Survival Mechanics That Should Be In The Next Tomb Raider Game

Highlights

Tomb Raider games should fully embrace the "survival" aspect by incorporating features like evading predators and having a day/night cycle.
Hunger/thirst mechanics could be added to enhance the survivalist themes in the game, making it more realistic and challenging.
Adding exhaustion mechanics and the ability to rest/sleep would fit thematically, adding a new layer of gameplay and challenge to combat encounters.

2013's Tomb Raider reboot put a distinct spin on the franchise compared to its predecessors. Previous iterations had mostly been linear games that mixed puzzle-solving with action scenes. The 2013 game retained both, but allowed a bit more room for players to explore, and also played up some new themes. Lara always had a reputation as a survivor, but now it has become a core theme of the new series, with each game being centered around her ending up in an isolated environment and having to adapt, to the point where her signature dual pistols were swapped for a bow. This continued with the sequels, allowing this iteration of Tomb Raider to be known as the "Survivor Trilogy."

Amazing Tomb Raider Mods That Make The Games Even Better

The Tomb Raider series features a ton of diverse entries, and these mods improve the base game experience through visuals and mechanics.

Curiously, while survival is a big theme in the plot, it is not usually part of gameplay. There are aspects of survival games, like being able to make use of the environment, collecting, improving skills, dealing with predators, and crafting better equipment, but they are not really "survival" games. Outside of the Endurance Mode in Rise of the Tomb Raider, they're still focused more on action-adventure. As great as these games have been so far, there is a lot more they could do to fully embrace the "survival" aspect.

5 Animal Behaviors

Not Every Encounter With a Predator Has to End in Violence

Image from Shadow of the Tomb Raider showing Lara Croft facing off against a leopard/cheetah.

All three of the "Survivor" games include animals running around the in-game world. Before that, animals usually served as minor enemies, but 2013's Tomb Raider added in the hunting mechanics, and with them, a greater variety of wildlife to encounter, but there is still more that can be done. Both Rise and Shadow of the Tomb Raider have portions where Lara has to fight against predators, but it might make sense to have other options besides direct confrontation.

One approach might be allowing ways of evading them by observing their behavior. For instance, predators need to sleep, and in those moments, the players focus on moving quietly to avoid waking them. Another possibility would be to use scent camoflauge or decoys. A more realistic system where they aren't always actively targeting Lara directly could also help.

4 Day/Night Cycle

Different Times of Day Can be Game Changers

With Rise and Shadow of the Tomb Raider starting to bord er on open-world, a logical next step would be a proper day/night cycle. This is a common feature in many open world games, and Tomb Raider would have an opportunity to take advantage of it. The previous games had specific sections set during day and night, but no real flexibility between the two. Allowing the game to shift between the two (outside any sections where one or the other is required) would likely affect Lara's experience in the wilderness.

7 Survival Games Where Crafting Is Key

Crafting is a vital part of many titles, but players will have no hope of survival if they don't craft well in the following survival games.

During the day, it might be easier to find prey, and the light makes it easier to navigate. Night would be better for stealth but risks more active predators combined with limited visibility. For different quests, Lara might have to evaluate which time of day is better for her current objective.

3 Hunger/Thirst

If Lara is Going to Survive, She Needs to Eat

An image from Tomb Raider showing Lara Croft about to fire an arrow from a bow.

Although hunting and foraging mechanics have been a big part in the more recent games, they've been tasks used more for obtaining XP and crafting resources than immediate survival. Lara only seems to require food when it is directly relevant to the story, usually for the purposes of a tutorial. Otherwise, she seems to do just fine. With Tomb Raider continuing to embrace its survivalist themes, incorporating a mechanic for food or water would be a good way to move further in that direction.

Tomb Raider Remasters: 7 Things They Could Improve From The Original Games

Tomb Raider 1-3 are getting remasters, but there are some features in the original games that players want improved.

Rise of the Tomb Raider already had some success with this in Endurance Mode. Food would presumably be obtained through hunting and gathering like other resources, but campfires are already a thing, so cooking could also be included. Depending on the setting, there might be room to add limitations, with some animals being poisonous. Granted, it might make sense to disable this feature during some of the actual tomb raiding sequences, but for general exploration it would be a great addition.

2 Rest

As She Gets Stronger, Lara Can Endure a Lot More

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Base Camp Cropped

Much like food, Lara only seems to need sleep when it's relevant to the plot. Being a Tomb Raider is exhausting, and the games do try to show some of that - mostly through cutscenes. These can be great from a storytelling perspective, as they make Lara feel more human by showing her more vulnerable side, but that is usually the extent of their role. Adding an exhaustion mechanic, and an ability to sleep, would certainly fit thematically.

Aside from adding to the survivalist aspect, it would make combat encounters a bit more challenging, since enemies might try to defeat Lara by tiring her out. For added difficulty, Lara might also need to find safe places to rest. The games already use campsites as a break from the action, so it could conceivably be added there. Of course, this would need to be something that could be improved over time, meaning Lara would be able to endure a lot more as she progresses.

1 Weather

Plan Activities According to the Forecast

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Cropped

The "Survivor Trilogy" enjoyed throwing Lara into remote locations, which sometimes meant dealing with extreme weather. However, this usually only applied as needed for the story and mostly served an atmospheric purpose.

Adding in a weather cycle would create a more varied experience, and impact Lara's ability to handle different situations. It could also come with strengths and weaknesses. In a cold setting for instance, like in Rise of the Tomb Raider, a blizzard could reduce visibility but produce more favorable stealth conditions.