It’s an exciting time to be a Tomb Raider fan, with the release of the second season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft in December 2025, the Amazon Tomb Raider show solidly in production, and the announcement of not one, but two new Tomb Raider games to come out soon. Longtime game fans will, of course, have picked up that there are two generally accepted continuities in the lore: the original timeline that ended with Tomb Raider: Underworld (Yes, let’s just absorb the continuity errors between the Core and Crystal Dynamics eras.) and the continuity set by the newer Survivor trilogy. The upcoming games are meant to unify the universe, which is precisely where this series comes in. Tomb Raider: Sacred Artifacts seems to very much be a part of the effort to bridge the two continuities, to sorta help pave the narrative path.

Casey Gilly takes on the writing duties here and does an admirable job getting us up to speed in the first issue, setting up the new but familiar McGuffin and Lara’s foes. From there, the pace is kept brisk and punchy. The mandate is pretty clear: tell a new story that takes place after the events of Underworld, but also telegraph that the Survivor trilogy is clearly a prequel series that led us to where Lara is presently. Numerous references to characters and events from the series’ past are made to firmly establish the connection between the two eras. Lara, as she’s written here, seems like an amalgamation of her previous characterizations. She’s charismatic, unapologetic, but some of that old cockiness has been toned down to bring about a more modern sense of feminine competence. Where I feel the writing falls a bit flat is in the final issue. Things get really rushed and the climax is barely a blip. The denouement is clearly setup for the upcoming Tomb Raider: Catalyst, with the introduction of a secret society that’s ultimately part of the Croft legacy.

Antonio Di Caprio’s Lara is a decidedly more modern take on the character despite her classic design. Lara wears a version of her iconic teal tank top and short brown shorts outfit, wields dual pistols (no pickax to be seen), and the sole remnant of the Survivor era: her jade pendant. The action sequences feel dynamic and Di Caprio’s character work is pretty nice, especially in how naturally the characters move. Allow me to preface my next critique with a qualification: Whenever I play a Tomb Raider game, I most look forward to being awed by the scale, design, and grandeur of the tombs and levels. So, I have to say that while Di Caprio’s depictions of Croft Manor and other spaces are pretty nice, the few instances of tombs are quite lacking. To be fair, there are two instances that could possibly qualify as tombs, and there’s not a lot of room for design with what’s going on in those scenes. The colors by Eren Angiolini look great, especially the lighting effects that really lend an evocative feel.

All in all, I’d say that Sacred Artifacts was a fun jaunt down memory lane, and it’s always nice to reconnect with Lara, though I wish there was more to get into. Sacred Artifacts executes its mandate well enough and will probably be enjoyed by completionists, even though I don’t think it will be essential reading to understand the plot of the upcoming game.

Creative Team: Casey Gilly (writer), Antonio Di Caprio (art), Eren Angiolini (colors), Andworld Design (letterer)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
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