Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis Beginner Guide: What Actually Matters in Your First Playthrough

I've been following the Tomb Raider series since the 90s, and I gotta say, this UE5 remake of the 1996 original is probably the most ambitious thing Crystal Dynamics has attempted. Co-developing it with Flying Wild Hog and getting Amazon Games to publish it? Not the combo I expected, but the trailers look legit.

The game drops February 12, 2027, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and here's the surprise, Nintendo Switch 2 is getting it day one. That's kind of wild for a UE5 title but apparently they've been optimizing for it specifically. The Switch 2 version runs at a lower resolution obviously but all the gameplay systems are intact.

If You Never Played the Original

You're not alone. The 1996 Tomb Raider is older than a lot of people picking up this remake. Here's what you need to know: this isn't the Survivor trilogy Lara. Different vibe entirely. Alix Wilton Regan is the new voice for Lara, and Crystal Dynamics has said this is the start of the unified timeline that bridges classic Lara with reboot Lara. What exactly that means for the character, we won't fully know until we play it.

The original was famous for its interconnected level design. You'd solve a puzzle in one room that opened a door three areas away. The remake keeps that philosophy but modernizes it. The devs talked about expanded interconnected levels in the UE5 reveal, puzzles that span multiple areas, traps that trigger in one room and resolve in another.

The story is Lara hunting for pieces of an artifact called the Scion, a relic of the lost Atlantean civilization. Her rival, Jacqueline Natla, the head of Natla Technologies, is also after it with a team of mercenaries. The journey goes through Peru, Greece, Egypt, and a mysterious Mediterranean island with Atlantis ties. Classic globe-trotting Tomb Raider stuff. The original's story was mostly told through brief cutscenes and text. The remake gives it full cinematic treatment.

One thing worth knowing: the original game was hard. Like, genuinely punishing. Instant death traps. Limited saves on PlayStation. Combat that expected pixel-perfect positioning. The remake is still challenging but it's no longer cruel. Checkpoints are generous. The controls are responsive. You'll die, but you'll learn from it instead of wanting to throw your controller.

First Thing: Fix Your Settings

I know, boring. But UE5 games can be punishing on defaults. Motion blur off, obviously. FOV at least 90 if you're on PC, the default is always too narrow. If you're on console, Performance mode is the way to go unless you specifically want to admire the ray-traced shadows in the Egyptian tombs at 30fps.

The camera has a lot of settings you can tweak. Shoulder offset, sensitivity curves, aim assist strength. Take ten minutes to mess with this stuff before you start. Nobody enjoys fighting the camera while platforming. There are sensitivity curves, aim assist options, dead zone adjustments... you get the idea. The default shoulder offset sometimes clips Lara too far to the left, adjusting it a few ticks right improves visibility significantly in tight corridors.

The Combat is NOT the Survivor Trilogy

If you're coming from Shadow or Rise, reset your expectations. The classic games were about positioning, timing, and movement, not cover shooting. The remake keeps the modernized combat that the Survivor games introduced but mixes it with the old school approach. You won't be hunkering behind chest-high walls trading shots. You'll be dodging, parkouring, getting vertical.

From the footage they've shown, Lara can jump, climb, wall-run, and slide. The movement looks closer to what we got in Shadow but faster, more fluid. I'd spend your first half hour just running around the opening Peru level getting a feel for the movement. You'll thank yourself when a boulder's rolling at you.

Traps Are Back

The original was notorious for instant-death traps. Floor spikes. Rolling boulders through narrow corridors. Swinging blades from the ceiling. The remake brings these back in full force. Crystal Dynamics has said some trap rooms span multiple areas now. You might trigger something in one section and deal with it three rooms later.

So go slow. Check your surroundings. Look at the ceiling before entering a room. The old Tomb Raider rule was "if a room looks suspicious, it will kill you." That definitely still applies. The Peru caves have a false floor that drops you into a spike pit if you walk across it without jumping. The visual tell is subtle, slightly different floor texture. You'll learn to spot these.

What to Actually Do First

Don't rush the Peru opening. The original's Caves level was iconic for a reason. Explore everything. The interconnected design means you'll find shortcuts and secrets that loop back on themselves. The Scion artifact fragments are hidden in clever spots.

Talk to whatever NPCs exist in the hub areas. They might give context or items, but this is primarily a solo exploration game. Lara against the world.

Some secrets are permanently missable. If you pass a certain point, you can't go back. The 1996 original was brutal about this. The remake might add backtracking through its expanded design, but I wouldn't count on it. If you want all the collectibles, explore thoroughly before progressing. The game usually signals a point of no return with a brief cutscene or dialogue line.

For Series Veterans

If you played the original in 1996, the nostalgia is going to hit hard. Crystal Dynamics clearly loves the source material. The level layouts are recognizable but expanded. The music has callbacks to the original themes. The traps are in the same places but more elaborate. It's a remake that understands what made the original special without being slavish to it.

The unified timeline stuff is woven into optional content mostly. Relics, journal entries, background details. You can enjoy the game as a straightforward action adventure without engaging with the timeline meta-narrative. But if you've followed the series across decades, the connective tissue is there.

Verdict for New Players

You don't need to play the 1996 version first. The remake is designed as an entry point. Watch a quick YouTube summary of the original's story, it'll make the callbacks and the Natla rivalry feel more meaningful.

Exploration. Puzzle solving. Platforming. That's what this game is actually about. Combat serves the adventure, not the other way around. So take your time. Look at the environments. The game rewards curiosity more than reflexes, and that's honestly refreshing in 2027.