We're less than a month from Lara Croft's classic adventures making their return, and publisher Aspyr has made good on its recent promise to give us some much-needed news ahead of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered's release on 14th February.
While there's no gameplay to show, Aspyr has detailed a number of features to be included in the package over on PlayStation.Blog. Aspyr has detailed its history with Lara Croft, publishing older titles on Macintosh computers until 2003. And while Lara has gone through some significant changes over the years, the developer wanted new fans to be able to go back and re-experience the classics, so teamed up with Crystal Dynamics.
The two teams focused on what Aspyr calls "three buckets": engineering, gameplay, and art. We'll give you a brief rundown of all of the additions to the games below, but let's start with some of the highlights. these will be applied across all three games in the package, which include: Tomb Raider I + The Unfinished Business Expansion, Tomb Raider II + The Gold Mask Expansion, and Tomb Raider III + The Lost Artifact Expansion.
First up, controls. If you grew up playing video games in the '90s, then you've likely played more than a few games that use 'Tank Controls', where movement is relative to the character's position rather than the camera's position. In the remastered version, you can swap between the classic control scheme and 'Modern Controls', which take inspiration from the Legendary, Anniversary, and Underworld era of the series.
Another big update is health bars for bosses. In the original PlayStation games, you wouldn't know how much health a boss had left until you defeated it and it collapsed to the ground. Now, all of the bosses have a visible health bar, which should help you decide what weapons to use.
Of course, it wouldn't be a new release without a Photo Mode now, would it? This allows you to freeze gameplay at any point, toggle between classic and modern visuals while taking shots, and capture any iconic moments you experience during your playthroughs.
And, with those details, let's run through just a few other updates Aspyr has confirmed:
- Baked and real-time lighting effects
- Graphics toggle — even in Photo Mode
- Brand new character model for Lara Croft
- Adjustments to animations, textures, and VFX
- New models, environments, and enemies to fit with the newer style
- Sprites for items have been replaced by 3D models
Pre-orders for Tomb Raider 1-III Remastered are now live on the Nintendo Switch eShop in both Europe and North America, and you'll get a 10% discount if you pre-order the game before 15th February.
In a separate tweet, Nintendo of America showcased two brand new outfits that you'll be able to unlock in the games, as well — Antarctic and Wetsuit.
That's a lot of info for three beloved classics, and it looks like they're getting the attention they deserve too. Of course, we'll reserve judgment until we get the collection in our hands, but we're excited to revisit these seminal games from our childhoods. Perhaps we'll get some more gameplay before the game's launch next month.