By: Nicole Tanner
The latest trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider was shown during Microsoft’s E3 briefing on Sunday. The third in the series since 2013’s reboot of the franchise, Shadow looks to take Lara on a different type of emotional journey than either of the previous games.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is set in the jungles of Mexico where Lara is looking for a sacrificial dagger. She’s trying to outrun Trinity, the shadow organization that was introduced in Rise of the Tomb Raider. She gets to the dagger first, but it seems like she’s made a huge mistake in taking it. We see her confronted by a man who tells her the “cleansing” has begun.
It’s apparent in the trailer that Lara has honed her combat abilities. She looks more brutal in her killings than either of the previous games, but the biggest difference seems to come from her state of mind.
In Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara’s missions are about doing the right thing – not only in her own mind, but also in the context of the story. In Shadow she seems to be placed in a conflict between what she thinks is right and the negative consequences of her decisions.
It’s an interesting place to take her character. At the end of Rise, she had come into her own and became fully confident about her purpose in life. In Shadow it looks like her problem might be overconfidence. Having a humbling experience will add another level of depth to her character, furthering the developers’ goal of making her a believable and relatable character.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be released on September 14 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
