It’s been years since the release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and the fans are patiently waiting for the next entry in the franchise. While Crystal Dynamics is working hard on the title, leaks have suggested that we’ll see a more experienced Lara Craft with a demeanor comparable to the one in classic games. Although it’s unclear if the leaks of her guiding a new generation of Tomb Raiders are true, many fans hope the next game will be a hit.
Although Uncharted is a fantastic video gaming franchise, its similarities with Tomb Raider have seen both games being compared very often, with the former stealing a lot of attention on the PS3 and PS4 consoles. However, one of the senior brand directors for Tomb Raider at Crystal Dynamics has stated that a fine line separates Lara’s long-running series from Sony’s adventure franchise.
What Separates Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft From Uncharted’s Nathan Drake?
There’s no doubt that Tomb Raider and Uncharted franchises specialize in letting people pretend to be Indiana Jones. Both games have an intertwined love for history, exploration, puzzles, solving, and action. However, the Lara Croft games in the past decade haven’t been that successful, making many fans frustrated and questioning the direction Crystal Dynamics is taking the franchise. Many in the community feel that Lara’s character and the games themselves are drifting towards what Uncharted is doing.
However, James Briggs, one of the senior brand directors for Tomb Raider games at Crystal Dynamics, feels otherwise. In an interview with VentureBeat, Briggs discusses what he feels makes Lara different from other characters in the genre.
“One of the things that separates Lara is — partly her drive, partly that unique combination of skills I was talking about, the survival action lens we try to view everything through. We look at it as cinematic survival action. The tombs are also a big differentiation. We obviously draw inspiration from movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark. We have great respect for the Uncharted series. Those are games we love playing. I think that Lara has sort of defined this unique combination of being a brilliant archaeologist, having that fast-paced, movement-based combat, and her ability to push beyond boundaries that would stop most people. Really, to me, it feels like a special combination. It makes her unique.”
The developers consider Lara Games “cinematic survival action.” What makes her unique is that she’s a brilliant archaeologist with intense combat abilities and a willingness to push beyond her limits. Crystal Dynamic’s approach to Lara Croft is quite different from Uncharted’s Nathan Drake, which gives personality to her character and doesn’t make her simply another grave digger.
When is The Next Tomb Raider Game Coming Out?
It’s been nearly two years since Crystal Dynamics revealed the next Tomb Raider game. Powered by Unreal Engine 5 instead of the Foundation Engine, the game will be published by Amazon. Plans are also in place to create a connected universe of films, games, and series based on Lara Croft’s story.
Next TOMB RAIDER game will be fully open world and set in India
— V Scooper | #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme (@thevscooper) May 2, 2024
Featuring vast sceneries, free use of the motorcycle, parachute, and common Lara’s traversal methods to unrestrictedly navigate across a big map and its challenges pic.twitter.com/12zGTyiFql
According to V Scooper, the next Tomb Raider game will be open-world, with Lara Croft roaming in vast zones with her parachute and motorcycle. If things go according to plan at the studio, the game should be released in less than a year. This is surely great news for the fans, as it’s been more than six years since the debut of the last entry in the franchise, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
