Grab your bow and arrow, you're in for a ride.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an upcoming action adventure video game by Eidos Montréal and Crystal Dynamics studios being published by Square Enix. It features archeologist Lara Croft on yet another adventure, this time during the Mayan apocalypse. At E3, Daniel Chayer-Bisson, senior game director of Eidos Montreal, gave us our first look at the game. Here are five things we learned.
1. Become One With the Jungle
Lara will already know some skills from previous games. Shadow of the Tomb Raider won’t waste any time getting into the action, and Lara Croft won’t have to “learn” any new skills or strategies beforing starting her adventure. Chayer-Bisson explains that she already knows how to fight from “her time in the jungle”, referring to one of the previous Tomb Raider games. But Chayer warns anyway - she will still need to learn to “become one with the jungle.” We don’t know what that means yet.
2. Highly Immersive
Chayer-Bisson tells us that his studio aimed to increase the depth of the combat experience by adding some cool new plays like grappling and wall running, as well as the full underwater and survival experience. The terrain will become extremely important to gameplay. Trees and ponds will feel tangible. Climbing stone walls and scaling cliffs will challenge the player to survive like never before. New water physics will make swimming and diving an amazing experience. You will what is like to feel at awe and fearful for your life at the same time.
3. Dark and Intense
In a E3 interview, Rich Briggs, senior developer at Eidos Montreal, explains that the intended mood for Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be darker and more intense than any other Tomb Raider game before. Lara Croft will be in emotional turmoil throughout the story, and her character will change, for the better or the worse. During her change, expect Lara to make some terrible mistakes. This game marks a new era in the Tomb Raider story line.
4. Stealth
Brute force and big machines guns have always been a big part of the Lara Croft franchise, and while heavy ammunition is fun, Eidos Montreal wanted to add more strategy to the game. As Chayer-Bisson explains, the studio has really pushed for and integrated stealth as a major component of Shadow of the Tomb gameplay. This equates to lot of sneaking around in bushes and climbing up trees. Stealth will play a major part in making Lara Croft change into becoming “one with the forest.” Shadow of the Tomb Raider will also replace Lara’s handy hand cannons with a bow and quiver of arrows. But that only makes her more silent and deadly.
5. The Most Extreme Game in the Series
Eidos Montreal promises thay Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be the largest, the most thrilling, and the most cinematic Tomb Raider ever. Characters will will have the best facial expressions of any game. Shadow of the Tomb Raider will include the largest city in a Tomb Raider game so far, as well as several new tombs which will be bigger, scarier, and deadlier than ever before. Well scarier and deadlier is always what we want, right?
Shadow the Tomb Raider will release September 14 of 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Shadow the Tomb Raider Teaser
