Tomb Raider Netflix series' PTSD focus was something game writers "weren't allowed to explore", Rhianna Pratchett says
Netflix animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft has generally been met with middling reviews since its launch earlier this month, but Tomb Raider 2013 writer Rhianna Pratchett has called out one particular element for praise.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Pratchett said she had not yet watched the show herself, but had been “glad to hear the series has touched upon Lara’s PTSD after her experiences” on Yamatai. Pratchett noted this “was an area we weren’t allowed to explore in the games”, despite the narrative team wanting to do so.
Pratchett spoke to me about Lara’s PTSD journey last year, when she revealed that she and narrative designer John Stafford had actually pitched “playable nightmares” to Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics. “I had the idea that she could have these scenarios from the first game that had got kind of twisted in her mind,” Pratchett told me at the time. Crystal ultimately did not go for this idea.