TheTomb Raiderseries has had a pretty crazy run. When it started off in 1996 on the original PlayStation, at no point did I think “I’ll still be playing these over two decades later.” I don’t think Eidos knew what to do with the franchise either, which is why there’s actually three core continuities.
Let’s make sense of the core games (sans numerous spinoffs), so you may get the fullTomb Raiderexperience.Note that most of these are on Steam!
Release Order of Tomb Raider Games
The original 1996 continuity
This is the franchise that started it all!Developed by Core Designand published by Eidos Interactive, these games introduced the world to Lara Croft and her unique brand of archeology. Although various games are tough to find on legacy platforms, several of them have been re-released on later-generation consoles.
Tomb Raider
The game that started it all,Tomb Raidersparked an empire that no one saw coming. This game lays down the bedrock the rest of the series builds on, introducing Lara and establishing the room-by-room exploration-based gameplay formula that defined the first two eras ofTomb RaiderGames. Despite its clunkiness on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation 1,Tomb Raider: Anniversaryoffers a complete recreation that sands out some of the game’s rougher edges.
Tomb Raider 2
If you play any game on this list, try to giveTomb Raider 2a go. While the game doesn’t do much to shake up the pattern set by the original game, its more-involved story gives Lara more space to shine as a character while continuing the first game’s willingness to tread into weird territory. Seriously, you fight a cult leader-turned-dragon at the end of this game. It gets wild.
Tomb Raider 3
Although it further built on the legacy of its predecessors,Tomb Raider 3marked the beginning of the original series’ decline. To their credit, the developers made some much-appreciated changes, making a new game engine that sped up gameplay and crafting a story that introduced the extraterrestrial into the series surprisingly well. However, the series’ reluctance to embrace more impactful change drags this entry down. It’s not bad, but it’s easily the worst of the original trilogy.
The Last Revelation
Worn out from the back-to-back development of the original trilogyand running out of ideas for new games. Core Design wantedTomb Raider: The Last Revelationto be the last game in the series. Fully committed to this idea, the team built the game around a story that ends with Lara’s apparent death. Luckily for fans, publisher Eidos Interactive aggressively overruled this decision. However, that didn’t stop Core Design from making a game that, perhaps intentionally, did nothing to grow the series and left critics feeling underwhelmed.
Tomb Raider Chronicles
To say Tomb Raider Chronicleswas playing with a deck stacked against it is an understatement. A team half the size of the preceding games developed this one, made up of soon-to-be-former Core Design members fuming that they were making anotherTomb Raidergame. This frustration is apparent in almost every aspect of the game. To be fair, the games do a lot more to make each level stand out by giving them unique gameplay elements. Sadly, it’s all tied together by a disjointed story that seems to hate itself and the character it was written to resurrect.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Some of youmay have heard ofAngel of Darknessas the game that killedTomb Raider, and it did for a while. The development cycle for this game was a rough ride, marred from the get-go by an unchecked desire to take advantage of the new technology offered by sixth-generation consoles and an overall lack of leadership within the team. Combine this with an unforgiving deadline that forced the team to cut plot-essential sections of the game days before release, and you have the recipe for what many consider the worst game in theTomb Raiderseries.
The Legend trilogy (the first reboot)
After Tomb Raider:Angel of Darknessbombed, the series went dormant for a few years. Then, in 2006, it saw an unexpected reboot withTomb Raider: Legend. With Core Design thoroughly disillusioned with their flagship series, Crystal Dynamics took over development, refining the gameplay formula and giving Lara a new, more fleshed-out backstory.
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Legendis a true return-to-form for the series, bringing back a tooled-up version of the addictive crypt-delving gameplay players loved from the original trilogy. The game also features a new story that explores Lara’s past, re-establishing her as the capable protégé-turned-successor of her archeologist father on a quest to find her missing mother. Lauded by critics and players,Tomb Raider Legendssecured the franchise’s future.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
On paper,Tomb Raider: Anniversaryis a remake of the original game, but it’s more of a reimagining in practice. While it follows the same general plot as the first Tomb Raider, it expands on the plot by incorporating Lara’s new backstory, re-framing her first adventure as a prequel to Tomb Raider: Legend. While the Wii version caught some flake for its clumsy implementation of motion controls, mostTomb Raidersee it as a solid installment.
Tomb Raider: Underworld
With two successful games under their belt, Crystal Dynamic brought the newTomb Raiderseries to a close withTomb Raider: Underworld. Building on the lore established by its predecessor, this game brings Lara’s search for her long-lost mother to a gut-wrenching but satisfying conclusion, expanding the gameplay by designing the levels to be more open-ended and non-linear. Even with less-than-intuitive camera and combat, this is an excellent trilogy-capper for the second era ofTomb Raider.
The Survivor trilogy (the modern reboot)
Shortly afterTomb Raider: Underworld‘s release, Square Enix absorbed and rebranded Eidos Interactive, sending Tomb Raider into another hibernation. In 2013, the series was rebooted again, complete with a new backstory for Lara and a radical shift in gameplay.
Crystal Dynamics returned with a vengeance with this grittier reboot, which follows a notably younger, inexperienced Lara who (literally) falls into her first adventure. Tomb Raider completely abandons the formula established in previous titles, introducing survival elements like a crafting system with RPG mechanics.
Featured in several sales over the years and available digitally on many consoles,Tomb Raideris the perfect entry point for new players. Jump in and make your own luck.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Building on the foundation of the prior entry,Rise of the Tomb Raideris a direct sequel that continues Lara’s story, pitting her against a new archenemy, the fanatical religious sect-turned-paramilitary Trinity. Considering player feedback, Crystal Dynamics adjusted the gameplay; they reduced quick-time events and added more puzzles, which makes the game feel close to the original games.
It’s essentially the same open-world experience, with all the good and bad that comes from that.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
The latest core entry as of 2018,Shadow of the Tomb Raider, wraps the third era up in a nice bow. Lara faces yet another world-threatening event, but this time, she’s faces it as the cunning, confidant adventure the previous two games helped her become. While the game doesn’t evolve the gameplay meaningfully, it embraces an open sandbox format and takes on epic scope worthy of a trilogy-ender. After this game, Eidos put the series on ice, with an unknown future ahead.
How to play the Tomb Raider games in chronological order
Tomb Raider games tend to follow an overarching story, making it hard for new players to know where to start. Luckily, the release date order for most games lines up with their place in the timeline.
Which Tomb Raider game should you play first?
Picking the best Tomb Raider for a newcomer is a bit tough, but it is doable. Personally, I’d recommend starting with Tomb Raider: Anniversary. It’s essentially the same game as the original with more straightforward controls and sharper graphics. It also does a great job of establishing Lara’s character.
