Eidos Montreal Will Being Their Own Spin to Lara Croft
Square Enix has left the next installment of a pivotal franchise in the hands of Eidos Montreal. But the developer is not alone, not with Crystal Dynamics assisting their transition from Deus Ex to Tomb Raider. Though it is the third installment, the head of Eidos, David Anfossi, promises Shadow of the Tomb Raider will bring new offerings to the table.
Changes to Shadow of The Tomb Raider will be presented at E3 2018, apparently. In a new interview with GamesBeat, Anfossi proclaimed that the studio is aware of a need for innovation and that the game’s new offerings will be presented no sooner than the press event. It looks like Shadow of the Tomb Raider will stand out from its predecessors, gameplaywise.
“We could definitely compare Human Revolution with Tomb Raider 2013,” said Anfossi. “You bring something fresh and unexpected by gamers and journalists and the industry. You create a kind of surprise, a positive surprise. After that, it’s more complicated to surprise gamers. That’s where there’s a challenge. I totally agree with you, and especially for a third game. But I believe that—maybe you should stay tuned for E3. You’ll understand what we did to make sure that there’s something new and very interesting and, I believe, surprising for Tomb Raider fans. But you’re right. It’s a big challenge to be the third game or the second game. Definitely a challenge.”
Some of the surprises are mentioned later in the interview. According to Anfossi, Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be distinguishable via fresh modes of traversal, as well as new game mechanics for platforming. In assuming the reins of the franchise, Eidos Montreal will leave their own mark on the experience. At the same time, the devs have maintained its familiarity.
“You don’t want to change everything,” Anfossi continued. “You have to make sure that the gamers who played the first two games are comfortable and understand what’s happening with whatever control mappings or what’s happening on the screen. But it was clear for us that we wanted an Eidos Montreal signature on this.”
During their first ever gameplay preview for Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Square Enix and the team over at Eidos revealed a darker take on Lara. In our own hands-on time, we learned about the game’s new emphasis on swimming, the ability to rappel, dagger combat, and how Lara Croft’s journey will lead her down a darker path. That said, it seems the studio may introduce more changes in addition to what we’ve already glimpsed.
“We’re good, I believe, at conveying story to gamers. It will be very story driven, very character-centric. We spent a lot of time and hard work on Lara. The traversals and platforming are amazing. We’ve brought some fresh mechanics to that.
“Show don’t tell. In Deus Ex, when you meet a character, their environment is very specific. The audio is very specific to them. Their clothing is very specific. Because it’s show don’t tell. Your subconscious catches these details. The atmosphere and immersion are better because of that. That’s the kind of technique we learned from Deus Ex and that we implemented in Shadow. We’ve brought our signature to Shadow. It’s very specific, but at the same time very respectful of the trilogy, I think.”
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is due to launch for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 14th.