Hold onto your dual pistols, Tomb Raider fans! The upcoming remake, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, is stirring up controversy with the introduction of skill trees and crafting – features conspicuously absent from the original classic. While remakes are often a welcome sight, this one seems to be straying into familiar AAA territory that many players were hoping to leave behind.
A Familiar Feeling?
On August 17th, the official Tomb Raider YouTube channel dropped a new video as part of an ongoing series diving deep into Legacy of Atlantis, slated for release in February on consoles and PC. This installment, titled “Combat & Progression Reimagined,” was the first red flag that something might not sit right with long-time fans. The result? A wave of disappointment and fatigue.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis appears to be embracing a trend that many in the gaming community have grown weary of: resource collection and crafting. Yes, you’ll now be scavenging for “herbs” to create “foods that give you buffs” or healing items like bandages. While some appreciate the added layer of depth, others feel it detracts from the core action-adventure experience.
Skill Up… Or Not?
Adding fuel to the fire is the inclusion of a skill tree. In the revealed video, we only glimpse one unlockable ability: a 10% increase in Lara’s weapon fire rate. While seemingly minor, it represents a departure from the established character and gameplay loop.
“When I played the Survivor series, and I could suddenly affect and increase Lara’s power in the game, I felt much more engaged,” says Jason Epps, design director at Crystal Dynamics, in the video. However, many fans were hoping for a return to the action-packed platforming of the older games, with a supremely capable Lara as the star.
The Tomb Raider subreddit is ablaze with discussion, and the sentiment is overwhelmingly negative regarding the skill tree implementation. One user succinctly put it: “I don’t need her to improve over time in the game. I want to turn up as Lara, skilled and already learned.”
“I was really hoping they’d leave this behind. Lara is already at her peak,” lamented another fan. The consensus seems to be that these additions undermine the established character arc and gameplay focus.
One user perfectly captured the frustration: “100% agree. It’s such a shame that she’s still not ‘The Tomb Raider.’ Skill trees completely undermine this.” Another added, “I don’t necessarily hate the skill tree, but seriously, if she is such a seasoned explorer as she is touted to be, why does she need to improve her abilities over the course of the game?”
The comparison to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, a recent remake that wisely avoided adding the RPG skill trees found in later AC titles, highlights what many feel could have been for Legacy of Atlantis. It had the potential to be a clean break from the survival and RPG mechanics of the Survivor trilogy.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches on February 12, 2027. The addition of AI-generated assets only adds to the disappointment for some fans. Whether this remake will capture the spirit of the original or succumb to familiar AAA pitfalls remains to be seen.
Source: Kotaku
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