Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett has expressed her desire to see Lara Croft as a more fully-fledged tomb raider with fewer father issues in future games. This comment came within days of Crystal Dynamics announcing a new Tomb Raider game as part of the Unreal Engine 5 launch showcase, State Of Unreal.
Pratchett served as the primary writer for the first two titles in the rebooted Tomb Raider series, 2013's Tomb Raider and 2015's Rise of the Tomb Raider, and worked as both a co-author and lead author on Dark Horse's Tomb Raider comic series. Although she departed from the Tomb Raider series in 2017, prior to the third entry Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, her work was vital in establishing a new origin story for the rebooted Lara Croft. In this new version, Lara's father, Richard Croft was depicted as being absent for most of Lara's childhood due to his obsession with his mystical archeological research, something that was dismissed and ridiculed by his peers. This in turn led to Lara initially resenting her father somewhat, although due to her experiences over the Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy, she got a greater understanding of her father and his work, and eventually restored his reputation.
Now that Richard Croft's reputation has been restored, Pratchett has expressed that she would "like to see probably less father issues" in the upcoming game, which she admitted she isn't involved in but is "very excited" about. In a chat with Eurogamer, Pratchett remarked that she would prefer seeing Lara begin to establish herself as a tomb raider in her own right. She discussed the trilogy's portrayal of Lara as a "proto-Tomb Raider," who was still in the process of coming into her own and becoming the more confident figure seen in the earlier games. Pratchett has previously spoken on Twitter, expressing regret at the Tomb Raider trilogy's focus on Lara's father, so her remarks to Eurogamer are certainly in character.
Pratchett's comments have been mirrored by some of the Tomb Raider fanbase, who want to see a Lara Croft with the more of the characteristics of her earlier appearances now that her origin story has finished. Although Crystal Dynamics didn't give away any information about the new Tomb Raider outside of the game engine it's being developed on, it would be a shame not to continue from this newly established origin story. Shadow Of The Tomb Raider did appear to leave Lara in a position where she could be the version of the character seen in the original games, and a deleted post-credits scene that was uncovered by data miners furthered this idea by namedropping the villain from the 1996 original game, indicating that the story could continue into the original series.
Lara's father was an important part of her origin story, and although those games were well received by fans and critics, her origin has now come to a natural conclusion, so it will be good to see a more confident take on the character going forward. Whether this take comes as a continuation of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, a remake of the original Tomb Raider title, or another standalone reboot, fans are likely just as eager as Pratchett to see what the new Tomb Raider has in store.
Source: Eurogamer