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Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis' developers say that the original's brutal difficulty will have to be evolved for modern player tastes.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is the second time Lara Croft has returned to her debut adventure, following 2007's Tomb Raider: Anniversary, with Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog leading the charge in what is described as a "reimagining" of the original 1996 adventure – think of the recent Resident Evil remakes. However, if you don't remember, that original game could be pretty brutal on the difficulty front, something the 2007 edition toned down, and Legacy of Atlantis may be following suit from the sound of things.
Speaking during a presentation to the press, Crystal Dynamics developer Will Kerslake was asked about the approach to difficulty for Legacy of Atlantis, specifically in reference to the likes of instant death traps like spikes and giant boulders that led to a trial-and-error approach (while Anniversary let you save yourself with QTEs, very 2007).
Kerslake explains, "part of reimagining a game right is adjusting that game evolving for modern player tastes," which – while not explicitly stated – feels like a confirmation that frustrating insta-kill traps are probably a thing of the past, if not more easily avoidable than before. That being said, it doesn't mean it's going to lose sight of what the series is. Kerslake also adds, "It is core to the Tomb Raider experience that there are puzzles in combat and traversal and death-defying action."
Pointing out the Legacy of Atlantis trailer, Kerslake notes, "you'll see big rolling balls, and you know, the things that you expect in a Tomb Raider game are going to be there in spades."
Thankfully, the original Tomb Raider (and Anniversary, for that matter) are both still available on modern platforms, so if you fancy going back to the days of tank controls and instant-kill traps, it's right there.
