Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is redesigning every trap and puzzle from the 1996 original

By: Anton Kratiuk | today, 19:17

The remake of the original Tomb Raider is taking its traps seriously. Crystal Dynamics and co-developer Flying Wild Hog have released a new developer diary for Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis detailing how they rebuilt every puzzle and deadly mechanism from scratch — with a particular goal of surprising players who already know the 1996 game by heart.

The puzzles

The original's self-contained puzzle rooms have been replaced with semi-connected environments where ancient mechanisms are woven into the level itself. Puzzles are rebuilt from the ground up, and solutions have been adjusted so that veterans of the first game still hit genuine moments of uncertainty rather than muscle-memory answers. The developers want even returning players to actually think.

Traps follow the same philosophy. Pressure plates and tripwires are placed throughout levels without any visual highlight to warn you they're there. No glowing outlines, no HUD prompts. Instead, the environment itself holds the clues — scattered remains of less fortunate adventurers, subtle marks on stonework. The game is betting that players will slow down and look, rather than sprint through on autopilot.

The cast and the clock

Alix Wilton Regan — known for Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition — voices the new Lara Croft, replacing Camilla Luddington who held the role since the 2013 reboot trilogy. The shift marks a deliberate franchise reset alongside the reimagined gameplay, per Noisy Pixel.

The game runs on Unreal Engine 5 and is published by Amazon Game Studios. It was originally slated for 2026 but was pushed to February 12, 2027, confirmed via the PlayStation Blog. Pre-orders are live on Steam and the PlayStation Store, with 48-hour early access for pre-purchasers. The standard edition is priced at $59.99.

Platforms at launch: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The next original entry in the series, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, was separately delayed to 2028.