‘Rise of the Tomb Raider’ DLC ‘Baba Yaga’ Nets Positive Reviews

Rise of the Tomb Raider from Eidos Montreal has been tearing up the charts since its release; November, 2015 on Xbox One and Xbox 360, January, 2016 on PC. And while a PS4 release is still a long way down the road – reports suggest it won’t be available until late 2016 – the latest DLC, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch is looking pretty good, according to a report from True Achievements.

Baba Yaga is the first story-based DLC released for Rise of the Tomb Raider, and unlike the base game, it’s full of magic and mysticism. The supernatural isn’t exactly a stranger to Tomb Raider, but while it’s not really significant until late in the base game, it’s everywhere in Baba Yaga – which can be played at any time after discovering it; the DLC behaves much as any other optional mission within the game.

As per Game Revolution, the story starts with Lara’s rescue of a Remnant woman named Nadia, who is hiding in a locker in the Soviet installation – which is appropriate, given that Baba Yaga is a figure out of Slavic folklore. Nadia asks Lara to help search for her grandfather, who went missing after a trip to the Wicked Vale to kill Baba Yaga.

After traveling to the Wicked Vale, things get a little… strange. Hints are dropped more than once that people generally avoid the Wicked Vale, and shortly after her arrival, Lara is attacked by skeletons; then, she’s thrown back to her father’s study the night he took his own life. All this while the screen pulses oddly, everything shrouded by a colorful mist.

It turns out in the long run that the local flowers emit a hallucinogenic pollen, making up much of the DLC’s hook; it can be hard to tell what is and isn’t real. It’s a story reminiscent of Eternal Darkness, as Lara has to do her usual thing, solving puzzles, killing monsters, all while suffering regular flashbacks of her father. Lara has to keep reminding herself out loud of what is and isn’t real, and it adds a clever and, at times, borderline-disturbing experience to what would otherwise be a fairly unremarkable mission.

Unlike the main Rise of the Tomb Raider story, Lara plays more of a supporting role to tell the story of Nadia and her grandfather, although she does ultimately defeat the titular Baba Yaga in one of the game’s better boss battles, which takes place in a multi-tiered ruin and requires the player to use many of the game’s mechanics at once while fighting a running battle.

The only downside to Baba Yaga is the length; for a $10 DLC, it’s rather short – maybe three or four hours to complete the story and all achievements (many of which are based in story progression) although one suspects that the price is fairly immaterial; most players likely hold a season pass. That time may stretch out depending on how good the player is, mind; the final battle is more difficult than most of Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s bosses.

Baba Yaga doesn’t add any new challenge tombs, unfortunately, but the player does receive the Wraithskin outfit and the Dreamstinger bow after defeating Baba Yaga. There are also a reasonable number of additional collectibles, and the Wicked Vale is fairly linear, so players won’t be spending hours searching for them.

Overall, while short, Baba Yaga is a solid addition to Rise of the Tomb Raider, and fans of the game will enjoy new zone and additional mechanics. Rise of the Tomb Raider: Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch is currently only available for Xbox One and Xbox 360, but will hopefully be out for PC soon as well.

[Image via Eidos Montreal/Crystal Dynamics]