Rise of the Tomb Raider has already been in the hands of Xbox owners for almost a year, and PC owners for over six months. Next week — and finally — PlayStation 4 owners will get their hands on this amazing adventure title. As penance for waiting so long for the game, Crystal Dynamics has plenty to offer PS4 players in terms of extras, such as the Season Pass available on the disc, PS4 Pro support, and even its own PSVR mode.
I’m honestly amazed that Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have been able to keep the hype for this title going for a year after the game’s release on Xbox. I played the game last year, and even I’m excited about seeing what PlayStation owners will think of the game, as well as all of the new content they’ve added since initial launch.
The PS4 version launches on October 11, 2016, and to get you prepared for it, we proudly present Everything You Need to Know about Rise of the Tomb Raider. In the gallery below, you’ll find all the info you could possibly want, from when the game was announced to gameplay trailers to DLC to PSVR support.
Who’s getting Rise of the Tomb Raider next week? Stay tuned to our review set to hit the site soon.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider Announced at E3 2014
Tomb Raider was successful, so most people knew a sequel would be coming. At E3 2014, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix made it official at the Microsoft press conference. No platforms for Rise of the Tomb Raider were confirmed at that time.
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Gamescom Revealed It's an Xbox Exclusive
Just a few short months after E3, Microsoft announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox exclusive at gamescom, releasing on both Xbox One and Xbox 360. You could almost hear the jaws dropping around the world.
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Microsoft's Phil Spencer Clarified That ROTR is a Timed Exclusive
After the surprising Xbox exclusive announcement, Microsoft's Phil Spencer explained that the exclusivity is a timed one. "Yes, the deal has a duration [on Xbox]. I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise." The game was set to release during the holiday season of 2015, but he didn't say when it would release for PlayStation or PC.
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Phil Spencer Says That ROTR Is Their Answer to Uncharted 4
Uncharted 4 was supposed to release in 2015 before it hit several delays into 2016. Regardless, at the time Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced, both Sony and Microsoft believed that PlayStation 4 owners would have Uncharted 4. As such, Phil Spencer said in a gamescom interview that snagging the exclusivity for ROTR was totally an answer to Uncharted 4.
I’m a big fan of Uncharted and I wish we had an action adventure game of that ilk. We’ve started some, and we’ve looked at them. But we don’t have one today of that quality. This is an opportunity.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider Follows the Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals Novel
In between game releases, Crystal Dynamics recruited Dan and Nik Abnett to write a novel that would lead into Rise of the Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals takes place immediately after Lara's return home from the first game and sends her on a crazy adventure across the world to unearth the organization behind recovering Immortality artifacts. It's not required reading for ROTR, but it gives more information on the group Lara goes up against in the game.
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Lara Croft Will Have a Variety of Weapons and Gear
Lara doesn't lose all the gear she amassed from the first Tomb Raider title. Instead, she compounds on top of it. Her axe can be upgraded even further, as well as her bow, clothing, and ammunition.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider Confirmed for PS4 a Year Later
PlayStation 4-owners everywhere collectively breathed a sigh of relief as they learned a year after Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced that it would indeed go to the PS4. The PS4 release would not happen until nearly a year after the Xbox release, meaning Fall/Holiday 2016. With the announcement came the first gameplay reveal for the title.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider Is Three Times Larger Than Last Game
Game Director Brian Horton said in an interview that the sequel's "exploration spaces are 3 times larger than they were in the last games." However, they have also guaranteed that it will still be a "seamless experience."
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No Multiplayer
There is no multiplayer mode in Rise of the Tomb Raider, as Crystal Dynamics did want to focus on building an incredible core campaign experience. The developer has said that they want to possibly revisit adding in both cooperative and competitive experiences.
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Campaign Will Take Around 15-20 Hours
Lead Designer Mike Brinker said that the core campaign of Rise of the Tomb Raider should take between 15 and 20 hours to complete. For completionists, however, there is over 40 hours of gameplay and exploration available.
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Season Pass Info
Xbox players were treated to a Season Pass of DLC content that would "extend your single-player campaign, and also allow you to compete with friends." The DLC at this time included the Endurance mode, Baba Yaga tomb DLC, and Cold Darkness Awakened. It's since been announced that PS4 owners have all of this DLC on day one.
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Extra Game Modes Available for Replayability
After completing the chapters in Rise of the Tomb Raider, players will have the opportunity to replay them with extra challenges.
- Chapter Replay – Replay earlier chapters of the story. Complete challenges to earn credits.
- Chapter Replay Elite – Replay earlier chapters of the story with your upgraded skills and equipment and complete challenges to earn credits.
- Score Attack – Replay levels from the game with a new set of rules. Finish the level quickly for a time bonus. Chain together attacks, movements and collectibles to keep your multiplier high. Complete challenges and collect medals to earn credits!
- Remnant Resistance – Replay Hub spaces with a new set of goals. Craft your own missions by choosing the objectives, enemies and more. Once you’ve mastered the mission, challenge friends and the community to beat your high score or play other custom missions created by the community.
The purpose of the credits is to purchase Expedition Card packs, which players can use to add modifiers in these extra game modes. Card Packs can be purchased for real world currency as well.
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Here's What Endurance Mode Looks Like
Endurance Mode is an online co-op expansion that allows players to tackle tombs with a friend in "harsh elements" in the wilderness. Check out the 22-minute gameplay video to see how this works out.
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PS4 Version Called a 20 Year Celebration
The PS4 version of Rise of the Tomb Raider gets fancy new box art and a new title: Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. As a makeup for having to wait a year, PS4 owners will receive all of the Season Pass DLC, a new story DLC called Blood Ties, PSVR support, the Endurance mode, and additional outfits, weapons, and Expedition Cards.
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First 27 Minutes of Rise of the Tomb Raider
Spoiler-tastic video released of the first 27 minutes of Rise of the Tomb Raider. The video includes the beginning tutorials, cut scenes, and a flashback. View at your own risk, but it will give you a good idea what to expect with the title.
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Lead Writer Says Oversexualized Lara Croft Is a Thing of the Past
Lead Writer Rhianna Pratchett said in an interview that the oversexualized Lara Croft with the ginormous pointy boobs is a no more. She explains that Lara is still beautiful and strong, but she's not marketed to be sexualized.
The way Lara is marketed now is not sexualized…it’s still beautiful, it’s still strong, it’s still characterful, but it’s not sexualized in the way it was done before.
To be fair, a lot of the sexualization of Lara in the past has been solely for purposes of marketing, and it had a huge sway…As a young female gamer, I’ll admit that I was put off by that kind of marketing of Lara. It was very much like, ‘Hey I’m being sexy for boys here.’ I thought … I’ll go and play another game, then. That’s definitely something that’s very, very much in the past.
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PS4 Rise of the Tomb Raider Will be 1080p/30fps
Crystal Dynamics made it a goal to get Rise of the Tomb Raider to 1080p resolution and run at 30 frames-per-second (fps), something they could not achieve with the Xbox One. This goal is a bare minimum, where "anything beyond that is a bonus."
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Digital Pre-order Includes a Free Copy of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Those who pre-order Rise of the Tomb Raider from the PlayStation Store will receive a bonus copy of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. The Definitive Edition was Crystal Dynamics remastering of the 2013 title for the new generation of hardware.
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Blood Ties DLC Trailer
Blood Ties is a new DLC for Rise of the Tomb Raider that was not previously with the Xbox Season Pass. Once the PS4 copy of the game releases on October 11, 2016, the Blood Ties DLC will be available on the Xbox Season Pass. In Blood Ties, Lara will explore her manor and unlock various secrets, including a zombies mode for the mission.
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Will Have Three Visual Modes for PS4 Pro
Crystal Dynamics has already worked in PS4 Pro support for Rise of the Tomb Raider to be nice and ready when the new hardware releases.
- High frame rate: Unlock the frame rate at 1080p
- Enhanced visuals: 1080p locked at 30fps with additional textures, lighting features, multi-pass rendering, and particle effects
- 4K - self explanatory
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PSVR Mode Details
The Blood Ties DLC will include PSVR support with two control schemes: free mode and comfort mode. The comfort mode allows players to place a virtual transparent Lara "anywhere in your field of vision," and then they can teleport to that point. Blood Ties is strictly an exploration mission with some puzzle solving, which makes it a perfect experience for PSVR. The zombies mode of the DLC, Lara's Nightmare, will also include PSVR support.
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Are You Ready for October 11th?
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration releases October 11, 2016 with PS4 Pro support, PSVR support, all of the DLC, new outfits, new weapons, and even a retro Lara Croft skin as shown to the left.
