Verdict
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a fun adventure that’s a joy to go back to, and while the performance is mostly good on Nintendo Switch 2, outside of the rendering problems in the opening seconds of cutscenes, the complete inability to use the gyroscope controls is a bit of a turn-off.
The recent Nintendo Direct had some exciting announcements, one of which occurred during the sizzle reel: Rise of the Tomb Raider is now on Nintendo Switch 2. The game was released on the platform that very day, giving you all the chance to experience the second installment of the Survivor trilogy in a new way.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is 11 years old, first releasing on Xbox 360 and Xbox One back in 2015, with the PC and PlayStation 4 versions following in 2016. As such, I’m mostly going to focus on how well the game performs on the Nintendo Switch 2, along with whether the mouse and gyroscope controls are worth your time. However, I’ll give a very brief rundown of the game overall.
As a sequel to the 2013 reboot, you’re still dealing with a baby-faced Lara. Yes, she’s capable and has hardened since her ordeal on the island of Yara, but she still has a ways to go before firmly cementing herself as the hero you know from the older Tomb Raider games. In Rise, Miss Croft is searching for Kitezh, a legendary city lost in Russia. Naturally, she’s not the only one searching for it, leading you to face off with the organization known as Trinity once more.
The gameplay is the same as that of the 2013 reboot, featuring third-person combat, crafting, and stealth. Searching your surroundings is crucial to get the materials you need to craft items like arrows and gear upgrades. However, what you don’t need to do is go through all the effort of unlocking the outfits, as all 13 are available to you from the first camp you rest at. Most of them have a special perk, such as taking less damage from gunshots. Personally, I don’t pay attention to those; if it looks good, I wear it, and that’s why I’m running around in the snow in armor.
Okay, now that I’ve given a brief rundown of the game, let’s get into how it performs on the Nintendo Switch 2. Overall, it’s a very good experience, and I’d recommend it, but it’s not without its issues. On occasion, there are rendering issues, particularly when cutscenes begin, which make the start of them somewhat chuggy. Though this issue lasts just a few seconds, the problem occurs at the beginning of most cutscenes and is consistent in both docked and handheld modes. It’s not so grievous as to ruin the experience, however, and the snowy landscapes look really good.
I do have a serious bone to pick with the gyroscope controls, though. They don’t work, and, if you read my Tomb Raider Switch 2 review, you’d know that the port of the 2013 reboot suffered from the same problem. There is an option to toggle the gyroscope controls on in the settings, along with a second option to adjust the sensitivity. I turned them on, and nothing.
As someone who actually enjoys messing around with gyroscope controls (I really like them in Cyberpunk 2077), I find this very disappointing. I tested whether they work with weapons; they don’t. Moving the camera, of course not. You can’t even use them in the menus. I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll see Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2 in six months, and I can only hope Aspyr makes sure they work at launch.
Beyond the gyroscope, you can also use the Switch 2’s mouse controls with Rise of the Tomb Raider – a feature I’m not a fan of, even a year on from the console’s launch. Yet, I have to give them props here. I won’t use them beyond testing for this review, but the mouse controls are responsive, and you can adjust them in the options menu if you find them too sensitive.
All in all, if you want to experience another solid Tomb Raider adventure all over again, take it with you on the go, and enjoy every bit of content ever released for it, picking it up on Switch 2 is worth it, so long as the main selling point for you isn’t the aspect of gyroscope controls.
