Since it first hit the PlayStation back in the '90s, the Tomb Raider franchise has been one of the most notable in the world. The video games spawned movies and tons of merchandise. Lara Croft, the protagonist, has become an iconic figure 🔥in pop culture for the past few decades.
The series remains relevant to this day, with several films and rebooted video games being released in the last few years. Part of the reason that reboots were needed was that some of the entries into the franchise were met with mixed to negative reviews. But of course, it gained popularity because some of the games are stellar. We're picking 5 that are great and 5 that are the worst.
Updated by Madison Lennon on February 7, 2020: While it has been a little while since we've received new Tomb Raider content, rumors continue to swirl that a new game is on the horizon after the success of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, although it will likely go in a different direction from the past few games.
Either way, the franchise remains extremely popular and we thought now would be a great time to revisit this list to discuss some of the best and worst games in the series.
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14 ♎ Worst: Tomb Raider And The Temple Of Osiris
Tomb Raider and the Temple of Osiris was one of the first games in the franchise to involve a cooperative and multiplayer mode. The game was nontraditional compared to other Tomb Raider games as it was an arcade-style action game.
The storyline follows Lara as she joins up with other treasure hunters and even Egyptian gods like Horus and Isis as they attempt to defeat an ancient evil. It's not necessarily a bad game but it just isn't as good as some of the others in the series, although people who love co-op probably like it more than most.
13 Beꦉst: Tomb Raider: Underworld 🎐
Tomb Raider: Underworld is one of the best games in the franchise because it paid tribute to the older games in the series while undergoing a serious facelift. The 2008 game made a lot of great improvements over 💮some of the origi♚nal games while maintaining the original, adventurous spirit.
Critics were particularly impressed by the quick-time 🤪events, which underwent some polish. The game followed Lara Croft through a variety of new and exotic locations like Thailand, Mexico, and even the Arctic Sea. It also included a range of new combat abilities.
12 Worst🍸: Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color)
This might be a somewhat controversial entry on this list since many fans appreciated the first portable Tomb Raider game on Game Boy Color, but the game always felt a little lackluster to us. While the combat movements were surprisingly fluid, there were some storyline issues that made this version of Tomb Raider♑ feel more unimaginative than some of the other games 💙in the series.
It had a lot of levels but it felt a little bit repetitive after a while unlike some of the other games, this one didn't offer a lot of originality.
11 🧸 Best: Tomb Raider:🐼 Anniversary
Tomb Raider: Anniversary takes place in the Tomb Raider: Legend continuity and used a lot of the same formulas and styles from Legend while creating new and complex puzzles, exciting g﷽raphics, and an intriguing storyline. The game follows Lara as she goes in search of the Scion of Atlantis.
Exploring the Egyptian pyramids and the lost city of Atlantis is an incredible adventure that becomes even more stunning with the updated graphics and visual effects. Players also get to use acrobatics when taking part in combat and gunplay which was an added plus for many. Anniversary was followed up by Underworld.
10 Worst: Tomb Raider: Curs🧸e Of The Swo𝔍rd
Even back when graphics weren't as gorgeous as they are these days, Tomb Raider thrived on the 3D environments the player was thrust into. Moving it to the world of the Game Boy Color wasn't exactly a way to nail the experience. The first installment was fine, but about a year later this sequel was released.
The main issue with Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword was that it didn't do anything new. It was basically the same game as the prior entry on the Game Boy Color, except with a different story and locations. That lack of originality hurt a game that was otherwise pretty solid.
9 ✃ Best: Shad💝ow Of The Tomb Raider
The most recent entry on this list, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was released in September 2018. It marked the final leg of the rebooted trilogy for the franchise. This♐ installment followed Lara Croft across the globe as she battled the evil Trinity organization and attempte🌟d to prevent a Mayan apocalypse.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider followed the trend of this new trilogy with thrilling gameplay and a captivating story. However, gamers also got a boost in terms of mind-bending puzzles and focus on Lara's character. It was met with widespread acclaim and found itself nominated for a handful of awards.
8 Worst: Tomb Raider: The Lastꦫ Revelation
A lot of fans hold the first three installments of the franchise in high esteem. It was when the fourth entry, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, arrived that things started to go downhill. They went an interesting route with the story, opting to focus on Lara's past, and the graphics were vastly improved.
That being said, the gameplay engine was growing tired by this 🔯point. Even with better graphics and a solid plot, nothing about this game brought anything new to the table. Forcing out a 🐟new game every year prevented some of them from being groundbreaking.
7 𒅌 Best: Tomb Raider II
The holy grail of the early Core-developed Tomb Raider games. This sequel took everything that worked about the original and turned it up several notches. The game found Lara on the hunt for the ancient Dagger of Xian and it took her to places the first installment didn't dare to go.
Outside of tombs, Lara found herself infiltrating new locations and even had some stellar underwater adventures. Tomb Raider II felt like an impressive blockbuster action film. Even the simple training levels at Lara's mansion were memorable. There's a reason this remains one of the highest-selling games of all time.
6 Worst: Tomb Raider Chroni🔥cles ಌ
Take what we said about Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and apply it here. Tomb Raider Chronicles followed that game up and fell victim to many of the same problems. It was another case of a game coming out a year after the previous installment, meaning it didn't have time to do something new.
The idea was that Lara was presumed dead and her friends recounted tales of her life at her memorial service. That plotline was the only thin๊g that felt different. Everything else was just a retread. For further proof that the series was struggling, this sold just 1.5 million copies, which was way low compared to the p♛revious games.