Tomb Raider, launched in 1996, stands as one of the most successful examples of the action-adventure genre. Its success introduced the daring Lara Croft into our lives, leading to her selection as the ‘most iconic’ video game character by BAFTA.
Lara Croft’s increasing fame means that every alteration to her character is closely examined. Some fans voiced criticism towards the developer for a planned change in her appearance for upcoming games. That said, some folks escalated the situation by making serious allegations against the studio.
Loyal Fanboys of the Tomb Raider Series Criticize the New Lara Croft Look
Tomb Raider maker Crystal Dynamics provided the first official look at Lara Croft’s redesign a while ago. This is the potential future appearance of the beloved hero and will likely appear in the upcoming games. Although the developer thought this new look would excite fans, things did not go quite as expected.
In the image, we see Lara holding two guns in her hands. Lara largely meets the theme expectations of the series with her sleeveless blue blouse and brown shorts, as well as her braided hair. To be clear, the real issue for folks is not her outfit or her body features, but her facial features, which are a bit masculine.
Fans claim that with each renewed look, Lara moves further from her traditionally feminine facial structure, attributing this to the studio’s constant consideration of DEI. This change causes loyal fanboys to drift away from the franchise, consequently leading to a significant decrease in sales.
Oh she has the masculine facial features too! Great!
— Mr. Blackhole (@Mr_Blackh0le) May 19, 2024
The wave of criticism is not limited to these and goes a little further. Some here claim that Crystal Dynamics hated that players loved the original Lara, so they took steps to erase the past by adding masculine facial features to her.
Embracer and Crystal Dynamics ESG strikes again
— LearningTheLaw (@Mangalawyer) April 19, 2024
They literally update Tomb raider to despise you. They hate why you like original Lara. All their teams are developed with DEI in mind. You have been a victim of bait and switch.
Revisionism is wrong. They want to erase the past pic.twitter.com/hRmXGA9cOm
Some fans who disagree with these thoughts say that this new look is quite natural for many reasons, such as Lara being very physically active and engaging in conflicts with the toughest enemies. According to them, it is more logical to choose a more masculine look instead of a classic Instagram girl, and those who make these criticisms are those who like to complain about everything.
tomb raider before DEI vs after DEI pic.twitter.com/oiHyDCTBqa
— freetanga (@thicc_stick_boi) April 9, 2024
Some people approach all of this from a different perspective, stating that women can sometimes have angular faces and that such appearances are perfectly normal. We’ll await Lara’s latest appearance in upcoming games. Perhaps the studio will consider these criticisms and implement some changes; who knows?
Is There a New Tomb Raider Game Coming Soon?
With the passionate criticism surrounding Lara Croft, it’s safe to say that fans are eagerly anticipating a new Tomb Raider game. Thankfully, Crystal Dynamics announced during the State of Unreal keynote in April 2022 that they are working on a new addition.
The new title is being developed with Unreal Engine 5, abandoning the foundation engine used in the series’ previous works.
Honestly, it no longer makes me as angry when I see influencers desperately trying to convince their followers that this character design is the product of a woke, defeminization, uglification DEI campaign. Fewer and fewer are buying it, and its beautiful to see. #tombraider pic.twitter.com/uSUzzTrmeR
— Synnyster Fusion (@SynnFusion) May 16, 2024
Unfortunately, the developer hasn’t shared much about the new Tomb Raider game since its initial announcement. For instance, there’s no official information yet regarding the storyline or release date.
On the contrary, we anticipate it to be a game that players will spend hours on, thanks to its strong storytelling and successful cinematic scenes and actions.
So, what do you think about this? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
