Review
Played on: Xbox Series XReleased: 2025 (HD Remaster)
Original release: 1999
I’ve been looking forward to playing this one. Both Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider V: Chronicles are two titles I've never played in the franchise. My only experience with TRIV was a demo back in the days of gaming magazines with playable demos, but I recall little of it. Luckily both games, including the infamous sixth, Angel of Darkness, have been added to the second collection of Tomb Raider HD remasters!
What piqued my curiosity with TRIV was the "back to basics" development focus, a welcome throwback after I found TRIII too focused on action, extreme difficulty and modern environments. By emphasizing exploration and puzzle-solving over action, TRIV is reminiscent of the original Tomb Raider.
Going back to the loneliness, digging far into deep tombs and jumping dangerously about on ancient structures. Gone are the persistent and overly complicated backtracking back and forth in almost every level of TRIII, there's a general feeling of a straightforward level design and better sense of rewarding momentum throughout. Action is heavily toned down, with far less human encounters, replaced by mythological creatures and wild animals.
I read that even though TRIV seemingly has the same fundamental engine as the three games proceeding it, it’s block based after all, the developers have said they updated almost 90% of its code. While it's not obvious at first glance, there's admittedly better flow to animations, a more detailed lighting system and new move sets available. In addition, there are more sloped boxes and less usage of completely square boxes as moveable objects.
Let's take a trip to Egypt for a closer look!
A stark difference from the releases prior to it, TRIV keeps itself in the same location throughout. A massive departure from the globetrotting Lara we’re used to. Here it’s Egypt all the way, with a continuity of deserts, Egyptian tombs and a colour theme throughout. While it removes the travel variation we’re used to from the earlier titles, it's an interesting choice to keep the story and levels more cohesive and tighter.
The beginning of the story cleverly incorporates a tutorial level, playing as teenage Lara, nonetheless. Learning her archaeological exploring skills from her tutor Werner Von Croy, a friend of Lara's father. This level is a much-needed feature as by the time the fourth game released there were a lot of newcomers to the franchise. This introduction level helps ease the player into a more friendly environment and explains why Werner Von Croy and Lara have a strained relationship when the story moves forward to grown-up Lara.
The main weight of the story revolves around the Amulet of Horus, with focus on the Semerkhet tomb in Egypt. There's some traversal across areas near the pyramids, but with the same location and the upgraded game engine there's another significant change: levels are massive because they contain loading screens between areas.
The first time it happens it's a little confusing when compared to what you're used to. Although loading is very quick in this remaster, they simply show a screenshot of a random place in the level, lacking an indication that they are in fact loading screens. This image of the level will pop-up and suddenly you're in a new area, and it's not blatantly obvious that you can go back to continue the level and indeed you must do this to bring back items needed to unlock doors and areas in the previous area!
This change requires some thinking as to where to go back and use items you discover, but they're fairly straightforward and the vastness of the tombs is better depicted thanks to the size of them. It manages to bring back that eerie sensation of emptiness and creepy tombs that beg to be explored. It even manages to balance claustrophobia well, with a sigh of relief when Lara can reach the surface and roam about under the sky. It helps bring contrast to the indoor and outdoor environments.
TRIII would often feel like a tedious break of momentum where a key would unlock a door at the other end of the level, only to need yet another key within the unlocked room and so on. TRIV flows better, bringing back the sensation of progressing in a rewarding manner TR I&II cleverly did. Traps are toned down in difficulty, with less instant deaths that TRIII infamously threw at the player. Frustration levels are reduced as such and the difficulty follows a gentler curve, rather than the massive difficulty spikes in TRIII.
Although combat has never been the old Tomb Raider titles strong suit, it does feel better here. Lara better aims at the correct enemies, even two at the time, and you can switch aim between targets. Enemies require various weapons to defeat, some even protecting themselves behind shield and armour. There's even a scope to find, interchangeable between the crossbow and magnum revolver, and combined with the larger open areas allows for some simple sniping!
Enemy encounters happen far less frequently, and human enemies are almost entirely removed. This is what made the first game so clever; enemies weren't just brainless shootouts; it was about fearing non-human or animal attacks now and then. Being scared at their sudden appearance, where less is more.
I've mostly played this fourth adventure in the HD remaster package. Although I've been switching back forth throughout to take a look at the remastered vs. old graphics. The original was a rewritten engine, seemingly visually alike on the surface, there are apparent changes as you begin to see look deeper.
This especially applies for the aforementioned size of the levels, with rooms and open areas under the sky that are massive, considering their age. The HD remaster does this size of levels better justice as it keeps the whole distance of the rooms rendered, while the original graphics resort to blacking out the distance. I've talked about how this works well for original graphics indoors, while outdoors the darkening looks odd.
There's a far larger frequency of boxes that aren't just square shaped being used to render the environments. With gradual slopes, various shapes and pushable objects that aren't just massive blocks. This helps depict objects and structures that need more finesse to their design. That said, the environments can feel a little barren and sterile at times. Without me really knowing why. They do have some select items in them, but there's just an overall roughness the older titles, with smaller detail that perhaps filled each room. Or maybe it's just the size of them.
Colouring is more subtle palette than the previous games, leaning into a more pastel colour scheme, especially for the original graphics. The original also uses some form of basic distortion, reminding me of the modern chromatic aberration effect, to makes textures have a blurred effect. Even though we, yet again, see the original graphics without any option for texture smoothing. The remaster developer Aspyr need to include this.
The HD remaster graphics have done solid job, with a lot of upgrades. Especially surfaces with details, like buildings with windows and doors, have increased 3D geometry to make objects stick out rather than just a flat texture. Lighting is well done, with more atmospheric shadows and logical placement of light sources. Once again though, these HD remasters suffer from losing some of their intended lighting and atmosphere compared to the old graphics in the transition.
Overall, TRIV has learnt from a lot of the mistakes that were made with TRIII. Leaving behind the influences of action titles with shooting and modern locations, and in its place a return to what made the franchise so unique when it launched. The ancient locations, the lonely exploring of tombs, with enemies few in number and in the shape of creatures or animals, but mostly about solving your way forward with either puzzles or elaborate platforming. It manages to balance it right, without being too confusing or difficult.
That said, it does have its pacing issues. The last few areas seem to continue forever, padding out what only feels like a repetitive drag towards the inevitable end. Also, because of the same location throughout, it makes it lack distinct visual variation. No particular area sticks out from the other. It all blends into one solid experience, without the visual cues of contrasting colour in areas.
It outpaces TRIII for me, not in variation by a long shot, but in what the franchise needs to be about, without falling into a mixed pot of ideas influenced by the trends of gaming in the 90's. It's a game that understands what Tomb Raider needs to be and focuses in on that.
I can absolutely understand the franchise having fatigue by the time this came out, with the developers having to meet a yearly release, but there's nothing here that depicts that feeling. It's solid work and a release that takes inspiration from itself, even though it's just four years after it all began
If you're new to it all, and have played TR I&II prior to this, which I strongly advise, then just jump to this one at once and skip TRIII. Just expect it to go deep into the Egyptian theme and not the globetrotting Lara we've become accustomed to.
