Where Does Tomb Raider Go Next?

I just finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider and I thought the game was really…good.  It’s an excellent Tomb Raider title, with lots of great locations and terrifically designed tombs.  Still, in a year that gave us amazing single-player experiences like Marvel’s Spider-man, God of War, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s hard to imagine that Tomb Raider is going to get a lot of attention this year.  I’m guessing that the next Tomb Raider game is going to experiment with some new gameplay options (here’s hoping they don’t go open-world multiplayer with Tomb Raider ’76).  Here’s four suggestions for how Tomb Raider can move forward.

Yeah, I don’t know if we need to see these extras from “The Descent” in future titles.

Lara Needs to go Full Raiders

Tomb Raider has a great formula that works well.  You start in an open world, moving from location to location in a fairly linear way but with room to explore.  Levels are often punctuated with events where Lara is outrunning gunfire or a natural disaster, and these experiences are well done.  What’s missing, I think, is a true Raiders of the Lost Ark truck chase sequence to really define the game and to give Lara a chance to show off.  I used to love these experiences in the Uncharted games (and the train sequence in Uncharted 2 is still one of the best levels in any game).  Lara needs the opportunity to go Full Raiders and chase a truck, or sink a ship, or bring down a plane in her efforts to keep the bad guys from getting away.

These scripted events are always cool, but you’re almost always running away rather than playing offense.

Time to Consider Time Travel

I usually play Lara as a deadly archer or assassin; I usually avoid bringing in the automatic weapons.  Lara’s skills really lend themselves to an earlier era; there’s no reason she couldn’t be just as successful in an early 20th century environment.  Given that two of the other best video game characters – Spiderman and Batman – have both been given historical versions, it might make sense for Lara to have this opportunity also.   We could play Lara in one of the ancient worlds she’s frequently exploring or see a predecessor of hers in an ancient world.  Again, this could be pretty easily integrated into a Tomb Raider title given that magic plays a strong role in her adventures.  So, with all that potential, why not let Lara see one of these tombs in its prime?

She seriously wouldn’t look out of place if she popped up in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or Red Dead Redemption.

If You Want To Go Far, Go Together

Not to knock her traveling buddy Jonah, but Lara could use some new friends.  Oddly, the original Tomb Raider game had several friends Lara had to save.  By the sequel, though, she had whittled her friends down to just Jonah.  Jonah does make a great counterpoint to Lara, but she could use some other recurring characters to round out her world a little bit.  I’m not sure I ever want to see her with a love interest, but a friendly rival or a compassionate journalist or benevolent mentor might give her some additional room to grow in some interesting ways.

It’s a lonely job, tomb raiding.

Let Her Drive, For Once

I may be mis-remembering, but I don’t think Lara has ever driven a vehicle of any kind in these games.  I’m not sure why that is.  I mean, I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for about two hours and I’ve ridden horses, paddled boats, and captained ships already.  I’m not sure why Lara never drives or flies or sails or rides anywhere.  There’s something to be said for keeping gameplay simple and flexible, but it sure seems like there are a lot of great options that could be incorporated into gameplay (for open world areas, at least).