Some Of You May Notice The New Decor
HIGH Faithful to the originals. Switching between graphic modes is incredible.
LOW Remastered graphics have some issues. No archive of Tomb Raider history??
WTF Lara can explode via incorrect cheat code inputs in Tomb Raider II and III
I’m a huge fan of the original Tomb Raider games from the late ’90s. Ever since the first from 1996, I’ve been hooked — as have many others. However, the three earliest entries have become harder and harder to play as time went on. They have to be modded on PC to run properly, they haven’t been on a Sony box since the PS3, and they’ve never been on Nintendo or Microsoft platforms. However, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered rectifies all this, bringing Lara Croft’s classic adventures to a new, wider audience.
For the uninitiated, the Tomb Raider games are action-adventures with an emphasis on platforming and puzzle-solving. Lara’s adventures take her to various parts of the world to discover mystical artifacts, dangerous creatures (and people), and a multitude of secrets. Each level is fairly open, with Lara looking for keys and levers to help her progress to the next area.
One of the best parts of this collection is how complete it is. Each of the three titles have their expansions included, which were initially PC-exclusive. However, now everyone can experience these expert levels!
Another wonderful addition is the ability to toggle between the new, remastered graphics and the original visuals at any time, without any loading — even including main and inventory menus, loading screens, and cutscenes!
Visually, the remastered version is gorgeous. Every object has been lovingly re-rendered, with visual flair thrown on top, such as new flora or art on objects, or some changes to level geometry to allow light into the levels, such as new openings in the ceilings in the first level. Lara’s home, in particular, has been given a bunch of new assets modeled after the originals – paintings are now ultra-detailed and objects look more realistic than ever. As well as this, every area has extra flourishes, such as new skyboxes, foliage, or weather effects.
All three games play at a stable frame rate in both modes, and there seems to have been a desire to keep the experience as authentic to the original versions as possible, though the original graphical mode is locked to 30 FPS. It’s so faithful to the older games, in fact, that I tested out the original cheat codes, corner bugs, sequence breaks, and speedrunning tricks, and they all worked! This included a sequence break in the Venice level of Tomb Raider II, where I was able to jump onto a window that skips a bit of backtracking through the level. As well as this, corner bugs still allow Lara to reach some higher areas by positioning her at a 45-degree angle and then jumping until she glitches into a higher spot (there’s even an achievement for doing this in one level).
There are a couple of small changes, however.
There’s also a nice quality-of-life change — a handy “!” notification will appear when next to an interactable object or an item. This helped to take some of the guesswork out of where I could use a switch or pick up a medi-pack. In a nice gesture, this option can be toggled off for veterans who prefer a more classic experience. Additionally, there are now subtitles for both the tutorial areas and cutscenes, as well as a new photo mode, so I could pose Lara in specific areas, or with creatures and characters.
In TR1, the order of the expansion levels in Unfinished Business has been changed, so that the Atlantis levels are first. Furthermore, the midair turn, which allows Lara to spin 180 degrees while jumping (introduced in TR2), was added into Lara’s TR1 move set. For TR3, save crystals no longer heal or are used to save. In all games, health bars have been added to boss characters.
While this is all great news for TR-curious folks, there are some issues with this collection to be aware of.
The FMVs have AI upscaling in remastered mode that makes them look muddy. The remastered graphics don’t always layer properly, or in some cases add things that shouldn’t be there. For example, in one level, there’s a hole Lara can swim to for a secret that is now obscured by Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring” for some reason in the remastered version. Visual oddities like this weren’t common, but they could hide secret areas and dangers from players in some instances.
There was also inconsistent lighting in comparison to the original, which could detract from the atmosphere, such as many sections of the first Tomb Raider game that are darker than the original (and flares are unavailable in this game). As well as this, keys and pickups are now 3D objects, which can make them difficult to spot, as they can blend in with the environment. The remastered mode also had slightly worse camera placements in some spots. This made it difficult to see where I was going sometimes, particularly in tight spaces, as the camera will be very pulled in.
Difficulty is also something that should be discussed. While the added modern features may help new players get through, TR3 is still aggravatingly difficult, and contains some of the hardest levels in the series, due to the number of traps and environmental hazards Lara will face. Many of the traps can catch anyone off-guard, even in the first level, such as a few spike pits on a hill Lara will roll down to progress in the level. As such, I highly recommend playing the games in order, due to the difficulty increasing significantly in each game.
Finally, I wish the developers had added an archival section about Lara’s exploits and history, similar to the way many other collections do. As one of the most recognizable videogame characters ever created, Lara Croft has a rich history, both in and out of games, and it would be great to see it on display in a collection like this. However, there’s nothing of the sort here, and it feels like a glaring omission.
Despite those issues, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered remains an excellent collection of Lara’s first adventures that allows fans, both new and old, to dive into Lara’s earliest days and see where she got her start. Here’s hoping that The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and Angel of Darkness will be part of a second collection!
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics and published by Aspyr. It is currently available on PS4/5, XBO/X/S, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 24 hours were devoted to the trilogy, and they were not completed. There is no multiplayer mode.
Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of M for Blood, Intense Violence and Suggestive Themes”. There is not a more detailed description on the ESRB website as of this publishing, but the game features areas where Lara can be impaled by spikes, crushed, drowned, killed by various enemies, and set on fire. Characters and enemies show blood when injured, and dead bodies remain on screen. Tomb Raider III’s South Pacific levels feature a group of indigenous people that practice cannibalism, and whose depiction evokes negative stereotypes.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. This game is not fully accessible. There are some audio cues for entering secret areas (a musical cue and/or Lara saying “aha”) that can be missed by those hard of hearing. However, there is a tracker (the compass in the inventory menu) for all the levels’ secrets, item pick-ups, and kills.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers mostly remappable controls, for gamepad as well as mouse and keyboard. Hot keys for weapons and quick save/load cannot be remapped.
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The cheats that make you explode where there back when they first released, it was a joke that this time (when playing 2 and 3) those code did no longer work. They couldn’t be more faithful
Oh, yeah, the “WTF” section should have had the word “still” in there. My apologies for any confusion!
I really don´t know if i need to replay these games instead of keeping them in good memories. Espacially with cheats that makes you explode…. LoL