Following the success of final 12 months’s Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, the pure subsequent step for the developer would have been to convey over Core Design’s remaining classics. Whereas it will make sense from a historic perspective and permit current-gen gamers to correctly get pleasure from the whole unique collection with revamped visuals, it nonetheless appeared odd.
In spite of everything, Tomb Raider 4: The Final Revelation is the place the event staff lastly had sufficient of Lara Croft and determined to kill her off, making it the final title within the collection. That didn’t final lengthy, although, as Eidos Interactive mandated extra Tomb Raider titles, leading to two new video games. The primary was Tomb Raider: Chronicles, an anthology of standalone tales meant to honor Croft’s legacy by milking it for extra money.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is the opposite – a sequel/tender reboot that noticed the return of Lara in a means that so many followers demanded: A stealth action-adventure title with one other playable character. Alongside Chronicles, it’s thought of absolutely the lowest level of the collection. Whereas critics and followers mercilessly panned it, a minimum of it catalyzed Crystal Dynamics to take over and reboot all the pieces with Tomb Raider: Legend.
A remaster of both title, not to mention each collectively, simply doesn’t appear best, and but, the developer goes by way of with Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered. Launching on February 14th for Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Swap, the compilation consists of a number of new options like a fly-by digicam, an choice to skip cutscenes, and an ammo counter. There’s even some restored content material in The Angel of Darkness, which supplies “extra context” for the story.
Above all else, the largest attraction of those remasters is the visuals, and the developer, fortunately, continues killing it in that regard. Let’s dive into every title and evaluate their visuals to the unique video games to stipulate all of the enhancements.
Tomb Raider: The Final Revelation – Unique vs. Remastered
Even with the event staff at Core Design feeling completely burned out on the franchise, Tomb Raider 4 upped the visible high quality in quite a few methods. Character fashions felt extra pure due to further facial options; ranges sported improved lighting and 3D structure – the PC model even had bump mapping.
Its presentation felt extra fluid and seamless, particularly with how gamers communicated with one another in cutscenes. In fact, as endearing because the character animations and environmental design, the lighting was additionally commendable, particularly with mild shafts by way of home windows at particular factors.
The remaster improves on all that in some really unbelievable methods. First off, the character fashions are rather more detailed, proper down to raised faces and extra pure reactions. The prologue can also be the right showcase for the revamped lighting and shadows, with extra pronounced beams that extra naturally illuminate Lara’s environment.
In fact, the environmental textures are utterly overhauled and brimming with new particulars, together with new foliage, sharper tree textures, and extra. That skeleton on the bottom to start with? It’s now rather more detailed, with the colours extra becoming the environmental tones. Even the leaves dangling from above are individually outlined and rendered to look pure and fewer like clumps of inexperienced.
Maybe the one draw back is that some sections can look a bit of washed out in comparison with the unique’s vibrancy. It’s positive when wandering by way of darker sections, particularly with the muzzle flash from Croft’s weapons naturally lighting up the environment. However some locations undoubtedly really feel extra subdued in coloration tones than the unique.
Tomb Raider: Chronicles – Unique vs. Remastered
Because it was constructed for the PlayStation One and meant to name again to the earlier titles’ gameplay, Chronicles didn’t sport a lot of a graphical leap for the collection. It nonetheless sported some fascinating lighting and texture work, although the previous didn’t precisely really feel like essentially the most real looking. The environmental textures additionally felt a bit uneven and fewer seamless in locations, which isn’t the case within the remaster. As soon as once more, they’re utterly overhauled, from the beautiful pavement with extra discernible cobblestones to correct door arches and window sills.
The hanging foliage can also be offered but once more with particular person leaves, trying much less messy than the unique. Such is the readability of the environmental textures that the indicators are extra imminently readable and fewer fuzzy. It’s additionally price noting the lighting enhancements, which might remodel a room the place Lara would possibly tight-rope stroll right into a sequence the place environmental options are extra simply discernible. General, all the pieces inherent in Tomb Raider: The Final Revelation’s remaster is simply as pronounced right here, even when the areas aren’t essentially as detailed.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness – Unique vs. Remastered
As terrible as the sport was, it’s important to give credit score the place it’s as a result of Core Design for the unique visuals, even when the artwork path and total constancy have been removed from top-notch on the time. This being the primary Tomb Raider developed from the bottom up for PlayStation 2, it sports activities noticeable upgrades to the lighting and shadows, together with starker tones to match the general edgier environment. The environmental textures and belongings sport greater polygon counts and particulars, whereas atmospherics like smoke and fog additional add to the temper. Lara’s mannequin can also be a step up in virtually each means.
Its remaster is maybe essentially the most stunning improve but by way of sheer high quality. The rain within the opening stage is rather more pronounced, proper right down to its hitting the ground, and the multitudes of various lighting really feel rather more pure, particularly within the shadows created. The textures are extra detailed by leaps and bounds, higher fulfilling the dingy and darkish tones that Core Design likely sought.
Conclusion
Although it maintains a lot of the animation work and cutscene path of the originals, Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered does extra than simply radically remodel the environments, lighting, and shadows for contemporary platforms. It additionally ensures a uniform design for Lara Croft’s mannequin all through, making certain she seems the identical in The Angel of Darkness as she does in The Final Revelation and Chronicles whereas nonetheless presenting immaculate particulars.
Environmental objects which you purchase even sport extra detailed 3D fashions, becoming in with the remainder of the revamps. And, in fact, all of it runs at a silky clean 60 frames per second all through, with nary a body drop in sight on PS5.
So, you might debate the need of bringing Tomb Raider 5 and 6 again in remastered kind, even when the developer mentioned it simply didn’t really feel proper to solely remaster the fourth recreation in. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered is the easiest way to expertise these video games. Possibly it’s within the sheer quantity of options and high quality of life adjustments, or lastly studying what the heck is occurring in The Angel of Darkness. Both means, they’re a vital a part of historical past and full Croft’s unique journey stunningly.
