New details on Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics‘ upcoming Tomb Raider reboot are revealed in the latest issue of Game Informer.
The game does away with the old linear platforming formula of past entries in turn for a player-chosen path.
“We’re now giving the player the opportunity to go into a space and choose their own path,” reads the mag. “Where we take you across the ledge of the B-52 bomber, that’s a tutorial. Once you move away from the plane, everything is basically open, dynamic traversal where the player has the freedom to roam around a jump from location to location with ease.”
However, “there is linearity to the story – you have to go from point A to point B – but there’s junctions in between where we want the player to feel like they’re real explorers.” These junctions are non-linear hub spaces where Lara can revisit at different times of the day.
The game offers an XP system where Lara is able to upgrade her abilities. You can upgrade her equipment using materials you find on the island. These upgrades can only be perofrmed at base camps. Upgrades include the ability to give Lara additional arrow capacity for her bow, or increasing the speed she’s able to fire the arrows. As you progress, the upgrade system will open up, allowing future upgrades to be shaped to your play style.
You may have noticed a scene in the E3 trailer where Lara stabs a wolf after it attacks her. These sorts of scenes, or context-sensitive scenes, will happen only once. If you do it right the first time, it will have an impact.
Stay tuned for more details at E3 next week, when our own Olivia Slayton sees the latest build of Tomb Raider for herself.
Thanks, NeoGAF.