Lara Croft Is Officially Returning in Gritty Reboot ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’

Square Enix has drawn back the curtain on their latest blockbuster and given it a release date, and a tank-filled blast from the past hit consoles this week in gaming.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

If you’ve played Tomb Raider on Xbox One or PS4, you know that the recent reboot of Lara Croft’s famous adventures have been an exciting, dark turn for the series. We’ve followed along with Lara earning her mantle in 2013’s origin story, Tomb Raider, and we watched Lara embrace the soul of a hero in 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider. Square Enix’s revamped style of gameplay, hyperreal graphics and grizzly deaths have quickly become a hallmark of the rebooted series that we’ve come to love. 

Now, we’re officially getting a third chapter in the modern Tomb Raider series; Shadow of the Tomb Raider is coming September 14th this year. The new game pits Lara against the Mayan apocalypse and the South American jungles, topping the signature adventure gameplay with a healthy dose of self-doubt as choices seem to be piling up on our favorite adventurer, making her question if the ends justify the means and what kind of person that makes her. 

Never has our tomb raider been a more complex and fleshed out character, and we anticipate Shadow of the Tomb Raider to be one of the single-player campaigns to highlight 2018. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that Camilla Luddington is back to breathe life into Lara for the third time, either. (Pre-order)

Honorable Mention

Battlezone Gold Edition

Honoring the firmly retro tradition of the Battlezone franchise dating back to the ’80s, Battlezone Gold is an addictive challenge that’ll have you navigating your tank through endless, procedurally generated levels that will never take the same form twice. While the tanks look like a mix between Tron and Rocket League, with some equally extensive customizations, the gameplay takes on a new form here as the levels change after each playthrough and you have the option to play online with (or against) up to four friends. 

Battlezone Gold has the distinct feel of the old school arcade with an entirely modern makeover, whether you’re playing it normally or even in the included VR Mode. (Buy)