Rise of the Tomb Raider will Actually Have Tomb Raiding in it

During an E3 2015 demo of Rise of the Tomb Raider, the developer went into great detail on a few elements of the game. One that stuck out is the fact that this time around Lara will actually be raiding some tombs.

In case you were wondering why a game called Rise of the Tomb Raider having tombs in it is important, here’s some backstory. Tomb Raider launched back in 2013, bringing the franchise and the character of Lara Croft back to their roots. The reboot did a ton of things right, offering players a new look at the classic series. However, one important thing was missing, or at least shoved to the background.

Actual tombs were almost completely removed from the game, shifted from a major focus of the series to an optional sidequest, with a few rewards tossed in to entice the player. This doesn’t look to be the case this time around, with that game’s direct sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Rise of the Tomb Raider, according to Noah Hughes, the creative director of the game, will have a much greater focus on tombs, with Lara exploring, or raiding if you will, a number of them on her journey for truth. Some of these will be found in the main story, while others remain optional. An entirely new section of the game was demoed specifically to emphasize how important tombs were in Rise.

“Tomb raiding is so important for this chapter of the game that we actually wanted to show another demo,” said Hughes. He then went on to show us a very classic looking tomb that takes place early in the game, before Lara arrives in Siberia, where the E3 trailer took place.

The tomb itself was full of dirt, bugs, skeletons, and dangerous traps. “Traps are an important part of the Tomb Raider franchise,” explained Hughes. “One of the things we loved about the classic games was feeling like there could be danger around every corner.”

This was certainly the case in the demo, as we watched Lara stumble into a couple of traps, such as a swinging spike, and a leg clamp that almost caused her to drown. Getting out of these traps required quick reflexes, such as when Lara had to shoot the rope that was currently supporting spikes, which were swinging quickly toward her.

Puzzles seem to also be making a more thorough appearance, with Hughes saying “Of course, puzzles are an important part of Tomb Raider.” The puzzles in the demo were obviously fairly simple, as they took place near the beginning of the game. However, Hughes assured us that more complex ones would be featured, with some involving entire rooms.

Rise of the Tomb Raider arrives this holiday season for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.