Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered is a great restoration of classic games

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered starring Lara Croft is a collection of lovingly restored artifacts that shows why millions of people fell in love with Lara Croft. It’s also a revelation of how games have improved and evolved in many ways over the last 25 years, and the impact on quality of life features we now take for granted.

Developers Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics have given the first three Tomb Raider games, released between 1996 and 1998, a new coat of paint. Improvements include upscaled high-resolution textures, new lighting effects and improved character models. Lara herself looks more lifelike and expressive, with her new model striking a balance between her original in-game appearance and the pre-rendered version that appears on the games’ packaging and advertising. Gameplay-wise, little has changed; Lara still moves and shoots like she did in the late 90s, and the games’ original maps are angular and blocky.

But there are many modern concessions Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered. Players can choose between the vintage tank controls, which fit well with Tomb Raider’s level designs but now feel incredibly clunky, or the all-new “modern” 3D controls. The modernized controls work quite well, making Lara easier to handle and tackle some previously difficult platforming segments. Better yet, the revamped collection lets you customize the modernized controls to your liking with sensitivity, dead zone adjustments, and remappable buttons.

Image: Aspyr/Crystal Dynamics via Polygon

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered is still stuck with some of the original games’ problematic camera issues. Walking near walls, navigating corners, or swimming can cause the camera to rotate in wild directions. I became disoriented a few times while playing through the first and third games, but I’m always reminded that this is an authentic experience when I accidentally see Lara run off a ledge to her death.

Visually the game is a treat. While levels are still constructed with sharp angles and perfect cubes, Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics have infused the games with appealing visual effects like snow, flowing waterfalls, and organic-looking vegetation. Levels have been slightly updated, usually only where it makes sense; As players loot underground caves, they can sometimes look up and see openings in the ceiling that offer views of cloudy skies and let in natural light.

Anytime Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered – even during cutscenes and in menus – players can switch to the game’s original graphics. This classic presentation showcases the original blocky, low-resolution textures and pixelated CGI videos that gamers enjoyed in the late ’90s. It’s a shock to return to these old-looking graphics, but also strangely touching. With a single press of a button, you can quickly see the visual care that Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics have applied Remasteredwhich goes just far enough to make these old games feel fresh again.

However, some things haven’t aged that well either, and the first moments of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered Remind players that these games were created in a different time. Yes, Lara is a privileged British explorer who loots ancient artifacts and kills numerous wildlife along the way. But it’s the racist portrayals of characters, especially in Tomb Raider 3which are far less fun to revisit. Remastered prepares you for the third game’s depiction of the South Pacific Islanders, who are portrayed as cannibalistic primitive warriors, with the following content warning:

The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures based on racial and ethnic prejudices. These stereotypes are deeply harmful, inexcusable, and inconsistent with our values ​​at Crystal Dynamics.

Rather than remove this content, we have chosen to present it here in its original, unaltered form in the hope that we can recognize and learn from its harmful effects.

Image: Aspyr/Crystal Dynamics via Polygon

Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics’ decision to retain this racially and ethnically insensitive section of the game shows that the developer has moved towards this Remastered Collection intelligent. Rather than eschewing this outdated mindset of Core Design’s original, the collection chronicles it. It’s just one of many reminders of the evolution of games over the last few decades.

Newcomers to the Tomb Raider games who have not experienced the original trilogy will feel this progression most. There’s very little hand-holding or tutorials in the first three Tomb Raider games. The games immerse you straight into the action, without a map or trail of crumbs, sometimes in a fight for your life against tigers and spike-filled pits. They are challenging, sometimes merciless games.

But these early games have a great meditative quality. They encourage you to explore at your own pace and with your own eyes, finding secrets and hidden exits. The first Grave robbers In particular, it’s full of quiet moments where all you hear is the sound of Lara herself running, straining to climb walls, and jumping from ledge to dangerous ledge. The music only kicks in during the games’ more action-oriented moments – which unfortunately often consist of Lara clumsily firing round after round into wolves, bats and giant spiders.

With the exception of Tomb Raider’s famous dinosaur encounters, these action moments aren’t the highlights of the early games. It’s the adventure, discovery and Lara’s entertaining acrobatics in these well-designed but archaic game spaces where Tomb Raider shines.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered‘s developers are aware of this and are making the original trilogy accessible to a modern audience without overly fiddling. New additions like a fun photo mode and add-on expansions for the trilogy only enrich this classic experience. There’s still a lot to love in these old games, and they’re worth coming back to until Lara Croft comes out of hiding for her next big adventure.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered starring Lara Croft will be released on February 14th for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. The game was played on PS5 using a pre-download code provided by Aspyr. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These have no influence on the editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find More information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.