Now I'm over four months late to the 25th anniversary of the "Tomb Raider" series, I'm just that good.
Note: I may have forgotten to post this review yesterday... N-No, I totally forgot. I'm sorry about that.
As mentioned in my non-spoiler review, "Tomb Raider: Legend" was developed by Crystal Dynamics.
Now, you might be thinking: why is there a spoiler review for "Legend?" In my review of "Legend," I said the story was uninteresting outside of the mystery with unmemorable characters.
I still stand by that, however, overtime I found myself digging more into the story. The more I dug, the more I realized what could've been. I want to focus on one aspect of the story I couldn't talk about in my prior review because it involves spoilers, that being: Amanda Evert, the main antagonist.
The Resentment isn't Black and White
The conflict between Lara and Amanda is treated as black and white, with Lara being good and Amanda being bad. Even down to their clothing where Lara's default outfit has white while Amanda only wears black. However, analyzing both sides of the argument, I don't think it's that simple.
First, let's review what sparked Amanda's grudge against Lara. While Amanda and Lara's team were searching inside some ruins in Peru, a shadow beast appeared that is nightmare fuel for any child (I may be projecting a bit), killing everyone trapped in the ruins.
When Amanda pulls out a stone from the wall, the beast vanishes, but the ruins are filled with water. Unfortunately, Amanda gets trapped in some rubble, with Lara holding a gate up so Amanda can escape. Amanda is crushed by more rubble, and Lara evacuates assuming her best friend died in front of her.
While Amanda says she got over the situation, when Lara talks to Amanda after so long, she still resents Lara. She felt Lara didn't save her nor did they check for any survivors, which Lara explains she and the survivors dubbed the ruins a memorial site.
Lara
Due to the circumstances of the flooding, Lara was simply unable to save Amanda. If she went to save Amanda, the gate would've closed, with no way out for either of them. That's what it seemed like at the time. She also did stick around for as long as she could until she felt saving Amanda was impossible.
Also, given how the ruins were flooded with most if not everyone outside of Lara surviving, it's not far-fetched to consider the ruins a memorial site. Who could've survived that? Well...
Aquaman
Fish
Amanda Evert
Any individual that can breathe underwater
It's also not cool for Amanda to release that beast that killed a lot of Lara's and Amanda's friends on command. Although maybe the part of me that was terrified with this thing is talking... N-Nope, in general it's just not cool to do that.
Amanda
Now, I think Amanda understood why Lara didn't save her in the moment of the flooding. However, it's also understandable for Amanda to be upset given if Lara did save Amanda, they could've escaped, and there was a way to do so. However, this way is only clear in retrospect, but it's enough to fuel a grudge against perfectly logical actions.
However, while I can't justify attempted murder because murder is bad, I do believe Amanda has every right to be mad at Lara leaving the ruins for good and not coming back. Even if it was unlikely, Lara should've looked for survivors instead of prematurely treating the ruins as a memorial site.
This is the main source of Amanda's resentment.
If Lara couldn't come back, it'd be understandable, but she always could. She even comes back to the ruins to confirm if Amanda is truly dead or not.
Additionally, the shadow beast was why Amanda even survived the Peru ruins, which Lara and Amanda could've used to escape, albeit in retrospect. Without that beast, Amanda would've died. So, it's perfectly fair to use the beast to survive, to continue using it after that though is a different matter, and one I can't find a defence for.
An Understandable Revenge
In the final mission, Lara uses Excalibur to attack Rutland and Amanda's squad so they get out of the way so Lara can put Excalibur into the hilt. At this point, Lara's patience has worn out now that she's so close to the truth behind her mother's death.
Unfortunately, in Lara's rage, Rutland is killed by accident, leaving Amanda distraught. This does not help with Amanda's grudge in the slightest, if anything, Amanda's resentment is stronger.
One important thing to note, since the game never mentions it, is that Amanda and Rutland had a genuine romantic relationship. Amanda lost her lover because of Lara, and Lara's lack of genuine sympathy towards Amanda as if she didn't just kill someone important to Amanda drives Amanda over the edge.
After a janky as h*ck final boss, Amanda is knocked unconscious, with Lara finally figuring out the truth of her mother's death. She opens a portal that lets her communicate with her mother at the time of her death.
However, Amanda wakes up. While Lara tells her mother to not take out the sword, which led to her death, Amanda tells Lara's mother to pull it out or else Lara (in the past) will die, which Lara's mom ultimately ends up listening to.
This means Amanda was the reason Lara's mother disappeared and went to Avalon. The event that had caused Lara so much guilt her entire life was never her fault, but Amanda's. It's not only a fantastic plot twist but makes for a great answer to the mystery.
Amanda's actions, while not justified, are understandable given everything on her grudge plate. Lara killed her lover, left her for dead (in her opinion), never looked for her, and didn't let her go to Avalon. Sure, Lara apologized for all those things, but actions speak louder than words.
The finale is also thematically fitting, as both Lara and Amanda took a precious one from the other with Excalibur. In a weird way, they are not as different from each other as they may think.
A Grudge Poorly Conveyed
The situation between Lara and Amanda is interesting, as you can see where both sides come from, but both sides have done too much wrong to ever rekindle. A misunderstanding and premature decision-making led to a tragic rivalry.
Unfortunately, it's poorly conveyed in-game, leaving out any real nuance it could've had. Such as how Amanda's grudge is only brought up once in Kazakhstan... ONCE. It's not even delved into; they only scratch the surface.
However, that's only part of the bigger problem: Amanda simply has too little screen time.
Lara and Amanda, excluding flashbacks, only interact six times in the whole game. Three times each for Kazakhstan and Bolivia Redux. Nowhere else. There aren't many opportunities to delve into the grudge more when it deserves it, making Amanda feel less like a major antagonist, and more like a "when I feel like it" antagonist.
This problem extends to Amanda's relationship with Rutland too, as they only interact once in the entire game, which is when Rutland's dying.
I didn't even realize they were romantically involved until I read the "Tomb Raider" wiki page on Amanda. It's not conveyed at all in-game.
It's a shame too since it adds an interesting aspect to Rutland, who is otherwise boring, since he genuinely loved Amanda. Unholy Matrimony is a cool trope, I just wish it was expanded on more in "Legend."
While this might not seem like that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, it bothers me a lot how poorly Amanda's resentment with Lara and relationship with Rutland was conveyed. It's so disappointing and it turns Amanda from what could've been an amazing character, to a mediocre one.
Overall (D)
If I made a spoiler review of "Legend" before realizing all of this, I would've given the story score here a C due to the funny lines and fantastic mystery. However, seeing what could've been, I can't help but be a little disappointed in the story of "Legend" now.
I'm glad what little nuance present IS there, but it leaves me disappointed it wasn't expanded upon more. I get this is the same game where Lara can do insane moves no one could realistically do and where a shadow beast exists, but that doesn't excuse a poorly done villain motive and poorly conveyed elements of the villains.
"Legend" is still fun despite this flaw in the story. I still recommend it as a game.
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