What kind of person does it take to become Lara Croft’s best friend?

Born to a Japanese businessman and a Portuguese model, Samantha Nishimura was in some ways like Lara, a passionate, worldly young woman who sometimes had trouble fitting in. But the two were also complete opposites, which might explain why they became such great friends at university. Sam’s outgoing nature helped push Lara out of her shell, and in Lara Sam found an adventurous spirit she could trust.

The pair traveled together, and eventually both found their way on board the Endurance, a research vessel searching for the long-lost kingdom of Yamatai, which they would eventually discover when a storm shipwrecked them on the island.

Sam’s father’s family had long-believed they were descendants of Himiko, the mythical Sun Queen of Yamatai. Unknown to the Endurance’s crew, Himiko’s legend was very much true - the queen lived for centuries, possessing the bodies of her priestesses, until one priestess, knowing her fate, killed herself during the ritual, trapping Himiko in undeath and cursing the island.

Realizing that Sam was a perfect candidate for Himiko to possess, the Solarii Brotherhood, a cult led by Mathias, abducted Sam, taking her deep within Yamatai to resurrect Himiko. Lara battled both the Brotherhood and the Stormguard, Himiko’s undead guardians, to stop the ritual and save her friend’s soul. With Mathias dead and Himiko’s essence destroyed, the curse of Yamatai lifted, allowing Lara, Sam and their friends to escape.

Read more about Lara’s fight to save Sam on the Tomb Raider Blog! And catch up on Lara’s full adventures before the upcoming animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, premiering exclusively on Netflix October 10, with the Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy, available now!

The Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy is available now on:

• Steam

• PlayStation

• Xbox

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Tomb Raider (2013)