Wednesday 27 June 2018

Community Celebrates As Angel of Darkness Turns Fifteen

Published on: June 27, 2018 - No comments
Released in 2003, Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness is still considered to be the most pivotal game in the franchise. The game's reception was mixed following a turbulent development, growing publisher demands, and a release date that was just too early. The result was a game which struggled on occassion with bugs or glitches, with a Lara maybe less cooperative than in previous games, and under the weight of expectation. Following the launch of the game, the IP by Eidos (now Square Enix Europe) and transferred to Crystal Dynamics and from them Eidos Montreal, to take a new approach with the series.

But while Angel of Darkness had its faults, it was also the most gutsy and striking Tomb Raider to date.
Throughout its twenty year history, Tomb Raider has been re-imagined and rebooted numerous times, almost like a legend retold and redefined over time. The earliest re-imagining was with Angel of Darkness with the team at Core Design pushing what they could do with the franchise further. It was still the same Lara, but a much darker tone, with the story following on the heroine's crawl back from life after being buried at the end of Tomb Raider The Last Revelation.

Even fifteen years later, there's still a strong community following for Angel of Darkness, maybe partly also due to an emotional connection to the crunch-heavy developmental reach and history, that it was the title concluding Core Design's involvement with the series, or that it was an opening for a trilogy that was never finished. Throughout the years, fans have filled in the gaps, interviewed developers on their plans moving ahead with the trilogy, written fan fiction continuing Lara's adventures, created custom levels, and much more. The passion for the game even over a decade later is still incredible to see.

It's maybe no surprise then that, as the clocks ticked over to 22nd June, AOD fans across the globe began posting their own tributes to Tomb Raider's sassiest Lara. Below are just some of the ways fans celebrated the milestone...
Artwork both old and new was shared on social media channels, including from Inna who arranged a special art giveaway for Angel of Darkness fans. There's still time to enter if you haven't already with the closing date  being at the end of this month!

In addition to amazing artwork, we had amazing cosplays including this photo from Adrenaline Diamond. Looking great there!

Official Tomb Raider fansite, Survivor Reborn recently interviewed Murti Schofield, the writer of the game, in a special fifteenth anniversary commemorative podcast.

Roli and Johny from RaidingTheGlobe created a custom level using the classic Level Editor, continuing Lara's adventure from Tomb Raider: The Last Revlation. The level bridges the gap between the fourth and sixth game and builds upon the story of Angel of Darkness that we know. It's a really impressive and bittersweet way to celebrate the milestone!

Fans also reflected on their favourite memories and quotes from the adventure...


As it's a title which has meant a lot to people, it's hard to find all of tributes made on the day. These are just a handful that were posted. If you celebrated the milestone, we'd love to hear about it and share your work! You can email us at positivelytombraider@gmail.com or tweet us at @PositivelyTR.

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