Lara Croft’s next installment in the Tomb Raider franchise has just been leaked, and it looks like we will be seeing the spelunking damsel at her prime, moving away from her amateur days in the modern trilogy.
According to the leaker V SCOOPER on X (formerly Twitter), Lara Croft’s next journey was recently reworked to portray her career’s peak.
This suggests we will be moving away from the series’ origin-story narratives, marking a return to the familiar version of Lara Croft from the original entries such as Tomb Raider: Underworld and Legend.
The next Tomb Raider game’s setting is rumored to be Northern India. After a major natural disaster struck, a mysterious repository of treasures from Emperor Ashoka was discovered. It sees Lara going on a race against time, strategically dealing with an organization hell-bent on taking these powerful relics.
The leaker also stated that this will shift the game into open-world territory, where we see Lara traverse harsh deserts, snow-capped mountains, and lush jungles in one game. Reports also say that the game will have a 'recruit' mechanic to help Lara beat other rivals.
V SCOOPER mentioned that this next chapter will pit Lara against the Society of Raiders, an organization obsessed with... well, tomb raiding. The leaker even added that this ‘society’ was inspired by Lara Croft’s adventures, essentially making them a fan club of sorts. Apparently, a difference in opinion and agendas has created a rift between them and Lara.
Not only did the leaker provide details about its premise, but also shared that this will be the series’ first entry with non-lethal options. This strongly hints at ‘stealth’ mechanics, which have never been fully present in a Tomb Raider game ever. From the looks of it, the next mainline entry is slowly turning it into an Uncharted-like experience, which is really not a bad thing.
Crystal Dynamics confirmed in 2021 that they are already working on a follow-up to Lara Croft’s adventures with a whole new Tomb Raider game.
Details about this new Tomb Raider game have been around since May 2024. It wasn't until today that we learn new information regarding what Crystal Dynamics is planning for Lara Croft’s character. Her new redesign could be the series’ best yet, or it might cause another division among its fanbase, which has been going on since 1994.
Fans are hoping to see if this might be the first modern Tomb Raider game where Lara wears the famed Underworld or Legend costume, which is often considered by many as Lara Croft’s best outfit yet.
Tomb Raider’s reboot trilogy has been largely successful, selling over 38 million copies in its lifetime. Yet despite the success, the developers behind it, Crystal Dynamics, still suffer from major rounds of layoffs.
While the leak presents intriguing possibilities for the next Tomb Raider entry, fans should always take this with a grain of salt. In the meantime, we will have to wait for the inevitable from Crystal Dynamics. Maybe a trailer during this year’s The Game Awards?
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