10 Controversial Video Games Everybody Totally Misunderstood

8. Tomb Raider - The 'Attempted Rape' Sequence

Sometimes the want and need to tread lightly around certain subject matters ends up leading to some of the most leaden footwork you can hear a mile off. Tomb Raider's 2013 reboot was supposed to be a revamped look at the world's most famous female archaeologist, but instead was overshadowed by some cack-handed comments from the developers themselves.

In just one quick interview with Kotaku, years of pre-production work was thrown to the wayside, as producer Ron Rosenberg painted a picture of Lara not as the twin pistol-toting badass of yesteryear, but as a "cornered animal you'd want to protect". He then went on to describe a scene where the enemies on the island would attempt to rape her, despite it not being in the game whatsoever.

This then turned into speculation around what the scene in question was, leading to launch day as we all found out it couldn't be further away from a 'rape scene' if it tried. A male character certainly does get very close in Lara's personal space, but nothing else of any sexual nature occurs. The scene is pegged more as Lara fighting against a physical force she cannot overcome, and whilst that does play into a description akin to rape, the fact it was so far away from Rosenberg's comments speaks volumes as to how things can be blown out of proportion by all involved.

Naturally the rest of the world didn't care, and 2013's Lara remains one of the most overlooked and underrated third-person action adventures of all time, forever damned by an image problem it would completely avoid in-game.