Natalie has seen new gameplay footage from the Tomb Raider remake. And she or he’s already drooling over it.
A protracted braid right down to her hips, acrobatic jumps from a handstand, dual-wielded pistols—my Lara Croft is completely again! Why “my” Lara Croft? As a result of I grew up with this icon. The adventures of the fearless archaeologist have been the explanation I fell in love with video video games within the first place and ended up right here in the present day at GlobalESportNews .
So my nostalgic coronary heart is thrashing even sooner as I watch brand-new hands-off footage of the Damocles Trial in Greece at gamescom 2026. Not that I ever doubted Dani’s Summer season Sport Fest preview, however I can solely agree with my colleague: Even in its early alpha model, Legacy of Atlantis seems completely beautiful!& nbsp;The remake is gorgeous and appears precisely like how I keep in mind the 1996 unique in my nostalgic, idealized recollections.
Throughout the presentation and in a one-on-one dialog with Michał Kuk (Inventive Director) and Jeff Adams (Expertise Director), I dug deeper to focus on the most important gameplay variations from the unique for you. Let’s get began!
1. Crafting As a substitute of Medipacks
Within the demo, it occurs proper initially: Lara will get injured by a swarm of bats (sure, these pesky beasts are again, too!) and must heal herself. However as a substitute of merely choosing up an iconic first-aid package off the bottom, she gathers assets and rapidly crafts her personal therapeutic ointment. Later within the stage, she even brews herself an explorer’s stew, which noticeably reduces injury taken from traps—such because the well-known Damocles swords raining down from the ceiling—for a short while.
Expertise Director Jeff Adams supplied me with a really convincing clarification for this in an interview. Whilst you may forgive quite a bit amidst the pixelated graphics of 1996, in in the present day’s almost photorealistic rendering it merely appears utterly absurd when a recent, fashionable medipack is out of the blue mendacity round in a tomb or ruins which have been sealed for 1000’s of years. The builders need Lara to navigate her method via the setting authentically and organically, taking her survival into her personal palms.
I’d by no means thought of it that method earlier than, however it sounds completely logical. Though I’d discover small snacks like maggots and caterpillars wrapped in leaves a bit extra life like than stews and potato dishes. Hakuna Matata or one thing like that.
2. The New Scanner
When Lara stands in entrance of an enormous gate within the demo, she pulls out a brand-new gadget: the scanner. As a substitute of silently looking the world as she used to, the gadget promptly analyzes the mechanism and tells us that 4 keys are wanted, three of that are already in place. It might additionally spotlight different fascinating objects within the setting on the push of a button.
Jeff Adams explains proper throughout the presentation what the gadget is definitely meant for. Its biggest power lies within the lore characteristic. The scanner analyzes historic objects and gives fascinating historic context, permitting Lara to raised reconstruct the historical past of the ruins. I’m truly actually enthusiastic about this—in spite of everything, as a child again then, I didn’t perceive lots of the references to mythology and legends within the unique recreation.
For instance, why did Lara flip right into a golden statue when she climbed onto King Midas’s hand?! In *Legacy of Atlantis*, you not must pore over books (or Google) for the reason—you get the reply proper within the recreation.
However don’t fear: the puzzle assist is totally elective. If you happen to’re searching for the satisfying feeling of deciphering the clues by yourself and dealing exhausting to determine the options, simply go away the scanner in Lara’s backpack. So the sport doesn’t pressure you to make use of it. However in case you’d like a couple of hints, you possibly can entry the gadget at any time.
3. The New Stage Construction
As Inventive Director Michał Kuk reveals in an interview, the degrees for Legacy of Atlantis weren’t merely recreated block by block. As a substitute, he revisited the outdated areas in his thoughts’s eye and used the defining core recollections as a basis. Every little thing in between was organically restructured to assist and spotlight these iconic moments.
Within the demo, for instance, the builders present us the Damocles Trial in Greece. After all, the swords are a should right here—they make it troublesome for Lara to easily go away the chamber. So the swords have been retained as a core factor as a result of many Tomb Raider followers additionally keep in mind this trial. Nonetheless, the puzzle surrounding them has been expanded and modernized, and now consists of extra platforming sections and climbing sequences than the unique.
As a Tomb Raider veteran, I believe that’s incredible! In any case, I get to expertise my favourite journey once more from a very unique approach, despite the fact that I already know the degrees in and out.
4. Ability Bushes and Gradual Movement
It actually comes as no shock that we’re seeing some sort of evolution within the fight system in Legacy of Atlantis. In any case, the shootouts within the unique have been stored to an absolute minimal. Within the remake, Lara jumps round, dodges with acrobatic maneuvers, fires her iconic pistols for all she’s price—and even makes use of sluggish movement to deal much more injury even sooner. As soon as the so-called Focus Bar is full, we will decelerate time and string collectively exact hits.
In an interview, Jeff Adams explains to me that fashionable development techniques have been in-built in order that gamers can discover their very own playstyle. Those that wrestle at sure factors can particularly enhance Lara’s skills.
The demo supplied an ideal instance of precisely that: When among the Damocles swords hanging from the ceiling have been too far-off and too exhausting to hit with regular pictures, the builders rapidly added the “Lifeless Eye” means, which helps Lara with exactly these sorts of long-range precision pictures. In keeping with Adams, gamers who don’t like these fashionable comfort options ought to be capable of merely ignore the talent tree.
What else is new?
Dynamic Music:The enduring melodies from again within the day have been utterly rearranged for the remake to create a brand new environment, and now accompany your exploration with a contemporary, dynamic orchestral soundtrack—surging throughout fight, for instance, and fading into the background throughout pure exploration.Outfits from Collectibles:Gamers who diligently search each nook and cranny of the tombs for hidden artifacts might be rewarded by unlocking various outfits for Lara.The Grapple Hook:With the brand new “Grapple Cuff” on her wrist, Lara can not solely swing gracefully throughout chasms, but additionally activate distant switches or pull heavy objects towards her.Intelligent Wildlife:Predators just like the leopard behave way more intelligently, utilizing the terrain to their benefit and even trying to sneak up on Lara from behind unnoticed.A Talkative Lara: Lara not solely often feedback on the motion however even engages in radio banter along with her rival, Pierre Dupont.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis releases on February 12, 2027, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X/S, and Nintendo Swap 2.
Editor’s Verdict
Although, as a die-hard fan of the classics, I needed to take a second to course of the information once I first heard about crafting stations and talent timber in my beloved Tomb Raider—the gamescom presentation has put my thoughts comfy for now. Even after talking with the builders, I really feel that the collection is in superb palms right here. The workforce understands precisely what made the 1996 unique so magical again then. They’re not simply blindly copying it, however modernizing the franchise with a variety of finesse.
And most significantly: They’re giving us a selection! The truth that I can merely ignore nearly all the fashionable aids—just like the scanner or the talent tree—to craft my very personal, purist retro expertise is, for me, a fantastic center floor that appeals to each veterans and new gamers.
Legacy of Atlantis is on a incredible path to capturing the magic of the previous and bringing it meaningfully into the fashionable period. It seems completely beautiful, and simply watching it reawakens that spirit of exploration I used to have. Sure, the animations are nonetheless a bit uneven right here and there—however we have been additionally seeing a really early model of the sport, one which’s nonetheless going to be polished to perfection a number of occasions over. I can’t wait to return to Peru, Greece, and particularly Egypt.
P.S.: I do have one main grievance to wrap issues up. Lara not says “Aha!” when she collects gadgets. Flying Wild Hog, Crystal Dynamics, please repair this!!!
