Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered: 10 Ways To Make The Games Easier To Play

If you’re a long-time fan of the classic Tomb Raider games, you will know how tricky they can be. With clunky controls, a wayward camera, and level designs that border on the overly complicated, getting through each mission can be difficult, to say the least. 

If you’re a newcomer to these titles after buying the Remastered trilogy, there’s a chance you might be put off by the games. After falling to your death the 100th time because you didn’t know how to nail a jump, or after getting lost in a level that seemingly has no exit, you might decide to give up your turn as Lara Croft and return to games you’re more familiar with.

Here’s our first piece of advice to you – don’t give up! Yes, the games can be tough but they’re a lot of fun too. So, to ensure your playthrough is easier than it might otherwise be, here are some tips that we hope you find useful.


Practice Lara’s moves at Croft Manor

Getting to grips with how Lara moves is key to completing every level in the Tomb Raider games. You need to get used to the way she jumps, backflips, shimmies along ledges, and more.

The remastered games have two control schemes – Tank (classic controls) and Modern – both of which can be used at Croft Manor. The Modern control scheme is by far the easiest to learn but as the Tank controls are sometimes useful for performing moves that are restricted by the newer controls, it’s best to learn them both.

There are areas in the Manor, such as the gym and the gardens where you can learn Lara’s moves, so we recommend you visit Lara’s home before you start your first mission. 


Explore each level using Photo Mode

You can take photos of Lara pulling different faces and poses in the Remastered games but there is so much more to Photo Mode than taking selfies. When activated, you can use the camera to float anywhere in the level (except through locked doors), so you can explore the map to find out where medipacks, ammo, traps, and enemies are. 

This is especially useful in some of the more maze-like levels in the Tomb Raider games where getting from A to B is quite difficult. You might also find Photo Mode useful if you don’t want to waste your time exploring dead ends. By manipulating the camera, you can explore at your leisure, while Lara stays rooted to the spot you last left her. 


Cheat!

Cheat codes are generally a thing of the past these days but as cheats could be used in the original Tomb Raider games, they have returned for the Remastered collection. Run out of ammo? Can’t find a particular gun? Health bar running low? Fear not, as you can make your life easier by using a cheat code.

Online reports suggest trophies and achievements are disabled after entering a code but in this writer’s experience (after entering the weapon unlock code), that’s not necessarily true. Still, you might want to start a separate save file, just in case some of the cheats do disable rewards. 

You can find a list of cheat codes here! 


Switch between Original and Remastered Graphics

When playing the game, you can switch between the original and remastered graphics at the switch of a button. Most modern players will want to play the games with the remastered graphics as they consist of a higher resolution and more detailed environments.

However, the remastered version uses a lighting technique that adds realism to the game’s environments. For the most part, this is a good thing. But sometimes, it can be hard to see what’s lying on the floor in shadowed areas, meaning it’s hard to spot medipacks, ammo, and the necessary items needed to complete each level. 

Therefore, we recommend switching to the original graphics occasionally, especially in darker rooms. The light is artificially bright in this mode, making it much easier to spot the items that are scattered around each level. 


 

Kill! Kill! Kill!

We know killing is bad. This isn’t something we condone in real life but in the Tomb Raider games, killing is a must. Not only does Lara have to shoot human enemies but she also has to dispose of wolves, bears, bats, lions and other assorted animals. 

If Lara was a real person, she would be responsible for causing half the world’s animals to go extinct. But in the game, there is no such possibility, so she’s free to kill at her leisure. If you don’t like shooting animals, you might decide to spare a bear or two. Or it might be that you can’t be bothered shooting every living thing in the game, so you may leave some creatures alive to avoid the hassle of combat. 

Our advice is this: Leave no animal or human standing! The environments in the Tomb Raider games sometimes loop back on themselves, so you might return to an area and get killed by something that you neglected to eliminate earlier. Or you might escape from an animal and scale a rockface, thinking you’re now free of their jaws. But if you fall… not only might you break your neck but you might also get devoured by whatever creature you allowed to stay alive. 


Re-center the Camera

When exploring confined areas in the Tomb Raider games (especially the first), the camera can go awry when you’re navigating a small space. As such, you’ll find it difficult to see where you’re going. This is especially frustrating during the games’ underwater sections as the wonky camera could cause you to drown if you are unable to see the exit point. 

Therefore, we advise holding the ‘look’ button whenever the camera faces the wrong way, as it will re-center the camera back behind Lara. Unfortunately, the ‘look’ button also locks Lara in place before you click it again. If you forget that it roots Lara to the ground, you might put her in danger if there are any wild beasts in the area. So, get used to pressing the button a second time immediately after you have pressed it the first time. 


Re-map the ‘Look’ Function

We have established the ‘look’ button is important but as it locks Lara into place, it’s a good idea to re-map it to another button.

On consoles, you activate the look/re-center camera function by pressing down on the right stick. This isn’t ideal as the right stick is also used to move the camera around, so you might accidentally click on the stick when you’re engaged in activities that require fast movement, such as in combat. As you’ll then get locked in place, you might not have time to save yourself before an enemy overwhelms you.

To avoid this problem re-map the ‘look’ function by going into the control settings. Map it to a button that isn’t being used for something else, such as the right shoulder button, which is often used for re-centring the camera in other games. 


Save Often

There’s nothing worse than getting through a tricky bit of a level and forgetting to save. Or progressing far into the game and dying, only to find yourself back near the start of the level because you haven’t saved the game in a while. 

It only takes a couple of seconds to head into the options and save your game, so do so often, unless you’re a brave/foolish (delete as applicable) YouTuber on a mission to complete every Tomb Raider game in sequence without saving at all.


Remember Where the ‘Save’ Option is

When you go into the settings to save the game, the first option that you’re presented with is ‘Load Game.’  You then need to scroll to the right to get to the ‘Save Game’ option. This shouldn’t be an issue, right? Well… that depends.

If you remember that the ‘Load’ settings are first, you’ll be fine. But if you forget, you might accidentally load an earlier game save instead of saving your progress. This will be frustrating if you’ve just completed a hard section of the game as you will be forced to do it all over again.

Now, you might say “only a fool would forget where the ‘save’ options are.” But in my experience and the experience of other players who have discussed this online, it’s very easy to do, especially if your head is in the game and you’re not paying attention to what you doing. 


Use a Game Guide

If you’re lost in a maze-like level or if you don’t know where certain keys are located, you might find yourself running around in circles with no idea of what to do or where to go next. To avoid this frustration, we recommend our Tomb Raider Game Guides to you. In each guide, we walk you through each level, give you a heads-up on where secret rooms and important items are, and give you general gameplay tips to make your life easier. 

 

These are just a few tips but if you have any other advice for our readers, please leave us a comment below. 


You can check out our full Tomb Raider 1 walkthrough and game guide here!

 

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