Tomb Raider, and we’re talking about the original one that is frustratingly hard to play on any modern consoles or PCs, is nearly three decades old now. Seriously, it’s 28; it’s old enough to be grappling with all of the same existential and financial horrors the vast majority of us who played it back in 1996 are, and that’s almost comforting.
With Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered out this month, we thought it’d be fun to revisit the original game and see how well it holds up.
The first thing you’ll notice if you’re going back this far, and this is true of any game really, is that control schemes have gotten substantially better since then. Seriously, just the biggest ‘thank you’ to every game developer out there who’s let us move towards smoother controls.
With that out of the way, however, the rest of the game holds up surprisingly well. The sheer volume of places you visit is worth playing the game for all on its own. You quite literally go to Atlantis at one point, and it does a good job of showing off the graphical power of the time with a good mix of different colours and hazards to deal with.
Hazards that include a T-Rex boss fight – the old-school style, not the dark-souls type – and a few other dinosaurs to battle as well. There’s just no denying how cool it was, and still is, to not only be able to raid some tombs with Lara wielding her signature dual pistols but then also get the chance to face off against some of the coolest animals that have ever walked the Earth.
We’re not saying you need to go back to the original to enjoy the game, and the new remaster will likely be the best way to experience the game, but it’s always nice to relive your youth, at least if you’re as old as we are.
Talking of the remaster, you can snap up the ultimate OG Tomb Raider experience by picking up Tomb Raider I-III Remastered over on the Green Man Gaming store. Want the more modern take on the Lara Croft story? Then maybe the Tomb Raider Definitive Survivor Trilogy – featuring Crystal Dynamics award-winning origin series – is more up your street.
