Tomb Raider 12 has a near-perfect Lara Croft design thanks to Netflix

We haven’t had a new AAA Tomb Raider video game since Shadow launched in 2018. Despite the lack of a new adventure, fans could count on many collaborations and a trip back in time with the fantastic PS1 remaster of the trilogy. Now fans have an anime series to watch thanks to Netflix. While this series isn’t the most unusual, it does present Lara Croft’s almost perfect design for Crystal Dynamics for Tomb Raider 12.

Tomb Raider fans have a lot to look forward to. While the Netflix series starring Hayley Atwell has just been released, Crystal Dynamics has also announced Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered. This pack will be released on February 14^vol next year, and in honor of Lara Croft’s birthday, you’ll be able to return to Egypt with The Last Revelation, and you’ll also be able to relive the Chronicles and Lara’s gothic phase in Angel of Darkness.

Another remaster of the trilogy is fantastic news, but we’re all waiting for the actual Tomb Raider 12 installment. It’s a unification of all three timelines, and Netflix has almost achieved the perfect balance between the Survivor and Legend trilogies.

Netflix’s Lara Croft is a near-perfect balance between the Survivor and Legend trilogies

Netflix’s Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft received average reviews. It only has a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, and the average user score is even worse at a very poor 52%. While disappointing, the less-than-stellar reception is understandable. The animation isn’t the best, the villain is just another rogue that can be forgotten in the blink of an eye, and the story is completely forgettable. Not only is this story heartbreaking, but it’s heartbreaking because it offers nothing new from the Survivor trilogy. It repeats all the boring tropes, including Lara mourning Jonah’s “death” and having to save him multiple times.

There have been reports of a renewal for a second season, but it may not happen due to poor reception. Hayley Atwell has said she would love to return for a second season and one is definitely ready, but nothing is guaranteed. Although the lukewarm response from critics and viewers reflects poorly on the overall quality of the series, there is one positive thing, and that is the image of England’s leading actress: Lara Croft.

The one thing Netflix did really well was presenting Lara Croft, which is a good balance between the Survivor and Legend trilogies. Aching to Legend and even classic PS1 games, Lara is very witty. Finally, she has a flamboyant personality reminiscent of the older games, and is also very athletic as she shows off her flips, acrobatics, and handstands during combat. All of this was also available in the PS1 games, but it’s more reminiscent of the Legend trilogy in that during her escapades, Lara constantly talks to Zip thanks to a communication device firmly placed in her ear.

Netflix is ​​also ending the series as Lara finally embraces her classic dual pistols, and in all eight episodes Lara wears more diverse outfits. This even applies to dresses that emphasize her femininity while retaining her tomboyish features. Netflix’s Lara also shows off her spunky personality. Much like the Classic and Legend timelines, in the Netflix series Lara is not afraid to perform acrobatics, such as skydiving from a plane at too low an altitude and recklessly driving a motorcycle while chasing a train like Tom Cruise.

Hayley Atwell also did a great job bridging the gap between all three timelines as her vocals are more reminiscent of Classic and Legend. Camilla Ludington deliberately used the voice of a younger and more emotional Lara Croft, while Hayley Atwell evoked a voice that is more eloquent, mature and confident. She has the stereotypical English voice that people think of in Tomb Raider, and that’s good because Survivor Lara needed to mature.

When it comes to the Survivor trilogy, Netflix has also done a good job of expanding on these features. They kept her boldness in combat while introducing a wider variety of fighting styles, such as performing wrestling moves. Netflix also updated Lara’s appearance, giving her a more toned and muscular figure. It’s a look that’s sure to divide opinion, but the silhouette harkens back to the more realistic look and feel of the Survivor trilogy. After all, considering Lara’s feats of strength and athleticism, it makes sense that she’s built more like a CrossFitter than a glamor model. This is a good evolution of Lara’s design because it makes sense, is realistic, typical of many female athletes, and isn’t over the top or implausible like Abby in The Last of Us Part 2. It also makes sense that Lara’s body is covered in cuts and bruises because instead of walking down the runway, he constantly struggles and falls.

The flaws of the Netflix series are obvious: the animation is not great, the plot repeats all the tropes from the Survivor trilogy, and none of the supporting characters are good apart from Zip. There is also way too much crying. Whether someone cries in the past or present, the crime is that it’s almost always Lara, as this was one of the biggest fan complaints about the Survivor trilogy. However, if you strip away the crying and remove the supporting cast of friends, the one thing the Netflix series does almost perfectly is portray Lara Croft, who is a perfect balance between Survivor and Legend.

Tomb Raider 12

We know a few details about Tomb Raider 12. The game is currently in development at Crystal Dynamics and will be published by Amazon Games. It is a single-player adventure, created in Unreal Engine 5, and will feature the reunited Lara Croft. This means that the Classic, Legend and Survivor trilogies are canon, but the Survivor trilogy is the definitive beginning and the Netflix series is what happened before Tomb Raider 1996. We also know that Lara Croft will wear her uniform outfit, which can be seen in her many crossovers such as Call of Duty and Magic The Gathering.

Although this is unconfirmed, there are “leaks” that claim that the game takes place in an open world in India, where Lara will be able to freely ride a motorcycle and use a parachute. The same leaks also say that it will race against an “invader society” and that there will be new features such as ally recruitment and an immortal combat option. These alleged leaks should be taken with a grain of salt, but that’s all for now.

Regardless of whether these leaks turn out to be true or not, Crystal Dynamics should adopt and improve upon the Lara Croft formula used by Netflix. Lara Croft from the anime series is an almost perfect combination of all three timelines thanks to her more realistic appearance and ruggedness combined with flamboyance, wit, acrobatics, variety of costumes and daring. To get the best, Crystal Dynamics needs to make Lara less emotional and remove some of the friends who weigh her down like an anchor. Zip can stay as he was in Underworld, but Jonah needs to die or retire, Netflix should never have invented Camilla Roth, and we don’t need to see Sam or anyone else from the Endurance Crew return. Lara Croft is and always has been a star and she needs to stop carrying burdens on her back that prevent her from truly developing.