Lara Croft is back in a vivid, high-pace remake of her 1996 debut, according to Engadget. Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog unveiled Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at Summer Game Fest 2026, showcasing the first gameplay demo built in Unreal Engine 5. The remake positions Lara's character between the "Survivor" trilogy of the last decade and her iconic original adventure, centered on Atlantean mythology, tomb raiding, and dinosaurs.
A Familiar Starting Point
The demo deliberately recreated an early section of the original game: the Peruvian mountainside. Engadget reported that the demo included a giant cog puzzle from the 1996 classic, though the remake made it "more exploratory [and] exciting" by requiring the player to find giant wheels, bring them together, and interrupt a waterfall to create a path. Players can also swan-dive into the waterfall pool at any time.
In addition to the puzzle, Lara faced several shootouts with a herd of red velociraptor-adjacent dinosaurs, identical to those in the original Tomb Raider (1996). Later, a T. rex appeared, triggering a high-speed escape set piece, with Engadget noting the sequence played more like the original action-adventure titles while integrating advanced game mechanics.
Modern Mechanics and Collectibles
Lara now collects and uses healing packs between fights, gathering resources from trees and caves, as well as mythical curios and historical objects. Not all changes are welcome: Engadget expressed disappointment with the inclusion of collectible hunting, noting that the Assassin's Creed series has largely moved on from the trend. Some collectibles, like fangs, can be converted into skill points, forcing players to scour for objects.
Lara's PDA (a deliberately retro touch, per Engadget) combines encyclopedia entries for everything found, a current task list, and an intermittent scanner that offers hints. The demo leaned heavily into verticality, with routes often above or below the player. A grappling hook and climbing axe round out the equipment, drawing inspiration from more recent Tomb Raider titles. The grappling hook is used to swing across chasms, pull objects, and is crucial to solving the cog puzzle.
Combat and Skill Enhancements
During gunfights, Lara can use a new ability called Focus, which slows time to allow more precise shooting or switching to distant targets. Engadget noted that Focus is triggered during an aerial cartwheel, reminiscent of Max Payne or The Matrix spin-off games. Lara's dual pistols have infinite ammo, making it easy to down the pack of dinosaurs, though not before they gored the player several times.
The demo also briefly touched on skill trees, which were blocked in the demo, but Engadget speculated that dual-wielding (shooting two targets at once, as in the original) might be an unlockable skill in the full game.
Visuals and Comparisons
Built in Unreal Engine 5, the game adds vivid detail and lushness to the environments, according to Engadget. The writer drew comparisons to 007 First Light, another game with ties to the "Amazon industrial entertainment complex," citing detailed environments and a quippy British lead. However, Engadget clarified there is no shared development core between the two titles.
Legacy of Atlantis is a remake of that very first adventure, centered on Atlantean mythology, tomb raiding and, well, a few dinosaurs. A release date has not yet been announced.
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