When the action gets chaotic it is easy to lose track of your player. Often I was searching for the colored circle representing my player amidst the gunfire and hordes of enemies on screen. Tombs can become cluttered with debris and when things are exploding, expect to die quite a bit unless you mash on the dodge button during these tristes. Between the chaos and the camera I'm curious as to why the player count was bumped from two to four. With four players we experienced some weird technical issues while playing online as well, this included disconnects and de-syncs.
That being said, I was impressed with the scaling of the tombs to the number of players present. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris splits the levels into temples which are connected through a hub world. The layout and puzzles within each temple change depending on your party, giving the game some interesting replay value.
Your time spent in the temples are divided between puzzles and combat. The combat involves twin stick style shooting using a large variety of weapons. Couple this with dodging and triggering bombs and the action holds up well enough. What shines in Temple of Osiris are the puzzles, especially when they become increasingly more difficult with every friend that joins your expedition.
I went back through a number of the temples, most notably the challenge tombs which are extra difficult. Locations I completed with a partner had been changed so they could be solved solo, and when I had a foursome rolling with the Co-Opticrew the same temples could only be traversed with a full group of four. An interesting choice and some crafty design shined through during these moments.
The puzzles themselves are smart and satisfying on their own, however Temple of Osiris contains an unnecessary loot system. Killing enemies, destroying priceless pots, and completing objectives all feed the player gems. Gems can be spent to open treasure chests rewarding the player with artifacts which grant bonuses to a variety of attributes. While it is cool to have some customization, the loot system felt out of place, especially since the game isn't all that difficult. There is little variation of items and they are simply not interesting enough for me to seek out extra gems to open more chests.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is a great throwback adventure. It doesn't take itself too seriously and gives players what they want; a campy, exciting, quick adventure reminiscent of Lara Croft's earlier tales. Despite an uninspired loot system and a quirky camera, this is perfect for those seeking a fun romp with a friend. Temple of Osiris won't have the same effect on the series as the 2013 reboot, but it is a great pickup and well worth your time.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Featuring a four-player co-op story, players must work together to explore the temple, defeat hordes of enemies from the Egyptian underworld, solve devious puzzles, and avoid deadly traps.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.