My first experience with the Tomb Raider franchise was years ago, in a Target store back when the video game demo kiosks were more of a norm and have now been replaced by the Arcade 1Up machines in most areas. Maybe it was the disappointment of seeing this location replace the N64 with Goldeneye with the PS1, or maybe it was that I just didn’t like the game, but I recall being pissed at this since my mother was an avid Target enthusiast and dragged me there what felt like a couple of times a week, and I was really close to unlocking all of the cheats on the store’s version of the game. My next encounter with Ms. Croft was when Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise, and despite me loving that trilogy, I never felt the urge to revisit the original games. That is, until now when I was provided a code for Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. 

Before we dive too deep into this review, if the opening paragraph wasn’t clear, I don’t have any nostalgia for these games. I played bits and pieces along the way, mostly on demo discs or at a friend’s place, but never on my own system. From what I can gather as a new player, this package is a fairly complete collection of the original trilogy with some previously PC-exclusive expansions included in its original state with only a modern control option and enhanced visual filter. Much like Halo Combat Evolved Remastered and its sequel in the Master Chief Collection, you can swap between the original visuals and the newer version as you please with the press of a single button. The difference between these is clear, as the original still looks like a PS1-era game and the remastered version looks like someone ported those same games into Roblox. Poorly. One could argue that the newer visuals actually look worse since clipping is a constant and the textures look off – almost like they were ripped from a modern game and slapped on blocky assets from the PS1 edition. This made exploration taxing and left me switching back to the originals simply because it was easier to locate little pathways and nooks that were otherwise obscured. Additionally, there are no visual options whatsoever, meaning if it’s too dark for your liking, which was my case, you’d need to adjust your TV settings as opposed to just going within the menu and doing it for this single game. This left a sour taste in my mouth since I’ve spent hours tweaking my TV to the best possible settings for my setup.

Regardless of whether you’re a purist going with the original control setup or switching to the modern option, this game controls like a Howitzer when you’ve only been trained on the RC version found at your local Big Lots store. Aiming is a downright chore and makes even fighting the lowest-tiered enemies in the package a true life-or-death situation. I have never in my post-NES gaming life died from a lowly regular bat, but here we are. Platforming is also abysmal, as Lara’s definition of jumping is just flying through the air in a T pose in most cases, and climbing or mantling is something that feels like it requires an act of Congress to pull off. Additionally, I found it somewhat annoying that the DualSense feature was listed as a major selling point for the PS5 version of this game in every article I read before its release, and throughout all of the games and their respective expansions that I’ve sampled, not even the slightest vibration is in place despite being an option that was turned on within the menus.

Aside from the new coat of Dollar General paint and the “updated” control scheme, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of enhancements. I would’ve loved the option to just jump around the various game levels as I see fit akin to the previously mentioned Halo collection, because as it stands, I only was able to make it a few levels in on each of the experiences the packages offers in an attempt to get this review out in a timely fashion. I would’ve probably proceeded a little further into the game had I been advised there isn’t an auto-save whatsoever – no checkpoints, no mid-mission saves, not even a reminder of this. If you forget to manually save, you’re out of luck when you return and are treated with having to start the entire game over. I am fully aware this probably wasn’t the situation back on the PS1 version, but even the mostly horrid remaster of the GTA trilogy saves between missions without being told to do so.

There are a lot of retro games that stand the test of time. Resident Evil, Super Mario Bros, Halo: Combat Evolved, and so many others are timeless classics that most people could revisit and still love for the same reasons they did in the original. I feel like Tomb Raider isn’t one of these and as a new player, I can’t recommend Tomb Raider I-III Remastered unless you are someone who holds this as a fond memory, but it may be one better left in the past.

 

5 out of 10

Pros

• A Complete Package of the Original Trilogy and Previously PC Only DLC
• Being Able to Swap Between Original and New Visuals on the Fly

Cons

• No Auto-Saves/Checkpoints
• Lack of Visual Options
• Clunky Combat and Platforming

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was developed by Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics and was published by Aspyr. It is available on NS, PC, PS4, PS5, X1, and XSX. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, check out the official site.

 

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