Классика, даже сейчас играется очень кайфово, особенно после сложной четвертой части. По сравнению с ней, первая часть это чилловая прогулка.
На удивление, затупов прям конкретных не было и я смог пройти игру и без гайда. Много моментов мне конечно были знакомы по Anniversary. Вообще, поиграв в оригинал, понял, насколько много изменили в Anniversary. Комнаты богов в Греции сильно расширили, сделали боссов поинтереснее, да и в целом добавили много чего. Правда вместе с этим некоторые моменты в Anniversary сделали душнее.
Всё равно считаю ремейк неплохим, но удовольствия получил больше от оригинала. В нём нету прям душных, сильно сложных моментов, играешь и погружаешься полностью в этот увлекатльный луп: исследуешь локацию, убиваешь монстров, подбираешь предметы, активируешь рычаги, продвигаешься дальше. Из-за этого играется всё очень приятно, и я даже думаю готов поставить игре 5 звёзд.
На удивление, затупов прям конкретных не было и я смог пройти игру и без гайда. Много моментов мне конечно были знакомы по Anniversary. Вообще, поиграв в оригинал, понял, насколько много изменили в Anniversary. Комнаты богов в Греции сильно расширили, сделали боссов поинтереснее, да и в целом добавили много чего. Правда вместе с этим некоторые моменты в Anniversary сделали душнее.
Всё равно считаю ремейк неплохим, но удовольствия получил больше от оригинала. В нём нету прям душных, сильно сложных моментов, играешь и погружаешься полностью в этот увлекатльный луп: исследуешь локацию, убиваешь монстров, подбираешь предметы, активируешь рычаги, продвигаешься дальше. Из-за этого играется всё очень приятно, и я даже думаю готов поставить игре 5 звёзд.
Tank controls
(First time playthrough as part of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered)
The first Tomb Raider is a solid 3D platformer that, while it definitely shows its age in some areas, excels in others. Above all else, it is a unique game that could unfortunately not be made today -- not for any stupid culture war reasons, but because its game design, as compelling as it may be, is decidedly at odds with that of modern action/adventure games. The fact that these games even got a (great) remaster at all is a surprise, but certainly a welcome one.
Like many early 3D games, Tomb Raider is light on story, sending Lara on the hunt for an artifact in Peru after a short introductory cutscene. There's probably about five minutes of dialogue across the entire game, if that -- and most of that occurs in the final level. Still, cheesy as the writing may be, Lara and Natla's personalities come through well, and I imagine Lara is given a bit more development in the later classic games.
With the story almost entirely in the backseat, the clear focus of Tomb Raider is in the gameplay. I had heard the horror stories of the game's tank controls, but as a big fan of the original Resident Evil, I found them quite comfortable, and quickly gave up trying to use the new "modern" control scheme included in the remaster. Unlike the newer Tomb Raider or Uncharted games, platforming is the main source of difficulty. You don't just tap a button to automatically grab the next platform, you have to manually line the jumps up with the D-Pad and the jump button, accounting for distance if necessary. There's little handholding, and jumping too far or too short will usually mean Lara's untimely demise. This might sound miserable on paper, but in practice, it just works; as you practice the platforming and controls, you gain enough confidence to bounce through levels without taking time to line your jumps up. It's a simple system that rewards mastery, and the precision of the tank controls means that any platforming-related death is firmly the fault of the player.
While the platforming is great, the rest of the gameplay has not aged so gracefully. There is plenty of combat, especially in the Egypt and Atlantis levels, and it is clunky at best, terrible at worst. There is (thankfully?) no manual aiming: Lara will lock on to targets in front of her and you can blast them apart with ease. The annoyances come in when there are multiple enemies or you have to fight in a tight space; the camera is a mess in combat, and the fact that you have to flip through the air to reliably avoid damage only exacerbates the issues. Some of the later enemies will also jump around you faster than the camera can keep up, leading to some headache inducing fights. I'm not sure how they could have done the combat differently here, but even when you're only dealing with one enemy at a time, it's more tedious than challenging.
Another issue I have with the game is the lack of variety. Although there are 15 levels, this is spread across four different zones, with each level largely having the same aesthetic and challenges as the other levels in the same zone. This is less of an issue in Peru and Atlantis, but Greece and Egypt feel repetitive and samey (Greece, in particular, has no reason to be five levels long). I would have liked to see more locations with fewer levels each for the sake of shaking up some of the monotony. Similarly, although I tend to like the obtuse '90s level design and exploration, it doesn't feel very rewarding once you realize that you're only going to be finding medkits and ammo that, in all likelihood, you won't need. Making ammo and health more rare, or having treasures to loot, may have worked better for me here.
Overall, I enjoyed playing through the first Tomb Raider and look forward to starting the sequels soon. Although there are a number of shortcomings due to its age and being the first entry in the series, I had a good time, and the platforming is fun and unlike anything else on the market today.
The first Tomb Raider is a solid 3D platformer that, while it definitely shows its age in some areas, excels in others. Above all else, it is a unique game that could unfortunately not be made today -- not for any stupid culture war reasons, but because its game design, as compelling as it may be, is decidedly at odds with that of modern action/adventure games. The fact that these games even got a (great) remaster at all is a surprise, but certainly a welcome one.
Like many early 3D games, Tomb Raider is light on story, sending Lara on the hunt for an artifact in Peru after a short introductory cutscene. There's probably about five minutes of dialogue across the entire game, if that -- and most of that occurs in the final level. Still, cheesy as the writing may be, Lara and Natla's personalities come through well, and I imagine Lara is given a bit more development in the later classic games.
With the story almost entirely in the backseat, the clear focus of Tomb Raider is in the gameplay. I had heard the horror stories of the game's tank controls, but as a big fan of the original Resident Evil, I found them quite comfortable, and quickly gave up trying to use the new "modern" control scheme included in the remaster. Unlike the newer Tomb Raider or Uncharted games, platforming is the main source of difficulty. You don't just tap a button to automatically grab the next platform, you have to manually line the jumps up with the D-Pad and the jump button, accounting for distance if necessary. There's little handholding, and jumping too far or too short will usually mean Lara's untimely demise. This might sound miserable on paper, but in practice, it just works; as you practice the platforming and controls, you gain enough confidence to bounce through levels without taking time to line your jumps up. It's a simple system that rewards mastery, and the precision of the tank controls means that any platforming-related death is firmly the fault of the player.
While the platforming is great, the rest of the gameplay has not aged so gracefully. There is plenty of combat, especially in the Egypt and Atlantis levels, and it is clunky at best, terrible at worst. There is (thankfully?) no manual aiming: Lara will lock on to targets in front of her and you can blast them apart with ease. The annoyances come in when there are multiple enemies or you have to fight in a tight space; the camera is a mess in combat, and the fact that you have to flip through the air to reliably avoid damage only exacerbates the issues. Some of the later enemies will also jump around you faster than the camera can keep up, leading to some headache inducing fights. I'm not sure how they could have done the combat differently here, but even when you're only dealing with one enemy at a time, it's more tedious than challenging.
Another issue I have with the game is the lack of variety. Although there are 15 levels, this is spread across four different zones, with each level largely having the same aesthetic and challenges as the other levels in the same zone. This is less of an issue in Peru and Atlantis, but Greece and Egypt feel repetitive and samey (Greece, in particular, has no reason to be five levels long). I would have liked to see more locations with fewer levels each for the sake of shaking up some of the monotony. Similarly, although I tend to like the obtuse '90s level design and exploration, it doesn't feel very rewarding once you realize that you're only going to be finding medkits and ammo that, in all likelihood, you won't need. Making ammo and health more rare, or having treasures to loot, may have worked better for me here.
Overall, I enjoyed playing through the first Tomb Raider and look forward to starting the sequels soon. Although there are a number of shortcomings due to its age and being the first entry in the series, I had a good time, and the platforming is fun and unlike anything else on the market today.
Finally played this for the first time on PC with Automated Fix. Not gona lie, I really dig it. The atmosphere kills and I adore the soundtrack. I can't even say I agree this has aged horribly, it's damn well-designed. Basically a cinematic platformer like Prince of Persia or Another World but flipped into the third dimension. And just as unforgiving as its 2D sibllings aswell. I will finish this game eventually, but Sanctuary of the Scion has me kinda stuck right now, so might as well take a break, maybe try some of the other games.
Link to my full review of Tomb Raider: https://www.backloggd.com/u/NovaNiles/review/1411026/
Link to my full review of Tomb Raider: https://www.backloggd.com/u/NovaNiles/review/1411026/
Playing this as a 6 year old was amazing. The sense of adventure and discovery was basically set in gaming by Tomb Raider when this first released.
Today, while still being a fun game, it has some clearly outdated mechanics like it's entire combat, which suck the life out of the game each time you have to fight an enemy.
Tomb Raider SHINES when it is about exploring, platforming and solving puzzles. Thankfully the game is mostly this, which is why 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider was my favorite of the survivor trilogy as it ditched the Uncharted cloniness of the first 2 games and went for more of a focus on puzzles and exploration.
The puzzles in tomb raider aren't really deep. Each puzzles comes down to finding ways to unlock doors, which is mostly trying to find switches or keys in levels that you will need to platform to.
Some people will say the platforming/climbing system is outdated here but it really is the heart of the gameplay. Unlike most modern games where climbing is automated and mindless, here you have to actually think about your jumps and the timings of your jumps as any misstep could lead to your death.
A big strength is the exploration aspect of the game. There are so so many secrets and hidden areas you will need find and platform your way to in order to find weapons, ammo, health kits. And you will really need these to help you get through the game as Tomb raider has somewhat of a survival game aspect to it.
Each level is a cool exploration of a releastic location where you would actually find tombs. Nepal, Greece, Egypt etc. SPOILER: I really really don't like the concept of the final levels though and it really doesn't fit in this game.
With the positives said, there are many negatives. The biggest one which was mentioned before and almost ruin this game for me is the combat. And it's quite abundant and sprinkled out through the levels, especially in the later levels where it's everywhere. There is no rhyme or reason to the combat. Sometimes you will get hit, sometimes you won't. It's all about facing the enemy and pressing shoot, hoping you kill them while jumping and dodging around before they kill you. Just make sure you are playing on PC or an emulator so you can quicksave before each fight.
I won't get into it too much, but the final levels are really awful and made me almost want to drop this game. It doesn't have the soul or spirit of what makes tomb raider good and felt rushed and lazily put together.
Tomb Raider is worth playing through once if you are a fan of classic gaming and history. You will still get a lot of fun out of this if you can put up with some of the outdatedness of it. If anything, it's worth experiencing to see how the iconic adventures of Lara Croft all began.
Today, while still being a fun game, it has some clearly outdated mechanics like it's entire combat, which suck the life out of the game each time you have to fight an enemy.
Tomb Raider SHINES when it is about exploring, platforming and solving puzzles. Thankfully the game is mostly this, which is why 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider was my favorite of the survivor trilogy as it ditched the Uncharted cloniness of the first 2 games and went for more of a focus on puzzles and exploration.
The puzzles in tomb raider aren't really deep. Each puzzles comes down to finding ways to unlock doors, which is mostly trying to find switches or keys in levels that you will need to platform to.
Some people will say the platforming/climbing system is outdated here but it really is the heart of the gameplay. Unlike most modern games where climbing is automated and mindless, here you have to actually think about your jumps and the timings of your jumps as any misstep could lead to your death.
A big strength is the exploration aspect of the game. There are so so many secrets and hidden areas you will need find and platform your way to in order to find weapons, ammo, health kits. And you will really need these to help you get through the game as Tomb raider has somewhat of a survival game aspect to it.
Each level is a cool exploration of a releastic location where you would actually find tombs. Nepal, Greece, Egypt etc. SPOILER: I really really don't like the concept of the final levels though and it really doesn't fit in this game.
With the positives said, there are many negatives. The biggest one which was mentioned before and almost ruin this game for me is the combat. And it's quite abundant and sprinkled out through the levels, especially in the later levels where it's everywhere. There is no rhyme or reason to the combat. Sometimes you will get hit, sometimes you won't. It's all about facing the enemy and pressing shoot, hoping you kill them while jumping and dodging around before they kill you. Just make sure you are playing on PC or an emulator so you can quicksave before each fight.
I won't get into it too much, but the final levels are really awful and made me almost want to drop this game. It doesn't have the soul or spirit of what makes tomb raider good and felt rushed and lazily put together.
Tomb Raider is worth playing through once if you are a fan of classic gaming and history. You will still get a lot of fun out of this if you can put up with some of the outdatedness of it. If anything, it's worth experiencing to see how the iconic adventures of Lara Croft all began.
retirement home core
Great story, cool game mechanics.
Good beginning of the franchise.
Good beginning of the franchise.
My memory of this is like a fever dream but I watched my uncle play this annnnd I wasn’t interested. But at that time, the graphics were cool. I’m pretty sure my uncle got it though for two blocky reasons.
So it's 1996, and the HDD on my first-ever computer (an Acer Aspire -- check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly5dh5KgVW0) had a grand total of 1000 MB to play with. And maybe 100 MB of that was already taken up with boilerplate stuff. No matter, though -- Tomb Raider installed and I want to say it was 126 MB. I had quite a bit of fun getting into this, but the most fun I had with TR was a year or more down the road when I first played it on a PS1 with those rocking controllers. THAT was truly fun, and I still remember those joyous moments.
Os meus maiores inimigos foram a camera e o pulo, a ambientação é absurda tho.
This review contains spoilers
Absolute classic with a fresh new concept.
Tomb Raider was, and always will be, a great classic. It revolutionized the platforming adventure and continue to do so to this day.
Sure, you got the Indiana Jones games on the NES and SNES already, something that Tomb Raider shares a resemblance with, but the introduction of a female character in minimal clothing, raiding temples, tombs and crypts was something completely different. Instead of using a piece of rope to whack people with, you got two badass guns to dispose of the many threats you encounter on your journeys.
Story wise, it is not that complicated. You are a famous archaeologist that can handle her own, and for this reason, you are hired by some chick named Jacqueline Natla to find an ancient artifact called the Scion of Atlantis. Four different part of this Scion are scattered in different tombs and it is your job to find them.
On your journeys, you find different weapons, ammo and health packs. Ammo is very scarce in this game so you need to use your resources wisely. Save the strongest weapons for difficult enemies and try to avoid unnecessary damage from falls and obvious traps.
The search for this artifacts goes hand in hand with solving puzzles, go to hard to reach places, exploring environments and overcoming the dangers that guard the artifacts. And oh yeah, also watch out for the wildlife, like a freaking T-Rex for example, that casually walks back and forth in one of the levels.
The graphics in Tomb Raider are advanced for its time and aged fairly well. It is still playable today. Yes, Lara’s front rack can poke your eyes out, but the environments are still beautiful for a game this old.
The controls are a little stiff because they are “Tank Controls” and rotating Lara can be a chore sometimes. Also, when jumping and grabbing, your timing needs to be perfect or your adventure ends right here, on the floor of a eighty feet high cave.
There is no music whatsoever in Tomb Raider and for this game and its play style, it works perfectly. There is some dramatic music when a certain event happens, when you meet the casual T-Rex for example, but other than that, it is ambient sound of wind, birds and water. The sound effects are really nice and enhances the feeling of playing an adventure platforming game. The grunt sounds when Lara grabs on to a ledge, climbing up a ladder, takes damage and when she lands on a platform are just really well done. And then you have the death sounds the makes when falling from too high a platform or gets eaten by ten velociraptors. Just epic.
Tomb Raider is a long game, you don’t finish it in one setting. Only if you know exactly where you need to go can it be done, but the constant searching for the right path or solution to a puzzle, keeps you hooked up for hours.
This game kept amazing me. Just when I thought I had seen everything, I entered the temple of Atlantis and got attacked by half-eaten flesh mummies that jump everywhere and defeated a giant flesh/skeleton abomination. It blew my mind because it just did not fit in and came out of the blue.
That is just the magic of this game. I enjoyed every minute of it, and although it can be a little frustrating and confusing sometimes because of the many death traps this game has, it is just part of its charm.
Definitely recommend playing it.
Tomb Raider was, and always will be, a great classic. It revolutionized the platforming adventure and continue to do so to this day.
Sure, you got the Indiana Jones games on the NES and SNES already, something that Tomb Raider shares a resemblance with, but the introduction of a female character in minimal clothing, raiding temples, tombs and crypts was something completely different. Instead of using a piece of rope to whack people with, you got two badass guns to dispose of the many threats you encounter on your journeys.
Story wise, it is not that complicated. You are a famous archaeologist that can handle her own, and for this reason, you are hired by some chick named Jacqueline Natla to find an ancient artifact called the Scion of Atlantis. Four different part of this Scion are scattered in different tombs and it is your job to find them.
On your journeys, you find different weapons, ammo and health packs. Ammo is very scarce in this game so you need to use your resources wisely. Save the strongest weapons for difficult enemies and try to avoid unnecessary damage from falls and obvious traps.
The search for this artifacts goes hand in hand with solving puzzles, go to hard to reach places, exploring environments and overcoming the dangers that guard the artifacts. And oh yeah, also watch out for the wildlife, like a freaking T-Rex for example, that casually walks back and forth in one of the levels.
The graphics in Tomb Raider are advanced for its time and aged fairly well. It is still playable today. Yes, Lara’s front rack can poke your eyes out, but the environments are still beautiful for a game this old.
The controls are a little stiff because they are “Tank Controls” and rotating Lara can be a chore sometimes. Also, when jumping and grabbing, your timing needs to be perfect or your adventure ends right here, on the floor of a eighty feet high cave.
There is no music whatsoever in Tomb Raider and for this game and its play style, it works perfectly. There is some dramatic music when a certain event happens, when you meet the casual T-Rex for example, but other than that, it is ambient sound of wind, birds and water. The sound effects are really nice and enhances the feeling of playing an adventure platforming game. The grunt sounds when Lara grabs on to a ledge, climbing up a ladder, takes damage and when she lands on a platform are just really well done. And then you have the death sounds the makes when falling from too high a platform or gets eaten by ten velociraptors. Just epic.
Tomb Raider is a long game, you don’t finish it in one setting. Only if you know exactly where you need to go can it be done, but the constant searching for the right path or solution to a puzzle, keeps you hooked up for hours.
This game kept amazing me. Just when I thought I had seen everything, I entered the temple of Atlantis and got attacked by half-eaten flesh mummies that jump everywhere and defeated a giant flesh/skeleton abomination. It blew my mind because it just did not fit in and came out of the blue.
That is just the magic of this game. I enjoyed every minute of it, and although it can be a little frustrating and confusing sometimes because of the many death traps this game has, it is just part of its charm.
Definitely recommend playing it.
joguei criança e foi um dos primeiros jogos que eu joguei
apego emocional demais amo todas as aventuras dessa mulher
sempre fico mto imersiva na história
apego emocional demais amo todas as aventuras dessa mulher
sempre fico mto imersiva na história
Where everything started!
Lara Croft and her giant triangle boobs
Sin dudas, es un juego que no es de los mas lindos o más fáciles para jugar, por sus teclas TANQUE, lo cierto es que es el primer Tomb Raider que hubo, y el que no solamente marcó el inicio de la saga, sino también el que definitivamente cambió el estilo de juego. Lo terminé allá por el año 2000 la primera vez, y ahora, 23 años después, lo vuelvo a terminar. JUEGAZO!!!
Waaaay better than I expected. Super super super fun, feels like it was way ahead of it's time when it came out! :3
Tank controls intimidate me. Hopefully I can overcome my fears to enjoy this classic with fresh visuals and remastered controls!
This game brought out some sort of primal, chimp rage within me.
It's pretty neat, the level design for most of the game is overall great until around the final level of the Egypt section where some sections are purely just super stretched out platforming sections with no other sauce to speak of. The Atlantis sections are some really cool set pieces though and I thought the boss fights were alright.
My biggest issue with Tomb Raider 1 is how wonky the tank controls are, especially when it comes to platforming, it can be insanely frustrating and can make the game artificially difficult at points, its a pretty big learning curve. The combat is also not one of the game's strongest aspects either.
Besides that, I love the environments, the music, most levels and I especially love Lara. She's so cool...(and hot).
It's pretty neat, the level design for most of the game is overall great until around the final level of the Egypt section where some sections are purely just super stretched out platforming sections with no other sauce to speak of. The Atlantis sections are some really cool set pieces though and I thought the boss fights were alright.
My biggest issue with Tomb Raider 1 is how wonky the tank controls are, especially when it comes to platforming, it can be insanely frustrating and can make the game artificially difficult at points, its a pretty big learning curve. The combat is also not one of the game's strongest aspects either.
Besides that, I love the environments, the music, most levels and I especially love Lara. She's so cool...(and hot).
Pretty good!, Kinda dated and controls like shit but...yeah it's cool. Pretty decent level design until the last few levels where things get a bit convoluted. I played it when I was a kid but I didn't remember loads about it. Overall a pretty decent game.
The graphics were good for the time but the 3D camera and the tank movement was almost unplayable. Also shooting animals for no reason is a big no for me. 1.5 star for the significance for the industry and for trying something different that created a sub genre of 3d jungle games.
Mon premier Tomb Raider, ma première grande gifle. J’avais un sentiment comparable à lancer son premier Soulslike sans en connaitre le concept, un jeu vertigineux par sa difficulté et son appel à toujours aller plus loin. La surcouche horreur, notamment en Atlantide, a beaucoup marqué mon imaginaire.
One of the first PS1 games I ever saw played (alongside what I'm pretty sure was Star Wars EP 1). I remember the tiger underground level (I may be mistaken about it) and, ofc, the mansion being scary as hell.
I played this game at a glacial pace, but overall I think it's pretty charasmatic and had some interesting ideas about what a 3D platformer should be.
hmmm like.. it's an important game but...
it's just unplayable, that's not even counting the pc port
the tank controls end up being kinda frustrating
it's just pretty annoying, but the ambience and levels are great
it's just unplayable, that's not even counting the pc port
the tank controls end up being kinda frustrating
it's just pretty annoying, but the ambience and levels are great
One of my earliest memories is being a toddler and thus too stupid to know how to double-click an .exe file. "Auntie's game," I would tell my elder sisters. "I want to play Auntie's game." I don't know why I called Lara Croft my auntie, but I did. Today we'll be reviewing Auntie's game, kids.
In fact, a lot of my childhood memories revolve around 'the real Lara Croft,' as I have to call her now to differentiate her from Square Enix's stock protagonist. At the time, Lara was a celebrity - an actual celebrity - on a level I don't think I've seen a video game character be since. Being played by the gorgeous Angelina Jolie in two feature films sure helped, but even before that, there was something about Lara's design and attitude that imbued this primitive pack of polygons with a charismatic charm. The actual plot of Tomb Raider may be somewhat thin on the ground, but it was enough to establish Lara as a badass heroine, while the game's blocky but practical, rough-hewn yet well-researched environments did the rest.
Another childhood memory I have is telling my sister, "We have half an hour before school. We can both play Tomb Raider for 15 minutes each." I was a very kind child, you see. At the time, actually beating a video game was a distant thought for me - as achievable as climbing a mountain. It's only now, 20 years later, that I've finally finished this game by myself - no walkthroughs. I feel like mentioning that because Tomb Raider is actually a pretty tough game. If you clear a risky jump, you better save. If you come to a place with branching pathways, you'd better save. If you walk a few steps without dying, you'd better make two separate save files to account for two separate universes where you fuck up by a centimetre and fall to your death. By the time I finished this game, I'd saved exactly 380 times, but by golly I finally did it. Pity the people who played through this on the PS1 version, which doesn't let you save anywhere.
Yet even if my mentality about video games changed, the principles of Tomb Raider didn't. Both when I was 4, and now when I'm 25, it was all about the joy of exploration. Tomb Raider provides this joy in spades. The platforming, the puzzle-solving and the slow yet definite resolution of a level that at first looked impossibly complex - Tomb Raider was an early champion of these elements in a 3D space. There is combat, of course, but it's merely serviceable because Lara needed something for her iconic dual pistols to shoot at.
I don't know when humanity's collective IQ dropped to the point that tank controls became too big an ask for players to grasp, because they always felt intuitive to me. That isn't to say Tomb Raider isn't unforgiving as fuck, because it is. It requires precision platforming, lateral thinking and a good deal of patience. The game is mostly fair - with only a few bullshit moments reserved for the endgame when you're already attuned to its deceptions - but it plays by its own rules, which are hard and fast.
However, I'm only saying all of this now because I've already had my love rekindled. Despite my childhood memories, there were some moments early on where I said, "Fuck this game," because Tomb Raider has aged. Its design is archaic, and its graphics are nigh prehistoric. Even with some fanmade patches that modernize the game as best as they can, there's no hiding the fact that this is very much a 1996 game.
I entreat you to give this game a fair shake in spite of this. I said the game has aged, not that it's aged badly. With enough patience - juuuust enough to let the Stockholm syndrome set in - you too can discover the joy of Tomb Raider, of its hypnotic cycle of exploring levels with sparse musical cues and only the sepulchral ambience, the thumping of footsteps and the occasional ding of a secret discovered to keep you company. And every now and then, the sound of bones breaking as Lara falls to her death for the dozenth fucking time.
Before the Tomb Raider I-III Remaster trilogy was announced, I had long given Lara up for forgotten - that the only people who would even remember the PS1 Tomb Raider games would be the ones who grew up with them, because who has the time or patience anymore? But look past its flaws, I assure you. This was a revolutionary game then, and it's still a great game now. Tomb Raider in 2024 takes the act of exploring something ancient to find a hidden treasure to a very meta level.
In fact, a lot of my childhood memories revolve around 'the real Lara Croft,' as I have to call her now to differentiate her from Square Enix's stock protagonist. At the time, Lara was a celebrity - an actual celebrity - on a level I don't think I've seen a video game character be since. Being played by the gorgeous Angelina Jolie in two feature films sure helped, but even before that, there was something about Lara's design and attitude that imbued this primitive pack of polygons with a charismatic charm. The actual plot of Tomb Raider may be somewhat thin on the ground, but it was enough to establish Lara as a badass heroine, while the game's blocky but practical, rough-hewn yet well-researched environments did the rest.
Another childhood memory I have is telling my sister, "We have half an hour before school. We can both play Tomb Raider for 15 minutes each." I was a very kind child, you see. At the time, actually beating a video game was a distant thought for me - as achievable as climbing a mountain. It's only now, 20 years later, that I've finally finished this game by myself - no walkthroughs. I feel like mentioning that because Tomb Raider is actually a pretty tough game. If you clear a risky jump, you better save. If you come to a place with branching pathways, you'd better save. If you walk a few steps without dying, you'd better make two separate save files to account for two separate universes where you fuck up by a centimetre and fall to your death. By the time I finished this game, I'd saved exactly 380 times, but by golly I finally did it. Pity the people who played through this on the PS1 version, which doesn't let you save anywhere.
Yet even if my mentality about video games changed, the principles of Tomb Raider didn't. Both when I was 4, and now when I'm 25, it was all about the joy of exploration. Tomb Raider provides this joy in spades. The platforming, the puzzle-solving and the slow yet definite resolution of a level that at first looked impossibly complex - Tomb Raider was an early champion of these elements in a 3D space. There is combat, of course, but it's merely serviceable because Lara needed something for her iconic dual pistols to shoot at.
I don't know when humanity's collective IQ dropped to the point that tank controls became too big an ask for players to grasp, because they always felt intuitive to me. That isn't to say Tomb Raider isn't unforgiving as fuck, because it is. It requires precision platforming, lateral thinking and a good deal of patience. The game is mostly fair - with only a few bullshit moments reserved for the endgame when you're already attuned to its deceptions - but it plays by its own rules, which are hard and fast.
However, I'm only saying all of this now because I've already had my love rekindled. Despite my childhood memories, there were some moments early on where I said, "Fuck this game," because Tomb Raider has aged. Its design is archaic, and its graphics are nigh prehistoric. Even with some fanmade patches that modernize the game as best as they can, there's no hiding the fact that this is very much a 1996 game.
I entreat you to give this game a fair shake in spite of this. I said the game has aged, not that it's aged badly. With enough patience - juuuust enough to let the Stockholm syndrome set in - you too can discover the joy of Tomb Raider, of its hypnotic cycle of exploring levels with sparse musical cues and only the sepulchral ambience, the thumping of footsteps and the occasional ding of a secret discovered to keep you company. And every now and then, the sound of bones breaking as Lara falls to her death for the dozenth fucking time.
Before the Tomb Raider I-III Remaster trilogy was announced, I had long given Lara up for forgotten - that the only people who would even remember the PS1 Tomb Raider games would be the ones who grew up with them, because who has the time or patience anymore? But look past its flaws, I assure you. This was a revolutionary game then, and it's still a great game now. Tomb Raider in 2024 takes the act of exploring something ancient to find a hidden treasure to a very meta level.
so this game starts off really good. yet another ps1 game that nails atmosphere with its soundtrack and audio design. the platforming is really cool to begin with, but it got really tedious and by the end i was pretty sick of trying to jump around with tank controls. nice tits tho
It's ok, but it cannot be overstated how important the game was.
That being said, it did NOT click for me
That being said, it did NOT click for me
It might have not aged well, but if you played it back in the day, the nostalgia makes you overlook the issues. It's really fun.
nothing but respect for all the veteran gamers who endured tank controls to finish this game 🫡
17.9 hours. Frustrating. Tiring. Didn't finish unfinished business. Don't care enough