With codes sent out to press and excited fans, four hour previews uploaded, and detailed impressions beginning to circulate, it can be pretty hard to avoid spoilers these days. For some fans, avoiding spoilers became a full time job since Gamescom or E3, who wanted to enter the game without expectation or prior knowledge. Additional trickiness is also on the horizon as the press embargo lifted today AND with the early release for pre-orders of certain editions on Wednesday, meaning a difficult forty-eight hour spoiler-avoiding marathon until the official launch.
So it can be pretty hard to avoid game details while also excited about what's in store for Lara's upcoming adventure!
Here's a list of five ways that you can celebrate Shadow of the Tomb Raider AND avoid details about the game:
Replay Rise of the Tomb Raider
Perhaps one of the best ways to get into that SOTTR mood is replaying Rise of the Tomb Raider for that authentic trilogy feel. There are still a few days until the next game is released so it's still possible to finish, depending how many hours you can put into it. Even if you just get part of the way through it's still a good refresher on the adventure that inspired the next. Plus it's a good game! If you don't have time to devote to replaying at the moment, there are plenty of Let's Plays that you can have on in the background while you multi-task.
Rewatch the Movies or Fan Films
With the new movie starring Alicia Vikander recently released and new editions of the older movies launching on Blu-Ray, it's a pretty good time to grab some popcorn, a few friends (or your cat), and sit down for a Tomb Raider-filled night.
If you're looking for something a little different though, there are plenty of TR fan films on offer too including Tomb Raider Ascension, Croft, Tomb Raider Divinations, Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Hunted, and so much more!
Catch Up on the Branching Comic Series
In 2016, a new series of Tomb Raider comics were announced which would bridge that gap between Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's a combination of four story arcs which continues the story between the games. While the comics aren't essential reading for the upcoming title, it expands on the story and provide greater understanding to the threat facing Lara.
For new fans looking to catch up, the world of the Tomb Raider comics can be a little daunting but the Tomb Raider Wikia will help you find the issues you are looking for.
A Co-Op Evening
While Lara Croft is usually associated with isolation and escape, a number of her adventures offer cooperative gameplay. Both Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris are fantastic experiences for you and a buddy (or three buddies with the latter game!). In addition to the Lara Croft series, the Endurance mode is Rise of the Tomb Raider is a strong contender and a bonding experience as you and a friend plays two Lara-shaped cats in search for constant food, heat, and belly rubs... wait, what?
Even if you played the game before, playing it with different friends will lead to a very different experience. Amanda may have been dedicated to unlocking the secrets but Steve... Steve will randomly wander off the side of the level.
Create Something New
One of the best things about the Tomb Raider community is the level of passion and the variety of fan creations. One of the many ways that the fandom shows their enthusiasm is by building something new such as a fan site, an article, a cosplay photoshoot, new artwork, and more. It's also a pretty great way of being distracted enough to avoid potential spoilers for the upcoming game while channeling that energy into something creative. If you do create something, let us know!
Social Media! It's also worth adding some muted keywords on Twitter, which you can do in your profile settings. For Facebook it can be a little trickier, but if you have Chrome there's an extension that you can get called Social Fixer where posts containing specific phrases such as "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" will be hidden. You can still read them if you want, and they still show up on your feed as a "this post contains X phrase" but you won't be bombarded by them as soon as you sign in. There's also an increase in activity on the Tomb Raider Discord, and with the @everyone tag hitting phone notifications, it can be very tempting to check about the latest announcement. Resist that urge!
So it can be pretty hard to avoid game details while also excited about what's in store for Lara's upcoming adventure!
Here's a list of five ways that you can celebrate Shadow of the Tomb Raider AND avoid details about the game:
Replay Rise of the Tomb Raider
Perhaps one of the best ways to get into that SOTTR mood is replaying Rise of the Tomb Raider for that authentic trilogy feel. There are still a few days until the next game is released so it's still possible to finish, depending how many hours you can put into it. Even if you just get part of the way through it's still a good refresher on the adventure that inspired the next. Plus it's a good game! If you don't have time to devote to replaying at the moment, there are plenty of Let's Plays that you can have on in the background while you multi-task.
Rewatch the Movies or Fan Films
With the new movie starring Alicia Vikander recently released and new editions of the older movies launching on Blu-Ray, it's a pretty good time to grab some popcorn, a few friends (or your cat), and sit down for a Tomb Raider-filled night.
If you're looking for something a little different though, there are plenty of TR fan films on offer too including Tomb Raider Ascension, Croft, Tomb Raider Divinations, Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Hunted, and so much more!
Catch Up on the Branching Comic Series
In 2016, a new series of Tomb Raider comics were announced which would bridge that gap between Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's a combination of four story arcs which continues the story between the games. While the comics aren't essential reading for the upcoming title, it expands on the story and provide greater understanding to the threat facing Lara.
For new fans looking to catch up, the world of the Tomb Raider comics can be a little daunting but the Tomb Raider Wikia will help you find the issues you are looking for.
A Co-Op Evening
While Lara Croft is usually associated with isolation and escape, a number of her adventures offer cooperative gameplay. Both Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris are fantastic experiences for you and a buddy (or three buddies with the latter game!). In addition to the Lara Croft series, the Endurance mode is Rise of the Tomb Raider is a strong contender and a bonding experience as you and a friend plays two Lara-shaped cats in search for constant food, heat, and belly rubs... wait, what?
Even if you played the game before, playing it with different friends will lead to a very different experience. Amanda may have been dedicated to unlocking the secrets but Steve... Steve will randomly wander off the side of the level.
Create Something New
One of the best things about the Tomb Raider community is the level of passion and the variety of fan creations. One of the many ways that the fandom shows their enthusiasm is by building something new such as a fan site, an article, a cosplay photoshoot, new artwork, and more. It's also a pretty great way of being distracted enough to avoid potential spoilers for the upcoming game while channeling that energy into something creative. If you do create something, let us know!
Social Media! It's also worth adding some muted keywords on Twitter, which you can do in your profile settings. For Facebook it can be a little trickier, but if you have Chrome there's an extension that you can get called Social Fixer where posts containing specific phrases such as "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" will be hidden. You can still read them if you want, and they still show up on your feed as a "this post contains X phrase" but you won't be bombarded by them as soon as you sign in. There's also an increase in activity on the Tomb Raider Discord, and with the @everyone tag hitting phone notifications, it can be very tempting to check about the latest announcement. Resist that urge!
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