Shadow of the Tomb Raider brings Lara Croft and her best friend Jonah Maiava down south to take on the Maya apocalypse and explore the jungle, much more dangerous tombs, and even some underwater ones. The game will apparently challenge Lara in new and unexpected ways as she's the real predator now and can use the jungle environment to hide, track, and take out enemies.
Lara's brand new face (it looks like Square Enix still hasn't made the final decision on Ms. Croft's facial presence and expressions) is not the only big change in this third installment. The last two Tomb Raider games (and everything "Lara Croft" since 2006's Tomb Raider: Legend) were made by Crystal Dynamics, but this time the American studio won't return to take the helm for the grand finale.
The game is indeed being developed by Eidos Montreal (which acquired Crystal Dynamics in 1998), the creators of the last two Deus Ex games (Human Revolution & Mankind Divided) and the recent Thief reboot, in collaboration with the original developer. Eidos Montreal narrative director Jason Dozois explained why the chance has been made in an interview with Destructoid. "It's a collaboration. So on the previous game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, they were the lead developer. But people in Montreal, a fair-sized team, helped with content. Same thing here. They help us create content. We really had a lot of dialogue and collaboration with [Crystal Dynamics.]"
Dozois continued "We've been collaborating with them for eight, nine years -- all the way back to [Deus Ex:] Human Revolution. It's like new flavors. I was happy to try something else when I finished [Deus Ex:] Mankind Divided. You don't want to always do the same thing. It gets stale. You want to switch it up and let a new team take over," the narrative director concluded.
This decision is understandable, considering that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and the Thief reboot have underperformed and Crystal Dynamics is currently busy with the development of the secret Avengers project, which should be finally revealed at this year's E3 in Los Angeles.
Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 14th.