Following Twitter person Nibel's meticulous HTML detective work last month, Square Enix confirmed Shadow of the Tomb Raider's September 14 release date. Today, Tom published some early thoughts of an early build—which the publisher has followed with a trailer.
The following short doesn't contain much in-game footage, but does show Lara Croft doggedly hauling herself up a cliff, pegging it through crumbling tombs, and hunting enemies in a jungle scene reminiscent of Predator.
"I've come so far," says Croft above. "I'm not turning back. After all I've sacrificed, I have to wonder… what will I become?" After that, Croft appears to recoil, her hands covered in blood, and I'm reminded of her coming of age 2013 reboot outing.
Of 2018's Lara, our Tom doesn't appear entirely convinced at this stage—but does acknowledge Shadow of the Tomb Raider's intriguing premise, and the promise of what's to come. Here's an excerpt:
After that it’s back to more cutscenes. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft has raided one tomb too many and triggered the apocalypse by removing a sacred dagger from its resting place. The sinister Trinity organisation is also hunting for Mayan artifacts in the hope that they can stop the apocalypse Lara has started (cool) and use ancient magic to remake the world (oh no).
Lara’s a great hero, and even though she accidentally triggered the end of the world it was in a gung ho adventuring spirit. It’s a nice turnaround from the gruelling suffering of the first of the three Tomb Raider reboots, and I’m genuinely interested to see how Lara will carry the guilt of a tomb raid gone wrong. Exploring a jungle in the middle of an apocalypse could be a seriously good setting too.
Read Tom's thoughts in full over here. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is due September 14, 2018.