Crystal Dynamics’ Jeff Adams has revealed that players will be able to ignore the new additions for Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis if they fancy going for a more classic experience.
Speaking with MP1st, Adams was asked if players could choose between a classic or modern gameplay experience, as Legacy of Atlantis features a number of new additions, including skill trees, an environmental scanner, crafting and more. In response, Adams confirms the game will cater to both fans of the classics titles and the newer Survivor trilogy.
Yes! We want to give players all the abilities that they need to fine tune the experience to their liking. For example, if you grew up with the original 1996 game or want the more cerebral and isolating puzzle experience, you can increase the difficulty of puzzles while dialing back the difficulty of combat.
Conversely, if you came up with the Survivor era and really like combat, you can increase the difficulty of that. It’s up to the individual player and how they want to experience the game. We know there are some players out there who just want to use the dual pistols to run the game and not engage in any progression or crafting systems, and they can absolutely do that. But if you want to add buffers to Lara’s combat abilities, utilize additional weapons, and use the scanner to get some puzzle hints, that’s fully available to you. It’s all about player agency.
Speaking in the same interview, Adams stated that the game will last players around 14-16 hours, which puts it slightly longer than the 1996 version of Tomb Raider. Speaking of which, the franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary last weekend, with Lara Croft’s debut adventure launching on October 24, 1996 for the Sega Saturn.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is scheduled for release on February 12, 2027 for PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.