The iconic Tomb Raider franchise faces what many fans describe as the worst treatment of any major video game series in history, with ongoing development troubles and creative missteps plaguing Lara Croft's adventures for decades.
Development Hell and Studio Layoffs
Crystal Dynamics, the development studio behind the Tomb Raider series, has laid off staff for the third time since announcing a new game in 2021. Despite four years passing since the initial announcement, no gameplay footage or substantial details have been revealed to eager fans.
The scant information available suggests the new title will attempt to "unify the classic and reboot timelines" - a vague promise that provides little comfort to long-time followers of the series. This development stagnation comes as particularly disappointing news for those who grew up with the original PlayStation 1 games.
From PS1 Glory to Creative Decline
For many British gamers, the original Tomb Raider on PS1 represented a formative gaming experience that sparked expectations of an enduring franchise. Initially, the series delivered on this promise before encountering significant creative challenges with Angel of Darkness in 2003.
While the 2013 reboot trilogy brought temporary revitalisation, many players grew weary of what they describe as "psycho Lara" and the transformation of tomb raiding into generic third-person shooter mechanics with minimal stealth elements.
Looking back with modern perspective, it becomes clear that the PS1 era saw games "churned out as fast as possible" without long-term planning for series evolution or player engagement sustainability.
Missed Opportunities and Creative Stagnation
The reader feature highlights several fundamental problems with recent Tomb Raiter iterations:
- Location monotony: Unlike the varied settings of PS1 titles, reboot games primarily feature non-descript jungles and occasional snowy mountains
- Character development failure: Lack of interesting supporting characters or iconic recurring villains
- Forgettable narratives: Stories and artefacts that fail to capture player imagination
Rather than exploring fictional concepts like Cthulhu cults or properly utilising dinosaurs from early games, recent entries have relied on uninspired mythological frameworks that feel like "dealing with the scraps" left by Indiana Jones.
The potential for Lara Croft to become a female James Bond equivalent - equally adept at urban action sequences and remote tomb exploration - remains largely untapped in modern iterations.
An Uncertain Future
With Tomb Raider approaching its 30th anniversary next year, concerns mount that any new release might simply repackage older games with improved graphics rather than delivering the innovative experience the franchise deserves.
Despite the capabilities of modern gaming consoles, the series continues to struggle with fundamental storytelling and character development issues that should have been resolved years ago. As development troubles persist at Crystal Dynamics, fans worry that Lara Croft's potential may never be fully realised in the contemporary gaming landscape.
The reader concludes that while many game franchises have suffered from poor management over the years, Tomb Raider represents the most egregious case of wasted potential in video game history.
