There are few video game characters as immediately recognisable as Lara Croft, and even fewer games that carry quite as much historical baggage as the original Tomb Raider. Reimagining that first adventure for a modern audience is therefore a considerable challenge, especially after the high bar set by the recent trilogy. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is taking a somewhat different approach, retaining the locations, premise and adventurous spirit of Lara’s debut while rebuilding almost everything around them. After seeing an early build during Gamescom, there is plenty to be excited about, although some questions remain about how well its modern additions will fit together.
What we know
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is an action-adventure game and a reimagining of the 1996 original, being developed by Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog and published by Amazon Game Studios. The story once again follows Lara Croft as she searches for the Scion, an ancient artefact divided into several pieces and scattered across the world. Her journey takes her through locations including the jungles of Peru, the ancient ruins of Greece and the deserts of Egypt before eventually leading towards the mysteries surrounding Atlantis. Rather than simply reproducing the original levels with modern visuals, the developers are expanding the environments and updating the gameplay to make the adventure fit more comfortably alongside contemporary action-adventure games.
Exploration, traversal, puzzle-solving and combat form the core of the experience. Lara can use a grappling hook to reach otherwise inaccessible areas, while a scanner can identify interactive objects, provide optional puzzle hints and reveal additional information about the environments. The game also introduces collectibles and a progression system, with Relics providing additional rewards and skill points allowing Lara’s abilities and weapons to be improved. Crafting is another modern addition, with resources being used to create healing items and temporary bonuses. Importantly, the scanner’s assistance is optional, while the game appears to favor environmental observation rather than constantly marking the correct route for the player.
Combat is considerably more dynamic than it was in the original game. Lara’s trademark dual pistols return, alongside dodges, rolls and acrobatic manoeuvres, while a Focus ability can slow time and give players an opportunity to line up more precise shots. The remake is also not shy about embracing some of the stranger elements of the original adventure, with creatures including raptors, bats, leopards and the iconic T-Rex appearing during the journey. At the same time, the developers have stated that the game remains a more linear adventure rather than becoming another sprawling open-world experience. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is scheduled to launch on February 12, 2027, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.
What we saw
Our preview is based on an early PC build shown during a lengthy hands-off presentation at Gamescom, where we met with the development team and were given a closer look at one of the game’s tomb environments. Rather than simply showing off combat or a straightforward sequence from the story, the presentation focused heavily on how Lara moves through the world, how environmental puzzles have been reworked and how some of the classic moments from the original are being expanded. We also saw combat against a leopard, the use of the scanner and grappling hook, the new Focus mechanic and the elaborate Damocles sequence, giving us a good indication of how Legacy of Atlantis is attempting to combine the structure and atmosphere of the original with ideas introduced by more recent Tomb Raider games.
What we thought
The most immediately striking thing about Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is just how gorgeous this reimagining looks. Unreal Engine 5 gives the familiar locations a huge visual upgrade, but the important part is that Crystal Dynamics isn’t simply making the old environments prettier. The tombs feel considerably larger and more elaborate, with detailed architecture, atmospheric lighting and environmental storytelling helping them feel like genuine places rather than collections of rooms connected together. The Damocles sequence was particularly impressive, with enormous swords, ancient mechanisms and multiple vertical levels creating a space that feels considerably more ambitious than its 1996 counterpart. The sound design also appears to have received the same treatment, giving these locations considerably more weight and atmosphere.
The puzzle design is another area that looks promising. The Damocles room demonstrates how the developers are taking familiar ideas and finding additional ways for players to interact with them. Falling swords are not merely hazards to avoid; they can become part of the solution, while the grappling hook opens up additional routes through the environment. The scanner is a more questionable addition. It can provide useful information and optional hints, but there is a danger that a tool designed to help players understand their surroundings could undermine the satisfaction of figuring things out independently. Fortunately, the game appears willing to let players ignore it, and the absence of the ubiquitous painted traversal markers found in many modern adventure games should give exploration a more old-school feel.
Combat, meanwhile, looks considerably more modern than anything the original Tomb Raider could offer. Lara’s movement between shooting, dodging and acrobatic attacks gives encounters a much faster rhythm, while Focus adds a satisfying-looking way of turning successful evasive manoeuvres into more powerful attacks. The encounters shown during the presentation also suggest that enemies will behave differently rather than simply rushing towards Lara, with the leopard using the environment and occasionally disappearing from view before attacking again. It is a far cry from the methodical combat of the original, and that should make the action considerably more accessible to modern players. The question is whether these systems will complement the exploration and puzzle-solving or eventually make Lara feel too powerful for the world around her.
The biggest question mark remains the controls. Earlier hands-on impressions of the game described Lara as somewhat floaty and less precise than expected, with traversal occasionally producing awkward results, although the later Gamescom presentation looked noticeably smoother. Because our own session was hands-off, it is impossible to determine whether those earlier concerns have been fully addressed. That is particularly important for a Tomb Raider game, where a precisely judged jump or grapple should feel like the player’s achievement rather than something that happens because the animation happened to cooperate. Even so, Legacy of Atlantis already looks like a gorgeous reimagining of the adventure that started everything, and the combination of classic locations, modern traversal and more dynamic combat has considerable potential. The recent Tomb Raider trilogy has set the bar very high, so the real challenge will be seeing whether Legacy of Atlantis can establish its own identity while still feeling like the Lara Croft adventure that started it all.