I’m excited for a new Tomb Raider game—but not for the inevitable discourse over Lara Croft’s design

After years since the last iteration in the series, a new Tomb Raider game is set to be revealed this Thursday at The Game Awards, and I’m stoked to see how it’s looking and what the plans are for it. And yet I’m also dreading what will come of the reveal.

Because Lara Croft is a truly iconic video game character. The Tomb Raider games on PS1 were hugely influential for that console, and helped turn the adventurer into a household name in gaming and pop culture. I even remember seeing TV commercials, namely this one below, that celebrated her stardom and how even adults loved her.

Lara was an early sex symbol in 90s gaming, there’s no other way to put it. Her buxom figure and skimpy shorts and tank top “inspired” all sorts of discussion and thought, and it set a precedent moving forward. She even got her own movie franchise, portrayed by the world-famous actress Angelina Jolie.

But with the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, Crystal Dynamics’ design of the heroine was quite different. Her curves were more muted, her outfit featured pants instead of skin-tight shorts, and that’s just part of why the game has since been deemed as woke, or “pro-feminist and DEI,” as one Steam review put it.

But now? In the era of “anti-woke” messaging and constant discussion over character designs, I am not at all looking forward to the discourse that will pop up if Lara is deemed not sexy or attractive enough for some people. Or even in the opposite direction, if she’s too overly sexualized in the eyes of some.

There’s also the unlikely-yet-feasible possibility that Amazon, which is publishing the game and also developing a live-action TV series based on the game, may design Lara similarly to the actor chosen to play her in the show, Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner. Some have already spoken out about Turner, claiming she doesn’t have the correct body, figure, or even face to play Lara. I just hope she can perform the role well as an actress, personally.

For the new game, it’s an unenviable position for the devs to be in to try and reboot or reimagine a decades-old series that is beloved by many. It needs to be new and exciting, while true to the originals, and it needs to be fresh, but unmistakably on brand, all at the same time.

And when it comes to Tomb Raider, or any female-led game for that matter, the character design is going to be a point of contention in the social media era. I don’t envy Crystal Dynamics in trying to find the right balance when it comes to her design, because it’s impossible to please everyone. And now, the general temperature on social media further does not bode well for that.

For the new Tomb Raider game, I’m excited to see the setting, the environmental design, and the gameplay loop. I just hope the game looks awesome and is fun to play. Lara’s attire and body type should come long after that, and I hope that’s where the discussion is centered after Thursday’s reveal. But given these past few years online, I’m not very hopeful.

It’s worth noting, however, that the Lara render teased inside of Fortnite does seem to bear a resemblance to her original short-shorts model. We shall see in a few days.