Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered - Before You Buy

Tomb Raider I II III Remastered (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch) collects the classic games in a convenient package with some modern upgrades and visual tweaks. How is it? Let's talk.

[JesseWhiteman]

This is one of those franchises that was hard to play as a kid. Now that im older and played tons of games in my life I have the skills to tackle it now.

[MasonLopez]

The visuals capture how the games look inside my head. The toggle to what they ACTUALLY looked like is mind bending.

[joshkennedy]

By definition this is actually an exact example of a remaster. It was mastered (balanced audio, picture, gameplay) and then they mastered it again with new tech used on the original source code. That’s the difference between a remake and a remaster. I hear a lot of people debate this as though it’s not actually clearly defined, which is okay. But, that’s the definition.

[cherryhead]

The fact that a lot of the dev team were actually members of the TR creative community shows just how much of a passion project it was, thank you Saber and Aspyr. Now to boot up Stella’s site and beat all 3 😎

[musicman]

No one wanted any new changes other than the graphics. It’s amazing

[mrne]

I loved Tomb Raider. What I remember the most, it's just how hard it was. No walkthroughs or videos on the internet, no internet actually, no maps or hints in games, You had to buy a gamer magazine with a walkthrough and all in-game secrets. When I see new games, they just seem so easy

[thepit]

This remaster was made for fans, not modern audiences and I love it for that. Not every game should be dumbed down for everyone to play.

[ictrlaltdeleteu]

I played these games so much as a kid. I beat them with my babysitter reading me the walkthrough. R.I.P Denise G.

[MDRHokage]

I've never been so excited to hear a game called "a bare bones port"
Hell yes. Gimme my OG Tomb Raider back.

[GodFaThEr]

The toggle between the old and new graphics had me running back and forth between rooms just toggling it on and off and was in awe in levels for like 20 minutes. Aspyr knocked it out of the park with this remaster

[DF-zgml]

This is such a poor review. You fail to mention the developers used the original source code, which enabled them to accurately recreate the original game. Their aim was to make a faithful adaptation of the original game, with a few quality of life improvements. As for the tank controls, they are how the game is meant to be played. In order to pull off the more intricate platform elements these controls are essential and if you don't like it then this game isn't for you. This collection has been reviewed as if it's a 2024 AAA title and it's not. At the end of the day for 10 dollars each I can play 3 of the best Playstation games in HD at 60fps which is perfect for me.

[Kill_Binho]

The amount of complaints about these controls makes me wonder if I'm some sort of shaolin master for playing them just fine

[bollywongaloid]

The tank controls are perfect because they’re connected to the level design in a way no other games have really done since.

[markdumas]

Nobody was trying to “fool anybody” the game looks absolutely incredible and is a god damn love poem to fans of the original.

[joshhendershott]

The seamless transition between old gen graphics and new gen was beautifully done. I ran around smashing the button for 30 minutes just looking at how smooth it is and it makes you appreciate how good the graphic updates are

[evilisfun]

I am happy that they avoided remaking these for a 'modern audience'. Will be buying these for sure.

[MrSTVR]

Learn to love the geometry grid. You'll feel the flow once it clicks.

[jonathanpritchard]

More than anything else the OG tomb raider games are about exploration, and the way secrets are implemented to reward exploration and clever thinking underscores this. If you fully explore the levels and gather even half of the secrets they contain, you'll have more than enough firepower and med-packs to deal with the enemies. The one thing that stands out to me about these games replaying them now is how consistently amazing the level design is. Levels and sections of levels are designed to loop around on themselves, often focusing on a core set piece. At it's best, this design leads to an incredible sense of place and anchors you in the world. I think 3 the Egypt levels in the first game are the best example of this.

The tank controls were built for movement using a D-pad/keyboard, and they work very well for that purpose. When you're on a high ledge trying to make a jump, you don't want to be running around quickly or at the mercy of the camera. You want to be pivoting in place, waking to the edge of a ledge, and jumping backwards precisely to set up a running jumps. Once you get used to how the controls work and how exact they are, and you can start positioning Lara very quickly and precisely. Many secrets and later game jumps/obstacles/traps are entirely built around the finer details of Lara's surprisingly large move set.

A common complaint with the controls is that "Lara has a delay when you press the jump button!" But when when viewed in the context of precise, lined up jumps, the jump button is actually quite forgiving. There's a fairly long timing window for when you can press the jump button while running towards a ledge that will result in Lara jumping off the very edge of the ledge, giving you the maximum distance.

One other thing to note is how incredibly minimal the in games' UI is. The only screen overlays are status bars (health, breath, sprint, cold) that appear when relevant, and a simple ammo count when wielding anything other than the base pistols. Other than that, there are absolutely no UI elements on the screen most of the time. I personally like the action indicators in the remaster, but you can even toggle those off if you want a "pure" experience.

These games have definitely aged and are far from perfect, but they are have some brilliant level design and unique gameplay ideas that aren't really seen in modern games.

[ansettaustralia]

I'm honestly surprised by how measured this review is. This remaster is incredible and faithfully done, with such love and care towards the originals. If you love a slower style platformer, more methodical exploration with hardly any HUD, no map, no objective icons, no loot boxes, no quick time events, none of that... then do yourself a favour a give this a go.

[Voltackle]

Will definitely be getting this. Huge part of my childhood and I miss the original games. True form of exploration and puzzles. Love it all.