Laras new outing detailed

The first details surrounding Square Enix’s freshly announced Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light have emerged – and might prove somewhat of a shock to fans of the franchise.

It was revealed last week that the game has not only dropped ‘Tomb Raider’ from its title, but will also be a digital-only release.

Now GameSpot reports that the game will also depart from the series heritage by adopting a top-down isometric viewpoint. The move is al the more radical considering that Tomb Raider is widely recognised as being one of the first titles to offer a fully believable 3D in-game action world.

Despite that – and despite the name change – the title will still featuring plenty of tomb raiding. Joining Ms Croft is Mayan tribesman Totec in a quest for an ancient artefact. The site describes the title as a game with one foot in the 1980s”.

Co-op gameplay is very much the focus, with both local multiplayer and online drop-in options available.