Traversal & Movement Reimagined
In Tomb Raider, how Lara moves is as iconic as who she is. The leap across an impossible gap. The climb up a sheer cliff. The moment where the only way forward is straight up. In Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, the team set out to make moving through the world feel like the purest expression of who Lara Croft is.
Lara at the Top of Her Game
“Lara at the top of her game was our north star for most design decisions,” says Raul Siqueira, Game Director at Crystal Dynamics. “When it came to traversal, we wanted her movement to be fluid and acrobatic in a way that only Lara Croft can move.”
Jason Epps, Design Director at Crystal Dynamics, puts the philosophy in one sentence: “We wanted Lara’s movement to feel graceful, fluid, and expressive. The original game’s acrobatics were a major inspiration, and we wanted players to use that agility to show off while moving through each environment.”
That expressive quality is something the animation team obsessed over. “We try to strike a balance between what came before and what we believe to be a great modern expression of Lara’s movement from the Survivor trilogy,” says Jeff Adams, Experience Director at Crystal Dynamics. “She’ll move beautifully and gracefully throughout the world, showcasing her natural strength and agility. At the same time, you’ll still feel the impact when she lands, and there will be moments where the world catches her by surprise. Through it all, she handles every challenge like the seasoned adventurer she is.”
A Complete Toolkit
Lara’s core movement will feel instantly familiar to longtime fans. “Lara’s base traversal kit has everything a Tomb Raider fan can expect: jumps, sprinting, climbing, wall scramble,” Siqueira says. “All core movement that was present both in the original and the Survivor trilogy has been combined into one large showcase of her abilities.”
What’s new is how she manipulates the world around her. “Lara can now use her grapple tool to manipulate the environment around her, solve puzzles, ascend and rappel into new spaces,” Siqueira says, “giving players even more ways to explore the world of Legacy of Atlantis.”
Exploration also rewards the curious. “We’ve woven Lara’s resourcefulness into Atlantis by rewarding players for exploring the environment and uncovering secrets,” Epps says. “Gathering resources lets players cook dishes that provide useful gameplay buffs or create healing tonics, giving them meaningful choices about what to eat and how to recover.”
The Feeling of Scale
A leap only matters if it feels dangerous. A climb only matters if it feels earned. For Adams, that feeling comes from the interplay of camera, controls, and animation. “The camera and the player’s input work together to make these moments really feel larger than life,” he says. “When the player needs Lara to clear a massive gap, they have to sprint forward, and as they make that jump, Lara leans into a saving grab, with her success fully dependent on landing that reach.”
“When players are climbing massive cliffs to achieve an objective, the camera will sometimes pull back to celebrate the scale of the environment,” Adams continues. “All of these techniques work together to create a sympathetic loop between the player and Lara, making these moments feel truly cinematic.”
The environment itself does the work of guiding players without breaking the spell. “We’ll add markings to surfaces, color pops, and focused lighting to naturally guide the player’s eye through the environment,” Adams says. “Together, these elements create an intuitive navigation experience.”
Move Your Way
Legacy of Atlantis is designed to be savored. “The nature of the game’s original design is to be a little bit slower than modern games,” Siqueira says. “Legacy of Atlantis asks players to slow down and take in the environments, explore and look for things at your own pace.”
But the team also built for players who want to fly. “We are also not trying to prevent players from playing how they want to play,” Siqueira says. “If you are the type of player that likes to move as fast as possible and maybe even go for speed runs and records, you will still be able to use Lara’s traversal to create some interesting chains and get to places faster.” He has a challenge, too: “If you do, then let me know what’s your time to see if you can beat some of the devs!”
From the first jump to the final climb, movement in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is Lara at her most capable, and players at their most free.
Pre-order Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
Lara Croft’s greatest adventure begins February 12, 2027. Pre-orders are live now. Secure your edition before launch, and join us across the months ahead for new mini-documentaries, deep dives, and exclusive looks at the world of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.
