In a new interview posted by Video Games Chronicle today, Scott Amos (head of studio) and Will Kerslake (game director) of Crystal Dynamics sat down with the outlet to discuss why it decided to return to the original Tomb Raider game after 30 years. While the obvious answer is that the 30th anniversary should be a big deal, Tomb Raider already had a remake 18 years ago in the form of Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Why was now the right time to revisit that original PS1 classic?
“Ultimately, our goal there is you make it feel like it felt when you played it the first time,” Kerslake said, “but play like a modern game. So there are vital things that we have to keep the same.” As he explains, there has been 30 years of technological advancement since the original debuted in 1996, so there’s a chance to revisit the game and expanded certain concepts or mechanics that simply weren’t possible on the PS1.
Amos added, “Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a love letter by fans, all of us, for fans… we knew the 30th anniversary was coming up and wanted to do something special to both celebrate that moment, but still pay an honor to all of Core Design’s original DNA and intent from this amazing title that launched the franchise.” He then stresses that since the game is being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, it’s more of a reimagining rather than a straight remake.
This doesn’t mean that certain elements won’t be the same from the original. You can already see in the trailer that the iconic T-Rex battle is still in the game. It would also make no sense to remove the Midas chamber as that played a big part in traumatizing many kids back in 1996. Still, the idea is that this will take a lot of those ideas and revamp them. “You have certain memories, whether it was the bridge and falling into the wolf den or the T. rex,” Kesler says, “where you go like, ‘That’s what I totally remember from that game.’”
When questioned if anyone from the original development team was involved, Amos stated, “I will say that folks at Crystal who have been part of Tomb Raider for a very long time. We have folks who’ve been at Crystal for 30 years, and so we’ve had folks across the gamut of all the different Tomb Raider games that we’ve ever been part of.” That doesn’t quite confirm or deny things, but it does highlight that the people working on this are familiar with what Tomb Raider is.
What he does mention is that the team is a mixture of old and new blood. I didn’t realize this, but developer Flying Wild Hog is assisting Crystal Dynamics with Legacy of Atlantis. Known for creating Hard Reset and the newer Shadow Warrior games, the team has the chops when it comes to shooting mechanics. It also lets Crystal Dynamics focus more on puzzle design, which is where the studio typically shines.
Check out more Tomb Raider content
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
