In September 2018, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was released – that’s nearly seven years ago – and in 2022, it was announced that a new Tomb Raider game would be developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Amazon Games using the Unreal 5 engine. Since then, we’ve heard virtually nothing, except the release of some artwork of what Lara Croft may look like.
Opinions are mixed as to Lara’s appearance in this reimagining, which leads me to how Lara is being slowly destroyed.
The Lara Croft IP Is Being Mercilessly Milked
With zero information coming out of either Crystal Dynamics or Amazon Games, many fans are speculating whether the new game will ever see the light of day. In the meantime, Lara has been popping up as a character in numerous non-Tomb Raider-related games such as Fortnite, Dead by Daylight, Call of Duty, and many others. Why?
Then we have the quite appalling Netflix anime series, The Legend of Lara Croft, in which she spends most of her screen time sobbing and feeling sorry for herself. It is even implied that she is in a lesbian relationship with another character in the series, which, for me, is a mockery of Lara and how she was originally conceived. Add to this the stillborn TV action series, which Amazon is said to have paid Phoebe Waller-Bridge $100m to write, and with zero material having been produced so far, one has to wonder what on earth is going on with Tomb Raider.
What I Would Like To See In The Next Tomb Raider Game
Or, more to the point, what I do not want to see! From Tomb Raider 1 through to Legend, Underworld, and Anniversary, Lara Croft was an independent adventurer, relying on her wits, solving puzzles to reach archaeological relics, and defeating foes of all descriptions along the way. I had no interest in her personality or family life, yet slowly but surely her daddy issues and emotional instability insinuated themselves into subsequent games and especially that turd of a production, The Legend of Lara Croft on Netflix. Believe me, it really is that bad.
I’d like to see a return of classic tomb raiding, puzzles that stretch the mind, traps, and foes that she can defeat without feeling guilty or having ‘issues’ about. Unfortunately, with inclusivity and the woke agenda being the driving forces of many creative endeavours today, I feel that Crystal Dynamics will destroy everything we know and love about the real Lara Croft.
I hope I will be proved wrong.
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