We’ve finally seen whatthe new ‘unified’ Lara Croft will look likein the nextTomb Raidergame, and it was revealed in a convoluted and low-key fashiontypical of the modern mismanagement of Lara’s direction- by updating the key art on the website. This technically isn’t our first look at this Lara, as previous art on the site had this character model facing away from the screen, but it still feels like a reveal. And all things considered, it’s a pretty positive one - now we just need to see what comes next.
Part of what makes this so strange is we don’t officially know much about the next game. The only thing confirmed is that it’s being worked on, with the vague promise that it unites the Anniversary-Legend-Underworld series to the Survivor Trilogy. Exactly how is still a mystery, and seeing the front of Lara’s character model doesn’t tell us anything new.The leak suggests Lara is a mentor for a team of Tomb Raiders, but that remains unconfirmed and the leak itself was light on detail as to how that would be implemented.
Lara Croft Down The Years
WhileEmbracer’s layoffs have not impacted the Tomb Raider team, the lack of detail will not put fans’ minds at ease given the regular cuts the industry has seen recently.
And yet, despite knowing nothing, for the first time in a while for Tomb Raider, I have a good feeling. Though the character model reveal was quiet and understated, it was still an update and not the sort of thing you’d do while sharpening the axe of cancellation. We still badly need a new logo, as well as a title for the game (is that linked to Society of the Raiders?) and a trailer, but for once, the vibes are good.
What Does Tomb Raider’s Future Look Like?
Part of this comes from the back to basics design that manages to feel modern. I wasless scared of the ‘team of tomb raiders’ leakthan most, but I suspect a lot of this worry came from the fear it would move Lara further and further away from her roots. Though Survivor had its moments (especially Rise), it felt like it came from the perspective of ‘how do we put Lara Croft into a modern video game?’ rather than ‘how do we make a modern Tomb Raider game?’, ignoring the series' best aspects for something that tried to change direction but was held back by wanting to fit every element of Lara’s back catalogue in there while feeling like a standard triple-A.
This new design has Lara in her original turquoise outfit, suggesting it is looking at Lara’s history and trying to emulate it, rather than dismissing her as any old video game character who needs a cover shooter game with occasional puzzles. We don’t evenneed it to be constant tomb raiding-Legend best understood the jet-setting nature of Lara’s exploits- we just need something that feels like it suits Lara Croft rather than suiting triple-A game trend focus groups.
Of course, the fact the background has jungle foliage is also a plus here, but a range of locations is needed after the Survivor trilogy opted for a big and often empty map instead. It’s hard to judge too much from a single character model, especially when we’re seeing it in key art rather than a trailer of some kind, but it’s nice to be hopeful again if nothing else.
We don’t know much more now than we did at the start of the week about what comes next for Tomb Raider. But itfeelslike we do, and sometimes that’s enough. This and the remaster have lifted the spirits of the Tomb Raider camp, and hopefully sooner rather than later, those fans will be rewarded.
Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered
The original trilogy of Tomb Raider games for PS1 have been remastered for modern platforms. The visuals for all three games have been upgraded, all DLC is included, and players can switch between the old and new graphics.
