The Art of Fan Art

Tomb Raider Edition

video games eidos GIF by Tomb Raider

With the release of the latest Tomb Raider movie, I thought it would be a fitting time to take a look at how the series has been able to continuously draw in a fan base for over 20 years.

Lara Croft first made her debut in 1996 on PC, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn consoles with the release of the first Tomb Raider game. It’s initial success encouraged developers to release a new Tomb Raider title every year. In 2003 however, the game The Angel of Darkness was considered a failure out of the gate and put a pause on game production while Edios Entertainment (now owned by Square Enix) found a new home for the title with Crystal Dynamics, which has been the primary development team to work on the games since.

In 2001, Lara made her silver screen debut, played by Angelina Jolie. While the film itself didn’t receive as well as hoped, most fans agreed that even with senseless plot, Jolie did make a great Croft.

After that, a handful more games were released between 2008 and 2010, but it was the “re-boot” of the series in 2013 that really brought Lara Back into the gaming spotlight. With the release of Tomb Raider, we got a new look at Lara’s origins and Lara herself got a fresh updated look as well. The game’s overall success lead to the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015, and coming 2018, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

So without further ado, lets explore some amazing creations inspired by the lady herself.

1. Tomb Raider by TheGameWorld