Tomb Raider is again. Once more. Lara Croft is again. But once more. This time, her character is positioned between the “Survivor” trilogy of the final decade and her iconic debut in 1996. Sure, 30 years in the past.
Legacy of Atlantis is a remake of that very first journey, centered on Atlantean mythology, tomb raiding and, nicely, just a few dinosaurs. At Summer season Sport Fest 2026, Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog shared the primary gameplay demo, with Unreal Engine 5 including vivid element and lushness to Lara’s travails.
The builders made a intelligent alternative, centering the demo on an early a part of the unique sport. Set within the Peruvian mountainside, my playthrough included an enormous cog puzzle I keep in mind from taking part in the unique. There have been additionally a number of shootouts with a herd of dinosaurs, the identical vivid pink velociraptor-adjacent creatures from Tomb Raider (1996).
Retreading the unique sport’s floor provides a transparent demonstration of how Legacy of Atlantis will elevate the sport from the unique, making a comparatively insipid cog puzzle (discover the enormous wheels, deliver them collectively, interrupt the waterfall to make a path) right into a extra exploratory, thrilling expertise. Sure, you possibly can swan-dive into the waterfall pool everytime you need.
Lara can gather and use therapeutic packs between fights, gathering assets from timber and caves, in addition to legendary curios and historic objects. Not all of the modern gaming modifications are welcome: I am not notably thrilled with the inclusion of collectible looking. The Murderer’s Creed collection has largely moved on and I believe a variety of players have carried out the identical. Some collectibles, like fangs, could be transformed into talent factors, that means I’ll really feel obliged to scour for objects.
Lara’s PDA (like it: that is some 1996 nonsense) combines encyclopedia entries for every little thing you discover, together with the present activity. It additionally features a scanner that can be utilized intermittently to supply some tips about what to do subsequent. I did get misplaced at occasions, and that was on account of my not paying sufficient consideration. Legacy of Atlantis leans into verticality so much, and just about every time I misplaced my method, the route ahead was both actually above my head (grappling hooks!) or below my ft. (After all, there is a cave behind that tiny waterfall.)
A grappling hook and climbing axe spherical out the gear loadout, drawing inspiration from more moderen Tomb Raider titles. Moreover swinging throughout chasms, the grappling hook can be used to drag objects in direction of the participant and is essential to fixing the cog puzzle.
After scaling the mountainside and unlocking a route via the waterfall, the demo jumps a bit of farther ahead, deep into the jungle. Dinosaurs quickly encompass Lara, and she or he does not even blink. Whereas I wasn’t in a position to shoot two targets without delay, OG Tomb Raider model, I would not be stunned if that is some type unlockable talent within the full sport — talent timber had been blocked on this demo.
Crystal Dynamics
Whereas there is no shared growth core, components of the sport jogged my memory of one other latest sport with a connection to the Amazon industrial leisure advanced: 007 First Light. It isn’t simply the detailed environments and quippy British lead however a brand new talent for Lara. Focus, when pressed throughout gunfights, slows time, serving to you to shoot with extra precision or swap to a distant goal. Oh, she additionally does so whereas doing an aerial (a kind of hands-free cartwheel), reminding me of Max Payne, any of The Matrix’s spin-off video games and plenty of others. Fortunately, Lara’s twin pistols have infinite ammo and it was simple sufficient to down the pack of dinosaurs, although not earlier than they gored me just a few occasions.
Not lengthy after, a T. rex enters the scene and we’re locked right into a high-speed set piece as I try to flee the dinosaurs with out falling to my dying. I am relieved that Legend of Atlantis performs extra like the unique action-adventure titles, whereas integrating among the extra superior sport mechanics of the previous few video games. Lara is not invincible, however she’s now product of sterner stuff.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches on February 12 2027, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X/S, Steam and Nintendo Swap 2.
