Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

This is tough to recommend.

It's an honest remaster of a classic series. The gameplay is identical, only the look and feel have been upgraded, and there are some minor quality of life improvements.

And therein is the problem. These are not "quality of life" games. Much has been said about the clunkiness of the tank controls, but those represent a minor hurdle within the overwhelming tediousness of environmental traversal. It's not only that you often need pixel-perfect locations and angles, but that your tools for getting them right are so cumbersome. The camera, a bit improved over the original, will often not cooperate with you. You sometimes can't control it all. And Lara can only move in small increments in the direction she's pointing, and even that can be too much, leading to a lot of slipping and falling. Every minor jump is an excercise in patience. I found myself saving the game before every leap, and I needed those saves because I messed up a lot.

Why does this title even exist? Tomb Raider I already got a proper remake with Tomb Raider Anniversary in 2007, which kept the basic narrative but completely overhauled the gameplay with smooth, dynamic, and more diverse mechanics. It's great, but it's also a completely different experience. Is it better than this newer version? Probably. But here, if the retro-frustration doesn't scare you, there is something quite special to enjoy. It's all about exploration of intriguing levels in quiet isolation, deliberate and careful setting up of every jump, and finding secrets at your own pace. The flow is refreshingly slower than that of contemporary games of this genre. Its minimalistic totality is coherent within its limitations. And it can be addictive. Once you solve one area, you really want to find out what the next one has in store for you. Unless your d-pad thumb hurts.

And it's not that hard, not really. The ability to save whenever you want softens some of the anxiety, though not all of it. It can still be tense. Combat is dumb but not too challenging, and there are health packs galore. If you don't care about elegant kills, just keep shooting and healing and you'll be fine. To complete these games all you really need is a steady hand, some spatial thinking, and problem-solving skills. Those are good and enjoyable things to practice.

It's not for everyone, not by a long shot. But if my warnings didn't scare you, this remaster is a great opportunity to enjoy an incredibly influential piece of gaming history.