PlayStation 4 gamers will have waited an extra year for the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider, and when it does finally arrive this October, it will be sporting box art that should look familiar to those who have played the PS4 exclusive Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.
One glance at the two covers, and the similarities are immediately apparent. Both feature each franchise's protagonist in silhouette form against a single-color background, with the worn game logo placed in the center of the package.
Then, there are the similarities between the two game franchises themselves. Both star treasure hunters/tomb raiders looking to battle nefarious mercenaries and organizations out to use ancient artifacts for evil. Both feature third-person shooting combat, lengthy climbing segments, rope-swinging and puzzle-solving. The two franchises share much of the same DNA, so it's both strange and yet, somehow, fitting that the box art for the two titles shares so much in common.
The fact that the box art for the PS4 version of Rise of the Tomb Raider mimics that of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is also fitting in another way. Like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (which includes the first three games in the series), Rise of the Tomb Raider on PS4 will also be a celebration of the entire Tomb Raider franchise. New content will be included to celebrate 20 years of Lara Croft, all of which will be released for free for those who already own the game on Xbox One and PC.
At least nobody is making a big deal out of the similarities so far. Naughty Dog creative director and writer Neil Druckmann poked fun Rise of the Tomb Raider's box art homage by comparing it with Melania Trump's recent speech at the Republican National Convention, a speech that nearly copied word-for-word a paragraph from Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Why exactly the box art is so similar between the two remains a mystery for now. Was it intentional? A coincidence? Was the box art somehow made by the same company? Who knows?
It remains to be seen exactly how successful Rise of the Tomb Raider will be on PS4, considering many fans may have already played the title last year on Xbox One or PC, but it should be interesting to see the results. The game arrives on Sony's console on Oct. 11.
