WARNING: Major spoilers for Uncharted and Tomb Raider games ahead. Proceed at your own risk.In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann talked about the future of the Uncharted franchise. While there was still so much room for sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, Druckmann stated that the studio was done with Uncharted for the foreseeable future. Nathan Drake, once a rogue adventurer, has finally settled in and found his happy ending. The future of the Tomb Raider franchise, on the other hand, is up in the air.

After the relatively successful release of 2018's Shadow Of The Tomb Raider by Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Europe, Crystal Dynamics has once again regained the rights to Lara Croft and her future adventures. Seeing the gap in the gaming industry left by Uncharted and the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Survivor trilogy (the rebooted games that delve into Lara's origins), Tomb Raider could easily take its crown back as the definitive archeological, action-adventure franchise.

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Where Uncharted and Tomb Raider Games Ended

cassie drake with dog uncharted 4 ending

Setting aside the side story that was Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the mainline Uncharted titles ended with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. After defeating evil businessman and aspiring treasure hunter Rafe Adler and escaping the hectic life he and his brother Sam led, Nathan Drake was finally able to settle in with Elena and their daughter, Cassie. While Nate and Elena still go adventuring, they do so legally by means of Elena's revived exploration show. Nate, Elena, Cassie, and the rest of the Uncharted cast still have a lot of potential stories that can be told, but Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is as good a send-off as any for the franchise.

Lara Croft's story after the Survivor trilogy is only just beginning. Having sacrificed Kulkulkan's spirit and stopped the Mayan apocalypse known as the Cleansing, Lara can be seen plotting her next adventure from the confines of Croft Manor. She realizes now that she has to protect the world's mysteries rather than solve them, and lives with a newfound purpose as the franchise's titular tomb raider. There is a lot more to explore in terms of story.

Lara is known for going on multiple escapades, not all of which are interconnected with one another. These adventures can take place between Lara's origins and the older games or be set at a much later time. More modern Tomb Raider adventures would help show Lara's growth and maturity as a person, and it would also be nice to catch up with old characters like Jonah and Etzi to see how they are doing.

New Tomb Raider Games Could Improve On Past Titles And The Uncharted Franchise

Lara Croft stands looking up at ruins within an alcove

While the more recent Tomb Raider games gave the Uncharted franchise a run for its money, it didn't really innovate the action-adventure genre. The storytelling in the Survivor trilogy is quite predictable and makes players feel like they are watching retreads of familiar Hollywood movies. The gameplay also features standard action-adventure elements like third-person shooting, platforming, stealth, and puzzle-solving. The trilogy did try to shake things up with light RPG elements, hunting, a crafting system, and even a few multiplayer modes, but these were all very shallow and didn't add that much to the core Tomb Raider experience.

If Crystal Dynamics wants the new Tomb Raider games to stand out, it has to trim a lot of the unnecessary elements from past games and make adventuring feel unique and fun again. This means removing things like quick time events, tacked-on multiplayer modes, and handheld puzzle sequences. Tomb Raider should be focusing on exploration instead, as it is at the core of the franchise. Considering how modern adventure games like God of War: Ragnarok tend to make discovery less relevant, Tomb Raider can tap into players' sense of discovery by making them feel smart and rewarding them after they solve the games' more challenging puzzles.

It's one thing to say Tomb Raider can become the Dark Souls of adventure games and another for the franchise to reach its full potential. But with Uncharted out of the picture and no foreseeable archeological action-adventure games coming out, Tomb Raider might finally be able to shine again.

The next Tomb Raider game is currently in development.

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