PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE / SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: 14TH FEBRUARY
Originally released between 1996-98, the first three Tomb Raider games were a revelation at the time. With the gaming world only just starting to get to grips with 3D graphics over the preceding few years, the adventures of Lara Croft opened the eyes of developers and players alike, hinting at what might be possible in the future as technology and knowledge became increasingly more advanced. These early efforts followed Lara, a rather athletic archaeologist, as she makes her way through remote tombs and ruins in search of various artefacts, with players needing to complete tricky platforming challenges and solve puzzles while fending off all manner of enemies from wild animals and soldiers to dinosaurs and mythical creatures.
The emphasis is very on the exploration and puzzle-solving side of things. Platforms crumble away, leaving massive gaps that require timing and precision to traverse, floor panels activate swinging axes and volleys of arrows, well-hidden keys, switches and levers provide head-scratching roadblocks, and plenty of other traps hinder your progress at almost every turn. The biggest obstacles that early Tomb Raider players had to contend with, though, were Lara’s clunky movement, unwieldy Resident Evil-esque tank controls, and camera angles that didn’t quite allow you to see as much as you really needed to, which were only acceptable at the time because nobody knew any any better. In a welcome addition, Tomb Raider Remastered includes new “modern” controls, giving you more control over the camera and the option to use a more familiar thumbstick / button layout or even remap the controller to your own liking, rather than being stuck with the original control scheme (which are still available for anyone demented enough to want to use them).
Unfortunately, Lara’s movement and lack of precision – which exist because of the way that the original games were designed, based on square grids that allowed the developers to measure distances and plan obstacles – make for a frustrating experience in today’s gaming landscape. There are many potential enhancements that would have gone a long way to making these games more palatable for a modern audience, but without each game receiving a more substantial overhaul (which was never the aim of this release), it’s difficult to imagine newcomers having the patience to persevere beyond the first couple of levels.
While the gameplay hasn’t been altered in any noticeable way, this remaster does a grand job of enhancing the visuals in all three games. Rather than trying to bring things up to 2024’s standards, the idea was to make the games look the way that players of the original might remember them, with long-held memories smoothing over the cracks and filling in the details that 90s technology wasn’t able to depict. Blocky environments and jagged polygons are cleaner and smoother with new lighting effects, character models, environments and textures, and the original and modern visuals can be switched between at the touch of a button. A photo mode has been added, and all three games include their respective expansions, adding fourteen extra levels to the base games. The overall package will provide a warm blast of nostalgia for fans of the originals, but is unlikely to convince any long-standing naysayers.
