Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis fixes one logic problem, but creates another
Amazon's Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is sure to make a big splash when it launches next year, and the developers have clearly been hard at work reimagining the franchise’s original entry for today’s audiences.
At the Gamescom conference, behind closed doors, we saw a live gameplay demonstration that showcased the breadth of changes that are being made to drag this game up to modern standards and sensibilities.
The developers walked us through a key Greece-set segment of the game, and players of the original title will remember an iconic moment where Lara springs a trap and giant swords fall towards her from the ceiling.
In the new version, this is more than just a one and done action beat. The swords are now the centrepiece of an elaborate multi-room traversal puzzle where Lara must jump from hilt to hilt to progress onwards in her epic adventure.
Beyond the level design, which was pretty impressive, the developers were keen to point out smaller changes that have been made to make the game seem more like a title of today.
For example, it never made much sense for Lara to be finding numerous handy Medikits of varying sizes in a tomb that no human had visited in years.
To iron out that logic wrinkle, the developers have ditched the Medikits and instead created a recipe-crafting system where Lara can pick up ingredients on her travels and turn them into handy healing items herself.
These recipes can create a number of food items and balms, which will all have different temporary buffs that help in certain scenarios (like reducing your damage taken, for example, which would be handy before a big battle with a T-Rex).
At one point, we saw Lara making something that looked like a delicious chilli con carne – which is a cruel thing to show the crowd at a week-long German conference, who were surviving solely on giant pretzels. Regardless, this new system makes more sense than the old one, even if it did make me hungry.
However, with all of this work being put into fixing one logical inconsistency, I did find it slightly odd – amusing, even – that the developers seem to have created their own leaps of logic elsewhere in the game.
In the very same demo, the developers were keen to point out that Lara can pick up collectible relics as she explores the many different areas in the game.
This makes perfect sense, of course, and the developers have undertaken some historical research to make sure that you’re always finding relics that are era-appropriate for the tomb you’re in.
However, the part that raised my eyebrow is this: collecting these historically-accurate relics will allow Lara to magically unlock rewards that she can use in the game instantaneously, like outfits inspired by her other games.
So, you can’t find a Medikit lying around, but you can find a relic that suddenly spawns a fresh set of threads out of thin air? Make it make sense!
I know I’m nitpicking, but it feels a bit strange for one system to be fully rewritten to make it more realistic, while another just hands out random rewards as if on a whim.
View Green Video on the source websiteIf you want everything around Lara to feel realistic, like she really could find these things in a tomb, shouldn’t the rewards for doing so be realistic too?
Perhaps it would make more sense for Lara to find relics that have some monetary value, which she can later use at an in-game merchant to buy new outfits?
Anyway, I know this is a major nitpick, but I’ve got to call it like I see it!
For the record, a lot of the changes made here seem very beneficial to the player, especially the scanner that will help you find puzzle solutions (which is totally optional to use).
All in all, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is shaping up to be an interesting one. And, as you can tell, the game will face plenty of scrutiny at every stage of its journey. We’ll be sure to bring you plenty more coverage in the build-up to launch.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches 12 February 2027. You can pre-order your copy now.
Read more:
- Alix Wilton Regan on becoming Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
- Why Tomb Raider’s worst-received game desperately needs a remake
Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.