Relic Run Launch Event

Lara Croft Relic Run has now been officially launched on all platforms… however, some people may be having issues. My first generation ipad mini for instance won’t run it and I think the Motorola Nexus 6 is not compatible. Please let us know if you have issues with your phone/device.

As some of you know, I was invited along to the Relic Run launch event which took place in London.
When I was there, I was introduced to Amy White (PR Manager at Square Enix) and Iain Riches (Producer on Relic Run).

When myself and other community members were seated, we were each given an iPad with a copy of the game for us each to try hands on for the first time.
I’m ashamed to admit that I died… A LOT!!! And everyone knew it as the iPad I was given was the only one to have the sound up!
Iain told me that the game aimed to kill you as much as possible, but I’m sure he was just trying to make me feel better. One thing I noticed though was that every time I died, I started somewhere different, so I wasn’t able to get used to a particular section and beat it through sheer repetition.
Iain explained how the game was made up of numerous tiles which would be randomised as you played the game, making sure it didn’t get boring and kept the player on their toes. It was another way of challenging the player, which Iain emphasised, was a thin line that they tried their best to make sure they did not step over in order that the game goes from challenging to just plain frustrating.
Even with the embarrassing amount of times I did die, I have to admit I was not finding it frustrating, considering what I’m normally like with mobile games! Although that was probably due to the old style of ragdoll deaths that kept me entertained!



It was really clear from the offset that this game leaned more towards a “Classic” Lara, rather than running in the universe of the reboot. As Iain explained, the reboot had moved the franchise on to something that now was too real and visceral, and that just would not work with a mobile game. There’s something about Classic Lara that is more fun and has a more cartoony element that translates better on this style of game. And my favourite quote from Iain “You can’t have a Tomb Raider game without a T Rex”… I’m sure a lot of you reading this will understand the mention!
It still has connections however to the current world of the ever expanding “Lara Croft” franchise. The game is set after the events of the Temple of Osiris where Carter (character from TOO for those who haven’t played) has gone missing on an expedition, leaving clues in order for Lara to find him.

There’s not only clues to find as you run through Lara’s fasting moving world, there are also relics (collectibles, which all have an individual description) as well as coins, the main currency of the game, that can be used to purchase upgrades and other costumes of which there are four to choose from. The costumes have the added bonus of giving Lara different abilities such as stealth or having clues generate faster.



This is a free to play game, and it can remain as a free to play game, unless you wish to purchase upgrades faster rather than waiting until you have enough coins to buy them. I noticed the top purchase to upgrade absolutely everything went for $99.99! I’m not sure who would be that determined to pay that sort of money, but each to their own!



As more questions were asked during the day, it became clear that although some things that fans would like to see in the game are currently not available, that doesn’t mean that fans won’t see them in the future.
Multiplayer seemed to be a theme that came up a lot at the event and it’s something that has not been ruled out, but would probably need to be looked into more depending on how much the fans would wish to see it.
There are already ways for players to interact with each other in the game across different platforms, starting with a universal leader board to sending “curses” to friends in their games which they have to survive in order to get a bonus. If they die due to a curse that was sent from a friend, then the friend wins the bonus.
There is also a much friendlier option of giving currency to a friend via their username, although I didn’t catch if this was actually available yet.
Something else that was mentioned was locations. Upon release, there are two available: Jungle and Desert landscape, with a mountain location being released later. Iain added to this, that depending on feedback from the community, there will be other locations in the future… and apparently Venice has been suggested by fans already. How awesome would that be!

A few issues were brought up as well, such as there being a few times that the touch screen wouldn’t work the way it was meant to (i.e. jumping instead of sliding etc), but these were issues that are constantly being worked on. Iain also added that for those who cannot get on with touch screens, a keyboard and mouse would work and they are also looking into making joypads compatible, meaning the game will have wider appeal than just mobile gamers.

Overall, I really enjoyed what I got to play of the game. I haven’t played it much since it was released, as it doesn’t work on my iPad and I’m not too fond of it on a smaller screen so haven’t played much on my phone.
I had imagined it to be a lot like the typical mobile runner games that have been on the market for a while now, but it feels like a lot of love and thought have gone into this game and it feels like fans are actually being listened to which makes me really hopeful in the long run for this game!



I’m not a big fan of mobile games myself, so I don’t know how long my enjoyment of this game will last before it’s a redundant app on my phone, but at least for now it’s something I think is a great addition to the Lara Croft franchise and something I will be recommending enthusiastically to my mobile gaming friends!