‘Shadow Of The Tomb Raider’ Debut Trailer Sees Lara Croft Go Dutch Against The Mayan Apocalypse

The next Lara Croft adventure, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was officially revealed Friday via a new trailer showing the heroine taking on a Mayan apocalypse. The upcoming PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC action-adventure title from Square Enix will arrive in September and is meant to be the final chapter in the character’s rebooted origin story.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider takes Lara Croft to Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration just a few months after the conclusion of Rise of the Tomb Raider. The action starts in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration before moving to the jungles of Peru for the rest of the game, hence the reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch from the original Predator film in the title.

Lara’s quest pits her against the Order of the Trinity once again as she seeks revenge against the antagonistic corporation. Unfortunately, she accidentally sets the Mayan apocalypse into motion and spends the rest of the game trying to rectify that while Trinity leader Dr. Dominguez wants to use the catastrophic event to remake the world as he desires.

The Tomb Raider reboot introduced gamers to a very young and inexperienced Lara Croft while Rise of the Tomb Raider continued her development as an adventurer. The newest entry is meant to conclude her origin story as she masters her skills and fully ascends to Tomb Raider status.

This increased level of skills and abilities is reflected in the gameplay, according to a preview from Game Informer. Lara is described as agiler, a better swimmer, and has new abilities like rope mechanic to rappel down a cliff or swing to gain momentum for leaps across larger gaps.

Stealth will reportedly take on a larger role as the jungle-filled play spaces are built for sneaking around. Lara will be able to use bushes and grass to hide and even cover herself in mud for camouflage. The gunplay, melee weapons, and bow will return from the previous outings, but the jungle setting lends itself more to stealth.

“Shadow of the Tomb Raider will challenge Lara Croft in new and unexpected ways,” David Anfossi, Head of Studio at Eidos-Montréal, said in a press release. “Our team has created a diverse set of skills, combat techniques and equipment for players to master, and they’ll certainly need them if they hope to survive the deadly jungle environments and tombs.”

The debut trailer does not show any gameplay but Square Enix is confident enough in the title to have given extended hands-on time during events in Los Angeles and London on Thursday. Shadow of the Tomb Raider will also be playable at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City today, April 27.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider will officially launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 14 with multiple editions. There is the standard edition along with a Digital Deluxe Edition, Croft Edition, and Ultimate Edition.

A Season Pass featuring seven additional adventures called “Paths” will also be available. Each Path will include new missions, a new Challenge Tomb, weapon, skill, and outfit. The first Challenge Tomb is planned to introduce co-op play.