Rise of the Tomb Raider

Overview	Walkthrough	Trophies & Achievements	Videos	Music	Screenshots	Artwork

Rise of the Tomb Raider
Developer(s)	Crystal Dynamics Nixxes Software (Xbox 360, Additional work on PS4) Feral Interactive (macOS, Linux)
Publisher(s)	Square Enix (PS4, PC) Microsoft Studios (Xbox 360, Xbox One) Feral Interactive (macOS, Linux)
Director(s)	Brian Horton Daniel Neuburger
Artist(s)	Visual Works (CGI)
Writer(s)	Rhianna Pratchett
Composer(s)	Bobby Tahouri
Series	Tomb Raider
Engine	Foundation Engine
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PC, macOS, Linux, Google Stadia
Release date(s)	November 10th, 2015 (Xbox One, Xbox 360) January 28th, 2016 (PC) October 11th 2016 (PS4) April 12th 2018 (macOS) April 19th 2018 (Linux)
Genre	Action-adventure, platform, survival
Mode(s)	Single-player, Co-Op (Endurance Mode Only)
Media	Blu-Ray, Optical Disc, Digital Download
Rating(s)	ESRB: M PEGI: 18
Previous game	Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Next game	Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the 2015 sequel to the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise from developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix. This is the eleventh game in the main series and second game in the Survivor Timeline.

Microsoft announced at E3 2015 that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be a timed exclusive release for both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One on November 10th, 2015.

The PC version was released on January 28th 2016 via Steam and Windows Store.

The PlayStation 4 version, dubbed Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, was released on October 11th, 2016 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Tomb Raider. It includes all previously released downloadable content, along with PlayStation VR support for "Blood Ties". Later, a patch was released for the game adding support for the PlayStation 4 Pro, giving the game enhancements such as enhanced visuals, 4K resolution, and a higher framerate.

The Xbox One X released on November 7th 2017, and a patch for the game released the same day. This patch gives Rise of the Tomb Raider the same enhancements as the PlayStation 4 Pro version of the game. Feral Interactive brought the 20 Year Celebration edition of the game to macOS on April 12th 2018 and to Linux on April 19th 2018.

Plot

"What makes someone reach beyond the boundaries of human experience....to face the unknown? As children, we question the world around us. We learn, we accept, and gradually, we lose our capacity for wonder. But some do not - the explorers, the seekers of truth. It is these pioneers who define the future of mankind."

The game begins with a small camp in Siberia, where Lara Croft is gazing at the huge mountains that await them. Jonah tells her that the others won't be accompanying them anymore except him. The climb soon becomes challenging, with Lara nearly falling down to her death. As Lara reaches the top, she sees the ruins of Kitezh from afar, but the storm strikes the mountain and separates the two.

The scene shifts to London, England two weeks earlier, with Lara walking through the dark rainy alleyways. As she passes by her father's apartment, she sees a mysterious figure with a flashlight through the windows and decides to investigate. The mysterious figure finds a recorded voice message, with Richard Croft explaining that he has already found the next piece of the puzzle in his quest for immortality, but someone is stalking him - Trinity, a violent sect which aims on taking over humanity. Lara enters, causing the mysterious figure to flee. Lara finds the window open, presuming that the mysterious figure might have used it to escape. As she investigates her father's research documents, the door starts to open. Lara quickly picks up her climbing axe and prepares it for the mysterious visitor. As the visitor opens the door, Lara almost hits the visitor before realizing it was Ana - Richard Croft's lover. Ana gives her a newspaper article, detailing Daily Bell accusing Lara for her adventures about immortality as "another crazy Croft, a daughter just like her father," to which Lara regards to as lies. She asks Ana if she was being stalked. Ana gets surprised by this question and answers 'no'. Lara tells her that she thinks she already knows the location of the Prophet's tomb, which her father believes holds some secret to immortality. She explains that her father was close to a great discovery, just before he died. Ana does not believe her and told her that her father was unwell. Ana regards that she was in love and almost wanted to marry him, but he was a broken man and she doesn't want Lara to end up like him. Lara tells Ana that the tomb is in Syria and her father was right and everyone else was wrong to which Ana replies that it is madness and get her life sorted and go back to the manor. Ana regards that the obsession ruined her father. Lara tells her that she can't go back. Lara says she saw something supernatural, after her experience in Yamatai and now believes her father. She tells Ana that she will be going to Syria to find the Prophet's tomb in hopes of finding the Divine Source.

The scene then changes to Syria, where a man drives Lara through the northwest borders of Syria's deserts. The man tells her that they are heading for a war zone and she better be sure about this, to which Lara exclaims that they are close to an oasis near a canyon up ahead. Suddenly a chopper appears and chases them, in which the man tells her that it's just local militia. Lara realizes that the man is lying and the chopper is actually Trinity. The man admits to telling Trinity because they paid better than her. Then the chopper fires, crashing the truck and killing the driver. Lara survives the explosion and falls off a cliff. But she survives with the aid of her climbing axe. She explores the mountain cliffs and eventually finds a secret entrance that leads her to the the Prophet's tomb. After exploring inside, she finds a marker saying that the prophet tomb is near and murals depicting the prophet performing healing miracles and preaching to the people about the Divine God. Lara soon learns that Trinity was after a prophet who they believed was preaching about a Divine Source. They supposedly killed him and his followers and had been looking for the Divine Source many centuries ago. As she evades the deadly traps in the area and nearly drowns, she finally found the shrine dedicated to the tomb of the deathless prophet. After finding a way to raise the water level by opening the floodgates, she reaches the top and finds the tomb. However, as she opens it, she is surprised to see it empty. The area is soon stormed by Trinity's armed forces lead by a man named Konstantin. As they open the tomb, Lara comes out and aims a gun on them. Konstantin asks where the Divine Source is, to which Lara answers and tells him that there was no artifact there. Konstantin does not believe Lara and attempts to kill her, but Lara activates the explosives that Trinity set in the area. The area collapses, killing most of Trinity's forces. Lara barely manages to exit the water flooding the area, and soon finds a mysterious cross insignia engraving on the floor.

The scene then switches to Croft Manor in Surrey, England where Lara is doing some research on the mysterious cross insignia she found earlier. Jonah enters the room and after a short reunion, asks Lara about her adventure in Syria. Lara told him that she did found the Prophet's tomb, but it was empty, and she was being followed by an organization named Trinity who was also after the Divine Source. She told Jonah that she found a mysterious insignia of a cross during her escape. On one of her father's books, it says that the insignia is linked to the lost city of Kitezh in Siberia, which sunk under a lake during the eve of the mongol horde's invasion in the 12th century. Lara believes that if this really contains the secret of immortality, then it could change everything like sickness, death, to which Jonah becomes angered and regards that she has gone insane. He says he'd lost a lot of friends already and doesn't want to lose her. An angry Jonah leaves the room. Lara loses hope and shoves all the papers away. She kneels down and hugs the book. Later she sees a mysterious shadow on the vase and thinks it is Jonah. But she soon realizes that the mysterious figure behind her is not Jonah and immediately throws the vase at the intruder. An intense hand-to-hand fight ensues between the two. Jonah hears the commotion and helps Lara. The man steals her father's book and jumps out the window before Lara can shoot him. Jonah now becomes determined to help Lara find the Divine Source before Trinity does in Siberia.

The scene then goes back to the present day in Northeastern Siberia. Lara awakens and tells Jonah to go back to shelter because she needs to finish the quest alone via radio. Lara then overhears a conversation from Konstantin saying that they are now looking for the artifact in the mountains and the Remnant, a group of natives trying to protect the Divine Source, is resisting them, but they will be handled. After gathering some sticks for fire and making a camp, she sleeps for the night, waiting for the storm to stop. Meanwhile, in the forest, a remnant (remnants are the natives who stayed in the area to protect the Divine Source) named Sofia and her companion are chased by Konstantin's forces. They managed to capture the remnant. Sofia urges them not to kill him, but the remnant tells her to go and leave him. Trinity kills the remnant and Sofia flees. The group split up to look for Sofia, and one of them finds Lara's campfire. Lara overhears the noise and manages to hide up in a tree. As the soldier investigates the campfire, Lara jumps down and kills him. As she explores the forest further, she manages to sneak in and kills many soldiers quickly. Then she overhears someone screaming and rushes. After finding the radio which was the source of the screaming, a large grizzly bear appears out of its hiding in a cave and chases Lara. Lara runs and tries to fight the bear, which overpowers and injures her. She barely manages to escape and soon finds Trinity's base of operations in a cold war installation. Lara has a flashback of her childhood years. She climbs the window to her father's room, and her father laughs, saying that she refuses to use the door again. Lara says that it's the fastest way. They then embrace. Lara says that he is going on another adventure and she should be his assistant. Her father says that his adventure would be really dangerous. Then he told Lara that she will make such a mark on history and make him proud. Then the phone rings and the flashback stops. The scene goes back to Lara in the present day. She realizes that the only way to the installation is through the bear cave. After a short fight, Lara explores the ruins inside the cave and the flashbacks continue. Young Lara overhears her father having an argument on the phone with a mysterious caller, presumably Trinity, over his discovery. Trinity hangs up, angering her father. Lara gets mad at her father and tells him to stop his adventures and be her father again. Then the scene reverts to Lara's adventure. While walking, an arrow almost hits her. As she draws her bow, she finds Sofia, the one who fired the arrow.

Lara tells Sofia that she is not her enemy. Sofia tells Lara that she killed many of Trinity's forces, to which Lara replies that she killed them to survive and she suspects Sofia did the same. Sofia tells Lara that Trinity had been there for days and that she must leave the place before it's too late. Lara says she can't because she came there for something important. Sofia then says that they did too and if she sees Lara again she will put an arrow into her throat. Lara says that they are on the same side and tries to prove this to her. However, a distant building in the soviet installation explodes, catching Lara's attention. As she was about to ask Sofia, she realizes that she had disappeared. After delving further into the installation and killing many of the mercenaries there, she discovers that many remnants were being tortured by Trinity to reveal the location of the Divine Source. All of the remnants remained faithful and did not reveal the location, even if it meant death. After finding a pistol from a dead remnant, Lara overhears Konstantin explaining their objective to get the Divine Source which will open to a "new world." Konstantin blinds one of the mercenaries who failed to do his duties with his own fingers. A mercenary then contacts Konstantin via radio and tells him that they found a captive who might know the location of the Divine Source. Lara sneaks in, bombs the building, and escapes. While exploring, she finds more of the remnants, who give Lara missions like breaking the communication repeaters in the area and more, therefore gaining the trust of the remnants. Lara overhears conversations via radio that the captive seems to be the leader of the remnants and might know the location of the Divine Source. The captive seems to have some experience with interrogation techniques and the man on the radio tells them to get "creative" with doing the interrogation because if Konstantin does it, he won't like it. As Lara sneaks in behind a small cabin, she overhears a conversation with Konstantin and a mysterious man on the radio. The man (probably the head of the whole Trinity) tells Konstantin that his reports have ceased. Konstantin says that they were having difficulty with torturing the faithful remnants and the communications became offline, but they managed to put it under control. A mercenary sees Lara from behind. As Lara flees, a mercenary appears in front of her and knocks her unconscious.

She awakens, tied bound to a chair with all of her equipment removed from her. Lara sees Ana in front of her, also tied to a chair and captured. Lara asks her what she was doing there, to which Ana replied that "she doesn't know and she is scared." Lara apologizes for getting her involved in the situation. She didn't know they would come after Ana, to which Ana asks who are "they." Lara says they were after the same thing her father was, which annoys Ana. Konstantin enters the room and forces Lara to reveal what she knows about the Divine Source by slowly choking Ana in front of her, but Lara cannot provide useful information. After Ana tells Konstantin that Lara is telling the truth, Konstantin releases her. It is then that Ana reveals the truth: she has been working for Trinity all along, having only posed as a prisoner. An angered Lara insults Ana and is slapped viciously by Konstantin. Ana tells Lara that she couldn't let it go and that Ana knew Lara would find her way to the place they are currently in. Ana offers Lara a deal - Trinity could use an experienced adventurer like her to find the Divine Source both of them seeks, and that since Lara wants a purpose in life, Trinity could give her one. Lara refuses, knowing how Trinity operates. Lara furiously asks Ana if she was already with Trinity before or after screwing with her father. Ana replies that she loved Richard, but idealism blinded and destroyed him. Ana asks her what she would do with the artifact, to which Ana replies herself that Lara would show it to the world and redeem her father's good name. She tells Lara that she is so naive, "like a frightened little girl trying to walk in her daddy's shoes." Then she spits in Ana's face, resulting in Konstantin wanting to kill Lara. Ana refuses to let him in case they find use for Lara, and Konstantin locks her inside a prison cell. Lara meets another prisoner. After seeing Lara use a small earring to release her handcuffs, the prisoner becomes impressed. Then he asks if Lara could get both of them out of there. Lara says that she can't trust him because she doesn't even know who he is or why he is there. Lara apologizes for not really being in the trusting state at that time. The man tells her that she won't get far without him, to which Lara answers that he doesn't know how far she had come. Lara asks the man about what he knows about Trinity, to which the man says that they are a secretive sect who believes they are doing the work of God, which Lara regards Trinity is pretty "far from holy." Lara breaks the water pipe in the cell and breaks the wall. She manages to get to the other side of the room, where she retrieves her bow and arrow along with some rope, allowing her to craft rope arrows. Using her rope arrows, she manages to pull down the upper portion of her cell gate and crawl through to escape. The prisoner attempts to persuade her to help him, to which Lara says she can't trust him. The man says that they may not be enemies and that he can help her. Lara answers by saying she works better alone. The man still attempts to persuade her by saying that he knows the layout of the area, to which Lara responds by saying that she is a fast learner. The man says that he knows what she and Trinity are all after. Lara then agrees to help him. She retrieves all her equipment and opens the prisoner's cell. The man introduces himself as Jacob and thanks Lara. Lara then gives him a radio in case they get separated. Jacob guides Lara through the area.

Lara soon learns that the soviets were sent there to work in the mines, excavating ancient artifacts. The two soon discover that Trinity have been conducting operations in the area, and that the gate to the train yard that leads to Jacob's village in the valley is closed. Lara sneaks in and opens the gate. The two enter a building and overhear a conversation between Ana and Konstantin, who chastises her for being sentimental towards Lara. Ana realizes that Konstantin had doubted her, and becomes furious. Then she coughs, revealing she suffers from a terminal illness. Konstantin says life had been hard on both of them and that he will protect Ana, to which Ana replies with sarcasm by asking who is being sentimental now. It is then revealed that Ana only wants the Divine Source to cure her illness, and that Konstantin is in fact Ana's brother. Ana then orders to send the men to the village to get more information from the remnants. Jacob is angered by this and tries to get to them but Lara stops him, saying it is too dangerous. A mercenary contacts Konstantin, saying that two prisoners have escaped the cells. They leave the area along with the mercenaries and goes to the cells. Meanwhile, Lara jumps down and finds an ancient text saying, "Mankind shall be judged, the non - believers turned to ash and swept away and the pure of faith will be raised up and given...life eternal." The alarm rings and the two split up as troopers storm the area. Lara treads the water down the basement quietly to avoid the mercenaries. Lara goes out of the basement hole and escapes in the other room. Jacob contacts her and tells her to meet him at the train yard near the end of the Gulag prison. The mercenaries find her and chase her down, with Lara managing to steal an assault rifle from a mercenary. As she reaches the train yard, she sees Jacob take down a mercenary easily. The two get chased by Trinity's chopper through the train tracks and into the trains. The chopper blows down the rest of the tracks causing a dead end. Troopers and the chopper had cornered Lara, with the two escaping by jumping down a nearby river. They barely survive the freezing waters. The chopper continues to chase down Lara, separating the two temporarily. After an intense, death - defying chase, Lara jumps down a zip line which soon gets cut down. Lara falls down a nearby river and nearly drowns.

After another flashback of young Lara seeing her father dead in his office, she awakens with Jacob in a small camp. Jacob gives Lara some soup. Lara tells Jacob that he could've left her to die, to which Jacob replies and asks if would Lara have left him. Jacob asks her why she risked so much to get to that place to seek the Divine Source. Lara says that when she was young, it was just her and her archaeologist father who in his last years was obsessed with myths about immortality in which no one believed him, including Lara, with their last conversation being a fight where he took his own life. She thought she had come to terms with it, but something else happened. During her experience in Yamatai, she saw something supernatural, and had started to believe her father. Her father died alone and broken, but died for something. Jacob asks her if she believes that the Divine Source is real, to which Lara says she honestly doesn't know, but if there is some truth to it, she must find out because the Divine Source is something not to be hidden, something that needs to be researched, studied, something that could make a difference to the world, with Jacob answering back by saying a difference is not always for the best. Then he asks Lara if she thinks Trinity should have the secret to immortality, to which Lara answers no. Jacob then asks her not to abandon her quest but to alter its path by joining his people in repelling Konstantin and Trinity. Lara asks that after that what's to be done. Jacob answers that she leaves their valley untouched, but knowing she did the right thing. She refuses, saying that she will fight Trinity alongside Remnant but her goal remains the same. She says that once she gives up she will be letting her father down and she herself needs to understand. Jacob grows concerned of his village and leaves, saying that his village is a day's travel on foot over the mountain pass, but there is a shortcut through the old copper mine. He tells Lara to rest and he'll be back soon.

The next day, Lara resumes her quest and follows Jacob's directions on her radio by going to the base of the old Soviet mill to meet her at the mine entrance at the top of the facility. Soon Jacob contacts her again and tells her that he is pinned down and Lara must escape. Lara infiltrates the base where the soviets had stored the ancient artifacts and kills the mercenaries trying to catalog the Soviet's relics. After throwing a molotov cocktail, the building starts to burn and Lara gets attacked by troopers armed with shields, but Lara manages to fend them off. She escapes the building and makes it through the mine where Jacob saves her from nearly getting killed by a mercenary. While exploring the mine, Lara realizes that the mines where once paths leading to Jacob's village. After the soviets explored the area and used machines and explosives to search for artifacts that Trinity is now continuing, many of the old paths collapsed, which complicates things. Trinity's forces start to destroy the whole area separating Lara and Jacob, who becomes trapped by rocks. Jacob tells her to go find Sofia and tell her that Trinity is preparing an attack on the Remnants. Lara barely escapes, avoiding the machinery. Lara explores part of the lost city of Kitezh, where Trinity was trying to break open a large gate by attaching a cable to a truck and attempting to pull it down. Using her logic and intellect, Lara manages to find ways to use the obstacles in the area to open the door. The area nearly collapses and Lara jumps just in time to reach the entrance. Inside Lara finds a statue of the immortal prophet and murals. The first mural shows the exodus of the prophet's followers in Syria, then another mural shows the prophet and his followers building a village in the valley which is Kitezh. The third mural depicts the building of an army to protect the prophet and the city itself. And lastly, a mural depicting the creation of a small artifact known as the atlas so that the prophet can know his city and its secrets. Lara realizes she must get this atlas to find the Divine Source.

Lara finds the village where she gets surrounded by remnants led by Sofia. Lara tells her that she is not with Trinity, and that she escaped with Jacob, which Sofia does not believe and regards that Jacob would never trust an outsider. Lara says they were exploring the mines when the whole place collapsed, trapping Jacob, which one of the remnants regard that she killed him. Just as she was about to shoot Lara with a bow, Jacob miraculously appears and stops Sofia. They embrace, and Jacob asks Lara to forgive Sofia for being cautious. Jacob tells Sofia that Trinity is about to prepare an attack on the Remnants and they must prepare. Jacob orders that no harm will reach Lara. Then he orders the preparations of the weapon stores and the battlements. He says that they are outnumbered, and the ones unable to fight go to the catacombs. Jacob tells her to work hard with the villagers to gain their trust. Jacob then tells her to light the signal tower to warn the people to evacuate, which Lara complies. Trinity choppers start to attack the area and soon the entire village is engulfed in flames. Jacob and two others are taken hostage, with their captor shooting them one by one. Lara tries to help him but Jacob stops her. After the first remnant is shot, the captor was about to shoot the second remnant until Jacob tells him not to do it. Just as the captor was about to shoot him, the second remnant tells him of an atlas that can show the way to the Divine Source, enough diversion for Jacob to kill the captor and give Lara his shotgun. After an intense gunfight with a mercenary armed with a flamethrower, Trinity's forces retreats as the natives shoot fire arrows at them. In a chapel at the Soviet installation, Konstantin hears the news of Lara's cooperation with the Remnants to fend off Trinity and becomes violently frustrated. Konstantin tells Ana that they should have killed her, to which Ana replies that he has nothing to do for his efforts and she'll succeed when he's failing. Konstantin furiously answers that he will not fail, to which Ana answers back that Trinity will step in if he does, and that means she is expendable. They will not care about her survival and that she needs the power of the source. Ana then coughs, with which Konstantin tells her not to lose faith in God and that their success is inevitable. Konstantin then prays and asks for the way to find the Divine Source and grant him strength to commit the sins just to get through the barriers between him and the Source. After blood drips from his hands, he presumes that it is the only way.

Meanwhile, while Lara and Jacob treat the wounded remnants in the village, Lara apologizes for what is happening to his people and says Trinity won't stop. Jacob answers that it has been their duty and it is always difficult. Lara then asks about the atlas, which Jacob says that it is an ancient map of the lost city which Trinity will never find at the tower. Jacob says that many of his people are living by the tower and won't be prepared for what's coming ahead, which Lara volunteers to help them. Jacob then asks if she is doing this for the sake of his people, or for the Divine Source which she seeks, which Lara answers both. After exploring the tower area, she finds no sign of the people, to which Jacob tells her via radio to find them in the catacombs because Sofia might have evacuated them there. Lara realizes that Trinity had taken the remnants as hostages in the area and infiltrates the underground catacomb ruins where Trinity's forces had Sofia's group as hostages, killing each of them one by one until they reveal the location of the atlas. Lara rescues them just in time and Sofia reconciles with her. Sofia then tells her that she wants to lead her people to safety, but the catacomb entrance is locked. Lara offers to help by bombing the gate. Sofia then tells her that although she seeks the Divine Source, her people are dying to protect it. Lara answers back, saying that her people are already dying and they can't protect it forever. Sofia tells her that they've already lasted so long and are glad to have her as an ally. Lara then goes to the tower where Trinity is converging and tries to rescue the people there. Jacob radios her and tells her that they are receiving fire from the chopper. He tells Lara to try and catch the attention of the chopper, to which Lara succeeds to get the upper hand. The remnants manage to take down the chopper with fire arrows, but Sofia tells her that Trinity's forces are still swarming the area. After an intense gunfight, Lara manages to fend off all of Trinity's forces in the area.

Lara then asks Jacob about what really is the Divine Source, to which Jacob says that it is a long forgotten artifact that their Prophet took and hid in the lost city of Kitezh. They believed it holds a part of God's souls and that it will grant anyone who held it with immortality. The remnants are trying to stop Trinity from spreading darkness around the world and that if they found the Divine Source, their soldiers will be unstoppable. Lara then tells him to help her find the artifact before they do. She says that it is not just their burden but also her burden because her father died for it. Jacob tells her that she can't fill the emptiness inside her, but only set it free. She then continues her quest, with which Sofia tells her that since she helped them, she'll help Lara. Sofia tells her that the atlas is in the cathedrals but they won't follow her because there are the "deathless ones" in the area who will kill anyone who even trespass. Lara accepts the challenge, and explores the cathedral. Sofia gives her a grapple/wire spool to help her reach the area. After stealthily avoiding Trinity's forces guarding the area, she finds access to the inner ruins and sees Ana overseeing the operations. Trinity is trying to bomb the floor, believing that the atlas is hidden underground. Lara ambushes them and threatens to kill Ana. Ana tells her that she'll never shoot her because it will be too cold even for Lara. Lara realizes her foot is tied to the explosives on the floor. Ana then shouts and orders to kill her, in which Lara responds by shooting the explosives. Lara and Ana fall underground with Ana falling on a higher platform than Lara. Ana tells Lara to reconsider her offer before it's too late, with which Lara says that it was already too late when Ana betrayed her family. Then she shoots Ana in the right arm and tells her to go to hell. Furious but still clinging to life, Ana radios trinity and orders them to give her the atlas. Lara delves deeper and finds the artifact, only to be ambushed by Trinity's forces. Lara makes advantage of the Greek fire vessels in the area to kill the mercenaries. She swims under the archives only to be chased down by a flamethrower-wielding mercenary. With him, the water starts to burn and the upper areas explode one after the other as sulfur surrounds the area. Then she uses the Greek Fire to take down a statue and blow her exit, only to be shot down on by Greek fire arrows from the deathless ones. Lara manages to escape. Jacob contacts her and tells her to bring the atlas to the observatory.

Jonah finally finds a way to contact her and is relieved after realizing that Lara is still alive. Lara finds her way back to the observatory and reunites with Jonah. Lara then uses the atlas to determine the location of Kitezh and realizes that it is under the glaciers. However, Trinity's forces storm and attack the area. Lara falls off the window but manages to grab the chains. Jonah immediately grabs the atlas and attacks the mercenaries. Before one of the mercenaries could kill Lara, Jonah pushes him out the window. As he pulls Lara, a mercenary grabs Jonah and the artifact and escapes via a chopper. With Jacob wounded and Jonah and the artifact in Trinity's hands, Lara chases Trinity and starts from the old Copper Mill to the Gulag Prison, staging a daring rescue to save Jonah even if it means losing the Divine Source. Meanwhile, Ana and Konstantin had used the atlas in Trinity's Observatory and had started digging operations under the glacier. Ana fears that Trinity is just using them and will not let Konstantin keep the artifact to save her. Konstantin tells her to have faith.

Lara discovers that Trinity is beating and interrogating Jonah about the Divine Source, but he is resistant, causing Konstantin to lose patience and does the torturing himself. Lara helps the remnant prisoners escape and shoots the bulletproof glass window overlooking the room Jonah and Konstantin are in, causing a diversion. Jonah attacks Konstantin and steals his gun, threatening to shoot him, but Konstantin begs for his life. Lara insists that Jonah execute Konstantin but Jonah cannot bring himself to shoot an unarmed man, allowing Konstantin to pull out a knife and stab Jonah, to Lara's horror. Konstantin escapes and orders his men to sweep the area and kill her. The remnant prisoners help Jonah, telling Lara that only Jacob can help Jonah. Lara tells them to barricade the door and leaves to secure the area. After killing Konstantin's men, Lara returns to Jonah and the two Remnants, Jonah tells Lara that she has to stop blaming herself for everything that happened before passing out. One of the Remnants tells a tearful Lara that his time is short, though Jacob may be able to save him.

Using a makeshift stretcher, Lara and the Remnant prisoners bring Jonah to the observatory and leave him under Jacob's care. Lara notes that has healed from his own injuries wordlessly. Jacob chants a prayer and uses his healing miracles, seals Jonah's wound.

Lara confronts Jacob about who he is, having figured out that he is the Deathless prophet. Jacob reveals to her that the Divine Source is a deeply powerful artifact he found long ago, but is not actually divine. He lied to his people to protect them. He once used the source to grant his armies their immortality, but it was a terrible mistake. When enemies attacked Kitezh, the Deathless Ones brought the ice down upon the city. Thousands were killed, and they committed an atrocity to keep the power, and so will Trinity but on a much larger scale.

Suddenly Trinity's choppers fly past in the direction of the glacier, Jacob realizes that they are going to use brute force to smash through the ice and take the source. Lara asks about the secret path leading to the city, which Jacob reveals as the dangerous Path of the Deathless, with no time left, Lara asks to be taken to the path. Jacob agrees, he orders Sofia to open the path before she takes their troops to hold Trinity off.

Jacob radios Lara inside and tells her about the Orrery, which was built by ancient astronomers before the deathless buried the area in ice. Jacob tells her that she needs the Orrery mechanism to open the entrance to Kitezh. Sofia radios Lara and tells her that they are on the mountain glaciers and are ready to fight Trinity, but Lara tells her to not attack too soon. She delves deeper into the Old City and sneaks past the deathless ones, who are preparing for an attack on Trinity as well. However, their attack is delayed when one of the Deathless Ones see Lara. Lara narrowly avoids the Greek fire and kills the Deathless Ones.

As she explores the village of the Deathless Ones, she realizes that a gate is blocking the entrance to the Chamber of Souls where the Divine Source is located. Soon, more of the Deathless Ones attack. Lara kills them and uses their trebuchet to bomb the entrance. Once she gets inside, Trinity finally break through the glacier, causing huge chunks of ice to drop. Things quickly escalate into a three way stand off between the Remnants, Trinity and the Deathless, as Lara scales her way to the chamber of souls.

The Remnants use the trebuchet to help Lara kill any enemies in her path while she is on the final stretch to the Souls. it becomes a challenge as flaming shots from the trebuchet manipulated by the Deathless Ones, Trinity's forces, and Deathless Ones all climb up the Chamber of Souls all racing for the one Divine Source. Konstantin's corners Lara, ordering dozens of troops to finish her. With the help of Sofia and the Trebuchet Lara manages to destroy the chopper, causing it to crash into the castle. Lara falls down near the crash site, where Konstantin steals all her weapons except her climbing axe and combat knife. By jumping from nearby pillars or distracting him with objects in the room, Lara stabs him twice in the back with her axe, and then thrusts her knife into his chest, finally subduing him.

Mortally wounded, Konstantin laments that this was not supposed to be his destiny says that he was meant for greatness, as it was God's will. Lara tells him that it was never his destiny, that his sister deceived and tricked him into thinking that he was chosen. Konstantin is shattered by this revelation, as everything he had done was for her. Lara begins to leave to stop Ana. Konstantin demands she not walk away from him, telling her that Trinity killed her father, calling him pathetic and a failure and that he begged for his life, when that failed, he begged for Lara's.

The game then offers a choice. The Player can execute Konstantin, or walk away, leaving him to be killed when the floor collapses causing him to plummet into the flames below.

Lara rushes to the very center of the city, where Ana is about to use the Divine Source. Lara tells her that her that men are defeated and Konstantin is dead, and that is what Trinity had always wrought - death. Ana is shaken by her brothers death but refuses to give up the Divine Source, telling her that she doesn't want to give it to Trinity and that Lara is dooming her father to be mocked by history. Ana is dismayed by her and tells her how can she let it go when she is so close. Lara answers, stating that she is ready to make a sacrifice. Lara tells her that she can't let her take it. Ana replies, saying that they could save millions of suffering and dying people and change the world together. Lara says that the cost is too high and that they aren't meant to live forever because death is a part of live. Ana answers back, saying that it's easy for her to say because she is not the one who is dying. Lara tells her that it isn't about her but it is about protecting what it means to be human. She tells Lara "Another Croft doesn't have to die for this."

One of Trinity's soldiers appears and tells Ana that they are surrounded, but soon gets stabbed by Jacob. Ana quickly shoots Jacob multiple times in retaliation, injuring but not killing him. Wounded, Jacob shouts that the divine source is not meant for the world. As Lara aims her gun at Ana, she aims her gun at Lara as well, beginning a standoff. Ana tells Lara that it's her chance to prove herself after everything they've both done. An army of the deathless ones advance on Ana, she empties her gun into them, to no avail. With no other way out, she uncovers the source and gazes upon it.

The artifact overpowers Ana dropping the shining blue crystal. Lara grabs it but would not look at it for it might overpower her as well. Surrounded, Lara looks to Jacob, who tells her its okay. Lara apologizes, (possibly to her father) and shatters the Divine Source,freeing the trapped souls, and causing it's power to cease, to Ana's dismay. Now that the Divine Source is destroyed, causing any who had gained immortality from it to lose it, including Jacob, mortally wounded, Jacob begins to die. Lara tells him to hold on, though he laments, he's held on for too long, and begins laughing as his end is near. He tells Lara that he's met few as extraordinary as Lara. Lara apologizes saying she only wanted to make a difference, Jacob merely tells her "You already have", before he peacefully turns to dust.

In Croft Manor, Lara had listened to his father's last words on a tape, "My dearest Lara, I often think about how my father would turn over in his grave if he knew the shame I had brought upon my family name. Croft....what does it even mean? I just hope you can make your own mark on this world someday. Remember that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are." Jonah tells her that breaking the source was the right thing to do. Lara replies, thinking that she still let him down. Jonah told her that he would've made the right choice. Jonah then tells her that she still has a plane to catch. Then the two leave off in the manor.

"I had listened to his last tape a thousand times, but it's as if I was hearing my father's words only now ,  for the first time. It doesn't matter what choices he would've made... I have to make my own. The myth of Kitezh was real. There are secrets out there that can change the world. I need to find them. Not for my father, not for anyone else. Trinity is still out there and they're more powerful than I ever imagined. I can stop them, I can make a difference. I can make the right difference."

After the credits roll, a post credits scene start two weeks before Lara was at the manor, happening just after Lara destroys the Divine Source. Lara and a sickly weakened Ana walk through the snow in Northeastern Siberia. A weak Ana sits on a rock and coughs. Lara asks what did she mean when she said 'another Croft doesn't have to die for this.' After Ana gives Lara a few moments, Lara points her gun at Ana and demands to know if she killed her father. Ana explains to her that Trinity ordered his execution but she couldn't do it. Lara dismisses it as a lie. Ana then tells her that she loved him, before being shot dead by a hidden sniper. The hidden sniper, while aiming directly at Lara's head, asks his boss on the radio if he should kill Lara, to which the unseen superior responds "No, not yet".

After finishing the story mode if you go back to the world, you will get a scene where Lara is talking to Sofia about her father with Sofia replying that she trusts her and is thankful for her help against Trinity.

Blood Ties

Main Article: Rise of the Tomb Raider: Blood Ties

Set between the prologue in Syria and Siberia, Lara receives a letter from her uncle, Atlas, who claims that she has no legal claim to the manor and he is the rightful owner of the Croft estate. Lara realizes that if her father left a will it's probably in his safe. She finds a note which offers hints as to what the safe combination is, and begins to search the house to find more clues. As she roams around the manor she reminisces as she finds mementos from her childhood. As well as this she finds her parents journals, chronicling their first meeting, time together as a couple, marriage, Lara's birth and culminating in her mother's death which acted as the catalyst for her father's obsession with finding proof of an immortal soul.

After finding all the clues connected to the safe combination, Lara heads to open the safe. Inside she finds some personal belongings of Lord Croft, but no will. However, she finds a page which she discovers holds directions to a secret room in the cellar. Lara discovers her father's secret lab where he conducted research after deciding it was too risky to allow his research to be public. Lara finds another clue, which leads to Lara discovering that her father had found her mother's body and brought her home (though not before attempting to resurrect her). Lara discovers a clue that leads to a hidden crypt behind a wall in the main lobby of the house.

Lara breaks down the wall which leads to a passage to the crypt, finding an elaborate sarcophagus where her mother is interred. Lara finds a letter from her mother, telling her that no matter what, they will always be connected, and that she hopes she finds success and happiness in her life.

Lara has the grave verified and sends the documentation to her uncle. Several weeks later (after the events of the main campaign) Lara receives another letter from her uncle, confirming that his claim on the manor as well as the rest of her family's assets has been rendered null and void as a result of her mother's death being verified. As such all of the Croft family assets have been transferred to her giving her sole control of the Croft estate.

Lara muses to herself that she'd been so occupied with trying to stop her uncle from claiming the manor that she had not realized that it had so many memories and so much sentimental value. Wanting to honor her parents and ancestors, Lara swears to return her family's name to its former glory.

Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch

Main Article: Rise of the Tomb Raider: Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch

Lara investigates a disturbance within the Soviet mining facility. After fighting off a Trinity patrol, she discovers a young girl named Nadia hiding in a sawmill. Nadia confides in Lara, recounting her search for her grandfather, Ivan. Ivan has disappeared while trying to enter the Wicked Vale, a valley rumored to be haunted by Baba Yaga, a witch from Russian folklore. Ivan blames the witch for the death of his wife and seeks to kill her. Lara is skeptical of Baba Yaga's existence, but as Nadia is injured, she agrees to enter the Wicked Vale and locate Ivan.

Once in the Vale, Lara is exposed to a rare pollen with potent hallucinogenic properties. After stumbling through a forest, tormented by visions of her father's suicide, she encounters Baba Yaga and a pack of demonic wolves. Lara narrowly escapes with her life and finds herself in a small Soviet-era outpost. There she unearths evidence of a secret Soviet biological weapons project that attempted to harness the pollen as a weapon; however, the project came to an abrupt end after the researchers, including Serafima, a biochemist imprisoned in a nearby gulag,succumbed to the hallucinations.

Realizing that Serafima resented her captors, Lara correctly deduces that she had successfully weaponized the pollen and developed an antidote and kept her research secret from the military. With Nadia's help, Lara synthesizes a rudimentary antidote from Serafima's recipe and returns to the Wicked Vale. Resisting the effects of the pollen, Lara finds Ivan injured at the entrance to Baba Yaga's lair.

Unable to leave the Wicked Vale so long as Baba Yaga continues to control it, Lara ventures on to confront the witch and is forced to battle Baba Yaga under the effects of the pollen. Lara prevails, destroying the source of the weaponized pollen. Baba Yaga is revealed to be Serafima, who was led to believe that her husband, Ivan, was dead, and so used the pollen to become Baba Yaga and torment her captors in revenge. With Ivan, Serafima and Nadia reunited, Lara leaves the Wicked Vale.

Cold Darkness Awakened

Main Article: Rise of the Tomb Raider: Cold Darkness Awakened

Lara enters a decommissioned Soviet weapons bunker that has been breached by a Trinity patrol. Trinity have inadvertently released an unstable pathogen into the air, which causes the people it infects to regress to a zombie-like state. Men are particularly vulnerable as the virus stimulates testosterone and adrenaline production. The pathogen was created by a Soviet researcher with the intention of creating an army of unstoppable super-soldiers, but all of his experiments ended in failure. Following an accident that released the pathogen, he died in the facility, proud that he had at least created a weapon to protect his homeland. With Sofia and Nadia providing support from a helicopter, Lara attempts to find the source of the pathogen before an enormous cloud is released into the atmosphere and contaminates the Remnant valley.

The three women hatch a plan to channel the pathogen from three towers into the central tower, and cause it to explode, which will hopefully burn off the toxin. Lara shuts down each tower while collecting equipment, rescuing female prisoners and eliminating waves of the infected Trinity soldiers, and finally enters the core tower. While fighting off the infected soldiers, she triggers a catastrophic explosion and jumps from the tower to Nadia and Sofia's helicopter. Nadia and Lara watch the explosion as they fly to safety. Although the resulting fire burns the remaining reserves of the pathogen, documents found throughout the facility reveal that the release was no accident; Trinity reactivated the facility to acquire a sample of the pathogen, and an agent of Trinity escaped with it before the bunker was destroyed.

Lara's Nightmare

Main Article: Rise of the Tomb Raider: Lara's Nightmare

In Lara's Nightmare the sequence begins similarly to Blood Ties, but instead Lara's uncle is unwilling to give her the Manor. She fights off hordes of zombies and skulls before finding the Master Key. Finally, she kills the large skull in the main hallway, successfully ending her nightmare.

Characters

• Lara Croft - After surviving the disastrous expedition to find Yamatai, Lara seeks to honor her late father by finishing his research to honor his memory. This leads her into conflict with a shadowy organization called Trinity.

Allies

• Jonah Maiava - Lara's friend and fellow survivor of Yamatai. Jonah worries for Lara and accompanies her to Siberia with the intent of helping her, being deeply worried about her.
• Jacob - The leader of the Remnants, a group of people descended from Kitezh and followers of the Deathless Prophet. He is very knowledgeable, knowing much more than he lets on.
• Sofia - Jacob's daughter and leader of the Remnants military forces. She is incredibly distrustful of outsiders.
• Nadia - A young Remnant woman who seeks Lara's help finding her grandfather who sought revenge against the fabled Baba Yaga for the death of his lost lover.
• Ivan - Nadia's grandfather and a former Soviet Guard in the Gulag. He joined the Remnants after his betrayal of the Soviets was discovered. He seeks revenge against the witch Baba Yaga, who killed his lover.
• Serafima - A brilliant Biochemist who was imprisoned in the Gulag. She was apparently killed by the legendary witch Baba Yaga.
• Maintenance Tech - A Trinity Operative who seeks a way out of Trinity's service, bartering goods in exchange for gold.

Enemies

• Ana - Richard Croft's former girlfriend, she is revealed to have been an Agent of Trinity for many years, ordered to keep an eye on Croft. Her loyalty to Trinity is questionable and has ulterior motives of her own.
• Konstantin - Ana's brother and a Trinity field commander. He is an efficient operative of Trinity and believes himself to be God's chosen warrior.
• Baba Yaga - A mythical witch who lives near the Remnants territory, terrorising all who enter her domain.
• Kennard Montez
• Rourke (voice only)
• Pedro Dominguez (voice only)

Posthumous

• Richard Croft - Lara's deceased father, a once respected archaeologist who became the subject of ridicule for his outlandish theories. He died in an apparent suicide when Lara was a child.
• Amelia Croft - Lara's deceased mother, who disappeared when Lara was a child.

Groups

• Trinity - A religious military sect that seeks control of the world. 
• Remnants - The descendants of the followers of the deathless Prophet and citizens of Kitezh. 
• Deathless Ones - The undying army of the Deathless Prophet, still alive after several centuries. 

Levels

Rise of the Tomb Raider features larger areas of exploration than the previous game. In addition to the story mode, side missions rewards players for completing objectives. Challenges return from the previous game. Optional tombs can be explored in the game, containing platforming and other puzzles needed to access a codex that can improve Lara's equipment.

Syria

• Syria

Siberia

• Mountain Peak
• Siberian Wilderness
• Glacial Cavern
• Soviet Installation
• Abandoned Mines
• Geothermal Valley
• The Acropolis
• Flooded Archives
• Research Base
• The Orrery
• Path of the Deathless
• The Lost City
• Wicked Vale (DLC)
• Soviet Weapons Research Facility (DLC)

Croft Manor

• Blood Ties (DLC)
• Lara's Nightmare (DLC)

Gameplay

This game uses the traditional third person shooter/platforming/puzzle nature of earlier games in the series, using the exact same style as the previous game. The game reintroduces some game mechanics that were absent from the previous game, including rope swings, grappling, swimming 

Combat

Lara has access to multiple weapons of different types, such as bows, pistols. All can be changed according to the players preference. Salvage is once again used to upgrade weapons.

Lara utilizes her physical strength, climbing axes, and later on, a combat knife, to engage in melee combat. Lara can also tackle enemies from stealth or above.

Although health regeneration remains (changeable via switching gameplay difficulty in the menu), Lara must find and hold cover for a significant length of time before her wounds begin to heal during combat. Severe injuries (indicated by black and white graphics) will need to be treated with bandages, though Lara can gain a skill that instantly heals her back to full health (once per combat encounter.)

Stealth has been revamped, as Lara can now hide from animals as well as humans. Lara can also climb trees, hide in foliage to avoid detection by enemies, and submerge herself in water to perform stealth takedowns.

Weapons

Lara has access to more weapons and upgrades, which can be switched at any camp per the player's preference. Contrary to Tomb Raider, weapons are no longer "locked" once the upgraded version is obtained. Additionally, each type of weapon has its own upgrades to be unlocked.

• Bows
  • Makeshift Longbow, Recurve Bow, Compound Bow, Ancient Horn Bow, Grim Whisper, White Widow, Guiding Light, Dreamstinger
    • Arrow Types: Rope, Fire, Poison Gas, Grenade, Armour Piercing, Broadhead Climbing Arrows.
• Pistols
  • Revolver, Semi-Auto Pistol, Heavy Pistol, Moon Shadow, Accipiter Nox, Venom Hand Cannon.
    • Hollow-point Rounds
• Automatics/Rifles
  • Assault Rifle, Bolt Action Rifle, Submachine Gun, Military Rifle.
    • Grenades
• Shotguns
  • Break-Action Shotgun, Pump-Action Shotgun, Full-Auto Shotgun, Tactical Shotgun, Thunderclap.
    • Dragonfire Shells
• Melee
  • Tactical Knife, Climbing Axes
• Explosive
  • Gas Cans, Molotov Cocktails, Smoke Grenades, Poison Gas Bombs, Shrapnel Bombs, Incendiary Bombs

Resource Gathering

Main Article: Salvage

Salvage is once again used to upgrade weapons; however, Lara will now have to collect specific materials around the environment, such as deer hide and cloth, to craft certain items/upgrades. Some materials can only be found in exotic destinations, at a specific time of the day and possibly in specific parts of the destination. In the previous game, salvage contained 1-9 9 pieces; in Rise of the Tomb Raider, salvage contains 1-4 pieces. 

In addition to weapon upgrades, Lara can use gathered materials to craft bombs and ammunition, which is helpful when ammo is scarce. 

Clothing

Main Article: Lara's Outfits

Lara has different outfits in game, unlike the previous game, which only had DLC outfits, this one has story specific outfits, similarly to older games in the series. For the first time in the series some outfits are more than just cosmetic, as different garments will allow for different perks, and bonuses. Garments will be unlockable during the story, can be bought in-game, unlocked by doing certain challenges or bonuses, or crafted by using certain animal skins.

As well as this Lara can craft pouches, flasks and quivers to allow her to carry more ammunition and resources.

Some outfits are DLC and must be accessed in the Xbox Live Marketplace, or Steam. All outfits are available in the PS4 version.

Skills

Main Article: Skills

Lara will have new skills to access, in the same categories as the previous game, under Brawler, Survivor and Hunter, having a total of 17 skills in Brawler, and 21 each in Survivor and Hunter. One skill showcased in game play, is the ability to mark targets, and kill them in rapid succession. (this mechanic is similar to one used in the game, Hitman Absolution, also published by Square Enix) Now has the ability to pick locks. Lara can once again shoot rope arrows to create zip lines, and can now make rope swings if their in no post to anchor to, however the ability to use rope arrows to pull enemies from ledges. Lara can also use her stealth abilities and jump from above and stab the opponent on the chest. This skill can also be done during combat with mercenaries that noticed you. Lara can also craft ammunition, explosives and traps.

Language System

A new feature of the game, is the ability to increase Lara's proficiency in other languages, namely, Russian, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Mongolian, each of which has its own level. Proficiency can be increased by reading documents and examining murals and artefacts. Increasing language proficiency lets players translate monoliths to find ancient secrets.

Gear

Main Article: Gear

Once again Lara has access to gear that will make for easier exploration, traversal and grant access to certain areas, as well as interact with certain environmental obstacles, and aid in combat.

• Climbing Axe (x2)
• Glowsticks
• Rope
• Lock Pick
• Rebreather
• Wire Spool
• Crafting Tool
• Enhancement Tool
• Refinement Tool
• Rope Ascender
• Combat Knife
• Oil Flask

Collectibles

As with the previous game, documents and artefacts can be found throughout the world. The documents expand the lore of the game, chronicling the legend of Kitezh, and the hunt for the Divine Source by various groups. Artefacts as range from ancient Byzantine relics, to Cold War era Soviet items, and items belonging to Trinity.

These collectibles can also help expand Lara's knowledge in game, as some are written in different allowing Lara to expand her proficiency in them.

Survival caches replace the GPS caches from the previous game, and Lara can also find Byzantine Coins which can be used to purchase certain weapons, outfits and attachments.

Development

Crystal Dynamics handled development for the Xbox One and PC versions, while Nixxes Software developed the Xbox 360 version. The PS4 version was developed in collaboration by Crystal and Nixxes.

Late in development, Brian Horton issued a statement that Rise of the Tomb Raider was pushing the hardware limits of the Xbox One, which many considered worrying, as the console hadn't even completed the second year of its life cycle.

Like the previous game, Rise of the Tomb Raider was built on Crystal Dynamics' foundation, but used a new facial capture system called Mova. Using fluorescent paint, Mova was able to use 7000 points of reference compared to the 90 that were used in the previous game.

Downloadable Content

Multiple DLC packs were released for the game.

Endurance Mode: A survival mode where the player must explore a randomly generated wilderness, for artifacts and crypts. Later made playable in Co-op.

Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch: A story expansion. Lara must investigate the mysterious Wicked Vale and uncover the secrets of the witch, Baba Yaga.

Cold Darkness Awakened: An expedition/zombie mode. Lara must shutdown an aging Soviet Chemical Weapon plant which was reactivated by Trinity.

Blood Ties: A story expansion set in Croft Manor. Lara searches for her father's will to prove her ownership of Croft Manor.

Lara's Nightmare: A zombie horde mode. Lara must clear Croft Manor of a never ending wave of undead enemies.

20 Year Celebration

20 Year Celebration Collector's Edition for PlayStation 4.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, a special edition was announced on July 19th 2016, and was confirmed for release on October 11th 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and PC. Its release commemorates the 20th anniversary of the first Tomb Raider game, which debuted October 1996.

This edition will feature all previously released Story DLC, Outfits and Weapons, It was confirmed that the game would have additional upcoming content bundled, including an additional story chapter titled Blood Ties, a co-op option for Endurance Mode, Bonus Skins, New weapons a new difficulty setting, the PlayStation 4 version was confirmed to be compatible with the newly announced PlayStation 4 Pro, which would allow it to be played at 4K resolution at 30fps, or 1080p at 60fps. The Blood Ties chapter also featured VR support via PlayStation VR.

A Collector's edition was also made available for the PlayStation 4, containing everything the Xbox and PC collector's edition included, with a bonus art book added. However it was only made available in Europe.

This version was later made available on the Xbox One, Mac and Linux.

Controversy

Exclusivity to Xbox Platforms

The announcement that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be exclusive to Xbox led to a massive backlash from fans, and online critics who cited PlayStation's long history supporting the franchise (Even being the primary Platform of the series since before the Xbox brand existed), and the superior sales of the previous game on PlayStation platforms when compared to Xbox, and the fact PlayStation 4 had sold considerably more hardware units than the Xbox One (the current sales difference remains on average of twice as many units, which has remained consistent since both consoles launch.) As well as this many fans were quick to make the point that The Definitive Edition of the previous game, was technically superior in terms of resolution and framerate on the PlayStation 4 which ran at 1080p at 60fps, when compared to the Xbox One version which was only capable of running at 900p at 30fps. Several petitions were immediately started to make the game multi-platform as all previous Tomb Raider games had been.

Many fans blamed the decision to go exclusive, to avoid competing with the recently announced, PlayStation 4 exclusive Uncharted game, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End which was a major competitor franchise to Tomb Raider in the Adventure game market, which had been a massive critical and commercial success, as well as being a bigger name franchise in recent years, since Tomb Raider's main series had been on a temporary hiatus between Tomb Raider: Underworld, and Tomb Raider, with the only release in between being Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Uncharted flourished during this period of absence. Microsoft not having a competing franchise of their own, was cited as a reason, which many complained were using the exclusivity to avoid creating an IP to compete which would take time and money to establish. As well as this, Tomb Raider: Anniversary launched the same year as Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, which had significantly higher sales, despite being a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

To counter the backlash, Square Enix revealed that the Exclusivity was only timed, but due to the arrangement with Microsoft, couldn't tell when the exclusivity would expire. It was later revealed that the PC version would arrive in Early 2016, and The PlayStation 4 Edition would arrive in Q4 of 2016, both were later confirmed for release on January 29th and October 11th respectively.

MOVA copyright infringement

Steve Perlman levied a lawsuit against several companies for their use of the MOVA facial capture techniques which he owned. Crystal Dynamics was among the companies involved.

Sales

Rise of the Tomb Raider's sales were much lower than its predecessor, with sales in the UK being as low as 63,000, approximately a third of the 180,000 copies the previous game sold in its first week in the UK in its first week. Low sales were blamed on sharing a launch date with Fallout 4, practically non existent advertising campaign and its exclusivity to Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Post launch, Microsoft and Square Enix, released statements that they were happy with the sales. On January 4th it was announced that the game has sold 1 million copies, which its predecessor did in two days upon launch, as well as selling a further million in its first week upon Launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Upon release on PC, the game was subjected to a price cut of up to 34% on Steam. The PC Version reportedly sold 3 times as many copies in its first month than the combined lifetime sales of both Xbox Platforms.

The PlayStation 4 reviewed well, citing it as having a more stable framerate and fewer bugs. Initially it suffered a minor input lag issue that was also on the Xbox One version, though it was later fixed by a patch, though the issue remains present on Xbox One.The PS4 version allegedly sold almost 384,000 copies in its first week of sales.

As of November 2017, the game has sold almost 7 million copies across all platforms.

Comic Series

Main Article: Tomb Raider (Dark Horse Comics)

Much like the previous game, Dark Horse published several comic books to to bridge the gap between games.

Sequel

Main Article: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

During E3 2015, Square Enix inadvertently confirmed that they had a third game for the current timeline in early stages of development.

In August 2016, Crystal Dynamics hired Ian Milham, the art director behind Dead Space and Battlefield Hardline to direct the next game in the Tomb Raider series.

On October 31st 2016, a reddit user spotted a logo for "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" on a laptop screen while riding the subway in Montreal. Since it was spotted in Montreal some have speculated that Eidos Montreal would be the primary developer developer of the series, which is unlikely since Ian Milham, was hired to direct the next game at Crystal Dynamics. Neither Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics or Eidos Montreal have commented on this.

It was announced in January 2017 that Rhianna Pratchett was leaving Crystal Dynamics, and would not be writing the third game in the timeline.

In June 2017 an alleged leak of logo and concept art was released to the internet, showing Lara in a jungle setting, with an Aztec pyramid in the background, which fits with the belief that the sequel will take place in Mexico, since Lara has a map of the Yucatan Peninsula on her desk at the end of Rise.

In December 2017 Square Enix officially confirmed that a new Tomb Raider game was in development and that news would be shared in 2018.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider was officially revealed in March 2018, confirmed for a release in September of that year. The trailer revealed many of the leaks to be accurate, including the Mexican setting. Camilla Luddington confirmed that she would once again be returning as Lara Croft via her personal twitter.

Reception

Rise of the Tomb Raider received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic getting a metascore of 86/100 on both PC and Xbox One. Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration PS4 version also received a metascore of 88/100.

Trivia

• The coordinates (LAT:36.73 / LON:37.01) shown in Syria cutscene, lead to flat field in Syria.

Happy Birthday Lara Croft

• If the game is played on February 14th, during the loading screen where the hints appear a message may appear saying, "Happy Birthday Lara Croft".
• The date on the Newspaper is the at the beginning of the game is 10.11.2015, which is the day the game was released in the United States. (Note: In Europe the dates are written as Day.Month.Year as opposed to the American dating system of Month.Day.Year)
• In the post-credit scene in Croft Manor, Lara is listening to her father's tapes and in the end of his last tape he says  "The Extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are."  which is a reference to the beginning of the first game and now - one of the last lines in the second. Serves as a link between the two.
• If you walk around in the Geothermal Valley after finishing the story mode you can hear the NPC's talking about Jacob and that he may still be alive - which is a reference to the end of the game where he finally dies as the Divine Source is smashed by Lara.
• In the DLC celebrating the 20 Years Anniversary since the release of the first game, the developers added outfits that are taken straight from the past games. The render and the graphics are also the same as the original games that the outfits are taken from. The outfits include: The Classic Angel of Darkness, Classic Croft Manor, Classic Chronicles Catsuit, Classic Tomb Raider II, and Classic Tomb Raider II Bomber Jacket.