The game that kicked off the entire franchise, Tomb Raider kicked an entire genre into gear with features that had fans hooked from the beginning. Drawing them into a world of acrobatics and booby traps, Lara Croft brought high-flying adventure from the archaeological site to a remote island.
A revered game in its time, long years have passed since its release. Some games stand the test of time while others get left in the shadows, Tomb Raider has one foot in both arenas. Certain aspects of the game are still top-notch even by today’s standards while others make it clear how much time has passed, putting fans in the awkward position of choosing whether to revisit the one that made it all possible.
10 Timeless: Adventure Pioneer
Being released so early in the game (no pun intended) makes Tomb Raider one of the leaders in the action-adventure genre. Especially to the degree that the game accomplished, at the time only titles like Prince of Persia or Alone in The Dark were available. This is especially true when it comes to female protagonists, only Metroid managed to beat Tomb Raider off the blocks.
It also managed to do it on a much grander scale, some of the dungeons Lara Croft has to navigate through were bigger than anything previously attempted. It hadn’t hit open-world stages yet but it was the closest thing to it in ’96. The levels weren’t filled to the brim with activities but they gave the player a sense of freedom when most had a strictly linear path through the story.
9 Aged Poorly: Gameplay Engagement
At the time, nobody was complaining about the lack of constant action as Tomb Raider has more options than most. Trying to play it nowadays is a different story altogether, large unused spaces and bland travel actions make for a dull advance through the dungeons. Mostly looking at the lightly decorated walls while encountering the occasional wolf.
A fast travel option would have been ideal, what was once so impressive is now mundane with little to no effort required. What gave so many players the freedom they hadn’t experienced now seems like a waste of time, forcing players to mindlessly climb, hop, and run through barren landscapes.
8 Timeless: Story Realism
Tomb Raider always had one of the most realistic versions of a zero becoming a hero, taking a relatively clueless archaeologist and throwing her into immediate danger. She gets hurt, cut up, and has to learn all the skills that eventually transform her into the treasure hunting renegade that fans have come to know over the years.
Even today, most characters are former military or begin the story already having some serious training before players ever get to control them. Tomb Raider is one of the best examples of how the adventure would begin for the regular person, obviously she accomplishes more than the average joe but fans have to allow some creative license.
7 Aged Poorly: Combat
This is more a sign of the times than a direct criticism but fans today are spoiled, especially in terms of combat. It’s one of the most developed aspects of most games, leaving any game from before 2000 in the dust. Going back to the original Tomb Raider is yet another reminder of how basic things got, considering it has some of the more advanced gameplay that’s saying something.
This is probably why the gameplay was focused more on puzzle-solving and traversing obstacles than gunplay. Occasionally an enemy in the form of a wild animal or the rare person will attack, but the bread and butter of the game lies in its other qualities.
6 Timeless: Scenery
Even though the interactable parts of the environment might be lacking, there are parts of the landscape that still hold up. The graphics might not be up to par but the grand scale set pieces really bring the setting to life, immersing the player in ancient ruins. Waterfalls, drawbridges, and imposing statues that border the scenery.
This is especially impressive considering the release date, players get the full experience of diving into the environment that made Tomb Raider popular in the first place. It’s the investment that made fans appreciate the world and one of the most memorable aspects that continues in the series to this day.
5 Aged Poorly: Lara’s Abilities
Lara’s abilities, while stunning at the time, have taken a serious nosedive since. Limited to very basic climbing and jumping actions, Lara’s impressive leaps don’t hold up under the light of the more mobile characters of today. This is especially true when you compare the newer releases in the Tomb Raider series.
Her acrobatic abilities have gotten a major upgrade from the static beginnings. Players will find 1996 to be less than lackluster when playing through the dungeons, mostly due to the gameplay. She doesn’t have access to that many weapons and is seriously lacking in variety when it comes to obstacles.
4 Timeless: Puzzles
Being the key aspect of gameplay, the puzzles even in the first edition were some of the best moments throughout, from collecting keystones to pulling levers. It’s one of the few reasons that the game is still enjoyable to players almost 25 years later, making the levels both enjoyable and challenging.
The variety in puzzles really pushes the player in ways most Action-Adventure games miss, using traps and physical timing to mix up the process. There are even optional puzzles that are available for shortcuts to retrieving secrets, one of the more enjoyable aspects.
3 Aged Poorly: Graphics
This is the most obvious reason the game doesn’t hold up, graphics were one of the things game developers and consoles really focused on throughout the years. The jump in a decade is enough to put a game out of date, let alone 24 years. Even for the late 90’s Tomb Raider was a little rough around the edges with a distinctly blockish look to just about everything on the screen.
Animals and humans bear more of a resemblance to Minecraft characters than the characters of today, this is especially true of the setting. Even the walls and bodies of water have the same pixeled aesthetic to them, dating them in a way that most players wouldn’t be able to ignore.
2 Timeless: Tone
The entire series has a dark, unnerving tone that holds throughout the game. It will keep the player on the edge of their seat even while there are lulls in the action. This is partly thanks to the soundtrack, music that has since become iconic in the series and the gaming community.
It both grabs the player’s attention and makes for a great backdrop while wandering a vacant tomb. The impressive ability to continue to hold the tone with limited resources is special, with some recent games still falling short in the mood department.
1 Aged Poorly: Difficulty
The problem isn’t that Tomb Raider is difficult, it’s why it’s difficult. The various glitches and incredibly touchy controls make the game frustrating for even the most seasoned gamer, taking a seemingly easy task and dialing in the timing window results in a need for exact timing. It hardly resembles the dynamic battle mechanics of Dark Souls or any kind of difficult strategizing.
It simply annoys, not the whole way through but if players want to even come close to beating the game, they’ll have to navigate a seriously awkward set of obstacles along the way. As much as fans were willing to put up with it back in the day, the glitches can put a considerable interruption in the flow of the game.
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