchases, parents should be aware of the mature content and consider limiting access to its online multiplayer.

Super Review

Parent verdict

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is a qualified fit for older players only, given its significant mature content. The game’s 49 health score reflects a decent experience for those ready for its themes, but it comes with clear warnings. Its strengths lie in engaging exploration and puzzle-solving within a complete, premium package, free from predatory monetization. However, the extreme violence, graphic gore, strong language, and unspecified online multiplayer social risks are substantial tradeoffs parents must weigh, making it best with clear limits and oversight.

What players actually do

Players traverse hostile environments and ancient ruins, using climbing and traversal skills to navigate complex paths and uncover secrets, exercising observation and problem-solving.
Players engage in third-person combat using bows, pistols, and rifles against human enemies and wildlife, requiring aiming precision, tactical thinking, and quick reflexes.
Players solve physics-based and environmental puzzles to progress through the story or access optional tombs, challenging their spatial reasoning and logical deduction.

Where it shines

The game provides a rich single-player campaign focused on exploration and physics-based puzzle-solving, rewarding curiosity and thoughtful engagement between combat sequences.
It is sold as a complete premium package, including all bonus content with the initial purchase and featuring no in-game purchases, microtransactions, or predatory monetization schemes.

Parent watch-outs

The game is rated Mature due to frequent, intense violence, including graphic gore with impalement, dismemberment, and scenes involving skinned corpses, alongside strong language and a drug reference.
There is an online multiplayer component with other players, and the available information does not specify what level of chat functionality or moderation is in place.

Family rules worth setting

Restrict gameplay to single-player only to avoid exposure to unknown social interactions and content in the online multiplayer modes.
Set clear time limits for play sessions, especially given the intense nature of the content and the potential for extended exploration.

Talk about this

Discuss the difference between realistic violence and game violence, exploring how graphic depictions in media can impact perceptions and emotional responses.
Talk about online safety, the importance of privacy, and why it's crucial to avoid sharing personal information or engaging with strangers in online multiplayer environments.

Play style

This is a narrative-driven action-adventure playable at the player’s own pace, free from daily logins or timed events. Difficulty can be adjusted, offering a challenge for various skill levels while allowing players to focus on story and exploration. Primarily a solo experience, the optional multiplayer adds competitive team-based modes. Younger players may find some puzzles or combat encounters challenging and could benefit from parental guidance or assistance.

Score Breakdown

Positive Aspects

Educational Value

2/5

Creativity

1/5

Pro-Social

2/5

Risk Factors

Addictive Monetization

0/5

Time Pressure / FOMO

2/5

Social Risk

2/5

Content Intensity

4/5

Why this rating

Educational Value

2/5

Educational Value scores a 2 because while the game involves exploring ancient ruins and uncovering secrets, its primary focus remains on action, survival, and narrative rather than explicit historical or archaeological learning. Any educational benefit is incidental to the core gameplay loop.

Addictive Monetization

0/5

Addictive Monetization scores a 0, indicating a complete absence of such practices. This is a premium game sold as a complete package, including all previously released downloadable content with no in-game purchases, microtransactions, or other predatory monetization schemes.

Content Intensity

4/5

Content Intensity scores a high 4 due to its Mature rating for extreme violence and graphic gore, including impalement, dismemberment, and wading through skinned corpses. Additionally, the game contains strong language, a drug reference, and moderate sexual innuendo, making its content highly intense.

Social Risk

2/5

Social Risk scores a 2 because the game includes online multiplayer modes where players can interact, but the level of chat functionality and moderation is not specified. This creates a moderate, undefined risk of exposure to unregulated social interactions with strangers.

Negatives

•Rated Mature for intense violence and graphic gore, including impalement, dismemberment and wading through skinned corpses
•Contains strong language and a drug reference flagged by the ratings board
•Includes moderate sexual innuendo and suggestive references
•Includes online multiplayer modes with other players, but the available information does not specify what chat or moderation is included

Positives

•Exploration and physics-based puzzle solving give players thinking challenges between combat
•Clearing optional tombs and collecting artifacts rewards curiosity and careful observation of the environment
•Sold as one complete premium package with all bonus content included and no in-game purchases
•Story can be played at the player's own pace with no daily logins, streaks or timed events