A disclaimer explains that REVIEW stereotypical characters have been unedited. 1996 was a different time indeed.
Back in 1996, Tomb Raider was revolutionary. It’s hard to imagine a time before 3D adventure games, but this was the first one. Defining an entire genre on the first attempt, original developer Core Design made a game for the ages. The trouble is, it really has been ages. 27 years, in fact. So here’s that game plus its two sequels and three expansions, beautifully remastered.
The quality of the graphical remastering itself is absolutely stellar. The original games are genuinely running underneath everything, so while the environments have lovely lighting, 3D foliage, and super-high-resolution textures, it’s all just dressing up the original geometry from 1996 to 1998. So that means huge rectangles (and then almost-as-huge triangles), giving everything an angular look despite the fact it all looks so slick in 4K it could almost pass for a modern release. Best of all, you can hit the Menu button at any time (including during CGI cutscenes and menu screens) and the whole game reverts to 30fps and the old graphics, albeit running without staircased edges or slowdown. It’s utterly brilliant, though sometimes you’ll switch to the old graphics just to see the ledges and items more clearly. Oh, the irony.