Tomb Raider (2013): Ten Years Later
A Tomb Raider Fan is Born
With the 10th anniversary of Tomb Raider (2013) fast approaching in March, I think it is a great time to revisit Lara Croft’s survival-action-adventure origin story.
As a long-time fan of the franchise, my journey with the iconic Lara Croft began when I was eight years old, begging my parents to take me to the nearest Walmart and use my savings to buy a Nintendo Gamecube. I remember walking down the game aisle seeking for my first video game to buy. As I glanced past Gears of War, Guitar Hero II, Final Fantasy XII, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, my eyes stopped at the cover art of Tomb Raider: Legend. With deep curiosity, I grabbed the game and took it home.
Little did I know the game would drop me into a world of mystical and mythological intrigue. My adventure with the sassy Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legend led me down a rabbit hole of all her famous classic and LAU (Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld) era adventures. I traversed the Temple of Xian, discovered the lost civilization of Atlantis, ran through the caving tombs of Egypt, and pistol-whipped the terrifying creatures hiding in South Mexico; a Tomb Raider fan had been born.
The Promise of an Unforgettable Journey
Therefore, when Crystal Dynamics officially announced Tomb Raider (2013) and the new direction in the franchise in 2011 with the incredibly compelling CGI trailer, I was vehemently excited about the future of Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider’s transition into the horror-survival adventure genre seemed like a win-win: a) it would provide players with a bold and new Lara Croft adventure and b) explore the origins of the iconically cunning, independent, confident, fearless, and dual-wielding anti-heroine.
However, upon the game’s release and several subsequent completions of Lara’s origin story, I was disappointed, even though it did demonstrate potential for its future sequels. Instead of experiencing Lara’s journey towards becoming the Tomb Raider we had come to know and adore in her previous adventures, players received a muddy amalgamation of Uncharted, The Descent, and Katniss Everdeen all rolled into one game instead. Tomb Raider’s originality in the adventure genre was chipped away.
Was Lara Croft Ever Born?
Although later done the line, I came to appreciate some of the new elements that were added in the game, such as the stunning environments, collectible items (i.e., relics, documents, etc.) that provided extensive insight into the history of Yamatai, and Lara showcasing her archeological chops and passion with every discovery. The positive elements did not outweigh the shadow that lingered throughout the journey. When would Lara Croft become Lara Croft?
From the beginning of Crystal Dynamics’s marketing campaign for Tomb Raider (2013), we constantly saw the slogan “become the Tomb Raider,” yet the game’s narrative completely removed the characterization of the Lara Croft from previous incarnations that cemented her as the Tomb Raider. In Tomb Raider (2013), Lara’s personality is timid and unconfident, with severe parental issues. Although the game intended to build Lara’s confidence slowly, the narrative constantly brought her back down. As a result, Lara becomes an entirely different character by the end of the game; she is unrecognizable. Lara Croft never becomes Lara Croft.
Although frustrated by the changes to Lara’s characterization and the poorly constructed narrative structure, I was willing to overlook these elements. Personally, it was the complete lack of challenging tombs, exciting platforming mechanics, thrilling enemy variety, and bone-chilling traps that genuinely left me dissatisfied with the Tomb Raider reboot experience. Tomb Raider was nowhere to be found.
Throughout the past decade, I’ve had complicated feelings toward Tomb Raider (2013), as I think they are with many others in the fandom. There have been aspects of the reboot game that I have come to adore absolutely. Still, I felt that the Lara Croft from the reboot game (including the remainder of the trilogy) was not Lara Croft we had come to admire and love.
