I don’t know which is more difficult: The mental trauma Lara Croft is enduring after her hellish escape from a supernaturally cursed island, or trying to get details about the upcoming Tomb Raider sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider. I’m pretty sure Crystal Dynamics and Microsoft are holding out for E3, but we haven’t even properly seen a game that is supposedly coming out this year. But hey, at least we know you’ll be able to stealth kill like a fish would.
A brief Q&A session took place on the official Rise of the Tomb Raider forums yesterday, with some new gameplay details bubbling to the surface. The sequel to the stellar reboot a few years back retains most of the core gameplay, but fine tunes some of the smaller nuances that players, like you and I, found a little bit distracting.
Like Quick Time Events for example. The Tomb Raider reboot was full of them, but the sequel promise to keep them toned down. For instance, mashing buttons to escape contextual attacks is not going to feature as prominently. And when they do, it’s not going to be some random button that you’ll have to quickly learn in the moment. It’s actually going to link up to the button press you’d expect it to be.
The other thing we try to do with QTE’s is always make the interface consistent. Rather than mash a random button, you will have an exotic version of a core mechanic. So melee, for example – if you’re in a situation where you’re trapped but your hands are free, you might be swinging your axe with the Y button. That’s a normal mechanic done in an exotic situation.
Exotic position, if you know what I mean, right?
Another area where the sequel seems to be improving is stealth. Tomb Raider had some decent stealth implemented, but it more often than not relied on you having a handful of arrows in your quiver to quietly dispatch gun-toting maniacs. Rise of the Tomb Raider, however, will take a page from games like Assassin’s Creed. Lara can now use the environment to hide, with the ability to take out foes from trees, bushes and even while hiding underwater. It’s one button win stealth, as is the case in most other titles, but a marked improvement over the first.
Your abilities for stealth combat will also be limited by your current weapon load out, which shouldn’t be that surprising.
We’ve seen things like stealth kills from a bush in a number of games, but it starts to feel more Lara-like and survival-y when you’re doing take downs from the trees, or one of my favorites is the stealth kill from the water. These are all ways we have enhanced her core abilities to finish guys up close, especially as an extension of our new enhancements to stealth gameplay.
Beyond that, the Q&A revealed that players still won’t be able to manually sprint, that damage will be visually represented as wounds on Lara (ew), and that the team at Crystal Dynamics is focusing heavily on contextualised animations to further immerse you in the harsh environments Lara finds herself in. We can probably expect a proper look at the game during Microsoft’s E3 conference, where I wouldn’t be surprised if a delay is announced for the timed-exclusive launch.
Last Updated: April 1, 2015
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 11:05
Did the Q&A reveal what, timed duration, means? Cause that’s what I want to know.
Pariah
April 1, 2015 at 11:09
http://www.timeanddate.com/date/timeduration.html
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 11:19
Definitions are blurred when you dealing with Microsoft.
Lord Chaos
April 1, 2015 at 11:20
To understand Microsoft time: You live in Africa correct?
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 11:25
Was that a racist joke. Oh hell no.
Lord Chaos
April 1, 2015 at 11:27
More of a continent joke. Have you seen Capetonians? 😛
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 11:30
That’s a whole different story. #legalizeit
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/037/d/9/Legalize_it_by_Poisongage.jpg
Pieter Kruger
April 1, 2015 at 11:33
So when is No Man’s Sky releasing on PC?
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 11:50
Let’s see. No Man’s Sky was developed by a really small team and they choose one platform, the PS4. So the game was going to be released on PS4 first anyway.
I’m sure Sony was like, it will take time to develop for/port the game over to other platforms, Sony can help market the game, and here’s some cash, for a timed exclusive.
To answer your question. I’m sure that the timed exclusive will be long time up before the game is ready for the PC.
Anyway. Not the same case as Tomb Raider.
Pieter Kruger
April 1, 2015 at 12:16
No, it’s EXACTLY the same case, ALL timed exclusives are but your hate for MS blinds you to such an extent that you’ll probably never see/admit it! ????. Have a lekker weekend! ????
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 12:25
I’m not blinded by hate. As I said before, I had a Xbox and Xbox 360. I hate the Xbox One.
And no it’s not the same. Tomb Raider and then the Witcher 3 collectors edition, previous shown off and announced and then suddenly E3, paid for the exclusive word.
Why would they develop a sequel to a previously multiplatform game for one platform only. Ya. I’m not blind nor stupid.
Pieter Kruger
April 1, 2015 at 12:33
You mean like Street Fighter 5?
Ryanza
April 1, 2015 at 12:45
Not been following Street Fighter 5. But you like to point fingers at other games. Point the finger at this game. Each case will be different.
Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire
April 2, 2015 at 09:00
Don’t feed the troll lol
He’s actually a PS4 owner
Admiral Chief
April 1, 2015 at 11:06
I’d like some exotic Lara pls bowchikkawowow
Dutch Matrix
April 1, 2015 at 11:08
Exotic, not Erotic!
Admiral Chief
April 1, 2015 at 11:10
Nah, erotic is my wife’s department
Dutch Matrix
April 1, 2015 at 11:14
Is she also in your backlog? *Runs* 🙂
Hammersteyn
April 1, 2015 at 11:14
Or did he get her on sale?
*Runs even faster
Loftus
April 1, 2015 at 11:46
*Throws marbles in front of dutch and hammer…waits the carnage! hehehe
Admiral Chief
April 7, 2015 at 09:09
*Grabs popcorn
Admiral Chief
April 7, 2015 at 09:09
Nope, still paying off on that one
Hammersteyn
April 7, 2015 at 09:13
hahahaha
Admiral Chief
April 7, 2015 at 09:09
Hehe, she is the reason for the backlog!
Admiral Chief
April 1, 2015 at 11:07
Stealth Lara? Awwwwyussssss
Dutch Matrix
April 1, 2015 at 11:08
Finally Metal Gear “Solid” can live up to its name!
Pariah
April 1, 2015 at 11:08
So you prefer not seeing her. Always knew you batted for the other team.
Admiral Chief
April 1, 2015 at 11:11
I’d prefer enemies not seeing me, but interesting to see you form THAT analogy. Sorry Tosh, I’m taken dude
Pariah
April 1, 2015 at 11:12
Dammit. And I was so keen too.
Greylingad
April 1, 2015 at 11:11
I prefer death delivered on a horse by the name of Binky, with eyes that reflect the depth of galaxies passed by the Great A’Tuin and a voice like giant granite slabs being slated against each other…
Pariah
April 1, 2015 at 11:13
Love the avi man.
Dutch Matrix
April 1, 2015 at 11:15
Dear Lazygamer staff. This here is the featured comment of this article. Please, for the sake of a long time, yet pain in the ass supporter, please make this so?!
Greylingad
April 1, 2015 at 12:17
THESE UPVOTES HAVE CARRIED CITIES, IT HAS CARRIED ARMIES, TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION, BUT IT WILL NOT CARRY THE THREE OF YOU…
“Oh, that’ll look great, won’t it? The one horseman and the three pedestrians of the appocralypse…” War said.
Sourcery
Hammersteyn
April 1, 2015 at 11:15
Loving the direction of the new Tomb Raider. The reboot was a blast.
Dutch Matrix
April 1, 2015 at 11:15
It felt a bit One Direction-ish for me… 😛
Greylingad
April 1, 2015 at 11:17
Not maybe Wrong direction-ish?
Blood Emperor Trevor
April 1, 2015 at 11:18
Hmmm. As much as I loved the last game, Lara shouldn’t really be a one-woman killing spree in the first place. She’s an adventurer, not a Sam Fisher clone. I’d rather see more non-lethal or distraction, killing should be a last resort survival thing.
Lord Chaos
April 1, 2015 at 11:19
Just leaving this here before someone else does:
“That’s as boring as your mother. Shoot ALL the things!!” – CoD player
Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire
April 2, 2015 at 08:58
No way in hell this is releasing in 2015 on any platform.