The Tomb Raider series has always tiptoed around horror elements throughout its 25 years of existence. But with the 2013 reboot, it would appear that Crystal Dynamics had initially had more horror in mind. That’s according to the recently-released development footage from Tomb Raider: Ascension, the game that later became the 2013 reboot.
Ascension (not to be confused with the 2007 fan film) would have had Lara Croft team up with a 6-year-old girl named Izumi as they made their way through a mysterious island inhabited by ghosts and monsters. The game was to take inspiration from survival horror titles like Resident Evil, but also adventure games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.
However, as these things go, the team eventually pulled back and went with focusing on an origin story of survival, and less horror. However, that hadn’t stopped Crystal Dynamics from firing out concept art and even branding mockups for the eventually-reworked project. It also does make you wonder how the series would’ve gone had Ascension been the game we got back in 2013.