I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately since I decided it'd be interesting to incorporate a deity into my TR AU...
The franchise has the wonderful potential to create entirely original deities that serve both a narrative purpose and a thematic representation of the concepts the developers wish to explore. Original deities also serve an excellent worldbuilding purpose if crafted with proper care and finesse. I know it's much easier to take deities from real world mythologies and incorporate them into whatever TR story is being presented to the audience. However, just imagine how entertaining and fascinating it'd be to introduce an original deity in a way that's both clever and potentially moving! Pretty neato, right?
If the Core Design era of games had continued, it would've been super cool to see them create their own deity. I can envision them developing one that feels deeply connected to the classic TR universe, tied to major themes and ideas they’ve explored, such as Darwinism and resilience. Core Design would've had the potential to revisit one or more of the previous titles and create a deity connected to the mysteries of ancient civilizations explored in those stories. They had a wealth of inspiration and resources available to them, which they could've utilised when creating an original deity. For example, they could've created an oceanic goddess of the Atlans or an extraterrestrial god incubating in the meteorite of Tomb Raider III for millions of years, potentially drawing inspiration from Polynesian beliefs due to evolutionary necessity. It's unfortunate that Core Design was never given that opportunity because of various factors, including Eidos Interactive royally screwing them over.
At least fans can create their own deity OCs for the Tomb Raider franchise and build unique connections to ensure that the character feels integrated into the universe in a way that doesn't feel off-putting. That's one of the joys of being a fan if you ask me!
