I do not envy Crystal Dynamics taking on Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis one bit. Reviving a series with such a long legacy and so many gamers loving different eras of the franchise can be daunting. But this raises the question: how do you bring Lara Croft’s first adventure into 2027 without stripping away what made it stand out in the first place? Judging from the hands-on time I had with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at Summer Game Fest 2026, you’re trying to deliver on everything the series is known for and take the time to make that a reality.
There is a real tension between the old and the new that has defined the game so far, and it was clearly visible in the hour-long demo I played. Legacy of Atlantis still leans on the pillars of the original Tomb Raider: classic civilizations, ancient ruins, dangerous creatures and the mystery of Atlantis, all of which focus its narrative.
But that is not to say this game leaves the Survivor trilogy in the dust. It incorporates some of those elements, such as more connected environments, a heavier focus on traversal and combat systems that feel more active than the stop-and-start action of the 1996 release. In theory, the game is checking all the right boxes.
Here is where I will interject with my biggest issue with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis so far: the framerate and floaty feeling of the controls. This demo is, without question, an early build, with one of the representatives on site letting me know it was pre-alpha, but it was rough in spots. In past Tomb Raider games, the one thing the series nailed was precision. If you made a jump or ran for a ledge, you knew you could make it, and if you did not, it was often an issue on your end.
In Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, I would constantly hit roadblocks caused by the controls not acting as responsively as needed to make jumps. The final death in the last section of the demo was caused by Lara not wanting to grab onto a ledge, and I watched as she jump-posed her way into a chasm. I am giving the game the benefit of the doubt here and hoping this is just due to it being an early build, with the final game polishing up these issues, but it was a rough experience. That was even more frustrating since the rest of the game feels solid, and I wanted to actually experience it.
If you have played a Tomb Raider game in the past, you will feel right at home here. Lara sets out in search of the Scion, an Atlantean artifact split into pieces, and that search takes her across Peru, Greece and Egypt before the adventure reaches the lost civilization at the centre of the story. It is hard to say how much of the franchise legacy will be a part of this new instalment, such as characters, story lore and other elements, but so far, it feels very rooted in the mythos of Tomb Raider.
The biggest changes appear in how players move through the world. Unlike in past iterations, a grappling hook is a major part of how Lara traverses the landscape, while a scanner helps spot clues, secrets and interactive objects in the environment.
The Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis demo hinted at a much more connected experience this time around, with secrets, side areas and major sections that let you actually raid tombs. Even in the short demo, there were hints of how that would work in the larger experience. It is hard to say how vast the locations will be, but I like the more complex locations shown in the demo, and I am eager to see how the game opens up.
Combat in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is one area that feels very influenced by the Survivor trilogy, giving it a much more dynamic and fast experience. Lara still uses her dual pistols with unlimited ammunition, which are very much the name of the game here, but fights now include dodges, flips, rolls and a focus-style slow-motion effect that builds through successful evasive play.
