Want to feel old? The Tomb Raider franchise marks its 28th anniversary on Friday October 25, and to celebrate the occasion, Crystal Dynamics has announced its next remastered trilogy. Following the release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered earlier this year, the newly announced Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered sees Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness revamped for modern hardware.
The best action-adventure games of all time, but Core Design's Tomb Raider series wasn't the studio's finest work. 1999's Chronicles and 2000's The Last Revelation received mixed reviews, but Angel of Darkness was royally panned when it launched in 2003.
A darker entry in the series, Angel of Darkness sees Lara on the run after becoming a suspect in a murder. Critics at the time were impressed by the game's story, environments, and graphics, but its controls, camera, and combat system were a pain – not to mention the bugs. Angel of Darkness tried some new things though, including some RPG elements like dialogue choices with NPCs and a stamina bar. The stamina bar resulted in many dropping to their deaths unnecessarily during jumps, but the ability to chat with some intriguing characters added extra depth to the adventure. In no other Tomb Raider game would you be told to "Move along Ma Chere!" as you explore a Parisian Ghetto – who needs tombs anyway?
If you didn't like Angel of Darkness' storyline, the remaster won't do much to help that, but we're hoping technical and visual improvements iron out some of the mechanical issues. Fortunately, the entire trilogy will let you play with modern controls, which should allow for smoother character and camera movement that's more akin to the rebooted series. If you are a glutton for punishment, though, you can use tank controls. The trilogy will also benefit from new boss health bars, a Photo Mode, and new achievements, as well as graphical improvements for characters and environments.
This remaster has the potential to give Angel of Darkness a second shot at success, so whether you loved it or hated it, it's worth giving this Tomb Raider game another chance. Worst case scenario, at least you have Chronicles and The Last Revelation to fall back on.
You can pre-order Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered right now for $29.99 from Steam and the Epic Games Store.
If this news has you reminiscing, make sure to check out our list of the best survival games, more like the rebooted Tomb Raider series.
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