Tomb Raider I–III Remastered

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Tomb Raider I–III Remastered
Single-player

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered

Xbox Series X/S on 14 February 2024.[4]
The game received generally mixed reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered is a collection of

photo mode, and over 200 achievements.[4][9][10][11]

Development and release

A comparison between the third level in the first game and in the original game (above) and the Remastered version (below)

In 2018, Realtech VR, who had previously developed

Square Enix Europe, Embracer Group expressed interest in sequels, remakes, and remasters of established franchises, including Tomb Raider.[15]

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered was revealed on 14 September 2023 during a Nintendo Direct, and was announced to be released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 14 February 2024 (coinciding with the canonical birthday of the series' main protagonist Lara Croft).[16][17][18] It includes three expansion packs from the original trilogy: Unfinished Business, The Golden Mask, and The Lost Artefact.[4][19] The game was developed and published by Embracer subsidiary Aspyr, who had previously ported the first six Tomb Raider games to macOS in the 2000s, in partnership with current series developer Crystal Dynamics.[20] In January 2024, the developers promised that it would have "plenty more to share soon".[21][22][11] In a 2024 interview, Aspyr has also expressed interest in making more Tomb Raider remasters in the future, including The Last Revelation and Chronicles.[23]

Aspyr, having wanted to revisit the original Tomb Raider titles but always debated "the right approach", knew they would use the original source code and engine, allowing players to switch between the original look and new visuals for all three games.

minimal UI can be considered "frustrating for tougher bosses with massive amounts of health", as well as replacing 2D sprites of in-game items with 3D models.[28]

For the art of Remastered, Aspyr worked closely with Crystal Dynamics on art updates, such as "baked and real-time" lighting effects, graphics toggle, and adding new models, environments, and enemies.

content warning was added by Crystal Dynamics to the start of Remastered, which warns players about what it describes as "offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic stereotypes". The warning explains that rather than "removing this content", they have chosen to present it in its original, unaltered form in the hopes that they may "acknowledge its harmful impact and learn from it".[30][31] A patch released in April 2024 removed pin-up posters of Lara Croft in suggestive and alluring poses from the third game, without being mentioned previously in the patch notes.[32][33][34]

Reception

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered received "generally favourable reviews" for PlayStation 5 and "mixed or average reviews" for all other versions, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[35][36][37][38]

Critics praised the updated visuals, new gameplay features, and overall faithfulness to the original trilogy. Christian Donlan of

Push Square also highlighted Lara's character model, calling it "arguably the biggest achievement".[48] Ellie Gibson of The Guardian wrote that the remaster "preserves enough of the games' treasured elements to keep purists happy."[52]

The game was criticized for its modern control schemes, art direction, and glitches. Barker called the game's modern controls "annoying" and noted its lack of a rewind function as a "glaring oversight".

Windows Central, while calling it "an [almost] perfect return to the 90s era of gaming", noted that the game, in remaining faithful, retained the original sounds with "no further edits", as well as retaining the original full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes which were upscaled with AI for the remaster.[53] Ash Parrish of The Verge also criticized the game's retained tank controls for being "a clunky, awkward mess" but was less critical of the lighting,[54] while Carrie Lambertsen of Screen Rant was very critical of the game, calling it "more of a port than a remaster".[55] John Walker of Kotaku found the new controls "disastrous" and called its updated textures "smoother, but pretty ugly".[56]

Notes

  1. ^ Original games developed by Core Design.[1] Additional development by Crystal Dynamics and Saber Interactive.[2][3]
  2. ^ Also known as Tomb Raider I–III Remastered Starring Lara Croft[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (27 October 2016). "20 years on, the Tomb Raider story told by the people who were there". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "" Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft Launches Today on PC & Consoles " - Games Press". gamespress.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Wolens, Joshua (16 February 2024). "Lara Croft modding maestro reveals he's been missing because Saber nabbed him for the Tomb Raider 'dream team', assembling a crack squad 'of crazy people' to put together the remasters". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Aspyr & Crystal Dynamics Reveal Tomb Raider I–III Remastered Starring Lara Croft, Coming to Pc & Consoles Feb. 14, 2024". Crystal Dynamics. 14 September 2023. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Tomb Raiders: Lara Croft and the Temples of Doom" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 86. Ziff Davis. September 1996. pp. 88–89. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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  7. ^ Core Design, ed. (1998). "Actions". Tomb Raider III PlayStation Instruction Manual. Eidos Interactive. pp. 7–12.
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  19. better source needed
    ]
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  23. ^ "[Interview] Apsyr on Tomb Raider I-III's updated graphics, new controls, and more". Nintendo Everything. 3 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  24. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (16 February 2024). "Tomb Raider Fan Remaking Original Games Was Hired for Official Remastered Collection". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
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  28. better source needed
    ]
  29. better source needed
    ]
  30. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (13 February 2024). "Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered Includes Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes Warning From Crystal Dynamics". IGN. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  31. ^ Extension, Time (15 February 2024). "Poll: Should Retro Game Remasters Carry Warnings About "Offensive" Content?". Time Extension. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  32. ^ Life, Nintendo (21 April 2024). "Lara Croft's Pinup Posters Go Missing In Tomb Raider I-III Remastered". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  33. ^ "La mannaia della censura si abbatte su Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered". Everyeye Videogiochi (in Italian). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  34. ^ Ingram, Michael Brandon (21 April 2024). "Tomb Raider Update Makes Controversial Change Not Mentioned in the Patch Notes". Game Rant. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
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  36. ^ a b "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft for Xbox Series X/S critic reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  37. ^ a b "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft for Nintendo Switch critic reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  38. ^ a b "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft for PC critic reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  39. ^ a b Donlan, Christian (13 February 2024). "Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered review - you were never going to smooth these games out". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  40. ^ Kautz, Paul (13 February 2024). "Test: Für Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered sollte die Altersfreigabe hoch gesetzt werden - auf mindestens 30 Jahre!". GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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  42. ^ Quesada, Daniel (13 February 2024). "Análisis de Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered, el regreso de una trilogía que revolucionó el sector". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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External links