Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered by developers Aspyr and Saber Interactive:
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered (The Explanation)
Lara Croft returns again to Nintendo Switch with another three classic titles from her long history of adventures thanks to the likes of Aspyr and Saber Interactive. This time around it is Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered and the collection includes Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, and Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, none of which have seen release on a Nintendo console until now.
As with the first collection that was released last year, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered sports both updated and original visuals that you can switch between at the press of the + button. The modern visuals are set as default from booting up the game for the first time but you can change between them at any time, even when on the main menu. I won’t lie, the modern look for the game does make it so much more appealing but there seems to be an issuel with lighting that makes darker areas look pitch black and difficult to navigate, forcing you to use flares but they don’t illuminate much of the area around you either. A work around for the exceptionally low lighting is to switch to original visuals and that will make things that little bit easier.
The environments have been given a much appreciated overhaul and make them feel much more lively with additional cobwebs hanging from cave surfaces, foliage in areas that were otherwise barren before, dust particles have been added, the fire effects have been remodeled to look more realistic, and the textures on the walls are much more distinguishable. Thats not all that has been done to the environments as some areas that had once had low ramps in the original titles have been altered to look more like steps and some of the statue models have been completely remade with new textures and I have to say they look so much more appealing and interesting. The games in this collection have never looked better and I am all for it.
In terms of character models, Lara’s updated model stays relatively close to the original design whilst giving her a more well-rounded figure that is much more fitting for games of today. The original design for the second collection of games though, is certainly an improvement over the first trilogy, looking much less polygonal and more natural. Other character models in the game also look much more natural than they did. That said, the developers have put in the extra work to make each character model; human, animal and otherwise, look the best they could possibly be.
With visuals and textures out of the way, its time to jump into controls. If you have played the first trilogy of games that Aspyr worked on last year, you can expect the same again. Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered features both the original tank and modern controls and you can easily switch between the two in the options menu. It is worth noting that there are considerable differences between both control schemes. The jump and action buttons are not the same and can take a little getting used to when switching controls.
Now, you are probably wondering why you would even want to switch between controls anyway? Well, much like the first trilogy, much of the platforming in these games are quite precise. Jumping over small pitfalls are not too much of an issue, but large canyons that require a running jump can be troublesome if you don’t line yourself up just right. Tank controls help get the precision down on these areas as you can walk up to the edge, hop back, then take a running leap with the jump button held down and you will make the leap exactly as intended.
Modern controls on the other hand, require you to pull your guns first before you can hop back, and may cause you to jump early or not at all when attempting to make a long jump. Where modern controls are welcome, is in general navigation as you can move freely without having to make large arcs with tank controls. You can also avoid obstacles and walls a lot better with modern controls while tank will have you running straight into them if you are not careful.
In terms of gameplay, Tomb Raider veterans already know what to expect but for those of you who may be unfamiliar, the primary goal is to find your way through labyrintine stages that can be designed around tombs, temples, jungles, and even urban environments. You aren’t given much clue in what you need to do or where to go and you will occasionally be greeted with puzzles in some form or another that you will need to solve in order to progress.
Some puzzles can be as simple as reaching a specific area to activate a lever to open a door or to find a key that will open a door to somewhere else, others can be more complicated like jumping on specific titles in a certain order with no indication on what the order may be. Handholding for the most part pretty much absent with the exception of the initial tutorial to walk you through the general controls.
So, lets talk combat now. By default, Lara is armed with her trusty dual pistols. She can use other weapons like shotguns and automatic weapons but they require ammo to use them, whereas her pistols have unlimited ammo so you can always fall back on the pistols if you should happen to run out of other ammunition. That said, what good are weapons if you don’t have any targets to shoot at? Well, there are enemies that can range from pesky scorpions, wolves, people, and boss enemies like giant stone statues. Most enemies can be taken down with a few shots but other enemies require a lot more bullets to be dropped.
A common problem with the original games was that you couldn’t see how much health boss enemies had. Thankfully, in Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered, you now have the option to toggle the boss enemy health bars on or off via the options menu so you can see how much health the boss has and if your shots are doing damage or not.
Saving and loading your game this time around is a lot easier as they are both easily distinguishable from the pause menu, although it is still all to easy to overwrite a save file or load up a previous save file without a “Are you sure?” prompt to make you stop and think before doing so. Oh so many times have I made that mistake before when hastily trying to save after succesfully traversing a difficult platform section only to accidently reload to a save state just before said section. All my own fault of course, but at least little extra warning may have saved me just in time before making a silly mistake.
I would also like to address some of Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered additional features. Even though there doesn’t seem to be any additional expansions included this time around like with the previous collection, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness does have some cut content that has been restored in the remaster. The Photo mode also returns with even more poses and options to play around with when taking screenshots, as well as the option to change her outfit for the shot.
The Flyby Camera Maker takes this further by giving you the option to add different camera points and angles that you can then play back the sequence for some really cool action shots. Another feature is that you can also change Lara’s outfits at any time on the pause menu but you will need to unlock them first by playing through the game.
To round out our review, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is a very much a welcome inclusion to the Nintendo Switch’s ever growing library. As with all of Aspyr’s remasters, being able to play these games on a modern platform is always a treat for nostalgic fans and gives gamers who have never played these games before, an opportunity to try them out with a control scheme that is familiar to them whilst appreciating the original game design and platforming.
I have thoroughly enjoyed playing Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered and will definitely be adding the physical version to my personal collection once it is available. If the first collection is anything to go by, we should hopefully get a IV-VI physical collection sometime later this year.
Game Specifications:
Developer: Aspyr, Saber Interactive
Publisher: Aspyr
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Action, Adventure, Puzzle
No. of Players: 1 (Single System)
Release Date: NA| EU: February 14, 2025
Price: $29.99
File Size: 9.4 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
