Some games are classics, defining of video games, but have aged for the modern player’s sensibility. They can have very tough controls, very austere graphics, very challenging difficulty. Sometimes all at once. That’s why it’s often difficult to recommend classic games. Because it’s complicated to play some of them without having certain previous experience, or without the patience to understand their context.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was announced last September during a Nintendo Direct. With the release date set for February 14th on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC, it was great news because it meant rescuing three classic titles that defined 3D platformers. The problem was that they didn’t confirm anything about specific changes. Until now.
According to the game’s product director, Chris Bashaar, the studio believes that the gameplay of the first three Tomb Raider games is timeless. That’s why they have used the original code to make the entire game exactly the same as it was in the original titles. But to avoid frustration for modern players, instead of trying to update the game’s foundation, they have offered options to make it more accessible to the sensibilities of players in 2024.
This means that players can switch between two control schemes: the original tank-style controls from PSX games and modernized controls based on Tomb Raider Legends. They have also introduced quality of life elements, such as health bars on bosses, and other elements derived from technological limitations of the time, such as converting all originally 2D objects to 3D and including around 200 trophies. Something that will add incentives for players to play, if they are interested in hunting that kind of rewards.
They have also added a photo mode that they have defined as “robust” and the ability to switch between modern graphics and the original ones with the press of a single button. All these changes will allow us, on the fly, to play exactly as we want the Tomb Raider trilogy: either an extremely faithful version of it, or one more in line with what we expect from a 2024 game. But always respecting what these games are. Timeless classics.
