Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Crystal Dynamics' flashy reveal trailer for Rise Of The Tomb Raider wowed E3 goers, but it wasn't the only presence Lara Croft had at the show. We got some hands-on time with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and walked away with five facts fans should know.
It's A Direct Sequel To Guardians Of The Light
Before Crystal Dynamics rebooted Lara Croft with last year's
critically acclaimed Tomb
Raider, the developer shook up the series with a smaller downloadable
adventure, Lara
Croft And The Guardian Of Light. The isometric co-op title was well received
thanks to its mix of gunplay and puzzles, as well as its focus on cooperative
play. For The Temple Of Osiris, Crystal Dynamics is building on the formula
with new puzzle mechanics, abilities, and equippable loot such as amulets and
rings that can provide buffs to your character and teammates. One amulet we had
granted fire damage to all of our attacks, which came in handy when fending off
hordes of encroaching enemies.
The Game Sports An Egyptian Theme
As the name suggests, The Temple Of Osiris takes Lara Croft back
to Egypt, a surprisingly underutilized setting in the series that's ripe for
tomb raiding. The game also taps into Egyptian legends, so you can expect to
see plenty of undead mummies, scarab beetles, and booby-trapped tombs. During
one particularly tense escape sequence, we were chased by Ammit, a giant
crocodile/lion/hippo demon from Egyptian lore. You'll also run into some
revived Egyptian gods, but don't worry – they're on your side.
Four-Player Couch Co-op Is Included
The Temple Of Osiris is doubling the player count of
Guardians Of Light, allowing four friends to team up for the entire adventure.
Don't have three friends? That's sad – but you can play with random Internet
folk as well, in any mix of local and online co-op. The game supports
drop-in/drop-out play, and automatically scales puzzles to the player count, so
everyone has something to do when implementing a solution.
Players Have New Powers
As previously mentioned, Lara is joined by up to three other
characters on her adventure. One is a fellow archeologist named Carter Bell,
who sports the same powers as her. The two tomb raiders have dual pistols to
take down enemies and a grappling hook that they can use to scale walls, pull up
other characters, or create a tightrope that others can hop on to cross chasms.
The other two characters are Egyptian gods who have been mysteriously resurrected
and are adamant about helping Lara. Their powerful staffs can shoot out beams
of light, create a bubble shield that other players can hop on top of to reach
higher ledges, and can raise and lower ledges marked with glowing hieroglyphs. The
level we played mixed up the character powers well, requiring everyone to pitch
in to navigate the environment. Every player can also lay down bombs
It's Next-Gen And Beautiful
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is being created
exclusively for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and Crystal Dynamics is taking full
advantage of the extra power that the new systems provide. The game looks great
and features dynamic lighting and shadows (which complement Croft and Bell's
torches), and there are plenty of on-screen enemies and destructible objects in
the environment. The character models are highly detailed, and still impress
even when viewed up close. Crystal Dynamics says the improved models allows
them to zoom in on the characters during cutscenes to help convey the story. The
narrative wasn't a huge driving force in The Guardian Of Light, but we'll take
prettier cutscenes and character models regardless.