Of the countless fictional personalities that transcend gaming, only a few reach legendary status. Master Chief, Mario, Nathan Drake, and Princess Zelda have adventures that are known to fans all over the world. Few would dispute that Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series belongs among the greats, with her origins on the original PlayStation console spawning several critically and commercially successful stories. Croft's influence in the 1990s was huge, being one of the best and most championed female protagonists in the industry who inspired the likes of Jade from Beyond: Good and Evil, and even Nathan Drake in the Uncharted franchise.
Reinventing someone so familiar is a tough task, but Crystal Dynamics achieved the feat in 2013 with a reboot of Tomb Raider shedding light on Lara's early years with an expedition in the lost, dangerous kingdom of Yamatai. It showed a character who was unsure of her abilities and was forced into proficiency by a hostile environment. Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2017 expanded Lara Croft's character greatly, and while she will likely be known by many as the robotic, polygonal protagonist of decades prior, the Survivor Trilogy sees her subject to her most meaningful development to date, and the games' influence shouldn't be understated.
Lara Croft Goes From Survivor, to Hunter, to Killer
The most prominent story beat that flows through all three games is Lara Croft's progression into an efficient combatant, not just in her physical abilities, but the mindset that she adopts as a result of intense brushes with death. Players see how she reacts when she first kills someone in the 2013 game, filled with genuine fear and shock. In Tomb Raider, it feels like she is killing purely out of necessity, as overcoming the island's inhabitants is the only way to survive. In the follow-up, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara learns what it means to live off the land and truly be one with nature. She braves the cold winds of Siberia and has to contend with Trinity's evil ways. By the time players see her in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara is a proficient killer, even letting her arrogance get in the way by accidentally triggering a tsunami in the game's opening stages.
Seeing her confidence grow is as thrilling as the action that unfolds throughout each game. Lara's development is not a linear path to incorruptible heroism, instead she makes some critical mistakes, proving that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The curiosity that bloomed in the first two games becomes an all-out obsession, and when people close to her are put in harm's way as a result of her dedication to the truth, it gives players a glimpse into how complex a character she has become. Crystal Dynamics didn't just remodel Lara Croft for modern audiences, it gave her more depth than she's ever seen in 27 years of existence.
In a World with Nathan Drake and Ezio Auditore, Lara Croft Still Stands Tall
In 1996, Lara Croft's action/adventure crown was largely unchallenged, but in 2023 there are a plethora of characters capable of snatching it. The genre is one of the most popular today, and its swathe of personalities - both new and old - are providing more competition than ever for Tomb Raider. If Lara Croft remained as she was, it would have been easier for her to fall by the wayside in favor of other personalities, as it was rare for the character to show any substantial depth beyond her intelligence and proficiency with a pistol.
Nathan Drake's unrelenting charm, Kratos' shielded personality, and Kazuma Kiryu's comedic stoicism are all immediately recognizable, and the Tomb Raider Survivor Trilogy did well to give Croft distinctive characteristics that should become standard moving forward. Her intelligence is evident, as is her ability to dispatch enemies with relative ease, but seeing her development leading into the older games is now vital to understanding who Lara Croft is. The recent trilogy of Tomb Raider games present an emotionally complex character, and give an icon the depth that she needed.