Shadow of the Tomb Raider has celebrated the tomb raiding heroine Lara Croft‘s birthday with a small happy birthday Easter Egg message on its main title screen.
The Easter Egg was first noticed by Reddit user Slothfromdagatez who booted up the game yesterday only to discover a subtle message which reads “Happy Birthday Lara” written in the bottom corner of the title screen. The updated title screen and message align with Lara Croft’s official canon birthday, February 14, 1968. Though given the setting of the latest trilogy of games and Lara’s new mid-20’s design, the year may have shifted somewhat.
This wholesome Easter Egg joins numerous others which keen-eyed fans have found throughout the third entry in Crystal Dynamics’ rebooted Tomb Raider run. Shadow of the Tomb Raider also features references to Alien 3 as well as visual and verbal cues from earlier Tomb Raider titles such as Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. The game also allows players to change their player skin into a direct re-creation of the original ’90s style Lara, complete with polygonal body and face.
None of these compare to the secret ending of the game which was accidentally discovered by a Tomb Raider Forum user in 2018. If players play the game to completion without installing the day one patch, a completely different ending cutscene plays out post-credits. This original ending had been scrapped by the developer after it was decided to take the narrative in a different direction. The post-credits scene saw classic Tomb Raider antagonist Jaqueline Natla send a letter to Lara, seemingly intending to link the new games to the old.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider marks the end of a trilogy for the series as she has finally completed her transition to the Tomb Raider. It is unclear where the series will go from given how some critics were not thrilled with the latest entry and how it was review bombed by players over its sudden price drop. Those factors, combined with its free trial, might mean it will take some time for Lara to come back.
