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Practicing Glitchcraft: Rise of the Tomb Raider

Practicing Glitchcraft is an all-new article segment dedicated to pointing out all the ways to screw up the games we hold dear to our hearts. Let’s kick this series off with a recent release featuring one of video games’ most historic heroines: Rise of the Tomb Raider.

The Tomb Raider franchise has spawned a variety of pop media adaptations, including comic books, two movies (with a third on the way) and four novels. The main series consists of 11 games, with the first Tomb Raider releasing on PC, Playstation and Sega Saturn in 1996, and later in Japan in 1997. RotTR released last year, 2015 for Xbox One, with a PC release in January 2016, and a PS4 release on the way.

Laura Croft is often cited as a figure of female empowerment in spite of, or perhaps in small part due to, her appeal. She wasn't the first video game heroine of note, but remains one of the most recognized.
Lara Croft is often cited as a figure of female empowerment in spite of, or perhaps in small part due to, her appeal. She wasn’t the first video game heroine of note, but remains one of the most recognized.

Like any game worth its code, RotTR has several performable bugs ranging from major to silly. Have a look at some of the latter, discovered by Nichijou Tachikoma.

The first glitch sees Lara clipping through a space the developers don’t intend, resulting in her being trapped, with death the only way out. Grazing that suspended crate in the next scene appears to somehow relocate it, and trying to attack certain poles will freeze Lara’s animation and make her slide away. She gets some hang time after a misinterpretation of the term “jump rope,” likely due to something geometry-related.

There’s a failed jump next, followed by our heroine repeatedly combusting, then some physically impossible parkour before a display of bad hitboxing on a suspended bucket. And for this video’s grand finale, Lara jumps atop a platform, only to miss and fall under it into the water. She proceeds to either hold her breath for an inhuman amount of time or grow gills before finally clipping back into bounds.

Let’s move on to something with a bit more meat. Gamer Shadowy Mist has documented several unintentional exits to a variety of areas found in the game. Soviet Installation, Geothermal Valley, the Path to the Deathless, Syria, the research base, and the abandoned mines all have ways to escape through the use of tricks and glitches.

Last but not least, RotTR features a certain trick players can use to acquire infinite EXP. In certain parts of the game, Lara can shoot birds resting on cabin roofs. These birds respawn immediately after death and offer 10 EXP for each kill. One notable location is right after being given the mission to deactivate a set of signals. It takes only a few seconds for each kill, making this an easy way to grind. While players may feel guilty every time poor Lara is brutally slaughtered, watching her glitch out makes for some nice, guilt-free comedy.

Want to see a particular game featured on Practicing Glitchcraft? Leave a comment and let us know. And don’t forget to to check back to see the next game earning the distinct honor of being broken for our own amusement.

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