Raiding the past: Lara Croft relives her first adventure in Legacy of Atlantis
The Guardian has had an early hands-on preview of Legacy of Atlantis, a remake of the seminal 1996 Tomb Raider, co-developed by Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog. The reimagining preserves iconic locations such as St Francis' Folly, rendered with far greater environmental detail, but introduces significant gameplay changes, including an environmental scanner that offers hints and puzzle solutions, prompting concern that the modernisation could undermine the original's sense of isolation and mystery that made it a classic.
Alongside the scanner, the remake adds RPG-style systems including a grappling hook, skill trees, quick-time events, a crafting menu for healing balms and stat-boosting stews. Combat has been overhauled most notably, with enemies such as leopards and bats now moving unpredictably and retreating tactically, replacing the static shooting of the original. The game features a deeper narrative and easter eggs for fans, with Lara Croft voiced by Alix Wilton Regan, known for roles in Dragon Age: Inquisition and Cyberpunk 2077, whom developers praised for capturing the character's depth.
- Tomb Raider's 1996 classic is being remade as Legacy of Atlantis
- New scanner tool gives hints, risking the original's eerie isolation
- Combat overhauled with smarter enemies; new voice actor for Lara
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Legacy of Atlantis is a remake of the original Tomb Raider, first released in 1996, which introduced Lara Croft and helped define the action-adventure genre for a generation of players. The new version is being built by Crystal Dynamics, the studio long associated with the Tomb Raider series, working alongside Flying Wild Hog, and aims to recreate the game's early levels with modern graphics and updated mechanics.
The original was known for its slow-paced exploration, tricky platforming and sparse guidance, which forced players to work out puzzles and navigation for themselves. Remakes of older games often face a balancing act between modernising the experience for new audiences, through clearer hints, smoother combat and added systems, and preserving what longtime fans valued about the original, such as its difficulty and atmosphere.
This matters because Tomb Raider is one of gaming's most recognisable franchises, and how a beloved classic is reworked can shape opinion among both nostalgic veterans and newcomers encountering the series for the first time.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of the remake's approach argue that modern players expect more responsive combat, meaningful progression and accessibility aids, and that a straight recreation of 1996-era mechanics would feel clunky rather than faithful to the spirit of discovery the original evoked. They see the environmental scanner, skill trees and smarter enemy AI as ways to broaden the audience and let both newcomers and veterans experience St Francis' Folly and other classic locations without being alienated by dated design, while still preserving the narrative core and iconic settings that fans cherish. For them, respecting a classic means evolving it thoughtfully rather than embalming it unchanged.
The case against
Sceptics who cherish the original argue that its power lay precisely in its austerity: the disorientation of navigating tombs without guidance, the tension of static, punishing combat encounters, and the sense of genuine isolation as Lara solved puzzles unaided. They worry that hint systems, crafting menus, quick-time events and RPG progression layers are concessions to modern conventions that dilute the very qualities that made the 1996 game a landmark, turning contemplative exploration into a more guided, gamified experience. From this perspective, faithful remakes should trust players to struggle and discover, rather than smoothing away the friction that gave the original its identity.