Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Gamescom Preview

Developed by Flying Wild Hog and Crystal Dynamics, with publishing handled by Amazon Game Studios, the title is set to launch on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch 2, and PC via Steam. The Gamescom presentation offered a "first look" at the developers' reinterpretation of the Greek locations, which appear roughly a quarter of the way into the original game. The showcase focused on an updated version of the Damocles Room sword puzzle, located deep beneath St. Francis' Folly.

The presentation began in the intimidatingly vertical chamber directly below the church, a memorable area from the original game. In the 1996 classic, this section required complex navigation and puzzle-solving to acquire keys for different gates. Legacy of Atlantis preserves this spirit, requiring players to navigate the vertiginous chamber and solve puzzles to enter four different rooms and exit with four distinct keys, which are gemstones in this version. The visual overhaul is significant, with shafts of light striking through ancient darkness and thick vegetation running wild across the stone. The new voice actor for Lara Croft, Alix Wilton Regan, brings a warmer tone to the character, a deliberate shift away from the divisive reboot trilogy.

Jeff Adams, experience director at Crystal Dynamics, explained that the team aims to preserve what made the original locations special while finding new ways to surprise players. The goal is to provide a "sense of awe and wonder" for newcomers and reignite the experience for veterans. One example of this evolution is the transformation of bat enemies into thick, undulating swarms with more unpredictable movement patterns. However, the remake also incorporates RPG-like progression elements from the reboot era, including skill trees, crafting, and generative AI features.

In the demo, Lara collects environmental items to craft boon-granting foods, a mechanic that involves scrolling through a list of recipes and creating items like stew or baked beans. Another new feature is a scanner that allows players to analyze environments for "greater insight" into how to proceed. In one example, Lara scans a gate and an opening mechanism, receiving a description of the gate's status and the number of slots in the mechanism. While intended to assist less experienced players, the implementation has been criticized for breaking immersion. Adams noted that the scanner is optional, but it also has a secondary function that allows Lara to scan the world to learn about its history.

Despite these controversial additions, some elements of the new gameplay look promising. A leopard fight demonstrates enhanced enemy behavior, with the cat capable of hiding and performing sneak attacks, suggesting more depth in combat. Lara's grappling hook has new utility, allowing her to grasp distant levers, ascend and descend from specific spots, or latch onto masonry to cross gaps. Collectible artifacts unlock outfits, a feature well-received by the community. The demo concluded with a striking vista of an ancient city built into the walls of a huge underground cavern, featuring elaborately arranged buildings, thick foliage, and towering waterfalls. Adams emphasized that the team has preserved the beauty of classic Greek culture while fusing it into a vast subterranean wilderness.

The reimagined Sword of Damocles puzzle includes a twist where players can climb onto the giant swords after bringing them down to navigate the room. The swords can also be dislodged by shooting them, provided the player has unlocked the Dead-eye skill from the skill tree. At one point, Lara must dodge falling swords by performing three back-to-back Quick Time Events (QTEs). While the familiar Tomb Raider action remains enjoyable, the integration of crafting, scanning, progression systems, and QTEs has led to concerns that the remake may feel outmoded before its release. The community remains divided on whether these modern additions enhance or detract from the classic exploratory rhythm of the series.