Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Q&A Session

A few days ago, Tomb Raider Drawings announced that, thanks to Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix, was able to play Shadow of the Tomb Raider a few days before the official release date, 12th September for the "Croft Edition" owners, and today, 14th September for the other ones.
We decided to open our Q&A Sessions for the game in order for you, fans and players, to get a little bit in the details about Lara's latest adventure.

We recieved some questions from fans and we will answer them directly.

Let's begin:

- "Can you change the tops and bottoms for all the outfits during the game, or only for the crafted ones?"

You can only change the tops an bottoms of the special outfits you can find in the crypts, or the ones you can buy from the various merchants in game. The tops and bottoms offers you various skill and avantages and you can combine them in order to personalize your gaming experience as you wish.

- "Can we play the co-op tombs solo?"

We don't have updates about the co-op tombs right now. These will be included in the future DLCs. We will update you as soon as possible.

- "Will there be a chance to explore Croft Manor as in the previous episodes of the old series?"

It may or may not be possibile to at least explore a bit of the Croft Manor in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. We will update you if something in future is planned for a bigger experience.

- "I noticed that in Tomb Raider 2013 the documents spoke about an fenomen called "Star Effect", will this element be explained as it disappeared?"

No mention of the "Star Effect" of Tomb Raider 2013 is made in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

- "Shadow of the Tomb Raider is published with this game slogan: Become the Tomb Raider. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara was ready herself (well, no as the classic one), can you feel the growth of the character from the previous game?"

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara is more determinated and prepared than ever in order to destroy Trinity once and for all. Lara has grown up a little bit and you can surely feel her determination in this game. She is almost obsessed, she wants to know more about her past and wants to make the world a better place. In this game she understands that she is not the "centre of everything" and that other people are around her. She understands all the wrong thing she made in past and wants to remedy. You can explore more about her character and about other Lara sides we didn't know till now.

- "Are there any easter eggs from any TR game?"

I found some pretty easter eggs during the game. We won't talk about them in order to discover them yourself. Lara will certainly tease about her latest adventures in Shadow of the Tomb Raider but...try to find out about other easter eggs while playing the game, it will be surprising!

- "Lara's irony is back?"

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider we will explore more about Lara's irony and "funny" side. During the game she will interact with other characters and some dialogues are pretty funny.

- "Rise of the Tomb Raider is well- narrated from the beginning, but later on during the game there is a Death point, Shadow of the Tomb Raider follows the same path?"

I noticed that Shadow of the Tomb Raider pretty follows the same narration scheme of it's predecessor, Rise of the Tomb Raider..but thanks to new mechanics, characters,  and more elements this game totally looks like a new game different from the trilogy ones.
You can explore more about Lara's relationship with Jonah and other characters,past and present ones, which i won't describe here, and of course you can go deeper in Lara's mind, searching for her will to become the Tomb Raider. Lara is more capable and determinated than ever to stop Trinity and this will bring to some consequences she has to face.

- "In Shadow of the Tomb Raider can you craft your own outfits with materials you collect, or you just find them through the game?"

Apart from the standard outfits and DLC ones. You can find tops an bottoms of ancient outfits in Crypts, or buying them from the merchants in order to combine them as you wish personalizing your gameplay experience.

- "All the abilities and weapons from the latest games will return?"

Most of them yes: weapons are still the same, bow, pistol, shotgun and rifle but this time there are more variations of them, thanks to the Merchants and the future DLCs. Abilities are very similar to the older games, apart from rope climbing and wall traversal...and 360o swimming makes a glorious return!

- "Did you tried the "Immersive Mode"?"

I am currently re-playing the game with "Immersive Mode" ON and hearing hubs people speaking their native language looks really interesting.

- "How do you find the way to interact with characters in game unlike Rise of the Tomb Raider?"

I personally like the new way to interact with the various characters in game. The dialogues are very unique and you can know more about Lara's character and her relationship with people. Interaction cutscenes are implied (while speaking to merchants or to secondary mission characters), which can make cutscenes look a little bit similar to Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness ones.

- "Who is the sountrack compositor of Shadow of the Tomb Raider? Is it good?"

Brian D'Oliveira is the new composer of this game. Shadow of the Tomb Raider features the most beautiful soundtrack of the trilogy in my opinion. To intensify and to feel the game even more closer to you there is the use of particular tribal and South American instruments. The soundtrack is on point and never fails the moment. Lara's principal instrument is for example the violin, to express her feelings and emotions during her adventure.

- "Many fans are complaing about the fact that Lara wears tribal outfits during the game and that are not -realistically functional- for climbings and explorations: what is your point of view?"

I personally loved the tribal outfit Shadow of the Tomb Raider has. They are aesthetically beautiful and pretty functional. There are points in the story where Lara is almost forced to put these outfits in game and these ones are perfectly suitable for her adventure in the Amazon Jungle.

- "Jonah is with Lara through the game, how does his presence work during it?"

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider you will explore deeply Lara's relationship with her friend Jonah. There are some focal points in game which i won't spoil but are truly deep. I can say that Jonah is always present during the adventure and will follow Lara in the Amazon Jungle, keeping her company but also helping her during hard points as puzzles.

- "Does Lara make jokes during the game?"

Like the previous games Lara's funny side is here but it's more amplified and worked. Lara now makes jokes, smiles or uses irony with principal or hub characters.

- "Does Lara moan or scream during the game?"

I am happy to say that i didn't noticed very crucial parts where Lara screams or moans (apart from some key scenes). Lara feels more agressive than before and more strong, and this particulars are well worked in the game (as for example for climbing or running she doesn't use that lot of effort so she is more controlled and normal in breathin.)

- "Will dual pistols or classic Lara make a comeback?"

This is the end of Lara's origin story, we saw her from becoming a survivor to a brave adventurer and a Tomb Raider. This is the part of her life where she understands what she is meant to be. She doesn't necesarry have duals or shorts in order to be recognized as Lara Croft. She is young and she has to explore more about the world around here...so let's take our time and watch her evolution.

This is the end of our Q&A session about Shadow of the Tomb Raider. If you have other questions, feel free to contact us.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is out now for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

See you next time!