Will we see Lara Croft again this gen in a new adventure? Probably not. In fact, I dare say we wont be seeing her for a number of years now. Lara’s reboot back in 2013 went down well with the crowd, with many praising her return to form, the new systems and mechanics, and the maturer theme. Its two immediate sequels, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, were equally as well received. Though, as with anything that’s grand and spectacular, all good things must come to an end – or at least a break, in the case of Lara.
You see, Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, collectively wrap up Lara’s origin trilogy. We’ve had no word to suggest that we’ll be seeing more of her anytime soon. I don’t suspect that we’ll be seeing any more of her until next gen, possibly even a few years into it – if at all. Despite widespread acclaim, Lara’s origin trilogy didn’t sell particularly well. The first game sold decently enough, though, issues with the first sequel’s exclusivity and reports of a decline in sales for the second sequel, don’t paint a pretty picture.
It’s a shame really because by all accounts, these are all magnificently developed games that do a terrific job at showing Lara evolve, title by title. They also show the developer’s commitment to address fan feedback. For instance, Tomb Raider lacked any actual tomb raiding, whereas its sequel bolstered this by adding in some pretty decent selection of tombs. Come the final game in the trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, there’s tombs as far as the eye can see, all of which are distinct, deep and very much unique alongside one another.
In fact, post-launch support will see the implementation of even more challenge tombs, complete with the addition of co-op tombs. I’m purposely dancing around too much info here, as I appreciate that not everyone has picked this game up yet, but I’ll tell you, if you’ve enjoyed the first two in the trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider will blow your mind. Not only is Lara a much more capable tomb raider, complete with skills that athletes would be proud of, but she’s a bad ass in every sense of the word. I highly recommend picking this game up.
Moving back to the point of the article. It doesn’t at all seem logical that we’ll get another game with Lara any time soon. Crystal Dynamics are hard at work on their new Avengers project, and no doubt Eidos will move onto new projects once they’ve wrapped up post launch support for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There’s roughly two – three more years in this gaming gen before we start seeing a transition into next gen, and with this trilogy wrapped up, it seems unlikely that Square will want to dive back into the series just yet.
I’m not at all suggesting that this is factual, but the facts do indeed add up. I’m banking that we’ll likely see her mid-next gen. Likely picking up a number of years post-Shadow of the Tomb Raider. If Square are smart, they’ll focus a lot more on utilizing Lara’s skills from the origin trilogy and emphasize a lot more on tomb raiding and treasure hunting. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been fun watching Lara grow into the capable raider that we know her to be, but I would much prefer less of an emotional story and more intrigue and excitement through archaeology.
Perhaps I’m going off on a tandem here, but that’s just my opinion. I’ll reiterate, myself and countless fans have been more than thrilled with the origin trilogy, but I think it’s best all round to see Lara spending some time relaxing in Croft Manor for the foreseeable future. Releasing more games will only see Lara falling to Master Chief syndrome, being that the formula will wear thin, sooner than it needs to. What about you, have you enjoyed the origin trilogy? Would you like to see more from Lara this gen or next? Hit the comments below.
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