Rise of the Tomb Raider E3 2015 Trailer Arrives

Video game developer Crystal Dynamics is giving users another look at Rise of the Tomb Raider, the next major installment in their Lara Craft franchise coming exclusively to Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles this holiday season.

Crystal Dynamics released a new Rise of the Tomb Raider trailer just this morning. Titled the E3 2015 trailer, we don’t actually get a look at the game world or any new information about the gameplay. Instead, the trailer serves as both an homage to explorers from the past and sets the tone for Croft’s upcoming adventure.

The first image you see in the new Rise of the Tomb Raider trailer is of Amelia Earhart and other famed explorers, daring to go where others said they wouldn’t, shouldn’t or couldn’t. As the entire screen goes white we get our first look at Croft since the last game in the series, Tomb Raider. Croft is climbing a mountain. What she is trying to reach isn’t immediately clear, but she hits the wrong surface with her ice pick, triggering a huge avalanche that nearly engulfs her.

After most of the ice has fallen, Croft goes back to climbing and the trailer ends in a mysterious cavern that isn’t shown on camera. We know whatever she’s found her way into was purposely built because the entrance has very intricate stone work. As the trailer closes Lara says that “For some, discovering the world’s secrets is the only way to live.”

The new E3 2015 trailer doesn’t include a Rise of the Tomb Raider release date. Instead, it invites those excited about the game to watch Microsoft’s E3 2015 Xbox Media Briefing on June 15th. That Crystal Dynamics would wait until then to share more Rise of the Tomb Raider release details makes sense, the game is a core part of its Holiday 2015 gaming line-up, joining other heavy hitters like Halo 5: Guardians and Forza Motorsport 6. Quantum Break, a new game from Remedy Studios involving time manipulation was scheduled to join those three titles, but is now not coming until 2016.

Rise of the Tomb Raider takes place in Siberia, Russia according to a profile in gaming magazine GameInformer. You still play as Lara Croft. She’s traveling the world again, attempting to uncover another mysterious secret. This time Croft has more detailed weapons upgrades and better combat skills. More specifically, weapons can be upgraded using the natural materials players find around them. For example, different bows can be fashioned out of things found in the game world.

Read: Rise of the Tomb Raider Interview Reveals More

Hunting down animals and materials isn’t the only way Crystal Dynamics is looking to make Rise of the Tomb Raider more of a simulation. This game includes its own day and night system, forcing users to take a lot more into account when they’re out searching for materials or simply wandering in search of their next mission.

Players will need all those upgrades to survive the dangerous wildlife and human threats that await Croft.

Read: 5 Xbox One and Xbox 360 Things We Hope to See at E3 2015

Lara’s actually in Siberia searching for a long-lost city that allegedly could hold the truth to immortality. To be clear, Rise of the Tomb Raider is exclusive to Microsoft’s consoles for this holiday season only. When we’ll see a PS4 and PS3 version of the game is a bit unclear, but the consensus is that we can at least expect a version for those consoles sometime after the holiday season. That timed exclusive agreement touched off a firestorm at last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s hard to imagine that it won’t do the same at this year’s show.