Crystal Dynamics explains why Lara has to learn Greek in Rise of The Tomb Raider
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
I have to say I was a little surprised when Crystal Dynamics revealed that part of Lara's character development would involve learning languages in Rise Of The Tomb Raider. It's something different so I like it, but it is such an unusual idea. Talking to GamesRadar, creative director Noah Hughes has explained more behind the new mechanic.
One of the new systems in the game sees Lara needing to find and decipher smaller language samples in order to earn XP that can be used to further her knowledge. For example, that stone carving up there is initially gibberish until you take the time to find script fragments and murals to examine that level up your word skills. Greek and Mongolian are two of the languages revealed so far.
It's a nice concept, but it does lead immediately to the question, 'why?' For Noah, it was about making the original Tomb Raider feel like she was living up to her title: "how do we make sure that the archaeological themes and tomb raiding, as a game system, is contributing to your progression as a character?" he explains.
Much of the previous game was built around some very physical combat and exploration. This time Noah "really [wanted] a lot of that tomb raiding stuff to be as important to your success in the game as your ability to survive environments or confront your enemies". Hence language being added to Lara's syllabus for the the first time. "We really did want to make sure that [Rise of the Tomb Raider] was celebrating, not just those survival instincts and skills, but her archaeological background, her passion for unravelling the world’s secrets, and some of her intellectual prowess as a character." Πρέπει να είναι διασκεδαστικό*.
(*Thanks to James Tsorvas for the correct Greek.)
Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.


