Kudos to Narrative Designer John Stafford, Franchise Creative Director Noah Hughes, and everyone else who was involved in bringing Blood Ties to life! ******* It’s also those things that shape our lives and make us who we are: our families, our roots, our legacies. In short, Blood Ties is a delightful, engrossing trip down memory lane and a poignant reminder that history isn’t just something we can read in books, glean from monuments, or see on display in museums. My favourite “Easter egg” was this particular relic, a nod to my all-time favourite Tomb Raider game, though I have to admit I had a good chuckle at something I read in one of Winston’s letters. Long-time fans of the franchise will also be thrilled to learn that the DLC is jam-packed with subtle references to the Core Design games (I’ll be compiling a list of these in the not-too-distant future). I’ll refrain from spoiling the ending but Amelia’s final message is an emotional and heart-felt one that may leave some with a lump in their throats. But Blood Ties makes up for this by finally giving her a voice (literally) and a more fleshed-out backstory, one that shares certain elements with “Classic” Lara Croft.
Up until the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, Amelia Croft felt little more than a plot device, a non-character who barely got a mention in the 2013 reboot and the comic series that followed it. Through these, we learn more about Lara’s childhood, her relationship with her parents before (and after) her mother’s untimely death, Richard Croft’s growing obsession with immortality myths, and, perhaps more importantly, the type of person Amelia Croft was.
Only certain documents and items are required to push the story along but it was impossible to resist collecting every relic and reading every document I could lay my hands on.