Just a couple of short years ago, it seemed like Tomb Raider, one of gaming’s most iconic series, was on the verge of living up to its own potential like never before. And now, as Lara Croft’s 30th anniversary approaches this year, that outlook has nearly inverted under the franchise’s new caretakers, leaving the heroine on some metaphorically rocky ground (instead of the literally rocky ground she so often stands on in crumbling tombs).
Tomb Raider was an early hit for Sony’s fledgling PlayStation, thanks to its boundary-pushing graphics, its balance of puzzles and combat, its charismatic protagonist… and a strong marketing campaign. A hit franchise was born virtually overnight, and sequels followed annually for the next four years. Lara’s celebrity outgrew the popularity of the games themselves, earning a feature film adaptation starring Angelina Jolie.
These first-generation games began to see diminishing returns, but were sufficient to keep most fans happy and Lara in the public eye. Perhaps PS1 owners should’ve been a little concerned when the fifth game was released as a series of cut levels from previous games, stitched together with a weak thread of narrative continuity.
The series’ next phase was more tumultuous. Its creators, Core Design, struggled with its PlayStation 2 debut, The Angel of Darkness, and parent company Eidos Interactive passed it to Crystal Dynamics… until both companies were acquired by Square Enix in 2009. Then came a renaissance of sorts: 2013’s Tomb Raider soft-rebooted the series, updating Lara’s origins and launching the “Survivor Trilogy,” which sold a combined 38 million copies as of 2022. (A sizable portion—the series’ combined sales passed 100 million in 2024.)
“Tomb Raider is locked in a cycle of restarts—lost in some ruins, not quite able read its own maps.”
The tale of this era should sound familiar: a hit first game followed by diminishing returns over multiple sequels. Crystal Dynamics’ efforts in the 2010s kept the quality up (mostly), though 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider had a “weak start,” according to Square Enix, and the games slowed temporarily. A second movie came the same year, inspired by the Survivor Trilogy and starring Ex Machina‘s Alicia Vikander, which fared better at the box office than most video game movies did at the time, but didn’t fully hook critics and general audiences.
Nonetheless, it seemed Lara was poised to emerge from this brief lull stronger for the experience. A sequel to the 2018 film was postponed by the pandemic and gained HBO’s Lovecraft County‘s Misha Green as director and writer—a longtime fan of the series who seemed inspired to do right by it. Meanwhile, Netflix announced an animated series that would continue the Survivor timeline; it became Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, starring Peggy Carter’s Hayley Atwell, who is perhaps the best-suited actress for the role ever to enter the series’ orbit.
At the 25th anniversary in 2021, Crystal Dynamics’ Will Kerslake announced that while there were no plans for a new game, they foresaw “the future of Tomb Raider in all its forms as unfolding in a time beyond these established adventures,” unifying the original and Survivor timelines, and the work of Core Design, Eidos, and Crystal Dynamics. This was fantastic news; both eras had their highs and lows, but by combining them, Crystal Dynamics could perhaps achieve the best version of Lara Croft possible.
…and then the bottom fell out. In May 2022, Square Enix jettisoned the vast majority of its non-Japanese studios, selling Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal to Embracer Group for a measly $300 million. Months later, Embracer struck a deal with Amazon Games to develop the next Tomb Raider “from the ground up.” It almost begs the question, “why did they bother buying up these studios and licenses in the first place?”
“Tomb Raider, iconic as it is, has spent most of its 30 years dancing around its own potential.”
This leads us to the present-day. Embracer’s subsidiary Aspyr, acquired months prior to the Square Enix deal, has been gradually touching-up the older games for modern platforms—two remaster compilations for the first six games, and ports for the first two Survivor games, so far. Each release has been sufficient. The older games received updated control schemes which helped alleviate the original “tank” mode, which hasn’t necessarily aged well unless you have a nostalgic attachment.
Modernized controls sounded good on paper, yet in reality felt like a half-measure, especially when the janky physics weren’t improved as well. The result felt like painting over dated old wallpaper; you might not notice the coverup right away, but nothing was truly “fixed” or fully modernized. There are so many other remasters—like Tony Hawk Pro Skater or Mass Effect—that managed to feel modernized for their new era while maintaining the old vibes. Straight-up emulations might have been more faithful. (At least the Tomb Raider I-III and IV-VI collections are great if you love the old jank, as many do.)
Sadly, the effort did not increase for the return of the Survivor games, as the 2013 reboot and Rise of the Tomb Raider didn’t even get the same sort of care—just the painted-over wallpaper. At this rate I expect we’ll see Shadow of the Tomb Raider in about 6-8 months, with the exact same bare minimum of effort. While I appreciate having the games made accessible on the Nintendo Switch 2, and most of the series in one place, the pessimist in me can’t help but see Aspyr’s re-releases as a cheap holdover, a means to remake some of that $300 million investment (which they immediately turned to Amazon Games to assist with).
It’s frustrating since the series had previously been in caring hands. For its first ten years, Tomb Raider was propelled forward by Lara’s charisma—both the dynamic character seen in the games, and the way that Eidos turned her into a celebrity or even an outright sex symbol. Cramming through games too fast in order to keep the gravy train rolling seemed to burn out fans and creators alike. Years later, the Survivor trilogy brought a jolt of passion and inspiration back, albeit at the cost of the classic era’s more lighthearted elements.
That was why the prospect of a consolidated timeline was so promising: the chance to do right by the character and the game, to take all of the best of the old and carry it into a new future. Better still, it seemed the devs were motivated and empowered to take the steps needed to elevate the franchise. We’ve now seen what Amazon Games has been cooking up, and it’s hard to tell whether the new offerings will achieve that lofty goal or match that passion.
The first, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, is a full-on remake of the original game and an expansion of Lara’s original origin. It also marks the fourth time we’ll retread that particular debut, in case the PS1 game, the 2007 remake Anniversary, and Aspyr’s 2024’s remaster weren’t enough. Early impressions out of Summer Game Fest were somewhat divided, largely suggesting it looks great but needs a lot of work, despite being recently postponed.
Also in development for release next year is Tomb Raider: Cataclysm, the promised, brand-new entry that will unite the eras. Whether that release date holds or slips back will depend on Legacy of Atlantis; if the remake is further delayed, or isn’t well-received, Crystal Dynamics may need to retool in a hurry. It’s also concerning that it’s meant to build off narratively from 2008’s Tomb Raider: Underworld, and yet Aspyr wasn’t assigned to remaster it before moving on to the Survivor ports. (Maybe that will come later, closer to Catalyst‘s launch, to stay fresh.)
And so, this is our great start: another OG remake, and another reboot. There’s something to be said about keeping an old brand accessible to newcomers, but this is getting as bad as some superhero franchises, trotting out a character to fulfill a contractual obligation and making audiences watch yet another interpretation of their tragic backstory. Tomb Raider is locked in a cycle of restarts—lost in some ruins, not quite able to read its own maps. It was turned toward the sun for a moment, but now it’s retreading its steps for minimal gain.
If Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst can stick the landing, maybe Tomb Raider can live up to its potential at last. After all, even if the parent companies have changed, it’s still Crystal Dynamics at the helm of these games, and Kerslake is still helming the reboot after announcing its vision five years ago (and Alix Wilton Regan is a worthy choice to step into Lara’s shoes). I hope this proves to be the case.
Tomb Raider, iconic as it is, has spent most of its 30 years settling for “good enough” new entries and dancing around its own potential—a potential which it has only truly approached on a couple of occasions. I’m concerned that the current corporate overseers are content to see the brand kept afloat as a nostalgia farm, churning out releases that are “good enough” but don’t do the source material or its fans justice. We’ll have to wait to see if a game can flourish in such an environment, and with any luck, we won’t be exhuming the remains of this franchise from a dusty old tomb anytime soon.
