Stella's Guest Appearance on the InRaiderSpect Epilogue: A Survivor is Reborn

A couple of years ago, before the most recent Tomb Raider game was released, I had the pleasure of listening to InRaiderSpect, a series of podcasts from the creators of InRetroSpect examining the Tomb Raider series from different angles. The episode that especially resonated for me was "Turning Points," created by Dr. Kris Darby. Inspired by the game trailer of the same name, this episode examined Tomb Raider through the lens of psychogeography and grappled with a question that is at the root of the series: to turn back or carry on?

Since then, we've all had a chance to play the new Tomb Raider reboot, and the Definitive Edition has just been released for next-gen consoles. To wrap up the InRaiderSpect series, Kris invited me to appear as a guest on the InRaiderSpect Epilogue. We spent about 45 minutes talking about the new game, Tomb Raider's roots, and its possible future. I hope you'll have a listen.

Since this article was originally posted, the InRetroSpect podcast has been discontinued. You can still find archived episodes, including the InRaiderSpect series, on iTunes.

I hope you'll let us know how you liked the show. If you agree or disagree with our opinions or have other ideas you'd like to add, I encourage you to post a comment below or on the InRaiderSpect Epilogue page. Thanks for listening!

A few caveats and corrections: This podcast contains many spoilers! If you haven't played the game, I encourage you to do so before listening.

If English is not your first language, you may find this written transcript useful. You can also plug it into an online translator, such as Google Translate, to get a passable version in your native language. Follow this link for a transcript of the "Turning Points" episode.

I apologize for the sound quality on my end. Kris and I live on different continents so the conversation took place over Skype, and while I have a decent gaming headset, it is not studio quality by any stretch. This transcript is almost verbatim, though I have edited just a bit for clarity.

I'd also like to correct a few minor mistakes I made in my excitement to be talking Tomb Raider with such a dedicated fan as Kris.

In the section where we're talking about the corner bug, I mistakenly attribute the bug's discovery to Scott McAllister. It was, of course, Jason McAllister. Later, where we're discussing the NPC Steph, I mention that Lara refers to her in the "Turning Point" trailer. It was actually the "Crossroads" trailer, in which Lara mentions Steph at 0:41 and 1:56. There's also an entry about her on the Tomb Raider Wiki.

Special thanks to Dr. Kris Darby and the crew at InRetroSpect for inviting me to be on their show, as well as for the labyrinth and climbing axe images used in this post.