The adventures of Lara Croft are looking quite promising. As part of Netflix Geeked Week, Legendary Entertainment released a behind-the-scenes look at the Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series.

Powerhouse Animation Studios, known for its Castlevania series, is taking on the daring archaeologist with the help of Legendary Entertainment. Based on Crystal Dynamics' reboots/prequels, Netflix's Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft sets up the Lara seen in the 1996 original. The video, narrated by Character Design Supervisor Joy Lua,? showcases the globe-trotting journeys we'll see her take, as well as some callbacks to ??different games.

Tomb Raider steps out of the shadows for Netflix

The video starts with some drawings and rough storyboard scenes, previewing some of the show's worldwide action. We see Lara snowboarding off a parachute and traversing buildings in Paris like an action hero. As Lara in the reboot trilogy usually stayed in one count?ry, it's cool to see her out and about.

C??oncepts for the places she'll go (yes, including tombs) are shown toward the end. She'll also sport some new gear, donning a dress in one shot and snow gear in another. Of course, she'll have her bow, pickaxe, and pistols alongside her. The team aims to provide many Easter eggs for longtime fans and bridge the gap between old and new.

While the animated Netflix series picks up after Shadow of the Tomb Raider, reboot era Lara voice actress Camilla Luddington of Grey's Anatomy is not reprising her role, with Marvel the MCU's Agent Carter, Haley Atwell, picking up the dual pistols. Jonah, played by Earl Baylon, is back and given a small look via concept art. As a fan of Castlevania and Powerhouse, as well as the?? reboots, it seems like Lara is in good hands.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is slated to release sometime in 2024.

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Here's your chance to get the latest Tomb Raider title for free

It's hard to keep up with all the awesome new releases in games, but sometimes, you just gotta throw it all to the wind and play an old favorite. If you're a fan of the Tomb Raider reboot series, and you're looking for a gritty adventure game to sink your teeth into, you're in luck, because Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the free game on the Epic Games Store for September.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider was originally released back in 2018 as the third game in the reboot trilogy and the twelfth mainline Tomb Raider game. The game's events take place a year after the events of its predecessor, Rise of the Tomb Raider, which came out in 2015, and finds Lara Croft racing against the clock to prevent the world from ending yet again. Arguably the darkest game in the series yet, it explores themes of descension, both through Lara's personal??ity and the jungle itself.

The story is based on both Mayan and Aztec mythologies, and in creating the game, Square Enix devs consulted wit??h historians to create the architecture and people of the legendary city Paititi. Fun fact: the game is still sitting at number seven on the list of most expensive games ever made, after adjusting for inflation.

Submerged: Hidden Depths is the other free-to-download title paired with Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the Epic Games Store. It's a relaxing exploration sim that has players uncovering the ruins of a beautiful, sunken world. If you want a more chill exploration-based gaming experience, it sounds like it's thematically fairly close to the Tomb Raider series, so it could be a fun one to try out.

The games are available for free download on the Epic Games Store starting September 1, so make sure to grab the roguelike "card crawler" Ring of Pain before it leaves the rotation next week.

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Set off on a Tomb Raider adventure for free

The new adventures of Lara Croft are on a pretty good discount today. The rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy is today's Epic Games Store freebie, with all three of the new Tomb Raider titles available to download and keep.

That includes 2013's Tomb Raider and its sequels Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Each version is the "definitive" or full collection of the series, so you'll also be getting all the ??additional content too. From extra costumes to new challenge tombs, that's a lot of survivi??ng and tomb raiding.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FIyNcQSgA

This is part of Epic's ongoing holiday celebration festivities, with free games going up every day. The past few days have had some extremely good gets, like the automated RPG Loop Hero and wacky, zany couch co-op adventure Moving Out. This three-for-one deal is a pretty big one though, running from now through Jan. 6. Then the next freebie, Gods Will Fall, will arrive.

And those Tomb Raider games are pretty solid. The re-envisioning of Lara Croft's journey made for an excellent action-adventure game in 2013's self-titled reboot. Then in Rise of the Tomb Raider, we saw more puzzles, more challenges, and some interesting survival elements incorporated for those looking for a good challenge. And even though I'm not personally the hugest fan of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it did have its moments.

Though we haven't seen much of Lara since that latest entry in 2018, it'll be fun to have an excuse to jump back into these reboots and see how the new version of Lara Croft evolved through the trilogy. For the low, low price of free, it's hard to look down on a deal like this. Find all three on the Epic Games Store for PC here.

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Lara's set to get all stabby again

Square Enix has launched Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on all platforms, bringing Lara Croft's 2018 escapade, along with all previously-released DLC add-ons, to PC, PS4 and Xb?ox One in one handy package??.

Launching in September of last year, Shadow of the Tomb Raider sees Lara traveling through the tropico of South America, exploring the Incan city of Paititi and once again saving the world from a squad of dangerous mercenaries, not to mention an ancient evil accidentally dug up from the depths. Shadow is the third - and seemingly final - chapter of the Tomb Raider reboot, which began back in 2013 with Crystal Dynamics' viol??ent and more "realistic" take on the franchise.

The Definitive Edition includes the original Shadow of the Tomb Raider bundled with all seven DLC tombs - such as The Path Home, The Pillar and The Forge, am?ong others. Also included are all DLC weapons and character skins, the bonuses from the "Croft Edition", and an all-new "Croft Fitness" outfit, because those guns don't sculpt themselves.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is availab?le now on?? PS4, PC and Xbox One, with a Stadia release planned for late November.

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Back to the underground

[Update: Square Enix has confirmed Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, launching November 5 on PS4, PC and Xbox One. As expected, this release will contain the original title, all seven?? DLC expansions, and a bonus outfit. You ca?n check out a trailer at the foot of the article.]

Fresh signs continue to point toward a definitive edition of Eidos Montreal's 2018 action-adventure Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Following on from previous appearances on Korean and Australian ratings boards, French retailer Micromania recently posted a listing for such a title, complete with release date.

In the now-removed listing, Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition was listed for PS4, Xbox One and PC with an expected release date of December 7. So, if true, it's getting high time publisher Square E??nix clued us in on what is currently becom??ing gaming's worst kept secret.

A definitive edition of Shadow of the Tomb Raider would likely contain the original game alongside exclusive gear such as the Forces of Chaos and Myth Hunter skins. It would no doubt also contain Shadow's DLC chapters, such as The Forge, The Path Home, The Pillar and The Fight for Survival, among others. Of course, we will k??eep you informed when the of?ficial word drops on this release.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider release date leaks aga??in [COGconnected]

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That'll do, Lara

It's time for Lara Croft to take the trip back home to Croft Manor, no doubt haunted by the screams of a thousand people she axed in the face during her latest adventure Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Still, there is time for just one more jaunt before her return to Blighty, as Eidos Montreal has dropped Shadow's final piece of DLC, The Path Home, on all platforms. This add-on features a new Challenge Tomb, ready and wai?ting for Ms. Croft's expertise. Helping her dig through the caverns is a new skill "Magic Touch" which reduces the resources needed for crafting, as well as the new Midnight Sentinel outfit and Silver Strike bow.

This release brings to an end the trilogy of games that makes up the Tomb Raider reboot, which began back in 2013 with Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider. They've been a successful trio of action-adventure titles, even if they did make Lara a little more of a slasher icon than I would've expected. Although there are no currently no plans for the series going forward, the chance of us never seeing Lara venture into the underground again is very slim indeed.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is available now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

We're excit??ed to an?nounce Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Path Home available April 23rd.

Join Lara in The Path Home, following the end of Shadow of the Tomb Raider after the dust has settled & the battle over. Available exclusively to Season Pass owners //t.co/0dR0OpljxW pic.twitter.com/P7XkKE3qfp

— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) April 5, 2019

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Another successful jaunt for Ms. Croft

While chatting with USGamer, a representative of Eidos Montreal has expressed pleasure with the performance of last year's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the third ??title Lara Croft's adventure series since she made her grand retur?n in 2013.

Speaking at PAX, Shadow of the Tomb Raider producer Jonathan Dahan noted that the team were pleased with both the game's appraisal and its sales. "We're super happy with how (Shadow of the Tomb Raider) turned out, both on the critic's side and performance," said Dahan. "That's ?why we continued producing DLC, because we're excited about how it went."

"We've had to learn to work with multiple studios, and we've come t??o have a very good relationship with Crystal Dynamics," Dahan continued. "Hopefully that's something we're going to continue doing because it brings a very nice feel to the games to have people with different e?xperiences and backgrounds working on the game."

When asked about further ?sequels, Dahan had no news, although did note that he would be "very surprised" if we didn't see Lara grab her trusty climbing axe for another wall-crawling, chasm-leaping, skull-axing adventure in the future.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is available now on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider devs "super ?happy" with sales a??nd reviews [USGamer]

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Another great get for Game Pass

Jus?t like the crypts Lara exhaustively explores, Xbox Game Pass is home to a lot of treasures. You just have to go searching for them. Soon, Lara's latest adventure becomes one of those treasures.

As part of the latest episode of Inside Xbox, it was revealed that Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be added to Xbox Game Pass on Thursday, February 7. It's a quick turnaround, less than five months after it originally launch?ed. It's a worthwhil?e conclusion though, and Game Pass feels like the perfect home for a lot of people to finally experience the end to Lara's arc.

However, for anyone who has missed out on the entire arc, Game Pass has that covered too. Tomb Raider (2013) was added at the end of January, and Rise of the Tomb Raider has been included since last March. All of Lara's?? journey is right there.

There's more coming to Xbox Game Pass this February: The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season (February 7), Pumped BMX Pro (February 7), de Blob (February 14), Crackdown 3 (February 15), and Batman: Return to Arkham (February 21). These additions should push Xbox Game Pass beyond 20??0 titles. Not a bad library at all for $10 per? month.

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Home Sweet Home

Lara Croft has already seen more death and horror than anyone should have to, and the traumas of her injuries, actions and other frightening experiences look set to haunt her in Shadow of the Tomb Raider's next DLC addition: The Nightmare.

Taking place on the expansive estate that is Croft Manor, The Nightmare looks ?to find Lara picking her way through the voices of the past, as Lara confronts "familiar enemies and fallen friends". If I'm interpreting this right, I'm expecting a creepy psychological horror trip in which Ms. Croft comes to terms with the chaos of her formati?ve years, hopefully overcoming the guilt and regret that eats away in her more vulnerable hours.

The Nightmare will launch on all platforms January 22. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is available now on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

Journey through “The Nightmare” on January 22nd as Lara Croft faces off against familiar enemies and fallen friends. 😱 pic.twitter.com/ouRPCGv538

— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) January 15, 2019

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Pack your pick-axe

Square Enix has released the latest DLC add-on for cliff-hopping adventure title Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The Pillar, which can be picked up to?day, sees Lara Croft pick her way through an ancient ruin, packed to the rafters with brutal boo?by-traps.

As we can see in the new trailer below, Ms. Croft isn't the only adventurer after the treasures which lie within The Pillar, and must be prepared to take on a dangerous band of mercenaries to prevent the ancient wonders ??falling into their hands... She's going to murder a shit-load of people is what I'm saying.

The Pillar is available to download now in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, for PS4, PC and Xbox One.

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Prep that climbing axe, there's heads to cleave

Square Enix has announced, via the official Tomb Raider Twitter, that Ms. Croft is getting set for another death-defying turn, as new DLC The Pillar will be arriving in Shadow of the Tomb Raider next week.

The Pillar will follow previous DLC expansion The Forge as the next frightening scenario to test Lara's mettle. Whereas The Forge?? was a lava-filled inferno, it appears from this excellent promotional image that The Pillar will be a little bit cooler. It's all in a day's work for Lara, surely, as the young adventurer builds her legacy as the greatest (l??uckiest?) explorer of all time.

No trailer for The Pillar is available as of this writing, but the DLC will be arriving on December 18. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is available ??now on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

We're excited to announce "The Pillar," the second DLC adventure for Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be available December 18th on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. pic.twitter.com/5ndVkQwzPU

— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) December 11, 2018

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Go try it

Square Enix seems constantly skittish of how Tomb Raider performs in any given year. It's strange: the first one was a success by almost?? any studio's metric, but the "disappointing" multi-mi?llion hit bred a meme out of the company's melancholy reaction.

So how well is Shadow of the Tomb Raider doing? Well onc?e again we're not sure. Given that the movie bom??bed the future of the entire franchise is uncertain, but Shadow is trucking along still, this time with news of a free demo/trial of sorts. On the PC, PS4 and Xbox One platforms you can grab a new free edition that lets you play through some of the game's opening moments.

I made a dent into Shadow before I paused for other mo?re pressing work, but given th?at I finished the other two parts of the reboot I intend to go back.

Free Shadow of the Tomb Raider Trial Available Now on All??? Platforms [WCCFTech]

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Tomb Rager

Steam has dropped the price of Lara Croft's latest jungle jaunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with a discount of 34% for the standard edition, and 47% for the "Croft edition". The third entry to the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy released a little over a ?month ago, and as su??ch, some "early adopters" (as has become the buzz-word in recent times) are not happy.

A selection of fans who picked up the game for full price on launch are fuming to see the game receive a discount within six weeks of release and have taken to review-bombing the stealth adventure on Steam, while making their voices heard on platforms such as Reddit and the game's Steam page.

As expected, some of these complaints are wholly out-of-proportion, wishing death on Square Enix employees, while others feel a sense of betrayal for supporting the brand at launch, only to see that they could have saved some money had they held on just a? month longer. Equally, there is a huge contingent of fans who take no issue with the sale at all, just seeing it as part and parcel of ?the consumer process and choice.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider released to fair-to-good reviews. Our own Brett Makedonski praised the sequel's themes and jungle-based stealth tactics, ??but also admitted that it doesn't ta?ke any revolutionary strides to change up the formula and has a lackluster second act.

Shadow of ?t??he Tomb Raider is getting review bombed because its on sale [PCGamesN]

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Enter The Forge

Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn't necessarily have any grand ambitions for its post-release content. Alongside the game's reveal back in April, Square Enix immediately announced that Shadow of the Tomb Raider would ge??t seven small add-ons rather than a couple larger/more substantial DLC? packs.

The first one is coming soon enough. On November 13, Lara enters The Forge -- a lava-flooded cavern with a volcanic theme. The narrative beat concerns "uncover[ing] details about a friend's ancient legacy, and overcom[ing] a danger long thought to be lost in flame." Most notably, The Forge contains a new tomb to explore; it seems as though the main draw to all of Shadow of the Tomb Raider's DLC will be in accessing new tombs.

There are some offbeat additions, though. The Forge introduces a cooperative mode, even though the base game had? no multiplayer inc??lusions at all. It's currently unknown how co-op play will work -- whether it's local or online multiplayer, if cooperative is restricted to DLC or if it'll extend to the main game, etc.

Also, Square Enix is bringing back Score Attack and Time Attack, both of which were a part of Rise of the Tomb Raider. Score Attack relies on building a multiplier through competent game-playing. Time Attack is about finishing levels as quickly as possible. Neither were particularly beloved in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and their (initial) omission from Shadow of the Tomb Raider seemed to be an indication that Square Enix st??reamlined these extraneous modes out because they were kind of an odd fit.

Anyway, The Forge releases on November 13 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. After that, Square Enix is sticking to a monthly DLC schedule through May ??2019. Each add-on will cost $5; there's also a $30 season pass that represents a $5 savings over buying all seven expansions a la carte.

The Forge [Tumblr]

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I guess this is growing up

Lara Croft has always lived in her father's shadow. This famed archaeologist? devoted the latter years of his life searching for The Divine Source, a Fountain of Youth-type myth?ological key to immortality. Like Ponce de León, he never found it. His quest eventually killed him.

His progeny, Lara, takes up his mantle. That's where Shadow of the Tomb Raider picks up. It's the last third of the "Survival" rebo?ot, and the title is a double entendre of sorts. An impending eclipse is set to trigger the Mayan apocalypse. Lara yearns to spiritually break free from her dad's legacy while also completing his life's work. Shadows sap away light. They cast a pall over everything.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Eidos Montréal
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: September 14, 2018
MSRP: $59.99

Calling Lara a survivalist hasn't felt sincere since 2013's Tomb Raider. That story saw her overcoming insurmountable odds to escape dire circumstances. The sequels, Rise of the Tomb Raider and now Shadow of the Tomb Raider, are different. Lara is an instigator. She's a go-getter and she's a risk-taker. The opening salvo of Shadow of the Tomb Raider climaxes with Lara triggering a cataclysmic flood that devastates a village in Cozumel, Mexico. Jonah, her best fr??iend, pleads with her to stop all this risk-taking. It's just getting people killed.

In one ear and out the other. Lara jets off to Peru in search of a Mayan artifact that might quell the apocalypse. She's not the only one searching for it, though. Trinity, the nefarious paramilitary organization that was introduced in Rise of the Tomb Raider, is racing to claim it for themselves. They want to use the relic to restart the world so that they're elevated as g??ods.

Lara's intentions are technically altru?istic and an undeniably better alternative to Trinity's plan, but they come off as self-serving. She leaves a wake of destruction everywhere she goes. Her actions in Cozumel set off a chain of storms that wreck a village in the Peruvian jungle. As the residents try to rebuild, Lara scoops up every piece of building material she can find. It's a video game thing that feels extremely selfish against the b??ackdrop of crisis and poverty. As a defeated townsperson laments, "Archaeologists just take."

That's a theme we've seen before, primarily in Tomb Raider's two biggest influences: Indiana Jones and Uncharted. This one is more Temple of Doom than anything else, at least stylistically. There's a large?? emphasis on subterranean settings and there's a cult-like tribe that resists Lara. A late section has all the evil-red imagery that sets the same mood as a Thuggee? sacrifice to Kali.

As for Uncharted, those parallels are well-documented by now. Some of Shadow of the Tomb Raider's very best moments are in its explosive set pieces where the ea??rth is literally crumbling away beneath Lara. Platforming is always scripted to be intense and dangerous. Combat zones have flammable props liberally scattered throughout because that's more exciting than a simple bullet to the head. These?? are traits both series share. Nathan Drake and Lara Croft are spiritual siblings at this point.

Maybe it's disingenuous to partially define Tomb Raider by its influences because this is the culmination of a three-game arc. This is Tomb Raider now. The first game taught Lara how to survive. Rise of the Tomb Raider made her comfortable, confident, and competent at killing. The evolution with Shadow of the Tomb Raider is less n??otable. Now she's just a little b??etter at murder.

While Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn't make any real revolutionary strides, there are some changes to combat that nicely enhance Lara's proficiencies. She now has the ability to coat herself in mud and blend into walls of vegetation. It's active camouflage and it protects her from detection by thermal goggles. It's a tactic that's an obvious reference to both Rambo and Predator. (Also, the box art feels like an homage to a Predator perched in a treetop ready to pick apart Schwarzenegger's crew.) There are also new herbal aids to increase Lara's perception, fo?cus, and endurance; each of these makes dealing with enemies a little bit easi??er.

Perhaps the most surprising change to Shadow of the Tomb Raider concerns its structure. The first game was mostly linear. The second game expanded upon that with large open-world areas. This is a muted combination of the two. Shadow of the Tomb Raider has three towns that serve as bigger hubs, and this is where most of the exploration happens. Each one has its share of offshoots that lead to tombs, crypts, and other secrets. The story missions take place in environments where there isn't much room to deviate from the ??main pa??th.

This isn't a bad change. The towns add a much-needed sense of humanity to Tomb Raider. For once, we see the collateral damage wrought by Lara's actions. Paititi is the most impressive of the three villages. This lost Incan civilization is the home to humble dwellings and ornate temples. Here's where we see some of Shadow of the Tomb Raider's visual spectacle. The greens of the lush jungle, the blues of the crystal? clear waters, the oranges of the South American sunsets, and the golds of the ceremonial decadence can be breathtakingly be?autiful.

However, Paititi is also home to most of Shadow of the Tomb Raider's most glaring faults. The middle of the narrative feels as though it's propped up by conveniences and contrivances. A prominent villager leads a rebel sect but authority doesn't do anything about it. Paititi's leader is someone who's wildly unlikely. The thing everyone's searching for is in a place where someone probably should've found it. It goes on and on. The second act of Shadow of the Tomb Raider requires way too much sus??pension of disbel??ief to fully buy into it in good conscience.

The silver lining is that the narrative doesn't end up being Shadow of the Tomb Raider's most appealing draw. The Peruvian jungle is rife with opportunities to explore derelict ruins. There are nine tombs scattered throughout, each of them with unique themes and devices. One has Lara navigating in spite of deadly winds. Another requires meticulously ascending a massive sunken ship. Just like Rise of the Tomb Raider?, the actual raiding? of tombs is an unequivocal high point.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider leans into what it does well (platforming, setpieces, and puzzle-based tombs) and shies away from its inadequacies (there are significantly fewer combat sections than in the other Tomb Raiders). Frequently, the camera wrests control away to perfectly frame a thrilling shot. For three installments now, these games have seemed as if they're seeking Hollywood's approval in a way. That's okay. All of this together is a potent formula that makes this feel like the most polished Tomb Raider yet. Shadow of the Tomb Raider knows what it wants to be.

Lara has a conversation maybe halfway through Shadow of the Tomb Raider where she's told you can't spend your whole life chasing someone else's dream. Your destiny isn't defined by your family name. We all have to carve our own paths. Lara nods like she understands but does very little to convince us she actually understands.

That's why the narrative payoff falls short. Lara has always played the roles of savior and protector and researcher and badass -- almost entirely because those are parts she has been thrust into. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a perfectly good game, but it feels as though it never figures out a way to address the most compelling aspect of this arc: Lara's personal growth. What path does she want to carve? What does she want her legacy to be? Maybe she'd be happiest spending her life raiding to??mbs -- all of the danger with none of the world-ending stakes. The glass half-full analysis is that she's a regular chip off the ol' block; glass half-empty, she never really escaped her father's shadow.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publis??her.]}

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For charity, too

Stop the internet: Square Enix officially remade the most recent Shadow of the Tomb Raider&nbsp?;ad using animals. Cats and dogs unite in this amazing adventure called "Shadow of the Cute Raider," which as luck would have it, is for charity.

Partnering with Microsoft, Square Enix is selling a custom Tomb Raider themed Xbox One on top of several autographed hardware bundles on behalf of the "Save Them All" initiative, of the Best Friends Animal Society, which finds homes for animals. Even if?? you're not a fan of the series it's worth bookmarking and checking out over the weekend.

Is it...cat picture time?

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I want some of those magical bullet-time plants

So far in Square Enix' run of trailers for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we've seen Lara killing people from the undergrowth and killing people with home-made weapons. Now, it's time for a change of pace, as we look a??t the new game's crafting abilities, that let you harness the fruits of the landscapes, and then kill people with them.

The jungle will become Lara's arsenal in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and various plants and creatures can be harvested for the t??ools needed to take on the dangerous dudes who get in Ms. Croft's way. Lara will be able to strip bark and branches to create arrows, and venomise them with the lethal secretions of the more-deadly members of the local wildl??ife.

As shown in the video, Lara can also get high as fuck imbibe the properties of the local flora, which sharpens her senses, leading her to both plants and animals that will allow her to scavenge the raw materials necessary to create her DIY, as well as increasing her respo?nse time and perception in battle.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches September 14 on PS4, PC and Xbox One

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Pass the sellotape

When our favourite Tomb Raider Lara Croft isn't popping out of the undergrowth to stab a few folks in the head, her second favourite tactic is to take them from afar, either with a be?autifully-placed and silent strike from her homemade bow, or just letting rip with a fully-automatic?? machine gun. Whatever works, I guess.

This latest in a series of trailers from Square Enix, designed to showcase Ms. Croft's survival skills, focuses on her arsen??al of weaponry, which will be needed in to annihilate the many mer?cs who stand in her path if she is ever to prove herself the best archaeologist.

Titled "Makeshift Arsenal" the short video shows Lara in action with some of the clever, MacGuyver style weaponry she has put together from bits and bobs she has found in the jungle. These inc?lude as bottle-based bombs, a bow-and-arrow craf?ted from tree branches, a 12 gauge shotgun and a grenade-mounted assault rifle. "Makeshift".

We won't have long to wait before we can guide our gal through the environment once more, as Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches on PS4, PC and Xbox One September 14.

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Y Lara mad?

Square Enix continue their series of short trailers entirely designed to show you what a raging psychopath young Lara Croft has become. This latest video from the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider focuses on her brutal stealth takedowns.

Whether you're standing on a pier, le?aning against a tree, or walking with a friend through the woods, both heavily armed, nothing can stop you from the wrath of Ms. Croft, practically salivating at the opportunity to tear your neck asunder. She even delivers a Roman Reigns-esque Superman Punch, made slightly more effective by the addition of a hunting knife.

Lara Croft heads into the jungle September 14, when Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches on PS4, PC and Xbox One. If you're a cartoonish mercenary who likes to meander in a fixed and predictable pattern of vigilance, be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Given how much Square Enix likes re-releases it eventually might

We're starting to crawl out of the era where everything just hits "PC, PS4, and Xbox One." Thanks to studios like Panic Button the process of porting big-name games to Switch has been expedited, and some publishers are just doing the work themselves. But Eidos Montreal isn't going to be doing that for Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Speaking to GameSpot, Eidos Montreal lead?? Heath Smith stated that there were "no plans" for a Switch port. According to Smith "all of the focus" is on PC, PS4, and Xbox One (a phrase I've typed hundreds of times in the past five years), and the Switch "wasn't a right fit."

Here's the thing though: Square Enix is all about those "anniversary" and "ultimate" editions down the line. If Shadow actua?lly does well (and given that it doesn't have that wonky console exclusivity clause this time and closes out a trilogy, it should), we could see an eventual Switch version. But that's still a big "if" and not happening anytime soon.

??Shadow Of The Tomb Raider F??or Nintendo Switch Sounds Unlikely [GameSpot]

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Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

One of the many facets of art direction I’ve come to greatly appreciate in this generation of gaming is that of the vista. I simply love a good vista, the moments where a break in the action gives players the opportunity to gawk at the panoramic terrain artists have created. Our current consortium of consoles has given us some absolutely sumptuous scenery. The look at Hyrule from the beginning of Breath of the Wild, the magnificent plains of The Forbidden Lands of Shadow of the Colossus, the fjords of God of War; these games and more have provided us with jaw-droppingly gorgeous landscapes that stand toe-to-toe with masterpieces like "The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog," "The Oxbow," and other revered works of art. A transcendent vista is the easiest way to put a smile on my face, and during a recent hands-on session with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I couldn't help but grin time and time again.

In a hotel room in downtown San Francisco, I sat down with a preview build of the game taking me through the second location players will explore when it launches next month. The first, Mexico, was previewed back in April when the game was officially a?nnounced. My hands-on picks ??up where that one left off, with Lara and Jonah aboard an ill-fated flight to the jungles of Peru. They're searching for a silver box said to be the key to an ancient prophecy. A storm with golf-ball-sized hail downs the aircraft, separating the two associates – something that will be a theme of my time in the preview.

When Lara comes to, she does so in an absolutely opulent South American jungle. The landscape is strikingly handsome and in the many moments when I come across a massive vista rife with rich, green chaparral as far as the eye can see, I stop pan the camera around taking it all in. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a femme fatale: beautiful?? to behold but secretly plotting my demise with every step I take.

Or it can be a walk in the park. Earlier this week, Square Enix dropped the curtain on one of the game's more fascinating mechanisms with its highly adjustable difficulty settings. Players will be able to personalize how challenging they want three aspects to be: combat, exploration, and puzzles. There will also be an "immersion mode" that changes ancillary character dialogue to their native tongue. This wasn't available for my demo, and let me say it's quite the immersion breaker when I walk into a remote Peruvian villa??ge and have everyone talk to me like they're employees at Cracker Barrel.

For the sake of the demo, I choose the normal difficulty setting across the board. After playing through the Mexico stage at the insistence of Square Enix PR, I begin my trek through the jungles of Peru. At the start of this area, Lara is in survival mode. Much like the beginning of any given Metroid title, the fallout from the plane crash has left her without her requisite set of tools. Unlike any given Metroid title, it’s only about 20 minut???es before Lara’s fully armed and dangerous once more.

The path through the jungle is a linear one, chalk full of views I consistently stop to take in. Lara’s movements are fluid. Her actions feel second nature, the controls like a natural extension of my appendages, and I don’t skip a beat jumping from cliff to cliff, climbing a massive rock wall, or diving deep into treacherous bodies of water with their repetitive eel quick-time events. When I stumble into a den, hunted by two massive leopards that probably ate my p??ilot not too long ago, I don’t really have much issue defeating them with some well-placed arrows to the face. Ev?erything about this game is smartly designed in a way that pulls me into the experience only to push me out with some immersion-breaking designs.

This may sound odd, but parts of this game are too game-like for their own good. Some of the elements of play here don’t neces??sarily fit in with the world created. I come across one such instance early in Peru. Before I’m the badass bitch I’ll be for the remainder of the preview, I have to cut down my supplies that are stuck in a tree. Because I don’t have my knife, a makeshift propeller blade from my downed aircraft will have to do. I get the blade, but it’s not sharp enough to cut the rope holding up my supplies. In order to get them down, I need to find three pieces of craf??ting materials to sharpen my blade.

All of this makes sense in a video game sort of way. I’d rather have one simple crafting material for many of my upgradable supplies than too many to keep track of. Finding the three necessary pieces is a snap. I thought that would be enough, that my blade would be sharpened, but no. It took me a minute or two to realize I had to return to the campfire I’d leveled Lara up ??at before and craft my new blade there.

It feels like a concept that exists solely because this is a game and games are expected to have game-like mechanics. Limiting crafting to choice spots on the map makes sense in a video game, but it acts against the sense of immersion Shadow of the Tomb Raider was able to pull off thus far. I may be making a mountain out of a molehill here as the sharpening of the blade is only a brief moment in time, but it’s the point where I see the wilds of Peru as less of a living world for me to explore and more of a series of short video game challe??nges to complete.

The pedestrian eel fights, the strategically placed air pockets in ?the extended underwater sections, the convenient moments where Lara and Jonah are brought together only to be split up again; none of them really add much to the adventure other than giving me a consistent feeling of déjà vu. Thankfully, these small moments are the only ones that project that feeling. Most of the game is astoundingly fresh and I particularly love the puzzle designs of the massive tombs.

I explore several small caves and tombs during my preview, but the best is near the end in a section called the Trial of the Eagle. It pulls up the rear of several shorter climbing sections that all, in their own way, prepared me for this. I have to climb my way up this ancient contraption built with clocklike precision. Making my way to the top is a test of my timing, cognitive thinking skills, precision with my bow, and hand-eye coordination. It’s everything a Tomb Raider puzzle should be.

The combat too is extremely fluid though, at times on the normal setting, laughably simple. Lara's ability to blend into with the vines and shrubbery doesn't quite reach a cartoon level of ridiculousness, but it's often a stone's throw away from becoming a parody of the stealth genre. Firefights break out occasionally, but striking from the shadows is the preferred method of this apex predator. The lead up to release has pegged Lara as a woman at the top of her game in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, actively hunting down those who oppose her. In the early hours, her particular set of?? skills feels wasted on man and beast, but there is another predator out there in the jungle that may be able to give ?Lara the type of challenge she's been building towards over her past two adventures. 

The preview build ends right as I enter Paititi, the massive hub world for t??he game and one last vista to wet my whistle. I get a glimpse at the world map before the picture fades to black, checking out the many optional tombs I’ll be able to raid in the final product. Everything from my ??time in this hands-on session points to another winner in this rebooted franchise, with the graphics, controls, and pacing of the story hitting all the western AAA game development checkmarks. Square Enix is giving players a great deal of leeway with how they want to play the game, but if you're like me, you'll be playing in immersion mode with the difficulty cranked up right off the bat.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches September?? 14 fo?r PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

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'She's drowning... Is that the point of the game?'

Underwater levels. Has there ever-been a more anxiety-inducing element of video games? From Metal Gear Solid 2, to the terrifying tones of Sonic the Hedgehog's Labyrinth Zone, the oxygen-free areas se??em to instill fear and panic in many a hardened gamer.

So, to make things worse, Square Enix have knocked out a new trailer for the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider that specifically showcases those nervy, panic-causing sections of games old and new. Young Lara will clearly need to make sure her cardio is in gear, as it looks like her journey through the wilderness will involve taking a deep breath, before sink??ing into the gloomy, unknown waters.

To find out more about the latest chapter in Croft's big book of traumatising events, check out this preview, by our own CJ Andriessen. Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches September 14 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

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A little like Silent Hill

In the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Square Enix is providing players with the ability to customize the difficulty of the game. When starting a new playthrough, you'll be given a couple of options for three aspects of Lara's adventure; Puzzle, Exp?loration, and Combat. Each will feature settings ranging from Easy to "Deadly Obsession", with the different modifiers tweaking those particular aspects of the game to suit your preferred playstyle.

The official website has a breakdown of what each selection offers, but I'm mostly surprised this hasn't occurred with more games. I distinctly remember playing the Silent Hill 3 demo on PS2 back in 2003 and being blown away that you could set the "Combat" to Easy and have the "Puzzles" be on Very Hard. I know there are a few other titles with similar options (Perfect Dark's "Dark Agent" comes to mind),? but y?ou'd figure it would be an easy task to just allow players to modify how they are playing a game.

Since this falls under the accessibility features of the game, the website also mentions the ability to tweak aiming sensitivity, reducing camera shake (thank fucking god) and even an ADS toggle. A l??ot of this just sounds like nice quality of life changes that more developers should be imple?menting.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Difficulty and Accessibility [Square Enix]

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Lara Croft: Psychopath

Square Enix' Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a little over a month away now, with the publisher continuing to put out trailers to build the exciteme??nt for the third coming of rampant killing machine Lara Croft.

A short new preview has been released showcas??ing Croft's new jungle assault abilities. Watch as the intrepid adventure rips out throats, stabs stomachs?? and lynches would-be assailants with well placed shots from her trusty bow, before creepily slinking back into the undergrowth - like Homer Simpson retreating into that hedge.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is designed in such a way that the jungle itself is a part of Lara's arsenal. Darkened tree-tops, thick undergrowth, and muddy bogs will all provide useful?? camouflage from whic??h the young adventurer can strike. Basically, she's The Predator now.

Fortunately, previously released videos have shown that Croft will find time during her mass-murder spree to go tomb raiding, so we don't have to rebrand the series "Merc Killer" just yet. Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches on PS4, Xb?ox One and PC on September 14.

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Paititi uncovered

Eidos Montreal and Square Enix have uploaded a video today featuring ten minutes of footage compiled from the upcoming, rock climbing, throat-stabbing adventure game Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Complete with commentary by Narrative Director Jason Dovoiz, the clip introduces us to the hub of Paititi, a hideaway village where famous treasure hunter Lara Croft can rest, trade goods, accept side-quests, lay low from gun-toting psychos, or just hang out with the alpacas. We also get to see Shadow's in-game bartering system, where Lara can bargain with the locals for ??useful su??pplies.

The video then goes on to show us a little of one of the new game's Challenge Tombs, with Ms. Croft traversing the deadly terrain that is fast becoming her natural environment, using her acrob?atic abilities and steely reserve to once again set foot where most wouldn't dare to tread.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches on PS4, Xbox One and?? PC on September 14.

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'LARA'S DEFINING MOMENT'

Square Enix is constantly spouting the phrase "Lara's defining moment" when talking about Shadow of the Tomb Raider, like she hasn't had a dozen of them already in her reboot incarnation. And with their ??E3 Showcase/Direct today, they said it again! I really hope this moment actually exists.

Marketing speak aside, we got a better look at Shadow of the Tomb Raider today by way of new E3 gameplay, including its more guerrilla stealth system, complete with jungle camo. Square Enix also says it's the biggest hub in any Tomb Raider game. It...looks like modern Tomb Raider! I'm in as long as it's as good as the last two.

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Lara might have the world's most unbreakable ribs

Even if I weren't already committed to seeing the trilogy through to the end after clearing the first two games, I'd be down for Shadow of the Tomb Raider solely for its Mayan-apocalypse premise. Also, the bit where Lara uses mud as camouflage a la Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator. Pretty good bit!

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What's sustainable anymore?

To the average video game consumer, there's a very real disconnect between the biggest blockbusters and the resources it takes to make them. We rarely hear hard figures about operating budgets. We know they're expensive because they look expensive -- but almost every number sounds inflated to the point of excess because it is just so many millions of dollars.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Eidos Montreal head David Anfossi says that Shadow of the Tomb Raider's development will cost between $75 million and $100 million. Another $35 million will be spent on marketing and promotion. It's an important footnote in a piece about delivering single-player narrative-driven experiences in a cost-effective way. But Shadow of the Tomb Raider&?nbsp;was never going to be made on a tight budget.

So, is this $75-100 million figure flagrantly expensive? Not really. Kotaku did some crude math to show how a p?roject can realistically cost upward of $200 million. It boils down to a lot of highly-specialized and talented folks working on a game for ??multiple years, often in a city where the cost of living is high. There's probably a few bucks to be saved by opening a studio in Des Moines, but good luck getting a bunch of creative types to move to Iowa.

Square Enix surely has to be cognizant of this exact situation. Five years ago, Square Enix infamously said that the Tomb Raider reboot was a financial failure when it was at 3.4 million sales. Eidos Montreal's most recent game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, flopped so badly that Square Enix's CEO had to come out and say the series isn't being discont?inued but rather that it's being put on hold for a while. If anyone is equipped wit??h first-hand knowledge of what to expect from this kind of game, it's Square Enix.

The real takeaway is something we've known for years now: Triple-A development is a high-risk segment and many technically-successful games end up with razor-thin profits. It's a model that's getting tougher and tougher to justify. Shadow of the Tomb Raider will probably earn its development costs back, because it's the closing to a trilogy where the first two game were already well-received. It helps that it's launching on all three platforms simultaneously r??ather than being a timed-exclusive. But for most other games? It's a lot of money and a lot of uncertainty.

E??idos Montreal: "We have to try new models for single-play?er games" [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Confirmed

If you were hoping that Lara Croft would bring back the very brief dual pistols she wielded at the end of the 2013 reboot game, it's still not going to happen when Shadow of the Tomb Raider rolls around.

While it could have been a possibility, the game's director, Dan Bisson, didn't want it to happen -- so it didn't. Speaking to OXM, Bisson notes, "No. I don’t want that. For us this is her defining moment. We’re ?not going to put her in shorts with double-pistols, wearing a bikini; that’s not what this is. It’s because the twin?? pistols have an iconic thing about them. For this trilogy – not saying anything about later on, I don’t know about the future titles – but for this trilogy, the bow is still her signature weapon."

So there you have it! I'm perfectly cool with that so long as Shadow delivers, though I'm over the "this is her defining moment" marketing strategy as Tomb Raider 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raider (ha, it even says it in the title) were both her "defining moments" too. The semi-shade tone of calling out the original Lara also vaguely reminds me of when Ninja Theory dumped on the original Dante during the making of DmC. Thankfully the new Lara is??n't written like a 10 year old.

Tomb Raider [OXM via Sirus Gaming]

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There was some confusion

It seems as if there was some confusion as to whether or not Shadow of the Tomb Raider would bri??ng the Xbox One X into PC quality?? territory with 4K60FPS visuals -- but it just wasn't meant to be.

After Eidos Montreal studio head David Anfossi noted that the game was "4K60FPS" in an interview with EPN TV, the studio had to then clarify his comments, say??ing it? was one or the other. Square Enix delivered a statement to Windows Central that makes it pretty clear:

Shadow of the Tomb Raider will not run 60 FPS while in 4K. To allow for a more customized gameplay experience, the game will include two visual modes: '4K Resolution' which runs in 4K resolution at 30 FPS, and 'High Resolution' which is targeting?? 1080p at 60 FPS. Both modes will feature a wide variety of additional enhancements such as HDR, improved physically-based rendering, hardware tessellation, anisotropic filtering, additional dynamic foliage, and more

While there are several examples of 4K60FPS games on Xbox One X (Forza 7 is the most popular example), there definitely should be more studios pushing the envelope -- and Shadow of the Tomb Raider wo?uld have been a big victory. Still, I'll take 60FPS in an action game any day of the week in practically any resolution.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider runs at 4K 30 FPS on ?Xbox One X, allows 1080p 60 FPS [Windows Central]

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