Crystal Dynamics announced in April this year that it was developing a new Tomb Raider game. They said they were using Unreal Engine 5, the most advanced real-time 3D creation tool for immersive experiences and photoreal visuals.
The franchise director, Dallas Dickenson, has said that gamers can expect an action-packed adventure experience in the latest incarnation of this RPG game. Other than that, very few concrete details are available, and no release date has been confirmed, although there are plenty of rumors around. Dickenson himself hinted that fans might have to wait until 2024 until they could go off on an all-new tomb raiding adventure.
The last time Lara Craft embarked on a new adventure was back in 2018 when Shadow of The Tomb Raider was released. Since then, gaming has changed significantly with improved connectivity and technological advances. In addition, consoles are constantly being updated, and many gamers now access games via streaming services and on mobile devices.
The new game is expected to be released on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS5, and PC. As the release dates are some way off, it is not inconceivable that there will be VR versions available for Oculus headsets and similar. Will this be the game that launches the long-awaited Apple VR devices? At this moment, nothing is clear, and fans will have to wait patiently for more news.
Because the game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, it is definitely going to have a suite of higher-end features. Fans are hoping there will be versions available for older consoles like PS4 and Xbox. However, they will have to keep hoping as nothing has been confirmed either way. When Dallas Dickinson announced the news that the game was being developed using UE5, he did say that they intended to ‘push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver high quality, action adventure’ of cinematic quality.‘
In an interview last year, he was keen to reassure fans that all Tomb Raider games stay true to a few basic tenets and that this game would not stray too far from what fans know and love. He said,
“All Tomb Raider games try to stay true to a few tenets. They are all about the pursuit of myth-fueled mysteries and generally contain tombs – although we have stretched the definition of the word ‘tombs’ a few times to include other locations where someone might hide and preserve these mysteries.”
He went on to comment, “In addition to that, all the games contain different expressions of a few gameplay pillars: combat, traversal, puzzles, and story. You can’t have a Tomb Raider game that doesn’t involve some form of each of those pillars, and our best moments usually involve a combination of all the above.”
Tomb Raider is one of the most successful video game franchises ever. The noticeable difference from the other games was that it had a female lead. While that might not be so unusual today, when it was launched in 1996, video gaming was still regarded as mostly the preserve of teenage boys. Therefore, it was a bold move. It might have been brave, but it paid off with over 85 million copies of the original game and its sequels selling worldwide.
If you feel that you cannot wait until 2024 for your next Tomb Raider adventure, then there are some alternatives you could try. On 12th August, Tomb Raider Reloaded blasted onto mobile screens, giving players the chance to wield Lara Croft’s twin pistols and join her on a globe-trotting adventure.
Or you can head to some new online casinos in USA where you can play a video slot called Lara Croft Temple and Tombs. Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios have developed this game. This is the third Lara Croft game the Microgaming team has produced. They released their first Tomb Raider slot way back in 2004, the first-ever licensed branded slot game.
