Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis preview - Greece revealed
"Will we see the return of Winston?"
When Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog invited me to look at a hands-off demo of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at Gamescom, I thought it'd be one of two things: Croft Manor or Greece. It turns out it was the latter, and the demo, along with the Q+A after, has convinced me that the game is going to be a big highlight for 2027.
With this remake by Flying Wild Hog being a reimagining of the 1996 original, it won't surprise you to learn that it's a game I've been reserving judgment on. But the more I've seen of Legacy of Atlantis (LOA), especially at Gamescom, the more I'm convinced that it's also a reimagining of 2007's Tomb Raider: Anniversary.
After the hands-off demo, I got to ask the Experience Director at Crystal Dynamics, Jeff Adams, two questions involving Anniversary and a certain freezer - as well as be surprised with something afterward, which was a lovely moment.
"I'm not Pierre."
Sitting next to Michał Kuk, Creative Director at Flying Wild Hog, he began playing LOA with Lara finding herself in Greece at St. Francis Folly. For those unaware, this is an iconic moment where players have to climb, jump, and run through one area to reach four areas related to the Greek Gods in mythology. But there are some differences in LOA's take.
Instead of the keys and the door being at the bottom, like in 1996's Tomb Raider, it's at the top. Once the four keys are slotted in, Lara then has to rotate the spherical device in order to line its mirrors to the Ornate Gate, opening up the next area.
However, before Lara even scans this object, she's faced by bats. Players can hit them with the Pickaxe or shoot them with the pistols. After scanning the spherical device, Lara is shimmying and dropping from ledges into a room called Damocles.
The whole area here is very vibrant, reflecting the Greek architecture and honoring what came before in Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Anniversary. The foliage is abundant in great detail, and there are areas that made me wonder if they're hiding some special artefacts.
There's also the ability to craft items to make recipes that can restore Lara's health - which makes sense, as there's a low chance of finding medipacks behind these four trials. It reminded me of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but a natural, fresh take on crafting food to help you.
What I liked about the start of this area was one lone sword hinting towards what players would be facing. You need to jump on top of one to get to the main area, which reminded me of the feeling of impending danger from the original game. But once you're there, a Leopard appears, almost as a mini-boss. It hides in some areas, and Lara's trying to get an aim on it, and the tension is ramped up before you've even faced a falling sword - a good way of getting players ready for what's ahead.
Once killed, Lara heads to the main room where the key is being held - and this is where the swords make their debut. After getting the key, a short scene plays where you must press a button to dodge the first falling sword. It gave me the same 'shock' as when I first saw a sword falling decades ago, but updated for 2027.
Instead of simply running back to the main area, you have to strategically let a bunch of swords fall down, so you can hop on them to get to the two switches to let you out. It's a smart decision by the team here, and it modernised this area that many of us have all become accustomed to.
One highlight was collecting an object that unlocked an outfit you could wear right away. This was the Legend outfit, and at the live demo, Kuk enabled it. It looked great, and there was also the choice for Lara to wear the swimsuit from TR2. The fact that you can wear these right away, rather than in special modes or New Game Plus, is very welcome. Here, once you collect it, you can complete LOA as Legend Lara if you want.
The final section was shooting a series of swords to get to a switch to unlock the exit. Again, it's an innovative way of remaking this area, making the player think about which swords would be best.
The last part of the demo skipped to when Lara had collected all the keys and was using the spherical device in the main area to unlock the gate. Players had to rotate it to line up the lighting to the main door. Once done, it would open, and Pierre could be heard taunting Lara. I'm a big fan of that as a narrative device, letting Lara and the player know that he's around, with Alin-Wilton-Regab's smart, confident take as Lara easily bouncing off Pierre's quips. After a quick glimpse of the next area, the demo ended.
Overall, this section was impressive, showcasing a part of St. Francis Folly that's going to test new and old players to the series. But what elevated it was Alix Wilton-Regan's take on Lara, guiding the player throughout with intrigue, wit, and moments of dry humor that have been missing in the games for decades. Wilton-Regan is an asset to the game already, and I hope Crystal has her locked in as Lara for at least the end of the decade - especially if rumors of a TR2 and TR3 remake are true.
One More Thing
Once the demo finished, we were shown a trailer that revealed far more of the game. From memory, I recall seeing Lara on her motorbike approaching the Pyramid, turning into gold at Palace Midas, Natla, and Atlantis, along with an Atlantean monster.
Atlantis stood out for me, as I was never keen on Anniversary's take on this section. It looked more like a futuristic office with red artwork on it, instead of the pulsating blood and more from the original - YouTuber SteveofWarr speaks about this eloquently in his TRA retrospective. Reader, I'm glad to say that it doesn't, because the thing that stood out to me the most was a big 'red' presence and a very haunting Atlantean mutant. If this means they're leaning more toward the horror of the original games' final levels in a modern take, I'm all for it.
After this was a short Q&A with Jeff Adams, Experience Director at Crystal Dynamics, who you've likely seen in previous videos for LOA. I got to ask two questions, which are below, near-verbatim:
You've said in the past that LOA is a reimagining of the first game. But from seeing this demo and everything else so far, it does feel like it's also a reimagining of Anniversary from 20 years ago. Would that be a fair assumption?
Adams: Yeah, we absolutely look at Anniversary as well. And in some ways it's kind of like a royal 'we' because Anniversary was such an in-depth reimagining of the original adventure. Again, it's like they had already made some inroads into actually making the game feel more appropriate for modern gaming systems and tastes.
So we definitely look at both games in tandem to see what each one did well and make our decisions based on where we felt in the end the original developers were trying to take this game so that we could best realize it at this level.
For many, the first level a lot of people play from the first Tomb Raider isn't Peru; it's Croft Manor, and in TR2, it's seeing Winston. Are we going to see Lara's Home, as well as Winston and his iconic Freezer in LOA?
Adams: (laughs) Although we're here to talk about Greece, I love the enthusiasm, and I commend you on it. We look forward to talking more about the broader game as we can reveal more. So for now, all I can say is I hope you enjoy Greece.
At the time of writing, it's been nine months since Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis was revealed, and we've only seen Peru, so it was overdue to see a new area, and it was worth the wait. Flying Wild Hog has modernised St. Francis Folly and its four trials in ways that make it fresh and fun for old and new players.
I was surprised to see how the swords could be used this time. Despite Adams saying the game being shown was in an Alpha state, it looked complete, and nothing stood out to me to think that LOA needs more time.
Having heard and read so many things about LOA being a re-imagining of TR1, I've always been of the belief that it's equally drawn from Anniversary, but it's barely been mentioned. From the ledge-shimmying to collecting artefacts, to the UI, there are plenty of beats from that game in LOA. So I was glad to see Adams acknowledge that, as that remake has plenty of great, fun moments that can be easily adapted for LOA.
Overall, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis feels like a necessary game for the series. Having reached 30 years this year, and being in a sea of iconic franchises that have been rebooted or laid to rest, Lara is being introduced to a whole new audience thanks to this title.
What also made this visit one to remember was being recognised for having written The Making of Tomb Raider, and being told that the Flying Wild Hog team had read the book during the game's development. It was really kind of them to say, and speaking to them all after the briefing, along with showing them the second book and its fantastic front cover, was a lovely moment.
The Flying Wild Hog team clearly understands the series and knows the weight of what they have on their shoulders - and when I spoke to them all, I couldn't help but have a feeling of reassurance that these are the best people to work on LOA. They get it, and combined with Alix, the game will surely be a good time for many once it's out in 2027.
