There have been plenty of movie/virtual reality (VR) tie-ins, some ok, some not – looking at you Jumanji: The VR Adventure. Today, Warner Bros. has released a VR experience to coincide with next month’s launch of Tomb Raider, a piece of cinematic content called Tomb Raider VR: Lara’s Escape.
Looking much better than some other movie-based VR content, Tomb Raider VR: Lara’s Escape puts you in the first-person viewpoint of Lara as she looks to escape a bunch of soldiers. Of course this being Lara Croft the only means of escape is to descend into an ancient tomb filled with traps galore whilst using your trusty flashlight to see where you’re going. While the experience maybe short you’re still armed with a bow to dispatch enemies of solve puzzles, plus a climbing axe to escape capture allowing you climb, rappel and zip-line to safety.
The new blockbuster is a Tomb Raider reboot rather than a sequel to the original Angelina Jolie films – Hollywood does love a good reboot. The new film stars Academy-Award winner Alicia Vikander (Jason Bourne, The Danish Girl) and looks to be taking cues from Rise of the Tomb Raider, with a edgier feel to the whole experience. This was the same videogame that featured a VR section for PlayStation VR back in 2016 before coming to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive towards the end of 2017.
Tomb Raider is scheduled to hit theatres on 16th March, 2018. Tomb Raider VR: Lara’s Escape is available now for free on Samsung Gear VR. For the latest Gear VR content launches, keep reading VRFocus.