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The first Tomb Raider games that kicked off an entire franchise are getting their remastered versions and several fans of the series are excited to get their hands on them. First announced as part of the September Nintendo Direct showcase, the trilogy features updated visuals and enhanced controls to meet the standards of modern games. The games are being faithfully remastered by Aspyr Studios in collaboration with Crystal Dynamics who owns the rights to these titles. Let's take a look at these games and the history behind them.
When Are the Remastered Tomb Raider Games Coming Out?
The remastered versions of Tomb Raider One, Two, and Three along with their expansions are all set to release on 14th February 2024. Although they were first announced in the Nintendo Direct September showcase, these games are making their way to PlayStation5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and of course, the Nintendo Switch.
What Can We Expect From the Remaster?
As mentioned earlier, the remastered versions of the game will move from the game’s polygonal design to a smoother fully 3D design in terms of both environments and character models. Although the game is far from a modern game in terms of graphics it still holds its own retro charm to it. The lighting has also been tastefully done along with smoothing out the game’s textures.
The original games were developed during 1996-1998 which was a period before analog stick controls became common, so the controls do feel a bit tacky. The remastered games have revised these controls, allowing Lara Croft to run smoothly and gracefully traverse through different environments.
Furthermore, players also have the freedom to switch between the original polygonal version and the newer version both in terms of graphics and controls. There are no loading screens for this and they can be done on the fly, which comes in real handy when you want to see the differences between the two.
How Much Does Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Cost?
The collection is already available for pre-order on all of the aforementioned platforms. The game costs £25 / USD $30 / ₹ 1,300 on Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and also on the Nintendo Store. For this price, we get:
Tomb Raider I + The Unfinished Business Expansion
Tomb Raider II + The Gold Mask Expansion
Tomb Raider III + The Lost Artifact Expansion
Also note that at the time of writing, the game was available for 10% off on Steam and the Nintendo Store bringing the price down to $26.99.
