Celebrating twenty-five years of the franchise, "Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide" is now available!
Originally revealed in mid-March, the cookbook celebrates the adventure and diversity with culinary dishes from Lara's travels. There are forty recipes in total, including "power snacks for energy on the go, appetizers, entrees, drinks, desserts, and meals with franchise ties". Some of the revealed dishes include Ceviche from Peru, Kathi Rolls from India, and Beans on Toast from England.
Inspired by local cuisine, the recipes have been replicated by Tara Theoharis, the creator of The Geeky Hostess, and the author behind "The Minecrafter's Cookbook" and "Break an Egg! The Broadway Cookbook". The text is by Sebastian Haley and Meagan Marie, both very familiar names, with Meagan's name being a recent addition on the cover. The two also worked with Official Fansite Owners to create a travel guide, showcasing the best places to go while visiting their home countries.
"Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide" is available now, published by Insight Editions.
Official Synopsis:
Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide is a thrilling and delicious tutorial on recipes based on the cultural history of the many locations Lara Croft has visited throughout her 25 years of global adventures-bringing the taste back home to you.
Inspired by the hit Tomb Raider videogame franchise, this book features over 40 recipes from the many locations Lara Croft visits and explores across the globe, with food and drinks inspired by key characters and locations. Also included is expert information on the cultural history of the many beautiful cities and countries to which she travels. A global exploration, this unique cookbook and travel guide takes fans on an exclusive journey across the planet chasing the thrills and adventures of Lara Croft. Featuring beautiful full color photography as well as stunning art from the games, this is the ultimate gift for fans, travelers, and food aficionados alike.
Book Launch Trailer / Tara Thoeharis Trailer
To celebrate twenty-five years of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics have teamed up with a group of artists who would bring their own reimagined twist to the game covers we all love and grew up with. For October, we start a brand new trilogy with Tomb Raider (2013). To celebrate the game, the studio has teamed up with legendary artist, Yoshitaka Amano to recreate Lara in his own style.
Released in 2013, Tomb Raider is a darker reimagined take on Lara's origin story. While on a research mission searching for the lost island of Yamatai, the crew of the Endurance is shipwrecked and its crew must fight for survival on a deadly, strange land where believed mythological concepts are now real. The experience can be described as "raw" and "harsher" than what fans had seen before, a description that the artist conveys in his work too. For his work, Amano only paints and draws on canvas, making him one of the few artists using traditional techniques for the celebrations.
To celebrate twenty-five years of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics have teamed up with a group of artists who were each tasked with bringing their own reimagined twist to the game covers we all love and grew up with.
As celebrations for the anniversary were delayed at the start of the year, throughout August, the studio was celebrating both "Tomb Raider Legend" and "Tomb Raider Anniversary", to ensure that each game received coverage. For Anniversary, we saw a reimagined take by Brenoch Adams featuring our favourite enemies. However, eagle-eyed fans may notice that we never saw the Legend piece. Complications arose with the piece, and an alternative artist was selected, but today, we finally have a finished piece!
To celebrate the game, Crystal teamed up with Nagu to create a manga-themed design for Lara. If you play mobile games such as "Azur Lane", "Fate Grand Order" or "Arknights", chances are that you've seen some of her work already.
Her piece captures the fluidic movement of the game. "Tomb Raider Legend" is a fan favourite for many people, with the game's vast amount of diverse landscapes, stylish outfits, vehicle sections, and puzzles. It is just a bundle of fun! Nagu's artwork perfectly captures that energy and grace that Legend is associated with. The vines, which also played a big part of the game's multi-level transversal, neatly spells out "25" to honour the year.
Talking about her work on the Tomb Raider 25th website, Nagu stated that "there is always something magical and unreal about being able to draw for a series you grow up with, and I am honored to be a part of the celebration! For this piece, I wanted to draw Lara swinging on a vine while exploring the ruins. I thought it would be nice for the vines to add into the energy of the illustration and to also represent the 25th anniversary. Thank you very much again for the opportunity and I look forward to seeing more of Lara's adventures in the future!"
You can continue to follow Nagu on Twitter and Pixvi!
Download the full artwork on the Tomb Raider 25th website, HERE!
We're just speeding through 2021! If you've been following the 25th-anniversary celebrations, you will know that August was Tomb Raider Legend month. To wrap up their month-long tribute, Crystal Dynamics published a new community showcase featuring all of the Legend-themed artwork, cosplays, crafts and more, that were submitted during the four weeks.
[7th September 2021] To celebrate twenty-five years of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics teamed up with a group of artists who would bring their own reimagined twist to the game covers we all love and grew up with. For September, the studio has been focusing on Tomb Raider Underworld (2008) and teamed up with Switzerland-based artist, Laura H. Rubin.
Tomb Raider Underworld is considered to be one of the grittier of the series, featuring a deeper emotional depth than we had sometimes seen before, and with buried tombs with dark secrets. Darkness plays a huge part in the experience, from more realistic weathering on Lara's skin to the sometimes limited use of light for the atmosphere. For the piece, Laura represented Lara's dual personality, showing both the adventurer and her doppelganger but also representing that darkness, both in the feel of the piece and in Lara's look.
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| Full piece. Click to enlarge. |
As part of Crystal Dynamics' ongoing celebrations for Tomb Raider's 25th anniversary, the Community team has been delving into the archives to reveal never-before-seen material that the studio had created while building Tomb Raider Underworld. These have ranged from concept artwork to storyboards.
The team has collected the newly discovered art and compiled a series of videos showing the progress, incorporation, or progression of the work in the game.
So far, five videos were created and uploaded to YouTube. In case you missed any of the videos, check out the list below for the complete set! We'll continue to add to this post as more are uploaded.
Underworld Development: Freinds and Foes Concepts
Underworld Development: Environment Concepts
Underworld Development: Creature Concepts
Underworld Development: Artifacts Concepts
Underworld Development: Storyboards
Underworld Development: Motion Capture
Underworld Development: Render Process
Underworld Development: Pre Alpha & Alpha
Underworld Development: Alison Carroll Showcase
Underworld Development: Cut Content
As part of Crystal Dynamics' ongoing celebrations for Tomb Raider's 25th anniversary, the team has been delving into the archives to showcase brand new concept artwork, storyboards, beta animations, and more. Throughout August, the studio has the spotlight on Tomb Raider Legend revealing new material from the development of Crystal's first Tomb Raider adventure.
So far, nine videos were created and uploaded to YouTube. In case you missed any of the videos, check out the list below for the complete set! If you're interested in game design, this is definitely the playlist for you.
Video Series:
Legend Development: Movement in Combat
Legend Development: Lara's Early Concepts
Legend Development: Amanda Concepts
Legend Development: Storyboards
Legend Development: Cover Concepts
Legend Development: Early Location Scouting
Legend Development: Key Art Evolution
Legend Development: Final Model
Legend Development: Beta Footage
Legend Development: Early Handheld Dev Footage
Image Series:
Legend Development: Unused Renders
[26th July 2021] To celebrate twenty-five years of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics teamed up with a group of artists who would bring their own reimagined twist to the game covers we all love and grew up with. The project kickstarted with Brenoch Adams' incredible Tomb Raider (1996) piece featuring Lara in her classic outfit (including bun) preparing for her fight in The Lost Valley. For August and September, Crystal Dynamics will be celebrating Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary, and Tomb Raider Underworld.
To kickstart August, the studio published their commissioned Anniversary piece first, with Legend's due to arrive near the end of the month. For Anniversary, Brenoch (Franchise Art Director at Crystal Dynamics) returned to deliver another mind-blowing piece!
The tribute takes on a vintage look, with Lara's original design used as the framework for her revised face. Old enemies make a return in the form of Natla, Larson, and Kold, with creatures lurking at the bottom. Whereas his debut piece took inspiration from the Peru levels, his latest tribute is a mix of all the levels with golden skies at the top of the piece and lush trees framing the base.
Speaking on the Tomb Raider 25 website, Brenoch talks about his approach to his Anniversary artwork, stating that "as a young kid, there was nothing more exciting than going to purchase a new video game with my parents. The titles were not surrounded by trailers or hype, just a glorious piece of cover art and a few screenshots on the back of the box packaging. This Tomb Raider Anniversary piece is inspired by the retro cover art that I was continually captivated by when selecting a game."
"Lara is accompanied by my interpretation of Larson, Natla, Kold, and other prominent features from the game in a loosely styled approach. I often kept the box of the games as well, replacing the cartridge back after playing. The boxes would become creased and worn from hours of use, but I always treasured them as my most prized possessions."
You can download all the artwork versions on the Tomb Raider 25th website, HERE!
[30th July 2021] Gaming Heads was back with a new announcement rceently as they revealed the next statue in their Tomb Raider line-up!
Their Angel of Darkness figure is the fifth in a set of six which originally celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the franchise. The announcement came during the Angel of Darkness Community Livestream as Meagan Marie (Senior Community & Social Media Manager at Crystal Dynamics), Neha Nair (Tomb Raider's Community & Social Media Manager) and Jonell Elliott (Lara Croft Voice Actor) revealed the first look of the latest statue.
With Angel of Darkness month drawing to a close, Crystal Dynamics revealed an unexpected surprise for classic Tomb Raider fans! Following the launch of the game in 2003, Del Ray published three new paperback novels which continued Lara's adventures. This month, the publisher gave permission for all three books to be released and read for free. Pick them up on Apple Books, or download them in an e-reader PDF format for free.
You can grab your own copy on the Tomb Raider 25 website, HERE! It's always the perfect time to start a new book!
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power by Mike Resnick
"Here at last–the first exciting book in a bold new series of Lara Croft novels tying directly into the popular video games. The Amulet of Power reveals the never-before shown events that took place between “The Last Revelation” and “Angel of Darkness.” Trapped beneath the ruins of an Egyptian tomb, Lara faces certain death... until fate intervenes and sets her on the trail of an ancient talisman of power."
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze by James Alan Gardner
"After completing a near-fatal mission in the mysterious cloud forests of Peru, Lara Croft flies to Warsaw to tackle her next assignment–and finds herself in the middle of an epic battle for the ultimate power."
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult by E.E. Knight
"After destroying years of his research on the ancient Méne cult, archaeologist Professor Frys is murdered by an unknown assassin. Lara Croft knows her colleague must have stumbled upon a dangerous secret–and someone took his life to ensure it would remain in the shadows. So Lara jets to the mysterious cloud forests of eastern Peru, home of the Méne ruins, and makes a shocking discovery: A group is attempting to revive the sinister cult and its mind-controlling ways. One of the followers is Lara’s former friend and failed protégé, Tomb Raider Ajay–and she is determined to see Lara silenced... permanently. But Lara, never one to run from a challenge, has other plans."
[31st August 2021] Throughout the year, Crystal Dynamics is celebrating Tomb Raider's 25th anniversary by dedicating each month to a new Lara Croft adventure. July was Angel of Darkness' month in the spotlight and for the occasion, the community team revealed never-before-seen prototype footage, storyboards, and assets from the 2003 game.
In total, nine videos were created and uploaded to YouTube, with help from fellow fans, Bob (@TRJTA) and Tina (@Terenete).
In case you missed any of the videos, check out the list below for the complete set! If you're interested in game design, this is definitely the playlist for you.
Initially teased on the Tomb Raider social media channels, the series' collaboration with Ghost Recon seemed to have been a fairly quiet affair, but if you own "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint", you can now go on a special Tomb Raider-themed mission, "Relics of the Ancients", via the Objectives Board!
The introduction to the task is short and sweet. "During my adventures on the island of Auroa, I came across an interesting map. Unfortunately, I was being chased by armed mercenaries at the time, so I wasn't able to properly investigate the find. Seemed like a solid trail, so you should have no trouble finding them again. The nearby glacier makes the area quite cold so gear up accordingly! I'll leave the rest to your wits. - LC". Accompanying the text is a sketch of the mountains with the note, "I left something for you".
The trail can be found between Royal Ridge and Solitary Peak, with large stone statues guiding the player towards the temple's entrance. There is where the player discovers the locked chest with three gem-shaped engravings first piece of the puzzle and directions on where to go next. The mission is a treasure hunt of sorts, with the player tasked with discovering the next map location to find hidden gems to unlocked the box.
The mission takes approximately an hour-long, depending on how familiar you are with the areas in the game. If you succeed, the game awards you 250 credits and Lara Croft's tank top design for your own character, along with matching sunglasses.
If you try it out, let us know how you get on!
[26th July 2021] To celebrate twenty-five years of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics teamed up with a group of artists who would bring their own reimagined twist to the game covers we all love and grew up with. Since then we've had one piece revealed each month, until June. For Angel of Darkness, the studio approached an artist whose style they felt perfectly compliments the game. As the commission couldn't be completed for the month, and to allow them to have extra time, they reached out to four artists in the community to help them celebrate the game.
Each Monday for the past month, Crystal has revealed another exciting piece. July 26th marks the final Monday, and this one is absolutely incredible. The artist is Anastasia, known on Twitter under @nastiaershova_!
