A new Tomb Raider Remastered series is coming in 2025, complete with the game so bad it 'almost killed the series'

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

Following on the success of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered earlier this year, Aspyr is set to follow up with another overhauled trilogy of Lara Croft adventures. Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered is set to arrive on Steam on February 14, 2025.

The new trilogy will feature updated versions of the mainline Tomb Raider games The Last Revelation (1999), Chronicles (2000), and The Angel of Darkness (2003). The remastered games will include updated graphics and controls (with an option to play in the original style if you so prefer), health bars for bosses, a photo mode, achievements, and other upgrades.

The original remastered trilogy is very good: Our chief complaint about it was that it was a little too true to the original in some ways, like irritating ambient audio effects, not-great AI, basic gunplay, and a sometimes-uncooperative camera. It'll be interesting to see if that commitment to the old-time experience carries over to the same extent in Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered because the final part of that trilogy, Angel of Darkness—to put it bluntly—really sucked.

I don't have a link to our original review from 2003—the PC Gamer website as it currently exists didn't exist back then—but according to Metacritic we called it "infuriating, buggy, and ultimately boring" in our October print review. More recently, we described it as "the game that almost killed the series" in a retrospective look at the game that can be nicely summed up with this conclusion: "When Eidos took this series out of Core's hands, it wasn't engaged in executive meddling. It was doing the world a public service."

The big challenge facing Aspyr with this remaster is that while bugs can be fixed, you can't patch fundamentally crappy gameplay. And that was the real issue with The Angel of Darkness: Sure, it was a technical mess, but the design and mechanics are what really made it such a memorable experience (and not in a good way, to be clear): When your underlying design inspires lines like "Tears of stupidity continue to fall," man, you've got some work to do.

Or maybe not. It's been 20 years, after all, and maybe nostalgia will carry it far enough that players at least won't hold it against Aspyr. It's possible they'll even like it now, although given our recent replay, that seems somewhat less than likely. The smartest move might be for developers to treat it as a historical curiosity, perhaps with some kind of pre-play message like you sometimes see ahead of old racist Looney Tunes cartoons: "Yeah, it sucks, but this is what it was in 2003." And if nothing else, at least this time around, you were warned.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
Lara stands in the cut training area from the Paris level of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
The worst Tomb Raider game is getting cut weapons, areas and voice lines restored as part of its upcoming remaster
Shodan, the villainous AI from System Shock
Nightdive's spent 6 years on its update of System Shock 2, so it's now the '25th Anniversary Remaster' and will finally announce its release date on March 20
New RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's team of protagonists, including Gustave, Lune, and Maelle
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is already getting a live-action movie from the folks behind the Tomb Raider and Just Cause adaptations, even though the RPG isn't out yet
Painkiller (2025) screenshot
Painkiller is back, and maybe they'll finally get it right this time
Doomslayer pointing a large gun at a larger demon
'I like making Doom games': Doom: The Dark Ages won't be the end, says director Hugo Martin
Metal Gear Solid Delta
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater finally has a confirmed release date: August 28
Latest in Action
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
The First Berserker: Khazan tips - Khazan
10 The First Berserker: Khazan tips to smash your foes
Crysis hero Prophet running down a beach while under fire
Crysis Remastered Trilogy activates maximum value mode as upgraded version of the legendary, hardware-crushing FPS series is currently 60% off
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
Latest in News
Wuk Lamat, a character in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, stares in an unimpressed manner.
'I can't really say what they were thinking' says whistleblowing modder, as Final Fantasy 14's attempt to thwart stalkers falls terribly short of the mark
Raidou Kuzonoha and pals, looking like they've about to drop the most fire single of the 1930s
Raidou Remastered is finally bringing the historical Shin Megami Tensei supernatural sleuth spinoff to PC this June
Greedfall 2
Greedfall 2 aims to turn around a disastrous early access launch with a combat overhaul and a big new boat
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
Kinich, a character in Genshin Impact, stands prepared to brawl with an enemy.
'Diabolical': Genshin Impact's English cast gives new VO the cold shoulder after he frames replacing a striking actor as an 'opportunity to carry the flame'
An image of Alan Wake from Alan Wake 2's rock opera-style song, Herald of Darkness, lifting a hand to the sky while the other bundles on his chest.
Epic’s 2025 Spring Sale kicks off with some big discounts on recent hits and a pair of cat-themed giveaways