The movie sequel to 2018's Tomb Raider has been scrapped, which has led to fans wondering where the franchise will go next. After every studio in Hollywood is in the midst of a bidding war for the property, what lies ahead for Lara Croft is anyone's guess. However, Tomb Raider's Hollywood future isn't the only format where the character's future is uncertain.
Ever since the last game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was released in 2018, there haven't been many updates on another Tomb Raider video game outside of a free-to-play iOS game. But that might be for the best, as it can give Crystal Dynamics a chance to look back at how they can improve some of the elements of the games that don't quite hold up. Between the inconsistent quality, repeatedly telling the same story, and the lack of unique characters, Lara was carrying the weight of the franchise on her shoulders.
There's Less Freedom With Each Consecutive Release
Give or take a couple of releases, for the most part, the Tomb Raider games feature less freedom to explore with each consecutive release. The first game allowed players to explore huge tombs, and the following couple of sequels continued that trend, but the PlayStation 2 era of Tomb Raider games was completely isolated and didn't allow for any exploration.
And though the reboot trilogy of Tomb Raider games might have semi-open-world environments, the tombs are relegated to optional bonus levels. However, the most recent release, 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, did allow players a chance to explore a little more, but it didn't impact the player's progression in the way the first games did.
The Inconsistent Quality
Other tentpole video game series like Assassin's Creed prodiuce consistent quality. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Tomb Raider series, as any new release in the series could be incredible, terrible, or somewhere in between.
The first few PlayStation games were revolutionary, then Angel of Darkness was completely broken, then Tomb Raider Legend had the series' best gameplay but was criticized for the narrow, hallway-like levels. And while the grounded 2010s reboot is critically acclaimed, the trilogy's quality is uneven and fans generally think they're too somber.
It Now Lives In The Shadow Of Uncharted
Tomb Raider was the first proper third-person adventure game on a console, and it was refreshing at the time to play a game that was mostly about exploration and solving puzzles. However, in recent years, the Tomb Raider series is looked at as the lesser of the two iconic adventure franchises, with Nathan Drake taking the crown.
Tomb Raider and Uncharted will always be compared with one another, and given that the recent Tomb Raider trilogy was positively influenced by the Uncharted games, Crystal Dynamics simply couldn't compete with Naughty Dog's gold standard, whether it was the climbing mechanics, the level design, the storytelling, or the graphics, and it showed.
The Series Constantly Retells The Same Story
At this point, everybody knows the story of Lara Croft and her missing-in-action father, including non-gamers who haven't even played a single Tomb Raider game. The first game tells the story of Lara and her father, which was genuinely engaging. And then the original game got a complete remake with Tomb Raider Anniversary, which was a phenomenal updated version, but it still told the same story.
Then the gritty and grounded reboot came along, which also detailed her father's story. And that isn't even taking into the two movie series, which again tell the same story. While fans always criticize the Batman and Spider-Man games and movies for retelling the same story, Tomb Raider is perhaps the biggest offender. The video game franchise missed one of Uncharted's tricks, which was to make the new adventures the primary focus of the games.
The Vehicle Levels Don't Work
For some reason, developers believe that adding vehicles in games where they don't belong will give the games added value, which is absolutely not true. Cars don't belong in Tony Hawk's Underground, but Neversoft unnecessarily forced them into the game, and vehicles aren't needed in the Tomb Raider franchise, but the developers found a way to worm them in.
Not only do the story and the gameplay not justify the levels (a motorbike can miraculously be found at the top of a building in Legend), but the controls are clunky and it's so hard to ride and shoot at the same time. Though a future game that fully allows players to explore huge islands could give the developer a reason to add Jeeps and speedboats.
The Limited Weapons
The earlier games were mostly exploration, so it makes sense that Lara doesn't have a huge invisible backpack full of different guns and knives. But as the series grew, and the stories and globe-trotting adventures got bigger, Lara's weapons were still just the silver handguns for the most part. And in the newer trilogy, while the games do feature more weapons, their gameplay favors the bow and arrow, and it always makes more sense to use that over any other weapon.
More varied weapon choices would have been more than welcome ever since Tomb Raider III. However, Tomb Raider Legend does let players use Excalibur in the final act, which is one of the most exciting weapons of any adventure game, but it's underutilized as it's introduced right at the end.
The Lack Of Enemies
The exploration of the early game might be the big appeal of the series, but there isn't much point in having handguns simply to shoot down a couple of bats every few minutes. The series had its great enemy moments, such as the T-Rex in the original and in Anniversary, but they're few and far between.
And as the reboot franchise acted as if "supernatural" was a bad word, the games avoided any mystical kind of enemy, and Lara was left to kill thousands of henchmen. That's the worst part of Uncharted that the Tomb Raider series could have lifted, as the fact that Drake mercilessly kills thousands of enemies is what fans criticize most.
There Aren't Any Interesting Characters Besides Lara
Even the most hardcore Tomb Raider fans would be hard-pressed to name a single character in the franchise outside of Lara Croft. The games don't have any interesting characters. Amelia, the villain in the trilogy that started with Legend, comes the closest, as she originally had a great character arc, but she's quickly downgraded to being a one-dimensional villain.
Lara might have her trusty butler, Winston, but Alfred he is not. In fact, Winston is the one who jokes more than any other character, but they rarely land and he really plays into the unlikeable snooty butler archetype. Outside of him, there are hardly any memorable characters, and unlike Uncharted, Lara rarely has anyone on the adventure alongside her, making the games feel pretty lonesome.
They Games Are Humorless
While the new trilogy is extremely somber and has some extremely dark themes and undertones, the Tomb Raider games were never that lighthearted to begin with. However, not only were they not lighthearted, but there was barely a joke or one-liner to be found in any of the Tomb Raider releases.
That's part of why none of the characters stood out to gamers, and it's part of why fans much prefer Uncharted too. Whatever the next rendition of the game series is, Crystal Dynamics needs to inject some humor into it, and it's what will make the Tomb Raider feel fresh more than anything else. However, Lara did once lock Winston in a freezer, which was the funniest and greatest thing Lara could have done for players.
The Croft Manor Levels Are Wasted Potential
Many of the Tomb Raider games feature a bonus stage that is Croft Manor, which is fully available to explore. But while it was interesting the first time around, the follow-ups didn't change it all that much.
The stages generally have mini-puzzles to solve, but every game following Legend leaves fans thinking much more could have been done with the huge manor. Every time Croft Manor is available to explore, there isn't enough of a difference from the last game for it to warrant being in the release.
