Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is the 2024 remastered re-release of the first three Tomb Raider Games and their corresponding Add-Ons. It consists of re-textured versions of Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II, and Tomb Raider III that otherwise remains faithful to the originals.

The game was released on 14 February 2024, Lara's birthday - according to the classic timeline, she was 56 years old on this day -, for PC (Steam, Epic Games), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch. It was developed by Aspyre, a member of the Embracer Group, that took over Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise from Square Enix in 2023. There has as of yet been no physical release; it is a download only game on all supported platforms.

Bundled Games

The download consists of the following games:

• Tomb Raider (1996)
  • Unfinished Business (1998)
• Tomb Raider II (1997)
  • The Golden Mask (1999)
• Tomb Raider III (1998)
  • The Lost Artifact (2000)

Differences

There are only minor differences in gameplay in the remastered versions, e.g. there are no Save Crystals in the PlayStation versions of the games. They seem to instead be a straight 1-to-1 port of the original PC source code, including even bugs like the Corner Bug.

As for visuals, the games have been re-textured with modern, high resolution Textures. However, instead if these the original textures can be switched on to get the same feeling as back in the 1990s. Because of the modern and much improved hardware the games now run on, texture filtering is much better and textures no longer "warp" when changing perspective. On the other hand, character models and object meshes have only been improved to a certain degree in order to keep the look and feel of the old games alive.

Sounds like Lara's voice seem to be a higher quality as well. While the original games were somewhat reduced in resolution because of space constraints and inferior codecs, the remastered version sounds much better. The original FMV Cinematics on the other hand have only been upscaled and de-interlaced, so are basically the same quality as in the original games, because the rendering software and files used in the 1990s have probably since been lost to time.

All in all the emphasis of the remastering has been in preserving the original feeling of the classic 1990s games. This leads to an interesting mix of old and new styles in the remastered versions.

Discover Lara Croft's Original Adventures, Lovingly Restored

Play the Original Three Tomb Raider Adventures: For the first time ever, play the complete experience with all the expansions and secret levels on modern platforms in this definitive collection.

Included Game Titles Tomb Raider I + Unfinished Business Tomb Raider II + Golden Mask Tomb Raider III + The Lost Artifact Solve Ancient Mysteries: Uncover treasures of the ancient world by solving puzzles and unraveling mysteries lost to the ravages of time. Globe-trotting Adventure: Follow Lara Croft around the world and face off against deadly foes and dangerous myths. Lovingly Restored: Experience the classics boasting upgraded graphics, with the option to switch to the original polygon look at any time.

Aspyr Website

Unlike the original games, Trophies and Achievements can now be earned on the supported platforms.

While the controls of the original games have been preserved, the remastered version includes the possibility to switch to a more modern style of controls. The original controls are labelled as Tank Controls, the new ones as Modern Controls. The latter feature, among other changes, the possibility to control the camera independently from Lara with the right analogue stick, while her movements are controlled with the left stick relative to the camera view. Overall, however, the controls remain almost as difficult as in the original games. Both modes feature the possibility to remap inputs (e.g. swap and on the PlayStation). Keyboards are not supported in the console versions.

Reception

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was highly anticipated by fans of the original games before its release and several social media campaigns accompanied the release.

While remaining true to the roots of the franchise and the original games, this first release on then modern platforms improved the visuals considerably.