Rise of the Tomb Raider story writer Rhianna Pratchett has revealed that she isn’t a fan of the game’s plot but was forced to craft a story around it from higher ups at Crystal Dynamics. Pratchett made this revelation in response to a tweet from comic writer Gail Simone, who complained that far too Tomb Raider stories focus on Lara Croft’s dad rather than the protagonist herself. Quote tweeting Simone, Pratchett revealed that the dad plotline in Rise of the Tomb Raider was “dictated” to her “from above” and she had to make peace with things to get on with her job.
Rise of the Tomb Raider story had a mixed reception
Rise of the Tomb Raider received positive reviews overall and was (surprisingly) considered a commercial success by Square Enix. However, some reviewers were critical of its story, calling it predictable and simple. “Speaking as someone that often gets defined by her dad, I’ve spoken in interviews about not being a fan of the dad plot line in Rise, but it was dictated from above and I had to make peace with it to do my job,” Pratchett wrote. For those who aren’t aware, she’s the daughter of late acclaimed novelist Terry Pratchett, so that’s where her comment about being “defined by her dad” comes from. Interestingly, Shadow of the Tomb Raider writer Jill Murray also said in response to a tweet that she personally doesn’t like the focus on Lara’s dad.
Speaking as someone that often gets defined by her dad, I’ve spoken in interviews about not being a fan of the dad plot line in Rise, but it was dictated from above & I had to make peace with it to do my job. It’s a big reason why the comics I worked on were very non-dad focused. https://t.co/sj3neTWzCT
— Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) February 23, 2022
Opinion: Give writers more creative control
Zarmena writes… I personally felt like Tomb Raider got progressively worse since its excellent 2013 reboot, and had to force myself to sit through Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Had the writers been given more control over their work, things might have been different. The series’ strength lies in Lara Croft so whoever came up with the idea of shoving her dad into the plot clearly wasn’t planning to make a compelling character. What a waste!
In other news, Elden Ring’s performance and UX have been criticized by other devs, and Gran Turismo 7’s microtransactions aren’t going down well with players.
