Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis isn't classic Lara Croft, but it manages to dodge the worst excesses of modern action game hand-holding

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis has an unenviable task before it. Reimagining a 30-year-old game for a modern audience is no mean feat, but in a genre that has moved on so far and with a heroine who has become such an icon, the line that must be threaded between the new and the old is a veritable tightrope. Too far one way and you'll recreate a now-outdated experience in too much veracity to warrant its existence. Too far the other way and you risk excising what made Tomb Raider interesting, lumping it in with modern genre tropes that don't suit a remake like this.

For now, Crystal Dynamics seems to be treading that line. My hands-off demo shows off the Damocles Trial from the game's second level, so named for the giant swords hanging from the ceiling that threaten to skewer Lara should she linger too long on the wrong floor tile. For game director Raul Siquera, the goal is to show "how much we've preserved from the original, and the little things we did to make it special" in a modern overhaul.

Familiar tombs

"It was really important for us, from a level design perspective, to preserve what was in the original game, but find ways to enhance it for a modern audience," Siquera explains. "You should recognize the places that you know," he says, or if you're like me and are too young to remember the original games, you should still be "delighted by the grandeur" of the levels.

Those modern enhancements present themselves almost immediately. Stepping into the trial, Lara is set upon by a horde of bats, reimagined to move around in a more unpredictable, swarm-like manner than in the original game. She takes a few scratches before shooting down enough that the rest of the swarm disbands, but thankfully she's collected enough resources from around the level to create a healing balm. The presence of a crafting system might seem like an overly-modern touch, but Siquera explains it's part of an attempt to dispel the anachronism inherent in the older Tomb Raider games – finding a medbag in a temple supposedly untouched by modern civilization isn't always great for immersion.

Past the bats, Lara's day continues to get worse, a snarling leopard dropping down into the next room. This iconic Tomb Raider threat is far smarter than before; in the ensuing fight, it uses geometry to block Lara's line of sight; crawls away through cracks in the rock when it's taken too much punishment, and then attacks from behind when you let your guard slip. "You're not supposed to stay still," Siquera says. Combat is fast and fluid, but a time-slowing Focus gauge allows for a moment of relative calm in the midst of some frantic fights, even as Lara's acrobatic 'dodge-cartwheels' make her a particularly flamboyant target.

It's beyond the leopard, as Lara enters the arena at the heart of the Damocles Trial, that Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is forced to diverge further from the 1996 original. The core theme remains intact, but the intervening decades have transformed players' expectations. The puzzles maintain the ideas that shaped classic Croft, but they're grander in scope, Damocles' enormous stone swords crashing to earth with a deafening clash from the distant heights of the temple's ceiling if Lara puts a foot wrong.

But this version of Tomb Raider doesn't only have to capture the scale and artistry of a modern game – it also has to offer something to players who didn't cut their teeth in the days of 1996's game design. Lara's explanative dialogue is one example of Legacy of Atlantis' desire to guide players through its puzzles, as are the markings on the wall that gently outline the intended parkour route.

Neither of these are too invasive, but the addition of a new Scanner tool, which Lara can use to outline the moving parts of the puzzle she's contemplating, is a much more powerful tool. It's a bit much for a modern game, fully anachronistic in one that's supposed to be keeping half its gaze so firmly in the past. But, Siquera explains his team saw this coming – the Scanner is totally optional, and its tutorial will make clear that it can also be used to offer new lore insights. It's a smart compromise, but a strong example of just how difficult Legacy of Atlantis' task of balancing the old and the new is going to be.

As someone who doesn't have the nostalgia for the original game – I came to the series with Tomb Raider Legend on PSP, a full decade later – I think Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is treading its difficult tightrope relatively well. It's clear the team understands the delicacy of its task, and there's an obvious desire to offer a version of this game that can speak in the same breath to those returning after three decades and those who've adopted the rhythms of a new era of action games.

From the small amount we've seen so far, it seems to be working – purists will likely find themselves disappointed by the modern touches, but those are largely optional, and subtle enough not to derail the original experience. As the start of a new era for Tomb Raider, Legacy of Atlantis' task was never going to be easy, but it seems to be stepping up to the mark.

Want to explore more of Lara Croft's legacy? Our best Tomb Raider games ranking will guide you towards your next adventure!