Rise of the Tomb Raider: Lara Returns to Nintendo Switch 2 - Review

Rise of the Tomb Raider is considered the best chapter of Lara Croft, at least concerning the "Survival Timeline" trilogy, an authentic reboot of the saga that explores the protagonist's origins and lets us experience the natural evolution of her deeds (and from this success, an animated series was also derived, which you can read our impressions of here). And 2026 was supposed to be Lara's year, an important milestone that lights 30 candles to be blown out next year with the postponed title Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, the reboot of the tough-as-nails Lara we loved on PlayStation One.

Without further digression, let's return to Rise of the Tomb Raider which, after 11 years since its launch on Xbox One X (and imagine, even on Xbox 360), arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 thanks to Aspyr, the development team that has already given new luster to the two remasters with the first six Core Design chapters. After all, Rise of the Tomb Raider is certainly not the "new" Lara's first approach: in fact, the first chapter had already debuted on Nintendo's flagship last year, to the delight of all its owners.

It was therefore necessary to expect the second chapter, the most appreciated of the trilogy, moreover in its 20 Year Celebration edition which also includes juicy additional content, including the DLCs Baba Yaga and Blood Ties, set in none other than Croft Manor. The port itself is quite well optimized, although we won't hide some moments where a bit of input lag and some micro-stutters emerge. In any case, Rise of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2 maintains a constant 30 FPS and also implements the mouse functionalities of the Joy-Con 2, albeit not always optimally.

It's incredible to think that this production is already more than 10 years old, and some might even (not erroneously) define it as a retrogame. But let us say: the gameplay and cinematic impact contradict this statement and, in 2026, this video game does not clash in the slightest in terms of rendering and gameplay quality.

Reach the Lost City of Kite Before Trinity

Talking about the story of Rise of the Tomb Raider would be like telling you a book already read and re-read, especially if you have previously played it on other platforms. What we need to know is that Lara will embark on a new mission of impossible traits (but she's used to it!), three years after the misadventure on the island of Yamatai, in search of answers regarding the Immortal Prophet of Constantinople (a search already begun by her father). As if that weren't enough, fierce villains seem to pursue the same goal, albeit with very different aims, and will try to put a spoke in our beloved Lara's wheel: but Trinity doesn't know that the girl is a survivor and knows her stuff when it comes to fighting and facing dangers.

Rise of the Tomb Raider centers on an overall interesting narrative, enriched by a gameplay component that wisely combines combat, exploration (especially of tombs), and survival in a hostile world. And indeed, there will be moments when we will have to gather the resources that nature has to offer us, hunt and skin the fiercest beasts (bears will be very nasty), obtain various treasures (including juicy gold coins), and study ancient artifacts to increase our knowledge. 

The second chapter of the Survival Timeline also offers us a good combat system, which alternates stealth sequences (Lara here has a multi-purpose bow useful for all needs, even for solving puzzles) with heart-pounding combat sessions, somewhat in the vein of the Uncharted saga. Not to mention an interesting longevity, about twenty hours to reach the credits, which can easily be extended if we decide to explore all the tombs and obtain every collectible (which will always be detectable on the map, minimizing frustration). 

Rise of the Tomb Raider, then as now, represents a true qualitative leap compared to the previous episode, with a more complex narrative and a more dynamic and absolutely cinematic pace. And as we told you, it's no coincidence that this episode is the most loved by fans: can you believe that, among other things, Lara will also have to deal with a pseudo Zombie mode? Oh yes, because the 20 Year Celebration edition that we will find on Switch 2 delights us with an infinity of content including a new story and challenges that will put our skills to the test at different difficulty levels.

How Does It Perform on Nintendo Switch 2?

Rise of the Tomb Raider runs at a fairly stable 30 FPS with very few performance drops, probably due to the somewhat "dated" graphics engine. Graphically speaking, the resolution is overall convincing, with decent shadows and quite bright reflections, although every now and then you inevitably encounter some slightly pixelated textures.

Some might also turn up their noses at a refresh rate not optimized for 60 FPS, but let us say: proposing a non-native title on a platform like Switch 2 is a rather difficult undertaking, and we believe that Aspyr has put together a fairly decent port and perfectly playable, especially in handheld mode. However, the battery of Nintendo Switch 2 suffers, not lasting more than 2 hours with Lara before needing to be placed on its charging dock.

Another interesting implementation is given by the mouse mode. In fact, we can play the entire adventure with the two Joy-Cons separated and use the right one to move the camera, aim, and shoot arrows. In this phase, unfortunately, we noticed some visual latencies in camera movement, probably a "problem" that can be smoothed out with future patches. In addition to this, we also felt a bit of input lag, especially in those sessions where it was necessary to take down a lot of bad guys: in short, there is a slight sensation of slowness when shooting.

For the rest, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a perfectly enjoyable title that also looks great graphically, both in TV mode and in portability. We must always keep in mind that the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware doesn't exactly work miracles, and even if it's true that more could have been done for this port, we're talking about a job that isn't so bad (and perhaps can also be fixed with future patches). 

Let's put it this way: if you accept the fact that the title runs at a slightly lower but quite healthy refresh rate, then you will have the time of your life with Lara Croft's return to Switch 2. And besides, let's face it, the launch price is not bad at all considering all the gameplay goodness you'll find in your hands.