An aspect that the last Tomb Raider game absolutely nailed was its sense of world-building. In its efforts to create a dangerous place for Lara to battle against, the exotic Island the developers crafted for the previous title felt like a place that was lived in, and a place with a rich amount of detailed history and context. Going into the sequel Crystal Dynamics needs to expand this sense of world building to whatever location they decide to set Rise of the Tomb Raider in. While the original island itself felt real, its entire history more or less boiled down to a run of the mill, clichéd history of terrible people doing terrible things to each other. With the next game the developers need to create an environment that feels as if its changed over the years, with a history a little more interesting and original than that found in the 2013 title. The knack and skill for immersive environmental storytelling is already there, so for Rise of the Tomb Raider all Crystal Dynamics needs to do is use those tools to give players an rich history that's worth discovering.
