Not many recreation franchises handle to ascend to the standing of ‘iconic’, however Tomb Raider is undoubtedly certainly one of them. Regardless of the unique trilogy being launched for a number of platforms, Lara Croft shortly turned synonymous with the PS1, standing toe-to-toe with Crash Bandicoot as one of many console’s mascots. Since then, after all, Lara has been virtually all over the place, but 2024 marks the primary event the unique trilogy has been absolutely revamped for contemporary audiences through Tomb Raider I-III Remastered.
We are saying ‘revamped’, however these are the identical video games you recognize and love from the late ‘90s, albeit with the extra expansions included for the primary time on console. What developer Aspyr has executed right here, nonetheless, is give all three titles a much-needed lick of paint, boosting the visuals considerably whereas including in an optionally available fashionable management scheme for individuals who may not get on with the ageing ‘tank’ controls — extra on that later. Smaller additions embody a surprisingly sturdy picture mode and well being bars for boss encounters.
First up, the visuals. That is the largest change that’s been made to the trilogy, and goodness, is it a welcome one. What’s nice is that you would be able to flip between the OG graphics and the fashionable remaster on the contact of a button, very similar to 343 Industries’ Halo: Anniversary and Lizardcube’s Marvel Boy: The Dragon’s Lure. Once you solid your eyes on the revamped graphics for the primary time, you’d be forgiven for pondering that that is how the video games have all the time appeared, however flipping again to the unique type demonstrates simply how a lot of an improve the compilation has acquired.
Every little thing’s been given a touch-up, together with character fashions, environmental belongings, textures, lighting, and menu screens. Not solely that, however the brand new visuals additionally include an upgraded body charge, permitting all three video games to run at a silky clean 60fps, whereas flipping again to the OG graphics halves this. We’re particularly appreciative of the body charge increase, because it makes the considerably archaic gameplay really feel extra manageable and recent.
Granted, the visible improve doesn’t all the time work within the video games’ favour; there are some areas the place the revamped lighting makes environments seem darker than the unique releases, whereas others come throughout a lot brighter. The darker areas could make navigation trickier than it must be, and we discovered that switching again to the unique visuals helped us discover our manner. Had we been unable to do that, we’d have needed to resort to some glances at a YouTube walkthrough. It isn’t preferrred and maybe a bit extra consistency throughout previous and new would have been helpful.
Onto the video games themselves, in the event you’ve obtained no prior expertise with the unique Tomb Raider trilogy, it’s essential to grasp what you’re getting your self into right here. These titles signify the genesis of 3D action-adventure video games, manner earlier than Uncharted got here alongside and launched some much-needed cinematic aptitude. With that in thoughts, there’s much less give attention to flashy shootouts in Tomb Raider I-III and much more on exploration and platforming. Consider them extra like puzzle video games with a little bit of motion sprinkled in and also you’re heading in the right direction.
Plenty of Tomb Raider’s problem got here from the straightforward act of navigating the surroundings. Even leaping from one platform to a different requires a sure diploma of warning in order to not plummet right into a pit of spikes. It represents a refreshing change of tempo in an age the place recreation issue is essentially tied to enemy encounters, however these unfamiliar with how Tomb Raider controls could have a tricky time attending to grips with it.
Fortunately, there are a few methods to make life simpler for each Lara and your self. First up, every recreation within the trilogy permits you to discover Lara’s mansion house at your leisure through the primary menu, so you possibly can apply your strikes for so long as vital (all of the whereas making certain that her dastardly butler is safely locked away within the freezer, naturally). The second manner is to easily change the unique controls for a revamped scheme for newcomers. This swaps out the tank controls for full, 360-degree motion whereas additionally remapping different buttons to deliver the video games extra according to fashionable action-adventure video games.
So, for instance, the unique controls require to you press ‘X’ to holster/unholster your weapons and ‘B’ to fireplace, however the fashionable system remaps this to ‘ZL’ and ‘ZR’ respectively. Admittedly, since we’re accustomed to the unique video games, we caught with the tank possibility, however there’s little question in our minds that the modernised strategy will assist newcomers acclimatise.
Upgrades apart, you’re getting loads of bang on your buck with this assortment. Three full video games with three further expansions is nothing to smell at, and since every title will possible take round 10-15 hours to beat, you’re taking a look at an inexpensive dedication. That stated, you possibly can virtually definitely add extra time in the event you overlook to avoid wasting your recreation, and that is one space that we sincerely want was upgraded alongside the graphics. Manually saving is virtually necessary since there’s no autosave in any respect, and it is fairly straightforward to be on a strong streak, make it by a few ranges earlier than dying, and end up proper again firstly.
It’s irritating and that is compounded by the convoluted menu system, which requires you to navigate to a ebook icon, flip over from the ‘Load Recreation’ web page to the ‘Save Recreation’ web page, and then bookmark your progress (there have been a number of events the place we have by chance loaded a earlier recreation as a substitute of saving). We hope a ‘Quicksave’ possibility is added in a later replace, or higher but, autosave. It isn’t a dealbreaker by any means, however having to manually save your recreation, particularly on console, is a relic we’re comfortable to go away entombed within the ’90s.
Conclusion
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is certainly one of Aspyr’s most completed tasks to this point, efficiently giving three of gaming’s most iconic titles a much-needed lick of paint whereas upgrading the controls to offer newcomers a welcome leg-up. Among the lighting is a bit off with the brand new visuals, and the necessity to manually save your recreation is an enormous no-no in 2024, however in the event you’re curious as to how Lara Croft obtained her begin in gaming, then that is simply one of the simplest ways to expertise the unique trilogy.