The Future of Tomb Raider

The future… is the past?

I'm, at the time of this writing, fresh off playing Rise of the Tomb Raider. While I was aware of the series I never owned a console that could play a Tomb Raider game. When I did get consoles that could play Tomb Raider games, I made sure to get myself some Tomb Raider games. First Tomb Raider: Anniversary for the PS2, then Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and the rest of its ‘Survivor’ Trilogy for my PS5. I like what I played so far and consider myself a proper, albeit casual, Tomb Fan. With that comes not only playing the games but also looking toward the future. 

Without further ado, let’s dive in and speculate on what could be next for Lara Croft the Tomb Raider!

Tomb Raider: Unreal Engine 5

So, what do we know about the future of the series? We haven’t seen a proper (not spin-off) title since 2017’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider (SOTTR). Don’t fear though: a new Tomb Raider game is currently in development. Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind 2/3 titles of the survivor trilogy is hard at work at a Tomb Raider game in the brand new Unreal Engine 5. This game, which from now on I’ll refer to as ‘Tomb Raider UE5’, won’t release under Square Enix who gained control of the IP in 2009, as it has made a deal with Embracer Group to sell the IP and Crystal Dynamics (amongst others).

And that is all we know. All that has been made concrete that is. Early 2021, before Tomb Raider UE5 was even in development, game director Will Kerslake stated in a Twitter video that the development team envisions "a future of Tomb Raider unfolding after these established adventures, telling stories that build upon the breadth of both Core Design and Crystal Dynamics' games, working to unify these timelines."

A difficult task. All three versions of Lara Croft have different characterizations and the continuity of each doesn’t lend itself well to a ‘unification’. Since this statement was made well before Tomb Raider UE5 entered development I’d say it's far from a given that this new game will attempt to unify the Tomb Raider timeline.

Rumours and speculation

That is what we know for certain and what, at the very least, the staff has pondered about doing. Now we enter the speculative. Recently, we got a leak that tells us something about the direction this Tomb Raider UE5 takes.

While I usually don't put any stock behind ‘leaks’ this one is a different story. Not only is the source of the leak believable, an audition script for the casting of Lara Croft, but Crystal Dynamics has issued a DMC takedown against the site that leaked the casting call. And why would they do that if it was fake?

Things are of course open to change. The game is still in early development and change is the name of the creative process’ game, but the call gives us a good idea of how things currently stand and what the general idea of Tomb Raider UE5 is.

Tomb Raider UE5 picks up with a Lara in her mid-30s and 'at the top of her game’. ‘Gone are the days of the young, inexperienced women dealing with matters of legacy and familial reckoning. Lara has let go of her childhood and fully embraced the life of an adventurer on purpose.’ She has become a famous and well-known figure who has inspired, I assume against her own wishes, a new generation of Tomb Raiders.

When a mysterious ‘cataclysm’ rocks the world, it’s up to Lara and a team of amateur Tomb Raiders to… save the world I guess? That part isn’t very clear. Another part we’re not clear on is Lara’s personal struggles. She’s either struggling with loneliness as in no friends or family to go back to or the metaphorical loneliness fame can bring. Publications don’t seem to agree with that. Lastly, the tone of the game is described as realistic, but with some fantastical elements.

The audition also includes other characters: Devendra and Tanvi. Both are traditional Indian names, so perhaps that’s where the game is set. The script also describes Lara as having a romantic scene with another female character, a first for the franchise. Lara’s love life has never been explored in any detail, aside from an unseen and unheard fiancé, so it’ll be interesting if the new game is the first to break that pattern and how it would handle a romance.

Fun fact: we almost did get a Lara romance story. Jackson Lanzing (Co-Writer for Survivor Crusade and Inferno arc in the Dark Horse Comics) has stated that he had planned for Lara to realize her feelings for her friend Sam were romantic. There was even a panel drawn of the two kissing but this all got changed when the comic got published.

My thoughts

What do I think of this? It sounds interesting to me. I want to see a more experienced Lara after my experience with her has been a ´green´ version of the character. While the idea of former Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett (and yes, daughter of THE late sir Terry Pratchett) is interesting, a ‘grizzled’ 50-year-old Lara with perhaps a ward ala The Last of Us Joel has appeal, I’d rather have a Lara in her prime first. Perhaps a 50-year-old Lara could be the focus of the trilogy after Tomb Raider UE5.

I’ve seen some pushback online against but I don’t see any big problems with it. Lara is a character that thrives when alone but seeing her in a mentor role could lead to some very interesting character development and story. Yeah, I hope they don´t forget that being a lone wolf isn´t bad on its own, only if you go too far and become a hermit and thus keep that aspect of her character intact. I think it would be better to focus on her struggles with her newfound fame. The romance? The lack of romance is something I quite enjoy with the Horizon games but I’m open to it here. Just like I said before, it could be interesting if handled well.

I myself quite like the idea of continuing the ´Survivor´ timeline. We´ve gotten 2 reboots already, I don´t think we need a 3rd one. Bringing in the events of the other 2 timelines is tricky business but I think there´s a good way of handling it. Instead of making the other games canon outright, you simply allude to them. Reference them. Imply that a version of these events happened in the ten years since SOTTR. You ignore any continuity issues while still harkening back to them and filling the gaps in this Lara´s past in a fitting way.  

Legacy and other content

Part of this article is born out of frustration. Tomb Raider is one of the oldest and most recognizable video game series and yet: under Square Enix the franchise let it fade. Take its legacy content. Where series like Mario and Zelda and even new franchises such as Assassin’s Creed have had re-releases of older games on modern platforms under Square Enix, we got no such things. You have the original 5 PS1 games and the Legend Trilogy right there. 

I hope Embracer Group won’t just let these games rot but do something with them. Make a deal with Sony and put the PS1 games in Playstation Plus. Re-release the Legend games in a collection all enhanced like the GTA Trilogy (but, you know, good). Do something with these games. If TRUE5 indeed ‘marries’ all the games together then now is the time to make these games available on modern consoles. Give the series a better presence in the industry. 

There are over 20 games in the Tomb Raider series. That's a lot content to keep locked up in a vault. 

There’s also the matter of adaptations. Movies, TV, comic books. Do these well and you’ll only elevate the franchise. The sequel to the 2013 movie starring Alicia Vikander fell through as the rights lapsed. A bit of a shame, it was the best of the movies, but it was still only decent. Under a new studio perhaps the next movie will be better. We’ll just have to sit out that bidding war to see what that studio will be.

There’s also a Netflix series coming, though with the situation Netflix is currently in I’m not putting any eggs in that basket. Lastly, there have been some pretty good Tomb Raider comics under Dark Horse comic in the last decade or so. When the deal between Square Enix and Embracer is done, Embracer will own both Dark Horse Comics and Tomb Raider. I’d say more Tomb Raider comics/graphic novels seem likely to happen. 

………

Tomb Raider is one of the oldest and most iconic gaming franchises. In the last decade or so, under Square Enix, the series had it a bit rough. Not a lot of games came out and even if they did, Square always found them ‘disappointing’. With the IP soon to be under new management, a new game in development alongside some upcoming or at least potential adaptations, the future looks bright for Tomb Raider.