Tomb Raider Remake Will Make a Change That OG Fans May Not Love

December 18, 2025, 3:05pm

The newly announced Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, which is a full-blown remake of the original Tomb Raider game, will make a change that longtime fans might not be thrilled to hear. This past week, Crystal Dynamics surprised fans when it revealed that two Tomb Raider projects were currently in the works. The first, that of Legacy of Atlantis, is set to launch in 2026, while the next mainline game in the series, called Tomb Raider: Catalyst, will drop in 2027. And while fans who have been following Lara Croft’s adventures since the beginning might be stoked to see her coming back, it seems that Legacy of Atlantis will do away with one element found in the first entry.

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Speaking during a recent press event (via GamesRadar), Crystal Dynamics was asked if it would tone down the difficulty of the original Tomb Raider in Legacy of Atlantis. For those who may not have played Lara’s inaugural outing, 1996’s Tomb Raider would be extremely unforgiving in certain sections. This difficulty was somewhat compounded by its controls, which are now seen as cumbersome, but the game itself was still quite hard in plenty of other ways. When approaching the game to release in 2026, Crystal Dynamics developer Will Kerslake said that the studio is looking to adapt the game for “modern player tastes” while also hinting that some of the more brutal aspects of Tomb Raider would be ironed out in Legacy of Atlantis.

“Part of reimagining a game right is adjusting that game evolving for modern player tastes,” Kerlaske said. “It is core to the Tomb Raider experience that there are puzzles in combat and traversal and death-defying action. […] You’ll see big rolling balls, and you know, the things that you expect in a Tomb Raider game are going to be there in spades.”

This Move Is the Right One for Tomb Raider

Although some Tomb Raider fans might see the first game’s difficulty as part of the experience, it’s hard to disagree with Crystal Dynamics and its decision to make Legacy of Atlantis a bit easier. After all, this remake won’t only look to bring back longtime Tomb Raider fans for another expedition, but it will also serve as a way for new audiences to get into the franchise for the first time. With this in mind, Crystal Dynamics certainly has to make Legacy of Atlantis a bit easier to approach than the 1996 version of the game.