REVIEW – Last year Aspyr made a big move with the remaster of the first three episodes of Tomb Raider. But now they’ve got a bigger task on hand, as they’ve not only remastered the fourth and fifth installments, but also Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, which was released in the summer of 2003… which set the collection’s rating back, as it was the main focus and perhaps the reason why the public was waiting for this package.

Let’s be real: Angel of Darkness was the game that sent Lara into a complete reboot, and the remaster hasn’t really addressed any of its issues…

From PS1 to DC, a girl with double pistols lived

Modern controls? Possibly, if you don’t like the old tank control scheme. Even 4K resolution and 60 FPS? You bet. Photo mode? New costumes? Yes, those too are present. You can save at any time. There are a bunch of achievements/trophies. That pretty much defines what was in all three episodes. So let’s look at each game individually. Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation has a deliberately Egyptian setting, and that would probably be the highlight of the first six titles. The modern graphics bring out the hieroglyphs nicely, and the outdoor areas have a much improved visibility. Once you get used to the controls of the first three episodes, it’s quite easy to jump to the fourth. So this game has been on form, which is very nice. Tomb Raider V: Chronicles tells the story in flashbacks (as it seemed that Lara might have died at the end of TR4) with four different life segments.

The underwater sections of this part are problematic from a gameplay point of view, because it’s not so easy to figure out where the hell you’re supposed to go. This is also where stealth comes into play, as it will be needed here and there in New York. In terms of controls there is no problem either, graphically there is a rather bold difference between classic and modern graphics in some places, but the gameplay in this case can also be called classic, although it is true that the Core Design’s formula has been getting tiresome by this point. Then came a few years of silence, a new generation of consoles arrived, and Core thought Lara deserved a serious step up…

„My Legs feel stronger”

(This is an actual quote from the game.) The first portion of this bunch of chracters was shorter than usual for a reason, because the focus is on Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. Aspyr already did a really stupid thing by keeping the stamina bar. And then like the suddenly stronger Lara’s legs thing… you couldn’t really know “the level” back then either (it’s ridiculous to seriously write that down, let alone experience it… they should have at least taken THAT out of the game, but no, they left it in, WHY!?). So moving heavier objects, jumping over bigger gaps is not possible at first because of this. Ok, they fixed the framerate and improved the controls, but they didn’t touch the gameplay significantly. So at the beginning of the game there’s the unmissable (in a negative sense!) tutorial where Lara talks and talks and talks while standing still (and the player sits still) until she’s done. The original didn’t have a bad story (and let’s face it, it was graphically good…), and the atmosphere was quite nice.

This has not changed, but the differences between modern and classic graphics are somewhat divisive. In some places, the older looked better. The remaster does have some pluses. Kurtis’ arsenal has been expanded, a cut segment in the alleys of Paris has returned, and the Rennes Pawnshop is now open. It’s all well and good that the original has been expanded, and yes, you have to admit: Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness’ remaster really is the best way to play it. But when the base game is in a bigger hole than the size of the Grand Canyon, it’s beyond redemption. They also left in the dialog thing: you picked a bad option? You could just get shot in the face by the other character. Okay, now you don’t have to wait long to load, but if they remastered the game, they should have left some elements out. This one for sure. They kept the climbing animation, which was pretty smooth back in 2003 and it still looks nice now. However, if the gameplay is unchanged, you can probably bring out the bugs with a little attention. Falling into the void in the tunnel didn’t work, but that was just a matter of luck…

L.A.R.A. = Lara’s Awful Redemption, Again

This collection could be rated 8/10 without Angel of Darkness. It drops to a 7/10 because the remaster itself suffers from the same flaws as the original due to over-attachment to the original. It could have been a great opportunity to improve the game’s reputation, but it’s a missed opportunity. And that certainly leaves its mark on the rating. So if you didn’t like all the idiotic new gameplay, you won’t like the remaster either. If you liked Last Revelation and Chronicles, those two games are worth playing. And Angel of Darkness is more like Awfulness of Drabness. So compared to the first three games in the collection, this is a setback because they stuck too close to authenticity.

-V-

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Publisher: Aspyr

Developer: Aspyr/Crystal Dynamics

Style: Action-adventure, platformer

Release: February 14, 2025