The lawless second season of the sixth chapter of Fortnite: Battle Royale that launched with Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat series making a guest appearance has been spiced up with a familiar collaboration while a new wave of Helluva Boss weighed plushies and stickies from YouTooz rose from the depths of merchandise designing. Four years ago, three iconic incarnations of the one and only Lara Croft fought in the sixth season of the second chapter in association with the 25th anniversary of her legacy. This year, she brings on a certain mid-2000s vibe as Fortnite fighters outside of Fortnite: Battle Royale continue to jam with Hatsune Miku just before the launch of the eighth season of Fortnite Festival. Oh! And did I mention that Lara can be playable in Fortnite Festival and Rocket Racing too? As Disney devotees compete with the main cast of Tron in the twelfth season of Disney Speedstorm during preparations for the 70th anniversary of Disneyland in California, let us put ourselves in certain tomb raiders’ boots as we discuss an angel-faced archaeologist’s second appearance in Fortnite, yet those who are sticking to the second season of Fortnite OG fondly remember that spoof of her known as “Cara Loft”.
2025 is the sky blue M4 MacBook Air, the pink iPhone 16’s increased popularity, a transgender version of Sonic the Hedgehog being a mod for the fanmade PC port of Sonic Unleashed known as “Unleashed Recompiled” and Lara Croft returning to Fortnite.
A convenient aspect of Ms. Croft’s return to Fortnite is a new skin based on her appearance in Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness and its remake in Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered. Surely, the reception of the game from 2003 was abysmal in terms of gameplay, but some tomb raiders still consider it a valuable relic, especially for introducing Kurtis Trent and it can be argued that Aspyr at least tried to fix certain problems for a remastered version and that modern controls would enhance the interactivity, yet some tomb raiders wish for a patch that will provide further improvement. I can imagine the incarnation of Ms. Croft from Angel of Darkness playing baseball with Shohei Ohtani, a famous Japanese baseball pitcher and battling against Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, along with Sub-Zero, considering they have also been welcomed to and rendered in Fortnite this month. As a tomb raider can tell, the skin is based on the events of Angel of Darkness and can be stylised with a few options. If you ask me, this is quite a swell way to show some appreciation for Angel of Darkness being the last Tomb Raider game that was developed by Core Design before its demise in 2010.
Lara’s Angel of Darkness design being a new skin in the second season of the sixth chapter is convenient as it has been a month since the release of Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered. How it is referred to as “Lara Croft (2000s)” is a treat for a 2000s teen.
Despite how Fortnite tends to be overly reliant on crossovers with iconic franchises and celebrity endorsements to stay hip (and flaunt some financial stability), I am delighted to see one of my favourite female video game characters return to the world of Fortnite a month after the release of the second trilogy of remasters on her birthday. Of course, plenty of Minecrafters can stick to constructing new buildings in either the Java or Bedrock edition of Minecraft, especially if they want to express some form of originality outside of so many crossover events in Fortnite. While some crossovers have made less sense or been considered less satisfying than others, a second round can be considered more effective, especially for promotional purposes as Deadpool returned to the world of Fortnite with Wolverine in a “pen and ink” style as part of the ambitious marketing of Deadpool & Wolverine almost a year ago. Outside of battling, racing and rocking out in Fortnite, there is hope for a compelling second season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. As Lara proves that female empowerment in gaming is much more than “wokeness” in the mid-2020s, I am sure that plenty of Viners from the mid-2010s have one question for King Midas.
