Legend is the supreme Tomb Raider experience, so much so that this entire era is named after it. The Kazakhstan level of Legend is the perfect example of how this looks in practice. Jeff Wajcs, one the developers of Underworld, the Survivor trilogy, and the Guardian spin-offs, told me in an interview earlier this week that Metroidvanias are the inspiration for Tomb Raider that never gets talked about.
There are motorbike chases, spike traps, fights on the tops of trains, and - crucially, considering what some of the games in Survivor offer - lots and lots of actual, proper tombs. The Tokyo level, and in particular its cocktail party shootout, is the pinnacle of everything Lara Croft is. The caves of Peru are a classic throwback, while Bolivia's more open terrain hints at the direction Tomb Raider would later move into once greater technology became available. It has the most varied level design in the history of the series, paying homage to the past while looking forward to the future. As I have written about before, I firmly believe Legend is the greatest Tomb Raider game ever made, one that perfectly understands what a Tomb Raider game needs to be. The reason I've left Legend until last is because it's Tomb Raider's ace in the hole. Underworld also had one of the best Tomb Raider stories, and is the most 'classic' feeling Tomb Raider since TR 4. It had a grappling hook, because every video game in that era had a grappling hook, but I still can't really explain why it exists beyond that baffling trend. The combat isn't the best it has ever been in Tomb Raider, but the introduction of mocap lay the groundwork for the Survivor Era, while the more classic puzzles and exploration paid homage to what came before. Even without that though, Underworld is a damn good game. The next Tomb Raider game will seek to replicate this idea, tying the Legend and Survivor Eras together, but in doing so will begin a new, fourth era for the series. Underworld followed Anniversary, which acts as a sequel to both Legend and Anniversary, tying together the story strands of the Original Era and the Legend Era - a challenge no other era has done.
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