Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft Review

The original PlayStation Tomb Raider games hold a special place in my heart. As a child, I spent countless hours searching ancient ruins (and locking the butler in the freezer) with leading lady Lara Croft. Now, 28 years after the original's debut, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft has blessed modern gaming platforms. Whilst making me feel incredibly old and nostalgic, can this remaster — and its quality of life improvements — do enough to give the iconic trilogy a place in today’s gaming world?

If you’ve never played any of the original PlayStation Tomb Raiders, then you may be unsure what to expect from these remasters. Playing as Lara Croft (she stars in this, in case the overly long title confused you) these action-adventure games will see you using her trusty dual pistols — and a slew of other projectile weapons — and her athletic abilities as she raids tombs (again, clues in the name!). It’s a good mix of platforming, puzzle solving, and facing off against humans, animals, and otherworldly beings as she attempts to save the world from those who wish to control it. Think Uncharted, but less wise-cracking moustachioed sidekicks and scripted action-heavy set pieces, and more wandering around surprisingly complex and detailed environments, hunting for secret areas and avoiding potential insta-kills at every turn.

The narrative across all three games has been completely untouched, and each of Lara’s adventures sees her travelling all across the globe in search of lost relics and, wouldn’t you know it, ancient tombs! Tomb Raider sees our fearless heroine hired by some shady characters to search for the Scion, a powerful artefact that is said to possess “powers beyond the creator himself.” Best not let that fall into the wrong hands then, Lara!

Tomb Raider II’s story revolves around the Dagger of Xian, a magical weapon that is said to be able to transform its wielder into a dragon. Travelling to China, Italy, and beyond, you’ll battle against a cult that will seemingly stop at nothing to obtain the mythical dagger and use it for their own evil deeds.

Finally, Tomb Raider III, which also features ancient artefacts that can turn humans into grotesque abominations! While the narrative threads may be familiar to players by this point, at least we get to visit exciting locations such as Antarctica and Area 51!

Having played these to death when I was younger, I still found myself enjoying the surprisingly in-depth plots of the three 90s adventures. Sure, games like Metal Gear Solid and the Legacy of Kain series were doing extraordinary things with storytelling in videogames, but Lara’s adventures still hold up well to this day!

Something that gamers who only played the console versions may not be aware of, but each of the original trilogy actually had expansions for their PC release. Unfinished Business for TRI, Golden Mask for TRII, and The Lost Artefact for TRIII. The first and third games’ additional levels act as sort of epilogues for their respective stories, with the second having a completely standalone adventure. It’s a nice bonus to have these included; I’ve personally never played the PC versions, so experiencing these shorter tales was a pleasant surprise!

Whilst you have the ability to switch between the classic and updated looks at the push of a button, this review won’t be touching on the original presentation. Focusing solely on how developer Aspyr has improved upon the 90s aesthetics, while it’s not a complete remake with a complete graphical overhaul, the three titles have been vastly upgraded. Character and enemy models all have much higher polygon counts, making them comparable to those featured in Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and details in clothing and items, such as weapons, are now much more defined. Similarly, the environments have also seen improvements across the board. Vegetation is now much more abundant and three-dimensional, grass is no longer just a flat, green surface, and man-made structures have a more defined look to them. The draw distance is perhaps the most instantly-noticeable change. Gone are the black backgrounds of areas that were slightly too far away, now you’re able to see much further in front of Lara, and it makes whichever level you’re in feel much grander in scale. Certain objects (such as Croft Manor’s weirdly elongated main staircase) could have done with a bit of remodelling rather than just a new coat of paint, as the levels are very blocky. But when you see a ruined pillar cut at an exact 45-degree angle, at least it’s obvious that you need to slide down it in order to jump a gap, and reworking all the environments would then take away from the original iterations.

I mentioned earlier about the surprisingly complex environments, and whilst, yes, they are fairly linear titles, the amount of hidden items to find and optional areas you just happen to stumble across is really impressive for games of this era.

From what I could tell, the audio remains unchanged, apart from it sounding slightly clearer. This is something I’m glad wasn’t altered, as the soundtracks across the original trilogy were fantastic. The overall quality of everything does sound less grainy, although sound effects do still just cut out abruptly instead of fading away naturally.

If you opt to play using the classic tank controls, then it’ll be the same experience you remember in all its rotating on-the-spot glory. The issues stem from the “modern” set-up, which can often feel like a step back from the older versions. With environments and platform sections designed around the original controls, I found myself struggling to use the updated ones. Couple this with an often infuriating camera that can’t seem to decide where it wants to point when in more confined areas, and I found myself switching back and forth depending on the complexity of a platforming section. With drawing your weapons now assigned to holding the left trigger, it was a lot simpler to holster them in order to interact with the environment, but unfortunately, the lock-on system when targeting enemies seems to have taken a hit as well when using the modern control scheme. Moving left or right more often than not caused Lara to simply turn away from her opposition and shoot into thin air, and a free-aim option is sorely needed.

With the modern controls, you’re unable to sidestep at all, causing some frustration when trying to perfectly align with a switch to flip or an item to pick up. Jumping from side-to-side and back-stepping are only available with your weapons drawn (which, as the tutorials in Croft Manor are all explained with classic controls in mind, took me a while to figure out) and holding walk to take a step back from a ledge has Lara walk in the direction instead. It’s still possible to play the game solely using this control method, but the removal of these features can and will lead to accidental deaths, and I’d absolutely recommend sticking with tank controls if you can. At least save crystals are no longer present, and you have the ability to save at any time!

Something that may surprise players is the fact that the original cheats still work! So, if you’re running low on ammo, want to skip a level, or just want to make Lara explode, you’re in luck! Having Lara burst into several pieces did make me yearn for silly cheats in modern games, though.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft definitely feels like a collection of titles meant for those wishing to relive the classic ones on modern hardware, as opposed to trying to entice new players into trying them out. They’re just as frustrating and oftentimes challenging as ever, and unfortunately, the new controls do little to alleviate those grievances. Still, it’s great to be able to play these with a shiny new coat of paint, and the sense of nostalgia they evoked had me remembering fond times spent playing them as a child. Though not perfect remasters, this will nevertheless delight fans of the original games!