Posted on: November 4, 2015

Snowman59

Games: 130 Reviews: 15

The angel with broken wings

After the fourth episode and the cliffhanger of what happened in Egypt, Core Design had the idea to make a new trilogy with a refreshed gameplay : urban environments (Paris, Prague), a deeper and darker script involving a secret society, stealth gameplay (maybe inspired by Splinter Cell, released the year before) and a kind of RPG feeling with dialogs and inventory. Too bad, the developers got caught by the reality when they were pushed to finish the game in order to stick with the release of the second movie (yes there was a sequel...). So what remains of these intentions ? Nothing. You are caught by the security in the Louvre ? Just shoot the guards to make your way. The loot and money you find ? Useless since there are no merchants (we can guess you were supposed to buy weapons, items, upgrades). They also "changed" Lara Croft by making her slower, which is a good idea for a stealth/ adventure gameplay but when it come to action, it's a chore to play. For example the first boss (the "ghost" with the paintings) will make you smash your head on your keyboard while the last one can be defeated with one hand (not to mention some tedious platform sequences...). When you gather what all the pieces of what the game should have been, it deserves 4 stars, but we have to judge the final product...

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: November 21, 2023

Wren124

Verified owner

Games: 156 Reviews: 3

I liked it

I really enjoyed Angel of Darkness (AoG). I am a tomb raider (TR) fan so I could appreciate what Core was trying to do in this game. AoG introduces a lot of new elements to the tomb raider formula, some work some don't. If you are new to TR you probably will not enjoy this game. First thing is the controls are just bad for the whole game. Laura does not react very fast to any of your inputs and sometimes will move forward when you want her to move backward. They are very clunky. There are times where you will take control of Kurtis, a new character, and his controls are even worse. Like any game over time you will get use to the controls. The game adds a lot to the formula and most of it feels like they never developed it fully. Like it never got past the idea stage. The game introduces a stamina bar, upper and lower body “strength” upgrades, a stealth mode, a pretty wide assortment of guns (most you never use), and a interesting dialog system. Most of these are pretty bad, but I appreciate them trying something new and not just putting out another game. The graphics are pretty solid compared to the Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. By 2023 standards it looks bad, but I did enjoy the look. The game has a darker tone and Laura has a more determined look than in her other adventures. Core was taking the character in a new direction for once, which I think was a good thing. This game was planed to be part one of a three part trilogy, but the sales were so bad Core got pulled from making them and they rebooted the whole thing with another developer. Again, I really enjoyed it because I could see they were trying to take the series in a new direction and some of the ideas are interesting. The stamina system is nice and depending on what dialog choices you make, you get more information from certain characters. If you are looking for a classic Tomb Raider experience, this is not it though. I finished it with no fixes and an xbox controller.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: March 21, 2013

skeecher

Games: 84 Reviews: 28

A huge nail in the Tomb Raider coffin

They did hype this game as a new, dark and exciting direction for the Lara Croft character, but instead they somehow gave us this and many who were fans couldn't believe it was the same game they'd been talking about. I was bitterly disappointed by it's gameplay and story. It proved to me that the Tomb Raider series really was at an end (along with Legend, which was also a mistake). And they utterly wasted Joss Ackland's voice talents in this.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: June 11, 2025

messers94

Games: 38 Reviews: 3

Great potential, broken game

This game is famously bad, but there is some good to be found for those who have the patience to look beyond the horrible controls and haphazard level design. The locations are good and the story is interesting, but the general lack of polish brings the whole thing down.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: April 15, 2013

YammerHammer

Verified owner

Games: 22 Reviews: 1

Buggy, but Passable for TR Fans

I'm not going to pretend this is a good game. I just have a sort of soft spot for it, that's all. I played through this when I was about 12 years old and didn't really know a damn thing about gaming, so much so that I didn't fully realize I was playing a broken game. (For instance, my 12-year-old self wondered why, when Lara fired one bullet, my ammo counter read that she fired two. When I think about it, though, I admit I'm a little impressed that I beat the game using half the ammo allotted to me. But that's beside the point.) If I bought this game today, I would be furious over how buggy it is. The story and locales are interesting, the variety in weapons is nice, and the game is of a very decent length...but it's broken. There's just no getting around it. And it's too bad because this wouldn't have been a bad game if it had just been completed before it hit the shelves. TL;DR: If you're not a hardcore Tomb Raider fan, then skip. If you're a sucker for TR and are looking for a nostalgia trip, then go for it. Angel of Darkness isn't worth any more than its ten buck price tag.

Is this helpful to you?

Discover CD PROJEKT RED games

Highlights

Featured

Close, but not an exact hit

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

Other ratings

Add a review

Edit a review

Delete this review?

Report this review

Additional Details (required):

Report this review