GamesCom 2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Closed Doors Demo
The GamesCom 2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Closed Doors Demo is a Demo that was shown to select members of the press and the Official Fansite Program Ambassadors at the 2018 GamesCom in Cologne.
It was not intended for the public and not hands-on. A member of the Eidos Montreal developer team played the demo while Fleur Marty narrated. The Difficulty was set to normal for everything (combat, traversal, and puzzle).
Content
The demo is set in a later part of the game called Mission of San Juan when Lara already is in possession of all of her Gear and Weapons. Trinity is looking for her as she is trying to get to Jonah who as been taken prisoner aboard Dr. Dominguez's helicopter. Dominguez is trying to escape a vulano on the verge of eruption.
Using the vegetation to hide from the Trinity mercenaries Lara is able to dispatch most of them sneakily without being detected. Besides the typical Peruvian vegetation like corn fields there are also some mysterious barrels placed around a clearing in the forest, as well as an old traktor, while ash from the volcano is falling like snow on the scenery. Everything here is animated using physics, the movement of the leaves and the flakes of ash in the air is quite realistic.
At one point Lara can use her Fear-inducing Arrows, a new speciality of hers, on the soldiers: They get confused and start shooting in the air and at each other. Finally a full frontal assault is no longer avoidable. Lara can now use all the weapons in her arsenal like her Assault Rifle, but also objects she find in her environment like in the previous games, e.g. explosive Gas Cans or self made Molotov Cocktails. Here, also, we can see the improved graphics, as the explosions she causes look more realistic than ever before.
When Lara finally reaches the chopper, Dr. Dominguez throws Jonah out, but he manages to escape with the Silver Box of Ix Chel. An hertonow unknown female character runs up to Jonah and helps him even before Lara is able to reach him.
As the Trinity helicopter tries to move away, the ground starts to shake violently and the volcano erupts. The chopper is hit by flying debris and has problems getting away, prompting Lara to pursue it down the mountain: To stay alive she has to use Zip Lines, throw her Axe and swing across revines, run and dodge, while around her the mud and dirt slides down the slope. She almost is able to reach it, but then the pilot is able to restart the engines and get away, leaving Lara behind on the foot of the erupting volcano. Again she has to realize that she herself has caused so much destruction.
