It seems that Crystal Dynamics’ redesign of the ever-popular Lara Croft for their new Tomb Raider game has received some unwanted attention. Touted to be an open-world title set in India, the upcoming game has fans of the franchise excited to return to it, even as others seem determined to nitpick at the finer details.

The company’s reveal of Lara Croft’s new look has become the catalyst for a debate around standards of beauty for female characters in games, with criticisms being leveled against her new look even as industry stalwarts like David Jaffe have risen up to defend it.

You Can’t Win Them All

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Can we all just be excited for a new Tomb Raider game?

While it’s almost inevitable that any attempt to take on a beloved franchise is bound to have its share of criticisms, Lara Croft’s new look from Crystal Dynamics seems to have ignited a controversy that has plagued the gaming industry for a while now.

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A tweet from the controversial Mark Kern, from his official handle on X called Grummz, calls out the company for what he calls a “Man-jaw” ruining Lara Croft’s traditional beauty. Kern is very vocal about his disdain for what he believes is a forced inclusion of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) in modern games. You can check out the tweet below:

However, it seems that Kern may have bitten off more than he can chew this time around.

The New Lara Croft Finds a Friend from God of War

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David Jaffe has quite a few iconic game designs under his belt.

Crystal Dynamics’ redesign of Lara Croft – and Kern’s criticism of it – has caused quite the storm. Weighing in the new design is none other than David Jaffe, the lead designer and creative director of the original God of War and its sequel. And, like the iconic characters he brought to life, he is not one to pull his punches.

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And it looks like Jaffe is not alone. Other fans of Tomb Raider have also raised their voices in defense of Lara Croft’s new look, such as X user Mikal Fox.

Kern certainly has opened up the floodgates with his criticisms, if what Vex Electronica has to say is any indication as they compare Lara’s new look to another popular actress from Britain.

Others have doubled down in their support of their new design with a simple validation of Crystal Dynamics’ new take on the popular character.

Others fail to see what the fuss is all about, stating that the new look is in line with previous iterations of the character.

It’s clear that Lara’s new look does have its fair share of fans. Kern may certainly be entitled to his opinions, but it is clear that Tomb Raider fans are stoked for the new game. We can only hope that Crystal Dynamics gives us a brilliant new adventure with their new Tomb Raider game. We can’t help but wonder what Anna Kendrick has to say about it, though.

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