After years of relative silence, Tomb Raider’s immediate future is looking busy with Legacy of Atlantis – a remake of the original game – arriving in 2026, and Catalyst following in 2027. Today, however, we’re briefly revisiting its past.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Tomb Raider: Legend, Crystal Dynamics’ first take on the famous adventurer. To celebrate the occasion, the official Tomb Raider accounts and website have shared a never-before-seen look at the PS2-era game mid-development.
As explained by the post on the Tomb Raider site, a striking difference is this early gameplay demo features Crystal Dynamics own version of Lara Croft’s The Angel of Darkness model. “This model was used as the base model for early concept art and gameplay testing before Toby Gard joined the team and played a major role in Lara’s redesign along with character artist Kam Yu,” the post explains.
Though the official description of the footage doesn’t say much more, it confirms fan suspicion that this was indeed an early version of a traditional jungle level that would be turned into the final game’s Bolivia. “The level opens with Lara leaping from a helicopter into a warzone territory, searching for a map hidden inside a temple,” the website post explains.
Veteran fans of the series seem to be enjoying this birthday gift, at least judging from the comments on the YouTube video: “The devs were doing a fine job at this, It’s a shame so much was cut. The way Lara moves and interacts with the environment is so satisfying.” Eagle-eyed players are even pointing out the footage includes sections previously shown only through screenshots.
Tomb Raider: Legend was a decent start for Crystal Dynamics, bringing the famous series back from almost total extinction after The Angel of Darkness. Let’s hope Crystal Dynamics can flex all it has learnt in the time since in the Tomb Raider remake and Catalyst.
