Rise of the Tomb Raider Day/Night, Weather Systems, and More Confirmed

Developer Crystal Dynamics' goal for upcoming Xbox-exclusive adventure game Rise of the Tomb Raider is to deliver a Tomb Raider experience "you would have dreamed of" during the franchise's early days. That's according to game director Brian Horton, who says in a new interview that the game's newly confirmed day/night and weather systems, among other things, will make the title one to remember.

"The sophistication we're bringing to gameplay is as much as the sophistication we're bringing to the graphics, and I find that extremely exciting," Horton told Game Informer.

Rise of the Tomb Raider launches this fall exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox One, though it may come to PlayStation platforms later on. Crystal Dynamics is developing the Xbox One edition, while Nixxes Software is creating the Xbox 360 iteration.

Also in Game Informer's interview with Horton, he reveals several new gameplay details.

• Lara will have multiple bows, which can be upgraded
• The game will have a day/night and weather system. Some animals will only come out during certain periods of day.
• Animals will make tracks, which should help you follow and hunt them. However, these tracks will vanish over time as snow piles up.
• Crystal Dynamics has gone to great lengths to ensure the snow effects, including avalanches and crumbling ice walls, look realistic

While much of what Crystal Dynamics has shown so far of Rise of the Tomb Raider has depicted the snow-blanketed region of Russia, which is one of the game's main settings, Horton teases that players will also visit a place referred to as the "Oasis." This might be a warmer environment.

He explained that having different weather and temperature zones was important to Crystal Dynamics so that "we're not going with one single look throughout the entire game." The developer previously teased that Rise of the Tomb Raider will see players travelling to other distinct locations across the globe, including "dusty sandscapes, dense forests, and underwater caverns".

Finally, Horton expanded more on the "traumatized" version of Lara Croft that players will encounter in Rise of The Tomb Raider. Depicting her as somewhat broken was an important element in making her come across as more relatable, he said.

"If she was perfect and a super-hero we would lose some of the great things we had on the last game," he said. "So we have to find those moments where the world will overwhelm her but she'll find a way to survive."