Tomb Raider Writer Wants Fewer "Father Issues" In New Game

Writer Rhianna Pratchett, known for writing 2013's Tomb Raider and the sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, has reacted to the recent announcement of a new Tomb Raider game from Crystal Dynamics. Speaking to Eurogamer at the BAFTAs, Pratchett started off by confirming she is not working on the game. Pratchett also did not work on the last main Tomb Raider game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Pratchett said she is "very excited" to see what Crystal Dynamics does with the next game, which was announced during Epic's State of Unreal event this week. It's still very early days for the game, and the only thing we know so far is that it runs on Unreal Engine 5.

Although Pratchett is not working on the next Tomb Raider game, she said it was fun working on Lara Croft as a character and shaping her journey in the recent trilogy. For the next Tomb Raider game, Pratchett said she hopes to see the story get rid of one element in particular.

"I would like to see probably less father issues," she said.

Additionally, Pratchett said she would like to see Lara Croft continue her journey to become a bonafide tomb raider.

"I like seeing her striking out on her own and really taking some joy in what she does. Because when we wrote the reboot game, she was really on her way to becoming a tomb raider. So she was like proto-Tomb Raider. And all the the traits that you associate with Tomb Raider like tenaciousness, bravery, resourcefulness, were kind of bubbling to the surface with her," she said. "I want to see that full fruition, I want to see the sassy one liners and things that I would have loved to have written. But, you know, she wasn't at that stage yet, she didn't have the confidence yet."

Work on the new Tomb Raider has only "just started," Crystal Dynamics said. The studio said it believes Unreal Engine 5 will help developers unlock "next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences."

This will be the first new entry in the series since 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was developed by Eidos Montreal. It wrapped up the events of a new trilogy that started in 2013.

Following the announcement of the new Tomb Raider game, Days Gone director Jeff Ross confirmed he had joined Crystal Dynamics as a design director.

Crystal Dynamics is keeping busy, as it is also working alongside Microsoft on the new Perfect Dark game with The Initiative. The studio also continues to support its latest game, 2020's Marvel's Avengers.