Last week, Aspyr released the second major update for Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and while it added a new outfit, it also reportedly removed some content according to reports from multiple players.
Although it doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the latest patch notes, Tomb Raider fans on social media and are highlighted elsewhere how to cry “Lara’s pinup” in level four Tomb Raider III (entitled ‘Sleeping with the fishes‘) are now gone from the first room of this level. Unsurprisingly, the internet has had mixed reactions to this revelation.
These same posters are shown in all their pixelated glory in the original game and were apparently in earlier versions of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, before the latest updates.
On the front of the computer, modders quickly restored these posters in the remastered version of Tomb Raider III.
Aspyr has not commented on this change in Tomb Raider, so there is no definitive answer as to why it was removed.
However, it is worth noting Crystal Dynamics added a statement to the remaster of the trilogy mentioning that he chose not to remove content from the game that did not align with his values, as he would rather “learn from it”. Here is that same statement in full:
“The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racism and ethnic prejudice. These stereotypes are deeply hurtful, inexcusable, and inconsistent with our values at Crystal Dynamics.
Rather than remove this content, we have decided to present it here in its original form, unaltered, in the hope that we can acknowledge its harmful impact and learn from it.”
Namely, the developer ‘Open Lara’ (who was actually hired to work on the Remastered trilogy) have reshared the link on social media to the mod which adds the posters back to the remastered version of the game.
When Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was unveiled in February, critics and fans alike were incredibly pleased with the final product. A Nintendo Life review labeled it one of Aspyr’s most successful projects to date, successfully delivering a much-needed update to three of the game’s most iconic titles.
