Melonie Mac, one of the most public Tomb Raider fans on the internet, called for Embracer Group to shut down Crystal Dynamics after it was detailed in a new TTRPG from Evil Hat Productions that the developer is ditching Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider profession.
A screenshot from Tomb Raider (2013), Crystal Dynamics
On Evil Hat Production’s website, the company reveals that their upcoming game, Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth, players “play members of the Truth Seekers: contemporaries of Lara Croft who strive to reveal long-hidden knowledge and thwart those who would steal and exploit artifacts for their own gains.”
On top of this Tomb Raider Chronicles reports that an alleged excerpt from the game condemns tomb raiding. It states, “Raiding, as depicted in the original Tomb Raider games and stories, involves going to ancient tombs and historical sites of different civilisations and acquiring artefacts. It operates on the assumption of ‘finders keepers’ that grants raiders with the means and the drive to claim ownership of artefacts, regardless of whether they have any historical or cultural claim to the treasure.”
“Later games released in the franchise have started the work of addressing this by having Lara Croft acknowledge her past mistakes and try to understand and show respect for the cultures and communities she comes into contact with. She has also worked to reform raider culture and raise the awareness of her peers.”
Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth (2024), Evil Hat Productions
The excerpt also detailed that Lara Croft no longer collects artifacts that she discovers, “Lara no longer decorates her mantle with mythic artefacts – as a raider she prioritises seeking out the truth. Much of this game is inspired by her humanity, struggle with heroism, and her tenacity. We believe that all three aspects are an important component in creating a game that celebrates history and culture while acknowledging the respect and work required to live in a world wounded by colonialism.”
“In this game, we seek to continue in that work alongside Crystal Dynamics by creating a sandbox for you to tell stories that address colonialist themes in play and create your own stories of respect and support for the people and cultures your Seekers encounter,” it concluded.
Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth (2024), Evil Hat Productions
First, Mac roasted Crystal Dynamics stating in a recent video, “Lara Croft was created as a graverobber, a tomb raider, quite literally, is now just not only physically been transformed, but is also her motivations, everything, the entire premise of the game, and Lara Croft as a character are being transformed in a very terrible direction.”
She added, “Obviously, the Tomb Raider fan base is not happy about this because you are changing everything. We tried to tell the reboot stans. We tried to tell them, ‘They’re changing everything!’ ‘Oh no! Oh no! It’s the same Lara Croft.'”
Mac specifically reacted to the excerpt stating, “Please let this be a colossal flop. Who is going to support this anyway? I don’t know, but I don’t see most mainstream Tomb Raider fans doing that. Most of the Tomb Raider fanbase are not going to want to support this.”
Later in her video, Mac called for Embracer Group to shut down Crystal Dynamics and Amazon Games’ upcoming Tomb Raider game that will likely follow the path of excising Lara Croft from being a Tomb Raider.
She said, “It is my fervent wish that Embracer [Group] ends up shutting this down. I don’t know if they will though because there is a partnership with Amazon going on. So I don’t know how that would work, but it definitely would be the dream if they shut that down, closed Crystal Dynamics down, and just focused on the classic remasters and everything from there we’ll see with another studio.”
“Otherwise what’s going to happen is we are going to see this Woke Raider in a new game. It’s going to be trash,” she asserted.
A screenshot from Tomb Raider Legend (2006), Crystal Dynamics
What do you make of Mac calling for Embracer Group to shut down Crystal Dynamics and give Tomb Raider to another developer?
As much as I love Tomb Raider you know it needs to be shelved and left the fuck alone, when the name of the game is no longer “acceptable” to the Marxists, running the gaming industry. Nobody wants to see a trans-man character pretend to be Lara Croft.
Crystal dynamics have been a terrible fit fir tomb raider the legends trilogy might’ve been beautiful to look at but the gameplay was just pre-school tomb raider with a really corny story.
Then once they were done copying Prince of Persia with those three games they moved onto copying Uncharted with a completely new character going by tye name of Lara Croft the games are better than the legends trilogy games but they aren’t good as Tomb Raider games. Had those games featured Lara Croft the way we once knew her like in tye Core Design games it might’ve stuck.
What does this player’s politics have to do with making a good game? No one really cares. Stop being devisive.
Good for you Melonie Mac. As an older gamer, I stand behind you 1000%. I play games for story, character, & game play. Last thing I want is to be preached to by an effing game. Go woke, go broke. Not interested in the slightest in this “new direction” for Lara Croft. And if Crystal Dynamics is listening, none of my old school gamer friends are either. I hope it’s a massive failure.
Good God just make a new game with a new character and you can make it as “woke” as you want just leave the classics alone, you want a tomb raider that’s not a tomb raider fine just keep Lara out of it