Fans of the classic Tomb Raider games have a lot to look forward to this week with the arrival of the awkwardly-titled Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC tomorrow, and with release so close a heap of new previews and early gameplay looks have now gone live with tons of new footage of the games in action.
This new collection packs remastered versions of the 90s originals, giving each a modern, HD sheen without drastically changing the games themselves – to the point where it’s possible to instantly switch between the old and new versions at any point with the touch of a button. The games also feature updated “modern” controls that improve on the tank-like controls that fans will no doubt remember struggling with back when.
You can see all of this in play in Game Informer’s preview video below, which shows off a bit of each game’s opening levels and really illustrates the work done by Aspyr to make these games feel more playable without upsetting their authenticity.
IGN also published its own video which presents in pristine 4K and shows off direct comparisons between the modern and classic visuals, including some impressively upscaled pre-rendered cutscenes:
Interestingly, developer Aspyr has confirmed that the PS5 version of the game won’t have any platinum trophies, despite the PS4 version containing them, saying, “The PlayStation 4 version of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered features a platinum trophy, while the PS5 version does not. Players will receive both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 version of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered with their purchase. This collection includes over 200 trophies covering game completions, easter eggs, and new challenges.”
Thankfully, given the nature of these games and the remastering effort we wouldn’t expect there to be any groundbreaking visual differences between the PS4 and PS5 versions of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, outside of maybe performance and resolution differences if anything, so those of us out there that just can’t fathom playing a game with no promise of an ultimate accolade at the finish line can at least defer to the last-generation version in a pinch.
And yes, you will get a trophy for locking poor old Winston in the freezer in Croft Manor.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC on February 14th, 2024.
