Rise of the Tomb Raider, review: A Lara Croft game exactly as it should be: acrobatic, rounded and increasingly difficult

As the second game of the second reboot of one of gaming's most popular franchises, Rise of the Tomb Raider has stark echoes of the previous game. Then again, it does bring back both the writer of the previous title, Rhianna Pratchett, and the actress Camilla Luddington who so beautifully plays Lara. As just two of the continuations, they not only bring familiarity to the game but help arrow it to heroic excellence.

Playing this games feels exciting. It's well-paced, varied and fluid with stunning animation that throws you into an Indiana Jones kind of blockbuster movie of the likes that Uncharted does so well. It's fast and it's makes you gasp many times over. There's no fumbling around on the controls and no time to think at times. There's a magic to it that gamers of a certain age will recall back in 1996 when the first game was released.

Developer Crystal Dynamics has developed Lara Croft well. She has matured and become well rounded to the point where you root for the character in ways that you seldom didn't do during the in-between years of the franchise. When the setting and premise starts feeling a bit tired – the obsession with the supernatural, the race to uncover the truth behind the myths, the Soviet references (in a fantastic, fire-strewn sequence, it has to be said) – Lara lifts it, with the writers bringing emotion as well as action well and truly to the table.

There is so much to explore. As you would expect, this is a vast, unlockable world packed with foes that will absorb gamers for hours. You can go forward as well as back to various locations, with certain pick-ups allowing you to progress further in certain situations. It's about looking for stuff, staying alive and fighting and the combat is a joy. Sometimes in games of this kind, you can feel a bit daunted by yet another bunch of enemies coming your way. Not here. Battles are true challenges and you can make great use of the resources around you to overcome anything in your way.

Environmental puzzles and platforms remain important, though, and they provides a cerebral challenge that grips you as tightly as Lara on a cliff face. Indeed, most of the game is about working out how to solve problems and climb your way to safety and it works. Having Lara as your on-screen companion is certainly not as it was back in the day when the character was pretty much catering to lustful teens. She feels more human, with fear, anger and securities. Her insights are welcome, not distractions.

Even better, the amazing graphics really make use of the current generation's abilities and the lovely pace, ensures boredom rarely sets in. To some extent is can feel like an add-on pack to the first game but that's not an altogether bad thing when the 2013 reboot was so appealing and playable. Indeed, what you have here is a Lara Croft game exactly as it should be: acrobatic, rounded and increasingly difficult. We can't wait for the next instalment.