Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch has just rolled out, and it's one heck of a DLC that makes Rise of the Tomb Raider an even richer game all in all.
The latest modernized installment of the Tomb Raider series may have failed to garner the expected sales figure when it launched, but the developers are "very happy" of how it turned out nevertheless.
That's because they applied a criteria based on how well it was received rather than how much cash it raked in to determine whether or not it was a success. By the look of things, they have every right to be happy, and with Baba Yaga fueling up the positive momentum, they must be over the moon.
The first expansion takes players to what seems to be a haunted forest where a phantom creature lurks. It's inspired by the Russian myth of Baba Yaga, a witch who lives in a house that has a pair of bird legs. As such, it delivers a different experience compared with the main game.
"Rise of The Tomb Raider's main campaign, while lengthy, tries to keep its gameplay grounded for the most part in realistic threats. The game's first story DLC, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch, turns that on its head, replacing human enemies with ghosts, monsters and spooky skeletons," Laura Kate Dale of Destructoid says.
The out-of-this-world and hallucinatory effects that the DLC brought to the table aren't all for show, as it has an impact on the gameplay itself.
"The supernatural element found in Rise of the Tomb Raider's Baba Yaga DLC is used very effectively in not only the story, but also in how it affects parts of the gameplay. The first hallucination section is pretty straight forward as Lara is just walking through what becomes sort of a maze, but enemies are nowhere to be found, allowing you to take in the unique visual styles in this part," Dean James of Attack of the Fanboy writes.
In a way, PC and PS4 players are luckier than the Xbox fans who got ahold of Rise of the Tomb Raider early and finished it. The Baba Yaga DLC sits in the middle of the main storyline, where it'll reward the player with some useful gear that'll come in handy to continue their adventure when they complete it.
"In a small bit of irony, this DLC will probably be better for anyone picking this game up on PC or, later, PS4, than it is for anyone who's already finished the game on Xbox One. It folds fairly neatly into somewhere near the middle of the main story and awards a few pieces of gear which may have come in handy had I not already finished the game," Dave Thier, contributor at Forbes, remarks.
That may be the case, but the Xbox players who already reached the end of Rise of the Tomb Raider aren't exactly getting the short end of the stick. Sure, the extra equipment is nice, but what Baba Yaga really offers is the excellent story content.
"Your reward for completing the story is two pieces of specialized gear, which may make the rest of the game much easier if you play the DLC early on. But those souvenirs are of secondary importance next to the strength of the story, which is really the standout here. It may not have very much to do but Baba Yaga casts an intriguing spell regardless," Shacknews' Steve Watts says.
Now, it may come as short, a little pricey and underwhelming to some, but it's safe to say that virtually every fan of Tomb Raider will definitely get a kick out of it.
"While some people were disappointed in the length of this $10 release, any excuse to jump back into Rise of the Tomb Raider is a good one," Grant Brunner of ExtremeTech says, summing things up nicely.
One last thing: don't forget to hit up the video below to get a closer look at Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch DLC.
