The world’s most famous treasure hunter and tomb raider in gaming has set off on a new puzzling adventure. Lara Croft GO is a downloadable title for iOS devices, Android, and Windows phones, but reviewed on iPad here. Guide Lara Croft through maze ruins as she solves puzzles, defeats enemies, and gathers treasures!

Lara Croft GO is viewed in an isometric perspective. You move Lara Croft one space at a time by sliding her in that direction via the touch screen. You’ll push pillars, step on tiles, and flip switches to solve puzzles to make it to the next area. Sometimes you’ll have to deal with fearsome enemies as well. But the way you dispatch them or avoid them is like a puzzle, too. For instance, snakes will bite you if they are facing you, but if you can creep up to the side or back of them, Lara will automatically shoot them with her pistols if you slide her on that space. Other enemies to watch out for are spiders who follow a set path, or lizardmen who will take a step following you if they see you!

Sometimes you can pick up items that can help you defeat enemies and solve puzzles. If you find a spear, you can throw it at a faraway enemy if they are keeping you from solving a puzzle. Torches will scare away enemies, letting you defeat them or make them back up to a spot that you need them to be at to solve a puzzle. But be careful because if you have to climb a wall, you’ll drop the torch.

The game’s problems are minimal and not really worth mentioning. I do wish the game came with some sort of instructions. Even though it’s is easy to figure out just by playing, which is part of the game’s brilliance, I always like to have instructions when I write a review so I know if I’m missing anything. There were a couple of times that I wished you didn’t have to move Lara space by space, but that’s really just part of it. Also, the game is pretty short and I managed to beat it over a long weekend. You can find hidden relics and treasures by tapping on sparkly and shiny objects that you see as you play, but I didn’t know you could do this until I had almost beaten the game (an example where instructions would’ve been useful). But other than finding the hidden treasures, there isn’t much replay value in this title either.

But despite all the problems, Lara Croft GO is still a fun little puzzle game. You don’t even need to buy any of the in-game purchases to enjoy it. You can buy alternate outfits for Lara, or you can buy a hint option to give you clues if you get stuck. But I didn’t need either of those things while playing, which either means the game is really easy or I’m just very good at puzzle games. At any rate, Lara Croft GO is a fun puzzler and one of the better iPad games I’ve played recently.

Kid Factor:

Violence is very minimal. If Lara gets hit by a trap or an enemy, she just falls over and lets out a scream or groan. Defeated enemies also just fall down and disappear. Because of the isometric view, violence isn’t very graphic anyway. And the snakes and spiders don’t seem so scary either. Reading skill is helpful for the text in the menus, but not necessary as the actual game has no words at all. Parental supervision is recommended for the in-game purchases. Lara Croft GO could be considered somewhat educational, too, as it teaches logic and thinking skills.

Tags: Game Reviews