Tomb Raider IV, V, VI Remastered is a revival of a classic series, with wildly mixed results. They are based on what are possibly Lara Croft’s most controversial and varied adventures: The Last Revelation (1999), Chronicles (2000), and The Angel of Darkness (2003). While these may remain cult classics among aficionados, the remaster seems to give them a decent visual upgrade, while rather missing the point with many of the level designs–but more on that later.
In Tomb Raider IV, V, VI Remastered you can use classic tank-style controls as in the original games (most of which were played with the D-pad without analogue control), or a new more "modern-feeling" control scheme as used in the more recent TRs like Legend, Anniversary and Underworld. This can be swapped out at any time in the pause menu, and there's a handy button layout screen and button customisation for each scheme too. This may irk some, but I highly recommend you stick with the original "tank" controls...
Unfortunately, on Xbox at least, the modern control option is far too twitchy, doesn't really work properly in Lara's early cube-based worlds, and isn't covered by the tutorials you get at the start of each game. So to retain my sanity I had to use the old "tank" controls; i.e. if you push forward, Lara walks/runs forward, regardless of the camera position. To be honest it feels really OLD, but at least it works.
The original low-res textures can be viewed at any time by pressing the menu button, and this also includes the original character models in all their original "glory." The lighting has also been enhanced, environments now have more depth and dark areas actually look dark. The difference is quite stunning at times, and developers Aspyr really did a good job in updating some really icky textures into something that is often pleasing, even to the 2025 eye.
I was flabbergasted to find that the games have no automatic checkpoint save facility or set save points as per the original games, but you do have the option to save anywhere, so it's worth remembering to do so frequently, or unlike the original game which had regularly-spaced save crystals, Tomb Raider Remastered becomes a 'roguelike,' and as popular as they (inexplicably) are these days, I don't think anyone's ever thought it was a good idea when Tomb Raiding.
Although I'm old and crusty enough to have played the original games on release, it's easy to forget how hard they were by today's standards, and some levels require careful exploration in order to solve them, with hints varying from a camera fly-by of your next objective to Lara subtly looking in the direction of a useful ledge or platform. The problem here is that in the remasters, you don't always get a hint of what a lever or switch has done, and this makes for an awful lot of confusion, backtracking and re-exploration. The game camera, across all three games, is also one of the daftest, most disorientating cameras I've ever had to battle against. Sometimes it'll swing around in front of Lara for no apparent reason, at others it'll give you a side-on platform game type view, and while you can click 'R3' to snap it back behind you sometimes it'll twitch back to a weird position at the most inopportune of moments.
The unavoidable fact is that despite being groundbreaking in its time, by today's standards Lara Croft controls more like a robot than a human. While many of her movements are beautifully animated, her general movement is stiff, pernickety pickups, switches and levers require perfect alignment, and oh dear–the combat (with its lock-on no-aim gunplay) feels so clunky and OLD... And as for the rope swinging mechanic, well it's completely non-instinctive and annoyingly inconsistent.
The Tomb Raider IV, V, VI Remastered collection is a solid attempt at preserving and improving these classics. However, while The Last Revelation is a laudable attempt, the other two entries remain rough around the edges
To sum up the three games, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation is widely considered one of the best classic Tomb Raider games, set in Egypt it's an atmospheric, puzzle-heavy adventure. The remaster rekindles its strengths with non-linear levels and intelligent, challenging puzzles–unfortunately the silly camera constantly tries to mess you up.
For some reason Tomb Raider: Chronicles was the first game we played (possibly because you initially get to play as "young Lara) and has always been regarded as the weakest of the classic-era games. To be honest I struggled with its unforgiving and repetitive nature, and nearly gave up on the trilogy without even playing the other two, so frustrating are some sections–but I got through it and must admit, it does have its moments.
I think it's true to say that the original Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was SO bug-ridden that it could have killed the franchise off, but the lasting appeal of Lara Croft, a new developer (Crystal Dynamics) and a complete reboot saw Tomb Raider saved. The remaster doesn't exactly make a silk purse out of that particular sow's ear, but better graphics and bug fixes have at least made the game playable. Unfortunately the stiff combat, odd controls and a ridiculous storyline (Lara becomes an Ethan Hunt-alike) remain significant drawbacks.
While there's all sorts of reasons why I'd like to go back to the year 2000, my rose-tinted specs obviously aren't so thick, so that playing Tomb Raider with higher res textures isn't one of them. However, if you're a longtime fan or curious about the classic Tomb Raiders, this collection is undoubtedly worth playing—but be prepared for some old-school frustrations with inexplicable modern additions along the way, and don't forget to save regularly!
Many thanks to Aspyr Media for the review code.