Crystal Dynamics: Rise of the Tomb Raider’s Main Campaign Is “10-15 Hours Long” (Video Interview)

Brand Director Rich Briggs, in the interview above, talks about Crystal Dynamics ambitions' for Rise of the Tomb Raider, stating that the game is built on four pillars: Lara's journey, guerrilla combat, "woman-versus-wild," and the tombs.

We started off by talking about the imperfections in the character models' skin, and how it added a layer of realism to the characters in the game. "She's been through some things," Briggs said, "If you pay close attention you'll actually see some scars that she's gotten from previous adventures."

When I asked about the degree to which the game was a mix of linear gameplay of the Syrian tomb from the beginning of the game, versus the hubs, the game's large open areas of exploration which include optional challenge tombs. Briggs answered that the Syrian Tomb—which has been available for play at public events—is kind of a training tomb to teach players the mechanics of tomb raiding, suggesting that later tombs have more of an opportunity for greater exploration, but that the hub environments are huge and offer a ton of content for people wanting to go beyond a straight-shot narrative.

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After I mentioned that I had been stealth-killing a group of enemies in a warehouse, but had accidentally set the whole building on fire (and a fair portion of the scrub outside) when I had tossed a lantern at an enemy out of curiosity. Briggs laughed, and said this was a great example of player choice in executing combat:

We really wanna give players more options, and that's why we really spent a lot of time and focused on guerrilla combat, because we want you to feel like, "If I wanna go in guns blazing, I've got the tools to do that. If I wanna stealth these guys really really quietly, I can do that. If I wanna start stealth and then go loud, I can do that."

And so, even avoiding combat altogether

—there are some places where you can't do that—but that's why we've added the tree traversal, or swimming underwater so you can avoid combat on your terms if you want to.

The bear shown in the Siberian Wilderness trailer is what the devs consider a "Tomb Guardian," since he lies in wait outside of the ice-ship challenge tomb. Briggs said the bear was also there to teach the player to use the poison arrow mechanic as well, and that other bears in the wilderness areas could be avoided through stealth.

When I mentioned the crafting system, he addressed how it was deeper than in the original game, and there was added functionality in being able to craft ammunition on the fly. Perhaps of more note was that a player would have to choose upgrades and skills to fit their playing style, "It will be very, very difficult to upgrade everything that you want in a single playthrough… we are gonna make you choose what you want to upgrade and what skills you want to acquire."

When I mentioned the pre-Renaissance icon art in the tomb and a communist mural in the Soviet Outpost at the Siberian hub, Briggs said their team had taken trips to Europe to look at not only the art, but how historical design could influence their level design: "What does the architecture in the space look like? What does the color palette in the space look like?"

When I asked if he had anything to add, he said that the game was about Lara voluntarily taking on the role, becoming the Tomb Raider as a mantle of personal responsibility, what the internal development team at Crystal Dynamics calls her "burden of destiny." A big part of that (the four pillars he mentioned earlier) is the tombs, which they realized from player feedback was something people wanted, and that they are aiming to deliver that with more tombs and more challenging tombs to give fans exactly what they asked for. 

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a timed console exclusive for Xbox One and Xbox 360 set to release on November 10th, and next year on other platforms. Check out our coverage of the game, and head on over to our YouTube Channel to see more video content.