Character Artist Kam Yu talked through the art behind Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and what it took to redraw Lara for an isometric perspective.
Adapting Lara for a New Angle
The franchise hadn't used an isometric view before, and it made things awkward. "One of the main challenges was ensuring she stood out and remained recognizable from this new angle," Yu said, so the team had to keep Lara instantly identifiable while still sitting her properly in the game's dynamic environments.
"Chompy" and the T-Rex
Yu's pick of the enemy designs is "Chompy," the oversized fish, drawn from deep-sea creatures with a free hand on the design. "Everything about Chompy's design screamed over-the-top fun, from his exaggerated movements to his oversized arms propelling him along," Yu said.
The T-Rex, a Tomb Raider staple, got distinctive spines and armor plating to make it more formidable.
Aztec Culture in the Designs
Aztec culture drove the enemies and the environment in Guardian of Light. "All our enemies were designed to fit seamlessly within the Aztec theme. They shared a unified design language, with detailed references to Aztec culture in their clothing, armor, and weapons," Yu said.
The mythology fed in too, with Xolotl—the Aztec god of fire and lightning—in the game, and Aztec symbols worked through the character designs.
Lara Across the Two Games
Both games kept "a fun and casual vibe," Yu said, with Lara designed to appear "strong, confident, yet playful—almost like an old friend to the players." That's what marks the tone of the spin-offs out from the main Tomb Raider series.
The Ones That Got Away
Some concepts never made it in, including a Spider Queen and a dragon-like creature. "We had some exciting concepts that unfortunately didn't make it into the final game. One of our ambitions was to include more giant creatures, adding a sense of epic scale to the battles," Yu said.
Where to Play Them
The Lara Croft Collection is out on Nintendo Switch with both Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris on it.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light also lands on iOS and Android on February 27th, 2025, with pre-orders open on both iOS and Android.
TLDR;
Character Artist Kam Yu on redrawing Lara Croft for an isometric perspective in Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris, designing "Chompy" and the T-Rex, working Aztec references into the enemies, and the creature concepts that got cut. Both games are on Nintendo Switch, and Guardian of Light comes to mobile in February 2025.