6th November 2023
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After much wait, I finally got the chance to watch this year’s Game Awards. Specifically, I want to talk about the 2 new Tomb Raider games announced, known as Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst, considering how this affects the IP going forward. I’ve only played the Survivor trilogy, which I absolutely love but I’m just as excited for these new titles.
To start, these games and the future of the franchise is promising a ‘unified’ Lara Croft. So what does this mean exactly?
Well, from what I can gather, this seems to be the connecting of old and new timelines exclusively to the video game titles. So I presume this means that Angelina Jolie’s TR films or the 2018 reboot with Alicia Vikander won’t be a part of this.
The best way to think of this is in relation to the Resident Evil franchise. The game remakes such as 2019’s Resident Evil 2, 2020’s Resident Evil 3 and 2023’s Resident Evil 4 helped unified the game’s IP through the modern RE game engine; this gameplay experience is designed to be very similar to the more recent entries (recent in terms of narrative chronology) of Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil Requiem. Whereas, the films themselves are isolated and much more standalone.
These are the current Tomb Raider timelines:
| Timeline | Games |
| Original/Classic | 1. Tomb Raider (1996) 2. Tomb Raider II (1997) 3. Tomb Raider III (1998) 4. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999) 5. Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000) 6. Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (2003) |
| Legend/Remake | 1. Tomb Raider: Legend (2006) 2. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007 – remake of 1996 original, set before events of Legend) 3. Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) |
| Survivor/Reboot | 1. Tomb Raider (2013) 2. Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) 3. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) |
Now that we have gone through the timelines, the unified version aims to harmonise them all. This is what I and YouTuber BranWolf believe it will look like:
| Timeline | Games |
| Unified | 1. Tomb Raider (2013) 2. Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) 3. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) 4. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (scheduled for 2026 – 2nd remake of the 1996 original) 5. Tomb Raider II (1997) 6. Tomb Raider III (1998) 7. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999) 8. Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000) 9. Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (2003) 10. Tomb Raider: Legend (2006) 11. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007 – remake of 1996 original, set before events of Legend) 12. Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) 13. Tomb Raider: Catalyst (scheduled for 2027 – seems to be set after Underworld) |
(For the Classic and Legend titles, we can likely expect remakes for these to widen audience reach. This is due to people like me never experiencing these older entries and to allow older fans to revisit these with updated graphics and gameplay fidelity. The only one I’m unsure of is Tomb Raider: Anniversary, as it would seem counter-productive to remake a remake of the original?)
To be honest, for me it does makes sense. In the Survivor trilogy, Lara is from the quick-witted and charismatic Tomb Raider synonymous with her classic appearances. She is scared, naïve but optimistic, traumatised by her father’s death but eager for adventure and to repair the Croft name. In the 2013 reboot, she is forced to overcome the danger around her and fight to survive, with the homage at the end of the game through dual pistols foreshadowing that this is a slow progression to her iconic representation.
In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara is far more forthright and assertive but still so vulnerable (especially after learning Trinity was responsible for her father’s death). The stakes also increase in terms of scale but also emotionally, due to her stepmother Ana’s desperation to achieve immortality at any cost and learning the extent of Trinity’s operations.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara is incredibly determined but because of this suffers from tunnel vision, resulting in an accidental unleash of the Mayan apocalypse that causes thousands to die. Her mental state fluctuates, as she goes from rational and calm to reckless and violent. Especially that scene of her rising from the water while surrounded by flames. Empowering but also terrifying.
If Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is meant to be a continuation of the last time we saw Lara, then I’m all for it. Same with Tomb Raider: Catalyst, which will continue chronologically the last time we saw Miss Croft, however I’m not aware of much regarding the Classic and Legend timelines.
To maintain this consistency, we have new voice actress Alix Wilton Regan, who seems like an absolute gem. Check out this TikTok video by GameSpot of her discussing her new role as Lara Croft if you’re interested here.
The new entry appears to be another remake of the 1996 original, this time harmonising the Survivor events to more classical elements, with Crystal Dynamics, Flying Wild Hog and Amazon Game Studios clearly inspired by RE2‘s remake success. In this trailer, she is acrobatic and highly versatile, a binary opposition to her arguably rash behaviour in the reboot trilogy which motivated her actions.
However, her face model and the jade necklace she wore in Shadow seem to be very closely followed in this trailer. But the colour palette is much more reminiscent of classic Lara with a green tank top and beige shorts, rather than the muted tank top and cargo pants of Survivor Lara. While we know Camilla Luddington isn’t reprising her role, it doesn’t feel too out of place when Regan’s Lara remarks how “It’s been years”. This sustains a sense of the immersion prior Survivor fans like me may have obtained through Camilla’s performance, one which I thought was incredible. While she will be missed, Regan fits the British persona perfectly and the face model still feels very inspired by Camilla.
Lara then remarks after freefalling into a pond that “the events are still etched in my memory”. Hence, the article’s title. We can view this through a meta sense, suggesting that Crystal Dynamics are respecting the established lore from 2013-2018 rather than wiping the slate clean. This is alongside a long shot of hills and a valley of sorts, slowly zooming out as Lara is centrally positioned within the frame. This builds up the grandiose nature of ‘being’ the Tomb Raider and almost projects Lara’s hunger for adventure onto us, as we revel in the sheer magnitude.
We can still see the classic treasure adversaries through puzzles, traps and secret doors. Lara then states “Lost worlds. Frozen in time.”, foreshadowing that the city of Atlantis has untapped potential and she yearns to conquer it. When we finally see her face, she has that blend of reboot Lara with the retro outfit, serving as a visual allegory for unifying the older and newer fans. She still has that grappling hook of hers for traversal but this time her jumps feel more dramatic. This is probably due to slow motion but I imagine even in normal gameplay within the final build, it will come across as boisterous.
We can see more environmental puzzles, such as Lara kicking a wheel cog to make it move and jumping onto a metal bar in order to thrust herself onto the other side. But this time, she is flipping for style points. I fear the legend of her adventures may have gone to her head a little bit.
There is then a 3rd-person over the shoulder shot of Lara leaping towards a wooden bridge, barely grasping on until she does a reverse handstand to bring herself up. Seriously guys, she’s showing off now, I think we need Trinity or Jonah to humble her. She then states “I didn’t know then, the path this adventure would send me on”; if this truly is progressing the Survivor timeline, then this exhibits a new outlook for Lara. No longer fuelled by justice in stopping Trinity or anger for her father’s death, she is now pursuing these ancient relics for the thrill (and the aura, I suppose because she won’t stop doing these cartwheels).
Once she investigates muddy footprints, we hear a dinosaur cry out, a clear homage to the classic games where Lara was forced to face them. To be clear, this isn’t too far fetched. After all, in the 2013 reboot, she fought off a vengeful spirit, combatted medieval knights in Rise and briefly slaughtered the Yaaxil (supernatural creatures designed to protect the Silver Box) until she realised they were the good guys in Shadow. So, dinosaurs is somewhat plausible and at the end of the day, this is fiction and not reality.
She then proclaims that “it was a fire that still burns”, as she proceeds to casually dive over several pits of fire and past several swinging blades; this is while she is STILL doing anything to radiate that mysterious vibe. Lara admits “I need to see more. I need to go further”, implying that she is now driven by curiosity and an intrigue for mystery. This causes her to reveal the plot will focus on how she tries “to uncover the secrets of Atlantis”. We finally see her face off against a massive T-Rex, giving this David vs Goliath edge to the video.
The trailer ends with Lara asserting “Some legends are destined to be retold”; very meta indeed. Let’s just hope we don’t end up seeing ANOTHER remake of the 1996 original but we will see. All in all, I am RATHER excited for this entry. However, I’m slightly biased because I do wish Camilla could’ve returned to maintain that consistency with her characterisation; at the same time, if they are unifying it then I get why an older reboot Lara needs her voice to synchronise with the older games’ actresses with a more refined British accent.
In Tomb Raider: Catalyst, it seems that the consensus is it’ll be set after Tomb Raider: Darkness. Here, she is much more like her older self through the cocky smile, zip kick, classic dual pistols and refined upper-class accent.
The trailer is purely CGI, understandably so as Legacy of Atlantis is the first new TR title to debut. Set in Southern India, we are treated with a long shot of a parade as people march down, cutting to an obscured low angle medium shot of Lara’s footsteps (presumably through the holstered knife and brown boots); a female voiceover remarks “The entire world knows your legend”, again amplifying her within the canon and meta sense.
I imagine due to the events she encountered such as the Dragon’s Triangle, Siberia and Atlantis that her name would become infamous for barely escaping perilous locations whilst in pursuit of adventure. In a meta sense, Lara Croft is one of the most popular characters within media itself, never mind just video games as a medium. In a 2024 BAFTA poll, she was established as the Most Iconic Video Games Character of All Time, which was engaged by over 4,000 players globally.
Back to the trailer. We see Lara gaze out of an open set of windows, with this setting reminding me of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, where Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross are hunting down the Tusk of Ganesh. The woman asserts that “You survived the Dragon’s Triangle. Crossed the threshold to Atlantis”. We receive a close up of Lara’s new gadget, which seems to be a zip gauntlet of sorts (in the Survivor trilogy, Lara’s mountain axe and a rope launcher seemed to be used for traversal). This is very much giving Assassin’s Creed in the best way possible.
The next shot is a long shot of Lara descending into a cavern, while the woman continues saying “I’ve heard a dozen told tales that say you’re unstoppable”. She must have played Shadow of the Tomb Raider during that fire scene. We then see the woman who is speaking aiming a flashlight at an ancient entrance whilst soldiers keep her guarded (perhaps these are still Trinity, or a new organisation). We see in the background, concealed by a narrow depth of field, Lara descend with her rope gauntlet and slap her feet to the ground, with a sharp cut to black. The sounds crescendo and reach an audial climax as the soldiers aim their assault rifles towards her.
We see the woman – sporting golden aviators and short, white hair – affirm “But I say all legends must come to an end”, whilst arming her revolver (I’m assuming this due to the gun’s cylinder sticking out similar to a revolver). Lara raises her arms – supplemented by darkness shrouding her face to cultivate a sense of mystique and aura farm – until she releases the rope mechanism to shatter the lights.
She then takes this opportunity to unsheathe her dual pistols and massacre the enemies, punching one with her arm and zip kicking the woman. Once done, she takes out her pistols and aims them. We get this really cool close-up of the pistols in the woman’s aviators, inferring how competent and capable this new iteration of Lara Croft truly is.
Lara states “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m just getting started”. Her face model also appears slightly different to Legacy of Atlantis and the Survivor trilogy, which I believe is to retain continuity with Lara in TR: Underworld; although I will say her face does feel much closer to Lara in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The tomb they’re in starts to collapse, cutting to Lara running away for safety and scaling against a wall to reach a square platform.
After, she is then seen sliding to reach a levitating rock and we get a close up of Lara with an earpiece looking upwards. I am unsure if this will be Jonah or someone else entirely relevant to the Legend timeline, but I sort of doubt it will be him due to trying to persuade Lara to let go of pursuing Trinity.
After much intensity, we are given a cinematic zoom in of the Indian landscape, as rocky pillars rise from the ground and Lara is seen gripping onto one with one arm. Because she can, of course. Her outfit appears to be different than the initial green tank top we saw, making me suspect this will be some time before that fight scene with the other woman.
So that was the 2 new Tomb Raider games announced. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is scheduled for 2026 and Catalyst for a 2027 release.
Any questions? How do you feel about these new TR games? What TR games have you played? Feel free to email me via johnjoyce4535@gmail.com!
Check out my last piece: Life Is A Cabaret, Old Chum – The London Odyssey
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