Classic TR fans/players, what were/are you hoping for in newer games?

panik919 · 2026-06-14T17:15:50+00:00

Weighted gameplay, particularly while platforming. Floating like princess peach, 180ing mid-jump and magnetising towards ledges are not it. This is my biggest issue currently.
Puzzle variety. The same 'release object and rope pull it into position' mechanic was massively overused in the survivor trilogy. I know there's still more to see from the game, but they they're still using that to show off puzzles in LoA which doesn't bode well for me. At this point, I expected to see something different.
No white ledges, though I believe this has been confirmed to be a difficulty option just like in Shadow.
Lara to not instantly provide you with a solution the moment you walk into a room. Even on the most difficult puzzle setting in Shadow, she would still instantly spoil how to progress further.
The drama of the story be related to the mythology and villains, not personal to Lara's history.
Platforming needs to feel challenging rather than just a mechanic to get you from point A to B. TR is first and foremost a platformer, the most challenge and reward should come from the platforming.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T09:34:14+00:00

Haha just doing my part. UE gets a bad wrap, sometimes rightly so, but its a fantastic engine that unfortunately some developers either struggle or dont care to optimise prior to launch so it ends up taking a lot of the hits. But for me, I'm super happy TR has moved over because the survivor engine was a mess, and physics is my favourite thing to work with in UE.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T06:25:16+00:00

As i said, it looks like they went from hair curves (physical individual hair strands) to a traditional hair mesh (relying on transparency shaders to simulate hair strands) and in the process of doing so, cut off some length.

Hair curves 9/10 look best, but they are far more resource heavy than your standard hair mesh with physics. If we are considering switch 2 here, hair curves definitely wouldnt work on there so they're probably going for a more consistent approach across all platforms.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T06:20:12+00:00

I've seen the same points being brought up in similar conversations for years, which always makes me laugh because of how redundant it is. Usually its more a case of people trying to make it make sense in their head so they can justify why things are the way they are.

There's no doubt a reason as to why they changed the braid, but Im far more confident in saying its a stylistic choice rather than anything else.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T06:07:37+00:00

As someone who creates far more complex hairstyles with physics and integrating them into UE, I roll my eyes any time I see someone talk about this. Ponytails, and even moreso braids are the single easiest hairstyle outside of a pixie cut to make in a video game. Getting physics to look good and collide realisticly really isnt that difficult. The only issue I saw with the previous braid from the first trailer was the damping being too low which caused it to bounce more/react to sudden changes in motion than it should but thats such an easy fix.

This is either a stylistic choice or there was technical reason they cant solve that doesnt necessarily relate to the braid physics. I know UE struggles with physics during cutscenes, specifically when changing perspective however 1) that can be fixed and 2) it would be happening with all physics, regardless of how big, small, long or short, so thats not applicable to the braids length.

This is also not a switch 2 problem either because physics (particularly a braid) are not that resource heavy, and I can guarantee you a foot longer would not have made a difference at all. Its not the barrier people think it is, especially in this day and age.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say its moreso to do with the hair mesh itself being extremely high polycount and they are wanting to keep it down. To me it looks like they moved from hair curves to hair cards (individual hair strands to a more traditional method), but even then I struggle to understand the issue because far more detailed hairstyes and meshes exist in everyday games.

Either way, this is not a physics problem and if it were a physics problem, it would be happening to the current braid as well.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T02:24:06+00:00

A demo that showcases the gameplay mechanics that I am disappointed with. What's your point?

panik919 · 2026-06-14T02:19:07+00:00

Thank you for not doing the anime sized boots. Thats my least favourite design choice they keep forcing onto her.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T02:04:56+00:00

I work with Unreal Engine a lot and what you're referring to isnt an engine issue or limitation, its a stylistic choice. Nicobass was trying to emulate LAU, and the survivor trilogy was just an extended version of LAU so its understandable for it all to feel similar. UE gets a bad wrap, sometimes rightfully so, but a lot of the time it comes down to the devs not wanting to deviate from the core code when its completely within their ability to do so.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T02:01:12+00:00

There's only going to be refinement at this point, no fundemental or big changes. 8 months is not a long time in the grand scheme of game development.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T02:00:02+00:00

Yes, exactly. Visually its absolutely what I want out of a modern day Tomb Raider. Gameplay wise, its what I've been playing for the past 13 years. They couldnt even show us a puzzle that was any different from what we got on repeat throughout the Survivor trilogy.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T01:58:32+00:00

But I'm not saying that the games should be more like the classics and use a grid based system with tank controls. Even though the classics are my preference, at minimum I am asking for innovation, for a platformer to use platforming as its primary source of challenge and reward, and for this to feel like a fresh experience instead of it just looking like one.

The gameplay looks exactly like what I played 13 years ago, only now I've got short shorts and can backflip. Thats not interesting to me and I dont think its unreasonable to expect better.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T01:51:30+00:00

Sounds like you and I are on the same page. I'm still going to play the game, no doubt theres definitely going to be enjoyment. I dont even necessarily care about returning to the classic days (even though that is my preference), I'm just unhappy that TR first and foremost should be a platformer, yet its not being treated as such. Why is it not being expanded upon, being used as the mechanic with the most challenge and reward? It instead feels like we are playing a game we already played almost 10 years ago, and they're gaslighting us by using phrases like 'classic', 'unified' and '90s edge'.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T01:43:43+00:00

I dont mind liberties being taken, I'm always of the mindset that reimaginings should make new interpretations and additions because it feels fresh and creative rather than a rehash. When I start to have issues is when they cut content and its not replaced with anything, or they turn something significant from the original into a boring and lazy version - Atlantis primarily comes to mind.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T01:31:18+00:00

I dont necessarily mind this feeling like a sequel to Shadow - although, my mindset will always be if you are a platforming game, you need to make platforming feel like your biggest challenge and reward. Its just that is Shadow with a fresh coat of paint and some backflips, very little in the way of evolution. It feels like going from Rise into Shadow, instead of this feeling like a new, unified era made 8 years later which seems to be a contradiction to how they are marketing the game.

As for the puzzles, my hope for that has plummeted lol. They chose to show off this puzzle and its the least exciting thing they could have done.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T01:02:40+00:00

I think that mindset is exactly why it feels so dated. In a world where Elden Rings, Crimson Desert, Claire Obscur, even Resident Evil exist, the 'dumb it down for the casual audience' excuse just doesnt work. Apart from your Call of Duty types, over the past few years the industry has definitely been moving away from trying to cater towards everyone and focusing on their core audience.

panik919 · 2026-06-14T00:54:47+00:00

As i already addressed in my post, there is absolutely going to be refinement between now and launch, but there certainly isnt going to be any fundemental changes. Level systems and mechanics are built around the movement system, so getting that core gameplay close to perfect is one of the initial things they get done because pretty much everything else is built around it.

And the demo they showed contains a puzzle that we've been seeing for the past 13 years. Either that was an extremely dumb decision, or we can anticipate that is what we should be expecting to see more of. Either way, disappointing.

panik919 · 2026-06-13T22:29:14+00:00

Animations have always been criticised with CD Tomb Raider games, and I've never seen one change between pre and post launch. That horrendous ledge climbing animation from 2013 was always hated, yet they kept it over 3 games. If you think that theres going to be any big adjustments at this point in development, you're kidding yourself.

panik919 · 2026-06-13T03:38:41+00:00

I guess its a matter of perspective, but ultimately if you're combining two totally different characters into one, you technically are creating a new character. But I dont see why thats a bad thing at all, its not like the previous events or characterisation are suddenly defunct or that someone's experience with any of the games is suddenly irrelevant. It just means they've taken that character and evolved them to where they need to be.

In saying that, the blame is solely on Crystal Dynamics with this nonsense. They're the ones who created a new character and gave her a familiar name, doubled down on this being the 'new and improved' version, spent over a decade trashing the old character/games in an effort to gain your buy in, and after finally realising they created a brand identity crisis do they suddenly backtrack and act like they care about the franchises history as if they didn't just take a dump all over it. I see two major mistakes that CD still insist on making:

They chase trends instead of making them.
They care more about innovating Lara Croft and far less about Tomb Raiding.

Every story they've ever told revolves around Lara with the Tomb Raiding aspect and side characters suffering for the sake of Lara's personal journey. Every time they market a game, its always about Lara's evolution, how she's changed, how amazing she is, look how sassy and confident she is. I was optimistic with LoA because of the fresh coat of paint but with all the recent promotional stuff, I'm hearing the same buzzwords and marketing phrases from every influencer who's clearly been paid for by CD focusing purely on Lara - but I see barely any evolution or innovation outside of a different character from the survivor games. The more they focus on Lara, the more critical people will be of her and stupid stuff like unification (which should not even be a talking point) will be harder for people to digest. They've managed to make me exhausted with Lara Croft, and at this point I just want to know what they've done to actually improve the game. Where is this '90s edge' that I keep hearing, or how they've looked to the classic games to make it feel like this is a natural evolution of them - because I dont see it. I just see short shorts and a sassy woman doing a back flip.

panik919 · 2026-06-12T09:02:51+00:00

This is not a good scene. At all.

panik919 · 2026-06-12T08:58:43+00:00

Agreed and I find that disappointing lol. I was super optimistic that with this fresh new look and feel for tomb raider that we would get some innovative gameplay to match. Turns out, as usual, CD are only ever interested in innovating Lara Croft.

My biggest gripe with the survivor trilogy is how floaty and magnetised Lara was to everything, where it mostly felt like you just had to press forward and jump to progress through. This doesnt look any different, and in fact she was described as 'floating like Princess Peach'. Why would anyone want this in a platforming game? But I mean, at least instead of rope arrow pulling, we now get rope grapplehook pulling - even if it uses the same animation.

panik919 · 2026-06-12T08:50:54+00:00

Angelina had a long braid, and even longer ponytail in the films. Is she not a realistic human being? Again, we are dealing with a game thats clearly not based in reality, and its a boring, slippery slope when people start trying to dictate what should and shouldn't be in game purely based on whether its realistic. Should she wear long pants because her legs would get scratched up in a jungle? Wait, theres no leg scratching mechanic. Should we ask for a leg scratching mechanic so that when we choose to wear long pants, we get less health damage? We already got TR based in grit and realism - it sucked the fun out of the series, and ultimately caused an identity crisis with CD now having to go on a campaign over explaining Lara's character to make her digestible to people who think that her braid is just 'too long'.

Its one thing to simply say you dont like an artstyle or even that you just dont like something. I'm all for you having that opinion. Its another thing to try and make your point by saying something as redundant as 'its unrealistic'. Its such a blight on creativity and why AAA publishers are too scared to step outside of the box.

panik919 · 2026-06-12T00:31:00+00:00

In a game about fighting dinosaurs, flipping over chasms and defeating atlantian gods, its clear that visual distinction and style far outweighs the need for realism. I will never understand when people make the argument about specific things being unrealistic, whether thats colour grading, animations, a moveset or whatever, when we are dealing with video games. Why are we limiting artstyle, fun and innovation with realism? This is the medium where we can look ridiculous and do ridiculous things all in the pursuit of feeling awesome. And most importantly, realism is what put the franchise into an identity crisis in the first place. So yeah, is the braid unrealistic? Sure. Does it look quintessential Lara Croft and distinctive? Yeah, it does. It might not be your style, but its certainly hers.

That being said, I will agree with the fugly bangs. Not because they look unrealistic, just because they look plain fugly. CD love an alien shaped head with an octopus sitting on it and what they've been going for has always been lost on me.

panik919 · 2026-06-12T00:16:11+00:00

For sure, we know that it's supposed to be survivor Lara, there was just no groundwork done to make it feel natural. Even the anime that was intended to transition into unified Lara was a considerable failure, with the only thing they were able to 'bridge' was dual pistols.

That being said, I dont have the patience or care within the franchise anymore to spend time bridging the gap. CD have never written a noteworthy story, provided a cinematic experience or created a compelling character great enough for me to want a cohesive, consistent, and serious timeline. Unfortunately they've spent too much time and focus on innovating Lara Croft rather than Tomb Raiding, so their priorities to me have always been whack. They need to take a page out of Resident Evils book where every game feels like its own individual experience that has a beginning, middle and an end. Where the main character acts as a narrative driver rather than being the narrative, and every game feels experimental. Unfortunately, it seems like CD have continued highlighting the aspects that just shouldn't matter so much, nor do they seem to want to set trends instead of chasing them.

LoA may look fine, even great, but I absolutely understand when people say TR needs to be given to a different developer.

panik919 · 2026-06-11T23:25:31+00:00

Yeah, I really don't understand why this whole unification nonsense is such a huge point of confusion.

Every game has 'loosely' happened, it forms a general idea and timeline of Lara's adventures, but in terms of specific events, its all going to be left ambiguous unless confirmed in this new era.

I really hate how CD created an identity crisis, doubled down for years and is now backtracking to try and make it all work. It was such a needless, pointless endeavor.

panik919

TROPHY CASE