Best Order to Play Tomb Raider Games
Tomb Raider is a franchise of action-adventure puzzle video games. Tomb Raider games are among the most well-known action-adventure video games of the world, having captivated legions of fans with their characteristical gameplay, exotic locations and storyline. Indeed, the protagonist character of the Tomb Raider games, Lara Croft, is arguably among the most well-known video game characters of the video games industry.
What Are Tomb Raider Games Like?
In general, Tomb Raider games are action-adventure, puzzle and narrative-driven video games. The first generation of Tomb Raider main video games, which begins with Tomb Raider (1996) and continues until Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, feature a classical 3D platformer gameplay, in which the player character must overcome platforming challenges while defeating different enemies, searching for clues and advancing the game storyline.
The second generation of Tomb Raider main video games, which begins with Tomb Raider: Anniversary and goes on until Tomb Raider: Underworld, while continuining the Tomb Raider legacy of 3D platformer gameplay, adopts a more cinematic and narrative-driven experience, making more use of cinematic cutscenes.
The second generation of Tomb Raider main video games, which begins with Tomb Raider (2013), shifts away from the classical 3D platformer gameplay present in earlier Tomb Raider games, and features a more narrative-driven, cinematic experience. In these games, the gameplay has a more seamless emphasis, similar to watching a movie.
Are Tomb Raider Games Puzzle Games or Action-Adventure Games?
There is an old debate regarding whether Tomb Raider games are best described as puzzle games or action-adventure games. In my opinion, the answer is "both, but it depends", and it depends on which continuity of Tomb Raider games is being described. In my opinion, the first continuity of Tomb Raider games, which starts with Tomb Raider (1996) and goes on until Tomb Raider: The Angel fo Darkness, is best described as 3D platformer action-adventure video games.
The second generation of Tomb Raider games, which starts with Tomb Raider: Anniversary and goes on until Tomb Raider: Legend, is best described as action-adventure games, even though they have 3D platforming elements. In my opinion, this is because, while they feature characteristical 3D platforming gameplay elements, these games feature an action-adventure experience that is comparable to the one found in other action-adventure games of the 2000s, even action-adventure games that do not feature any 3D platforming element. For this reason, it seems to me that action-adventure is a more accurate description of these games than 3D platforming action-adventure games. For example, Uncharted games, which also feature platforming elements, are usually described as action-adventure games, and share similarities to the Tomb Raider games of this generation.
Who Is The Protagonist of the Tomb Raider Games?
The protagonist of the Tomb Raider video games is Lara Croft, one of the most well-known video game characters. Lara Croft is the titular Tomb Raider because this character is often in exotic locations, such as Egyptian pyramids, Peruvian ruins, jungles and so forth, frequently in search of ancient relics and other artifacts. For these reasons, the "Tomb Raider" name is quite fitting to the adventures of Lara Croft.
Regarding the character Lara Croft, there are variations in their depiction across the different continuities of the Tomb Raider video games. While there are some similarities and common elements over multiple continuities, there are some unique elements that remain specific to certain continuities.
In the first continuity of Tomb Raider games, which begins with Tomb Raider (1996) and goes on until Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Lara Croft is depicted as a rich thrill-seeker. In the second continuity of Tomb Raider games, which begins with Tomb Raider: Anniversary and goes on until Tomb Raider: Underworld, Lara Croft is depicted someone trying to understand past events. In the third continuity, which starts with Tomb Raider (2013), Lara Croft is depicted as an adventurer.
Are Tomb Raider Games Connected?
As previously hinted in this article, Tomb Raider video games are set in different continuities. While the Tomb Raider games feature the main game character Lara Croft, there are variations on the versions of this character there are presented, depending on the continuity in which each game takes place. While there are multiple continuities in the Tomb Raider games, most games are usually set in one of the continuities, and for this reason it is possible to organize these games according to their continuities, such as I have done in this article, and which is presented in more detail in The Chronological Story Order of the Tomb Raider Games section below.
Considering that the Tomb Raider games are set in different continuities, it is possible to say that the games set in the same continuity are directly related, story-wise, while games in different continuities are vaguely related, in the sense that they feature different versions of each character. When playing games of the same continuity, it is worthwhile to consider playing these games in chronological story order, as the games in the same continuity are directly related, story-wise.
The Story Timeline Order of Tomb Raider Games
This is the story timeline order of the Tomb Raider video games. This is not the same as the chronological release order of these games. Instead, this is the chronological order in which the story events of each Tomb Raider video game take place. It is noteworthy to mention how different the chronological story order of the Tomb Raider games is to the chronological release order as, for example, Tomb Raider: Anniversary was chronologically released after Tomb Raider: Legend, when in fact the story events depicted in Tomb Raider: Anniversary are actually set before the story events depicted in Tomb Raider: Legend.
It is interesting to note that the Tomb Raider video games are set in different continuities. A continuity is just like a universe of its own, in which its characters have their unique motivations and backstories. Games that take place in different continuities may portray different versions of the same character, as well as different story events and narrative outcomes. Tomb Raider video games are a case in which there are multiple continuities, and for this reason I decided to write my chronological story order of Tomb Raider games list with some blank spaces in order to differentiate between different continuities. In other words, everytime you see a blank space in the following list, it's because the continuity has changed.
Tomb Raider (1996)
Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider III
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Tomb Raider Chronicles
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Tomb Raider (2013)
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider Spin-Off Games
These are Tomb Raider games for which I did not find a clear story connection to the Tomb Raider main games, and for this reason I consider them to be Tomb Raider spin-off games, story-wise. Considering that the Tomb Raider main games feature a continuity and a common Lara Croft concept that is found across multiple Tomb Raider games in the same continuity, and considering that these Tomb Raider spin-off games also feature the Lara Croft concept such as found in the Tomb Raider main games of that time period, it is reasonable to consider that these Tomb Raider spin-off games also belong different continuities, such as is the case with the Tomb Raider main games.
Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color)
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Lara Croft: Relic Run
Lara Croft Go
Tomb Raider Reloaded
Which Game Starts the Second Continuity of Tomb Raider Games?
There is certain confusion regarding the beginnig of the second continuity in the Tomb Raider games, and I would like to address that in this section. Most of the confusion lies in the fact that some people discuss the continuity beginning regarding story, and some discuss the continuity beginning regarding release.
The first Tomb Raider game of the second continuity to be released was Tomb Raider: Legend. Some time after Tomb Raider: Legend was released, Tomb Raider: Anniversary was released, and later on, Tomb Raider: Underworld was released, and these are the three Tomb Raider main games of the second continuity. In other words, regarding the second continuity of the Tomb Raider main games, Tomb Raider: Legend was the first game to be released, and for this reason, it is often described as the first game of this continuity. This is the explanation regarding the release of these games.
Regarding the story chronology of these games, even though Tomb Raider: Anniversary was released after Tomb Raider: Legend, it is important to observe that the story events of Tomb Raider: Anniversary take place before the story events of Tomb Raider: Legend. For this reason, story-wise, it is accurate to say that the second continuity of the Tomb Raider main games begins with Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and not Tomb Raider: Legend, because Tomb Raider: Anniversary is the first game in this continuity, story-wise and regarding chronological story order.
Sources of Research: