Tomb Raider fans are extremely patient. They’ve dealt with multiple rounds of the series being on hiatus, as well as multiple handoffs between development studios. After a pretty strong trilogy, Eidos Montreal under Square Enix is out, and Crystal Dynamics under Amazon is back in.
That includes a new actor for Lara Croft (Alix Wilton Regan) and a complete reimagining of the original game. Although this is the second time the first entry has been remade, this take is so different that it’s tough to even recognize that at first.
We had a chance to test out Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis live at Summer Game Fest (SGF), and in addition to taking cues from a few other major franchises, things are pretty promising so far. As long as a few early-build technical issues are resolved, fans should be pretty happy with the new direction.
After a short intro that sets up Lara’s adventure, in which she’s hired by Jacqueline Natla (a wealthy collector) to head to Peru, we were whisked away into a gorgeous jungle sandbox called The Lost Valley. An “early level” in the scope of the main game, it provides a good bite-sized look at what you can expect from Atlantis. Lara was already extremely confident and revealed shades of what the team calls “classic Lara.”
One thing I noticed immediately was how much more engaging platforming is than in many other modern action platformers. The team calls Lara’s platforming “athletic,” and it shows in the gameplay. Her jumps were extremely long, and there were times when I underestimated her abilities, looking across a cliff to the other side and assuming I couldn’t make it. Lo and behold, she soared across the gap and held onto the ledge for dear life.
Even in this early stage, it felt like there were a lot of directions to go, including under the water and upward into some of the cliff formations. Skill-point bonus relics and collectibles with lore were my reward for exploration, which felt like a classic Tomb Raider without the AAA open-world bloat vibe.
In that way, Legacy of Atlantis respected my time, even during this hour-long demo session. I felt like I could progress with the storyline whenever I wanted, but would frequently just explore for fun. It’s a great balance that this early-game portion manages to nail, and I hope that’s extended to the rest of the campaign.
Part one of our demo was heavily focused on platforming, while the second portion was all-combat. We took out some raptors and ran away from a T. Rex, which every classic Tomb Raider fan is probably waiting to hear. So far, combat has been very smooth, with a heavy emphasis on dodging and firing back with Lara’s classic dual pistols, which are accessible early in the game.
Lara also has access to a Max-Payne-style Focus ability, which builds up in pips over time and can be unleashed to deliver slow-mo attacks. The game does have a scanner mode to hone in on elements of the map, but don’t worry, it’s not annoying.
Scanning is less like Detective Mode from the Arkham games (and many other action-adventure titles) and more like Metroid Prime. Occasionally, you’ll come across a tool or artifact in the background that warrants investigation, so you can bring up a scanner with the press of a button and get more information.
Sometimes it’s a subtle hint that something can be interacted with; other times, it provides historical background on the object in question. It’s never too in-your-face, however, and there were long stretches when I didn’t even use it; so don’t worry about it being a “stop and start” style mechanic that dominates the game.
Crafting and skill points were also technically in the build we played, but they weren’t fully live yet. They’ll be detailed “later this year,” according to the team. For now, I don’t feel like the game is missing anything without these elements, so hopefully they’re not too pervasive in the full release.
From a technical standpoint, Atlantis was very snappy and played well, but the framerate needs a bit of work. It’s especially noticeable when moving the camera around in real time, though even in this early build, everything was stable, and I was able to complete both portions of the demo without any major technical issues. There were a few minor bugs that the team was aware of, but even then, it was possible to solve all the game’s puzzles.
It’s a good thing the team has tons of time to deliver, as February 12, 2027, is still pretty far away. Assuming there are no further delays, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will launch in a now-packed February in the wake of Grand Theft Auto 6, so it has a lot to prove to stand out from the competition. Based on our time with it, it very well should.
- Released
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February 12, 2027
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Crystal Dynamics, Flying Wild Hog
- Number of Players
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Single-player