It’s been three decades since Lara Croft first appeared in games, and she’s remained a major force ever since. With Crystal Dynamics still developing her latest adventures, including the upcoming ‘Legacy of Atlantis’, we had the chance to play an early version of the new game and speak with the people making it.
At Summer Game Fest, we spoke with Jeff Adams (Experience Director) and Raul Siqueira (Game Director) from Crystal Dynamics, as well as Arek Tomaszewski (Art Director) from Fly Wild Hog, to learn more about the new Tomb Raider game: Legacy of Atlantis.
Speaking With Jeff Adams, Raul Siqueira and Director Arek Tomaszewski
It has been a long time coming. How are you feeling about the game’s release coming up so quickly?
Jeff Adams: Things are going well, actually. We were just discussing how it’s been a while since our last release, and that development is taking increasingly longer over time. As games get larger in scope, they naturally require more time to create.
We’re making progress on a new game! It’s really exciting for our team to finally share it with players, and seeing the response at events like the Summer Game Fest is incredibly rewarding.
According to our conversations so far, people have generally been very positive and enthusiastic about the game. It’s still early in development – a pre-alpha build – so there’s plenty of room for improvement. However, the overall impression is that players are excited about Lara Croft’s return, especially because we’re offering a fresh take on the franchise for both longtime fans and those who may not remember previous installments as well.
What was your philosophy coming into the game? Did you want to make a direct remake or spin on it?
We don’t want to drastically change things or impose our own style. It’s a huge responsibility to work on this project, and we want to respect the existing fans who have invested so much time and energy into this world. Our goal is to rebuild important moments and locations with incredible detail, while also exploring new ideas and taking creative risks. This approach will better suit what today’s gamers expect.
Just building on that, it’s been really special for all of us working on this because we all grew up playing the game ourselves. We were fans first, and now we’re able to revisit those cherished memories and share them with a new audience.
Jeff said it perfectly, but the goal isn’t to simply change things or make our mark. We want to recapture the amazing feeling players had with the original game in ’96, its anniversary edition, and now share that experience with a new generation.
We really liked how free-form the demo was – it didn’t hold your hand at all. We’re just wondering if there will be options to help players who need a little extra support.
We’re planning to include accessibility features, which we’ll discuss in more detail later. But when it comes to the overall experience, one of the things that made the original games so good was how Lara felt truly present in the world. She wasn’t constantly bombarded with stimuli, which allowed for a more immersive experience. We’re aiming to recapture that feeling in the new game, and we have some exciting new tools to help us do so, like a more nuanced music score, to create a truly cinematic presentation.
We shouldn’t make things too easy just to be clear. If users need a lot of guidance, it means we haven’t explained things well enough. Simply highlighting things isn’t the solution; instead, we need to figure out what’s confusing and focus on making the experience more intuitive.
Siqueira believes the original 1996 game was more of a thoughtful puzzle. Games of that era encouraged players to slow down, explore, and even get lost – that was intentional. Now, they’re carefully deciding what parts of that original experience to keep to stay true to the game, and what needs to be updated for modern players in 2026, including making it more accessible. The goal is to strike a balance between honoring the original challenge and ensuring players face difficulties they want, not ones forced upon them. They want to customize the difficulty so different parts of the game challenge players in ways that are appropriate for their skill level.
We never come into it like we want to put our fingerprints [on the original Tomb Raider].
I’m hoping a bunch of the classic outfits will be back, but I’m really curious to know if they’ll add any costumes from the newer games too. Fingers crossed!
We don’t want to reveal any surprises for readers who haven’t experienced the articles yet. We’re really excited about what people will discover, and you might have already noticed a few clues. Players will be able to collect items and find some awesome outfits for Lara to wear.
Also, while playing, players should continue to explore – there’s plenty to discover that will hold their attention.
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We’ll be sharing more details soon about what Lara can do with the items she collects in the game.
To what extent did the Survivor trilogy shape this game, and will Legacy introduce or expand on a definitive version of Lara Croft’s backstory?
Let’s address the obvious: this is still Lara. The Lara you see now is the same one from Survivor. She’s moved on to a new stage in her career, free from past expectations and performing at her best. That’s who fans will get to know.
Building on that, when it came to gameplay, we definitely took inspiration from the Survivor trilogy. We analyzed what players enjoyed about those games and then worked to blend elements of both classic and newer Tomb Raider titles – finding a sweet spot between the two.
You might have noticed that how you move around and fight in this game isn’t identical to Survivor, but there are definitely similarities. We always learn from each game we create – we don’t just start from scratch each time. We analyze what worked well in Survivor, both from our perspective and what players enjoyed, and then we carry those successful elements into our next project.
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2026-06-18 02:44