Tomb Raider is back. Again. Lara Croft is back. Again. This time, his character is set between last decade’s “Survivor” trilogy and his iconic debut in 1996. Yes, 30 years ago.
The Legacy of Atlantis is a remake of this very first adventure, focusing on Atlantean mythology, tomb robbing and, well, some dinosaurs. At Summer Game Fest 2026, Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog shared the first gameplay demo, with Unreal Engine 5 adding vivid detail and richness to Lara’s difficulties.
The developers made a wise choice by focusing the demo on a first part of the original game. Set in the Peruvian mountains, my game included a giant cog puzzle that I remember playing in the original. There were also several shootouts with a herd of dinosaurs, the same bright red creatures adjacent to the velociraptors of Tomb Raider (1996).
The retread of the original game’s floor clearly shows how The Legacy of Atlantis will elevate the game from the original, transforming a relatively bland cog puzzle (find the giant wheels, put them together, interrupt the waterfall to make a path) into a more exploratory and exciting experience. Yes, you can dive into the waterfall pool whenever you want.
Lara can collect and use healing packs between fights, gathering resources from trees and caves, as well as mythical trinkets and historical items. Not all contemporary gameplay changes are welcome: I’m not particularly excited about the inclusion of collectible hunting. The Assassin’s Creed series has evolved greatly and I think many players have done the same. Some collectibles, like fangs, can be converted into skill points, meaning I’ll feel compelled to hunt for items.
Lara’s PDA (I love it: it’s 1996 nonsense) combines encyclopedia entries for whatever you find, along with the task at hand. It also includes a scanner that can be used intermittently to give advice on what to do next. I got lost sometimes, and that was because I wasn’t paying enough attention. The Legacy of Atlantis I lean a lot toward verticality, and almost every time I got lost, the route to follow was either literally above my head (grappling hooks!) or under my feet. (Of course, there is a cave behind this little waterfall.)
A grappling hook and climbing ax round out the gear, taking inspiration from more recent Tomb Raider titles. In addition to swinging across chasms, the grappling hook can also be used to pull objects towards the player and is crucial to solving the cogs puzzle.
After climbing the mountainside and unlocking a route through the waterfall, the demo jumps a little further, deep into the jungle. Soon, dinosaurs surround Lara and she doesn’t even blink. While I wasn’t able to shoot two targets at once, OG Tomb Raider style, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was some sort of unlockable skill in the full game – the skill trees were blocked in this demo.
Although there is no shared development core, parts of the game reminded me of another recent game with a connection to Amazon’s industrial entertainment complex: 007 First Light. It’s not only detailed environments and an enjoyable British storyline, but also a new skill for Lara. Focus, when pressed during gunfights, slows down time, helping you shoot more accurately or switch to a distant target. Oh, she also does it by doing an aerial (a sort of hands-free wheel), reminding me Max Payne, any of The Matrix’s derivative games and many others. Luckily, Lara’s dual guns have infinite ammo and it was pretty easy to take down the dinosaur pack, but not before they gored me a few times.
Shortly after, a T. rex enters the scene and we are locked into a high-speed setting as I try to escape the dinosaurs without falling to my death. I am relieved that Legend of Atlantis plays more like the original action-adventure titles, while incorporating some of the most advanced gameplay mechanics from the latest games. Lara isn’t invincible, but she’s now made of sterner stuff.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will launch on February 12, 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2.
