A MONTH before the release of Tomb Raider I to III Remastered, co-developer Aspyr confirmed several new details about the game and what fans can expect.
Staying true to the definition of a game remaster, rather than a remake, Aspyr knew from the start that they had to use the original three games’ source code and engine when each was released between 1996 and 1998.
“We had a firm belief that the gameplay of Tomb Raider I, II and III is timeless and with our use of the existing source code, we had every jump, secret, enemy and puzzle exactly as the original development team designed and intended,” Aspyr product director Chris Bashaar wrote on the PlayStation Blog.
Keeping that in mind, Aspyr knew they had to add on to the original’s experience rather than revise it and evoke scorn from those who played the originals.
The game will retain the gameplay from the 90s games and will also have the classic controller settings. At the same time, it will also have modern settings inspired by the Legend, Anniversary and Underworld eras of the franchise.
Other minor additions include health bars for bosses, 3D sprites, over 200 trophies and surprises that Bashaar wants players to find themselves once the remaster launches.
To retain the look and feel of the original, Aspyr tapped Crystal Dynamics as co-developers to handle the new artwork, which Bashaar says was the biggest challenge.
Crystal Dynamics then helped Aspyr with the remaster’s baked and real-time lighting effects. There will be a graphics toggle option to swap between the original and modern graphics, as well as new models for basically everything from the environment, enemies, Lara Croft’s model, textures and VFX.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered will release on Feb 14 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
