Tomb Raider (2013) is a gritty reboot of the legendary Lara Croft saga, showing us how she went from archaeology student to full-blown action hero with a bow, a pickaxe, and a lot of bruises.

After a shipwreck strands her and her crew on a mysterious (and aggressively deadly) island, Lara has to survive cultists, ancient curses, collapsing tombs, and basically everything short of dinosaurs. It’s a coming-of-badass story with cinematic action, puzzle-solving, and enough explosions to make Michael Bay proud.

It’s not just about raiding tombs—it’s about becoming the Tomb Raider.

I decided it was time to bring sexy back to my channel, so when the entire Tomb Raider franchise went on sale on Steam, I pounced like a jungle cat in cargo shorts. I grabbed the whole collection, and naturally started with this one—the 2013 reboot that got rave reviews and made Lara Croft relevant (and slightly less triangle-boobed) again.

Yes, Lara’s definitely a Girl Boss—but in this game, she’s also genuinely likeable. Kind, caring, sweet… the kind of girl you could totally bring home to meet your mom—if your mom’s cool with the occasional gunshot wound and a constant layer of dirt and trauma.

This was also my first outing with the Chakram X mouse. Despite all its quirks (and the fact that it felt like I was wrestling a cyborg crab), I managed to hold my own. Though by the end, my hand was basically writing its will in Morse code through cramps.

All in all, I really enjoyed the game. I actually wanted to see Lara succeed—and not just because she was voiced like a British angel with trauma. Her friends, though? Meh. Let’s just say I didn’t cry if a few didn’t make it.

Solid 6 out of 10. Would’ve been higher if it had more Lara doing solo survival stuff and fewer side characters stealing screen time like it’s a group project.