Early buyer on Tomb Raider PS4: not that much better

There has been a lot of talk on the re-release of Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, titled Definitive Edition, with Crystal Dynamics claiming to have improved a slew of little details in the process. The game was originally scheduled to launch on 28th January, but it seems like quite a few stores broke the date, and now an early buyer of Tomb Raider PS4 (who was able to snatch a copy early Thursday and included proof via a photo of his copy) is voicing on Reddit his disappointment with a version that is not quite equal to expectations.

If you have already played it on ‘last gen’ consoles I would advise you NOT to get this version (at it’s current price). With all the back and forth about the technical benchmarks of this new definitive version, I can honestly say it does not look THAT much better than the PS3 version. This is not to say the new version looks bad, but it’s a testament to how good the game (and many other ‘last’ gen games) already looked. I know that on paper this version has a higher resolution and better framerate, but while playing it doesn’t add that much to the game.

He adds that the differences aren’t worth the full price, and Killzone: Shadow Fall impressed him more:

 These differences are not worth 60 dollars, plain and simple.

I have played a game like Killzone Shadowfall that was made specifically for the PS4 and looks like a much more substantial leap over last gen than this game does. Of course it is an exclusive title. For all the hype Crystal Dynamics spewed about this version and all of its graphical enhancements I can honestly say it is only slightly better. It is more or less the exact same game. Lara is still ‘plastic’ looking. The framerate stutters here and there. The textures have been enhanced but it isn’t anything major. Her hair looks better because of the tressFX system.

Well, we’re not ones to brag but that is the very same advice we gave you when the Q&A with Crystal Dynamics about next-gen was released. Clearly, if you haven’t played Tomb Raider before you should buy it, as it’s a great game on all accounts; however, there seems little reason to pay $/€ 60 once again for a facelift. Lastly, it seems like Tomb Raider PS4 runs at a higher frame rate than the Xbox One version, so if you own both platforms you would probably do best to pick it up on PlayStation 4, even though Tomb Raider isn’t quite the kind of game where a blazing fast frame rate is required.