With Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Crystal Dynamics evolves the combat

This year, the Tomb Raider franchise will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Even though each additional year counts, it goes without saying that decades hold greater importance, marking the passage of an additional generation in people's minds. To celebrate this grand event, Amazon Game Studios plans to release two new games next year, including Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, which particularly interests us today. Indeed, this installment presents itself as a reinterpretation of the original adventure. Enough to welcome newcomers and veterans alike, while offering a modernized vision of the 1996 classic.

A re-imagined adventure

For a few months now, we have known that Amazon Game Studios has tasked Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog with working on a reinterpretation of the very first game in the franchise. This is not about doing a simple port or a reboot like the one in 2013, but rather opting for a game that transcribes the DNA of the 1996 adventure, while evolving the whole to give the pleasure of playing it in 2027. The development studios were not chosen by chance since Crystal Dynamics has been working on the franchise for over 20 years. As for Flying Wild Hog, it has proven its expertise in action and adventure games with the very successful Shadow Warrior and Trek to Yomi. 

Even though the 30th anniversary of the Tomb Raider franchise will be next October 24, the gift will arrive a bit late, allowing the development teams time to ensure a top-notch title. So, we'll have to wait until February 12, 2027. In the meantime, the two studios are not leaving us empty-handed. On the contrary, some of the development actors, including Alix Wilton Regan who handles Motion Capture to give a more realistic rendering to Lara Croft's movements, in addition to dubbing, regularly appear in front of the camera to discuss the evolutions brought to Legacy of Atlantis. We have already seen that the heroine's movements have been reworked to retain the iconic movements while adding more agility and flexibility.

In the same spirit, the duo addressed one of the key elements of the game, namely the puzzles. These have been redesigned so that players can analyze all the mechanisms to find the solutions themselves. Forget yellow lines, highlighted elements, you'll have to rack your brains... But the satisfaction of success will be all the greater. If Lara Croft's movements, exploration, adventure, and puzzles are part of the franchise's identity, there is another aspect that is also embedded in its DNA: the combat. Rest assured, these will indeed be present, with Lara Croft still carrying her two pistols. 

Modernized combat, light-RPG progression, and Focus: what will change

Impossible to overlook this iconic aspect. As both studios have understood well, it's a characteristic element that should not be missed in this reinterpretation. Nevertheless, other weapons will be offered, including a shotgun, a submachine gun, and an assault rifle. Each weapon will require a different approach to situations, particularly playing on the rate of fire and distance to hit enemies, including the famous dinosaurs that will be present. However, for purists, the entire adventure can very well be completed using only the two pistols in akimbo. 

Additionally, Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog have added a light-RPG aspect to the progression. A skill tree will thus be part of the game to provide a margin of progression, in addition to a plant gathering system for the aspect related to healing. Finally, the big new addition to the combat will be a Focus system. Raul Siqueira, the Game Director of the game, presents it as follows: "When you perform actions in combat, take damage, deal damage, or dodge attacks, you fill your Focus gauge. The Focus allows you to slow down time around you and reproduce certain moves that Lara performed in 1996. The acrobatic component is really essential for the character, so we wanted the controls to fully highlight it". 

Cover image: Amazon Game Studios®