After the criticism leveled at the dreadful 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider, one may call it a brutal survival horror journey in search of mythical islands of Yamatai, a land of legend, danger, and supernatural horror. But what really is Yamatai, and where does it stand in Tomb Raider lore?
Yamatai is an imaginary island located within the Dragon’s Triangle, a real area of the Pacific Ocean sometimes dubbed the Bermuda Triangle of the East. The Dragon’s Triangle, much like its real-world counterpart, has been enveloped in mystery, where ships and planes simply disappear without a trace. In the game, the Queen of Yamatai was Himiko, a setting inspired by actual Japanese legends of a shaman queen whose powers were feared.
In the game, Lara Croft and her crew are shipwrecked on Yamatai in search of the lost kingdom. Then begins the nightmarish survival against cultists, storms, and cursed islanders. As Lara goes deeper into the island, she unearths more and more about Himiko’s dark past—that she was worshipped as a god but also feared for controlling the weather and raising the dead.
What players found wading through responses from official Tomb Raider Twitter about Yamatai was just… not quite historical discourse. Discussions went everywhere, including debates about Lara Croft’s love life. Some fans argued that Lara couldn’t have long-term relationships as she was independent, while others joked about her prospective exploits. One user even compared her to Xena: Warrior Princess, mocking how she could manage “long-distance fling” life.
Back to Yamatai—what makes this setting so compelling? For one thing, this island is much more than just backdrop; it really takes on character quality. The environment changes from thick forest to crumbling ruins while the weird island forces tinker away at Lara’s sanity: the storms feel alive, the enemies worship Himiko with zealotry, and the isolation itself is stifling.
Real-world myths from the Dragon’s Triangle add to the lore. Supposedly, the area hosts underwater pyramids, ghost ships, and even UFOs. And that is exactly what Tomb Raider 2013 taps into—tracing a way that straddles history and horror, just to create a setting that feels both age-old and remotely plausible.
Back to some of the other replies, begging for updates, like Patch 5 for the Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered collection or just some new teasers for the next game. One player practically demanded, “PLS ANNOUNCE THE NEW GAME TONIGHT OR IN THE NEXT EVENTS THIS MONTH.” Which… really does capture the mood.
Alternatively, the most memorable location in Tomb Raider, Yamatai is quite an elegant civilization, with nightmares! So be it for the history, survival horror ambiance, or Lara’s ambiguous dating options, the legacy of the island is as eternal as the storms circulating it.
Oh, and if you find yourself sailing near Dragon’s Triangle… just maybe don’t.
