There are two types of developers in this world: those who would remove something controversial from their game before release and those who march to the beat of their own drum. Crystal Dynamics is the latter.
Tomb Raider's "rape" scene that was shown during E3 2012 garnered nothing less than an internet full of controversy. Many argued that it was too insentitive to victims and women in general while others claimed that it comes with the territory of trying to evoke the dire, survivalist mood of the title. However, the game's senior art director, Bryan Horton, told BeefJack that Crystal Dynamics is leaving it in the game.
This is exactly the same build as we showed back at E3 2012, and the incident happens within the same context. We believe every decision we have made so far in the game is justified by the story we are trying to tell, so no changes have been made.
It's good to see a developer stick to its guns, but I can't shake that feeling that the mature content of Tomb Raider will resurface controversy once it's released. The reason why it's even an issue when games like Saint's Row let you run around naked hitting people with dildos is how realitically the game is portrayed. The visuals are absolute dynamite, and the structure of both audio and atmospheric effects make scenes like the one mentioned above much more profound, and maybe even slightly chilling.
If you'd like to see the controversial scene as well as the gripping environment of next year's Tomb Raider then head over to our video section where you can see the E3 2012 Crossroads Trailer.
