If you want to know the right sequence of Tomb Raider games series then you are at the right place. In this article, you are going to see the Tomb Raider games in order. The very famous media franchise known as ‘Tomb Raider’ consists of a number of fun things such as:
- Novels
- Action-adventure games
- Films
- Comic books
- Theme park rides
All of these films, novels and games have a centric character Lara Croft; she is an adventurous fictional British archaeologist. The first and the original Tomb Raider were released in the year 1996. Since then the franchise came into being and due to Tomb Raider games, Lara Croft went on to become a famous icon in the gaming world.
The Tomb Raider games in order will let you know all about the series. The most amazing part is that in the year 2006 Lara Croft was declared as the most successful human videogame heroine by the Guinness Book of World Records. Core Design developed the first six Tomb Raider game series. Apart from that, the latest four games were developed by Crystal Dynamics.
Eidos Interactive is known for publishing Tomb Raider games first. In the year 2009 Eidos joined hands with Square Enix and became its part. You must know that certain rights to the Tomb Raider are with Square Enix. Those rights include the trademarks and the characters. Other than games there are three films as well, they are as followed:
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life
- Tomb Raider
In the first two films, the character of Lara Croft was played by the popular American actress Angelina Jolie. In the third film Alicia Vikander, a Swedish actress played the role of Lara Croft. Tomb Raider games are loved by people, to date it is one of the best-selling video game series.
Tomb Raider 1996
When talking about Tomb Rider game series you must know that the very first action-adventure filled video game came into being in the year 1996. It was developed by Core Design, however, Eidos Interactive published it. In 1996 Tomb Raider was released for PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and MS-DOS. Moreover, in the year 2003, it was also available on N-Gage devices. In 2009 it was released for PlayStation Network in America and in 2010 in Europe as well. The story of Tomb Raider game series revolves around Lara Croft who is in search of some ancient treasures.
Furthermore, the game received a positive response and was even declared as one of the best video games of all time. Tomb Raider saw great commercial success.
Tomb Raider II 1997
When listing the Tomb Raider games in order this one comes at the second position. It was a sequel to the Tomb Raider 1996. Moreover, this one was also full of action and adventure. Once again this video game was also developed by Core Design and Eidos Interactive published it. In the year 1997, it was released for both PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. However, in the year 1998, it was released for Mac OS as well. In 1999 Tomb Raider II: Golden Mask was also released for PC, it was an expansion pack. There are a total of four bonus levels available in the expansion pack.
This one also did excellent worldwide, till 2003 the game finally sold more than eight million copies. Apart from that, it was also regarded as a second best-selling game of the franchise.
Critics were really kind to Tomb Raider II as it bagged excessively positive reviews. For the PlayStation version, the game managed to get an average of 85 scores out of 100 by Metacritic. Almost all the reviews were in favor of the game. All in all, it gained commercial success. As compared to its predecessor it was a little less successful but that doesn’t mean it didn’t do good.
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft 1998
Same as the first two this one was also developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. In 1998 it was released for two platforms, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. When making a list of Tomb Raider games in the order it comes at the third number as it is a sequel to Tomb Raider II.
Lara Croft is the centric character; she is an archaeologist-adventurer who goes on a mission to get the meteorite pieces that are scattered all around the world. There are five locations including London, India, Antarctica, South Pacific, and Nevada those need to be explored by the player in order to progress. Besides that, there are other series of levels as well such as defeating enemies, solving puzzles, travel through dangerous locations and a lot more.
Tomb Raider III is basically built using an upgraded version of the Tomb Raider engine thus resulting in speed efficiency and outstanding graphical features. Moreover, the game has improved drastically as there is an addition of colored lighting and a lot more. Overall this up-gradation has made the game detailed with complex geometry. This Tomb Raider game was meant to be more like the first part, as in the gameplay was designed to be the puzzle-solving type. It was not meant to be anything like the second part; Tomb Raider II was shooting oriented.
Like the first two Tomb Raider video games, this one was also a commercial success. As compared to its predecessors it had a better marketing campaign. In addition to that around six million copies were sold around the world. There is no doubt in it that Tomb Raider III grabbed positive reviews but as compared to its predecessors didn’t do well fare wise. According to the critics, the gameplay was quite similar and the makers failed to test the new formulas.
Additionally, reviewers were a bit disappointed by the difficult gameplay. In the year 2000, the expansion pack was released by Eidos knew as Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 1999
This one comes at the fourth number when getting Tom Raider games in order. It was also published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Core Design. The Last Revelation was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, and Dreamcast. The best thing about it was that it came with improved sound and excellent graphical enhancements. Like its predecessors, this one also gained commercial success. Moreover, it was the last game from the Tomb Raider game series that was released on Sony’s PlayStation.
Additionally, it was lucky enough to get a Silver sales award from ELSPA. This award was for its computer version. However, it got a Platinum certification for the PlayStation version. For almost two months The Last Revelation remained the bestseller throughout the UK. Atop it was successful enough to gain positive reviews from the critics.
For Edge, The Last Revelation was the second best Tomb Raider game in order. The first best for Edge was undoubtedly the original game. The reason behind getting favorable reviews was mostly the maximum involvement it had. As compared to its predecessors there were a lesser switch and key kind of puzzles hence focusing more on individual tasks.
On the other hand IGN also gave a good review, however, they did point out that it could have been better. But they also mentioned that Lara Croft is such a powerful franchise that even if it receives negative reviews it will still be one of the bestsellers.
Tomb Raider 2000
In the year 2000, another Tomb Raider game was developed by Core Design, it was released for the Game Boy Color. In the year 2001, its sequel was also made. Generally, all the critics gave favorable reviews to Tomb Raider game 2000. GameSpot was quite kind to it, the game was praised for the levels, and the gameplay was different for each level thus making it stand out. Apart from that, the animations were also admired, and the best thing according to the critics was the ability to perform a number of different moves with just a few buttons.
Tomb Raider Chronicles 2000
This action filled video game was released for Dreamcast, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. Also, it was published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Core Design. Lara Croft was presumed to be dead after The Last Revelation. Her friends attend her memorial service and recount her previous exploits. The gameplay of Tomb Raider Chronicles revolve around linear levels, fighting enemies and solving mysterious puzzles. There are additional elements in the gameplay as well.
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword 2001
How can we miss Curse of the Sword when listing down Tomb Raider games in order? It is an important part of the Tomb Raider game series. It was published by Activision after getting a license from Eidos Interactive; its developers are same as of its predecessors, Core Design. In the year 2001, it was released for Game Boy Color.
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy 2002
The Prophecy is a part of the Tomb Raider game series that was released in the year 2002. Unlike its predecessors, it was developed by Ubi Soft Milan and was released for the Game Boy Advance. On the other hand, its publishers were Ubi Soft; they published it under the license from Eidos Interactive.
The GameRankings gave it a 65.10% score based on an average of 24 reviews. Beside that Metacritic gave this game an average score of 66 out of 100; this was based on 20 different reviews.
One of the reviewers of GameSpy known as Scott Steinberg gave a favorable review by appreciating the overall camera effects of the game. Other than that he also praised the 3-dimensional illusion of the game. However, the game was criticized for being quite repetitive. According to GameSpy, the overall game was good but in terms of audio and visuals, the standards of the gameplay could have been better.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2003
It is a sequel to Tomb Raider Chronicles and The Last Revelation. This is one of the action-adventure games of Tomb Raider game series. Its developers are Core Design and publishers are Eidos Interactive. Moreover, The Angel of Darkness was released for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 in the year 2003. It was the first Tomb Raider game that was released for PlayStation 2.
The storyline of this game continues with Lara Croft trying to prove herself innocent as she is being suspected of murdering her former mentor. Side by side she is investigating the mysterious activities. The development of this game was in the process even three years before its release. Makers wanted to make something unique and different from previous games of the franchise. It was aimed to compete with the latest action games and to have the ability to stand out among the gaming platforms.
The game got delayed almost two times due to several difficulties faced by the production. Although the game managed to sell more than 2.5 million copies throughout the world it received mixed reviews. The negative reviews were mostly due to poor controls.
Tomb Raider: Legend 2006
This is one of the Tomb Raider games that is developed by Crystal Dynamics and its publishers are Eidos Interactive. In the year 2006 it was released for the following:
- Mobile phones
- Microsoft Windows
- Game Boy Advance
- Xbox
- Xbox 360
- GameCube
- PlayStation Portable
- PlayStation 2
- Nintendo DS
In the year 2011, it was also released for PlayStation3. The reason Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was developed by Crystal Dynamics was the failure of Core Designs. In the year 2004 Crystal Dynamics took over as soon as Eidos transferred the development to them. The main goal was to make the gameplay unique and redesign the main character, Lara Croft. The creator of the character Lara Croft, Toby Gard was involved in the redesigning process.
When listing down Tomb Raider games in order this one cannot be missed as it is known for grabbing a lot of positive reviews. Some of the reviews were a bit negative due to the gameplay having some hardware limitations. However, Legend was responsible for revitalizing the overall game once again. The re-established character of Lara Croft was loved by the people.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary 2007
Tomb Raider: Anniversary was released in the year 2007 and it holds a special position in the list of Tomb Raider games. Furthermore, it was co-developed by Buzz Monkey Software and Crystal Dynamics. Eidos Interactive published it for mobile phones, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation Portable. In later years it was ported for OS X and PlayStation3.
This remake was loved by journalist upon its release. However, the opinions changed after the Wii version. Some praised the implementations of motion controls while the others found it faulty. All in all, it managed to reach good heights in the sales chart but only 1.3 million copies were sold all around the world. Its sale was way less than the previous ones hence making it the worst-selling Tomb Raider game.
Tomb Raider: Underworld 2008
This is another action filled Tomb Raider game in order. Underworld is the eighth installment to the Tomb Raider game series with Lara Croft as the leading character. It’s a sequel to Tomb Raider: Legend, the story continues from there. However, there are various other elements as well, such as some revelations about unexplained events from the very famous Tomb Raider: Anniversary.
In the year 2008, it was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 by Eidos Interactive. In the year 2009 Underworld was also released for PlayStation 2. Then in 2012 Feral Interactive released it for Mac OS X as well.
Apart from that, it was developed by Crystal Dynamics; it is the third game in the Tomb Raider game series to be developed by them. Besides that, it is the last Tomb Raider game order to be released for PlayStation 2 and the first one to be released for PlayStation 3. Its gameplay had some new features including a dual target feature, improved inventory system, a versatile grappling hook, and an active sonar map.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light 2010
It was published by Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics. It was released through digital distribution for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, PlayStation 3 and Android. It is a part of the Tomb Raider game series. However, like the previous games, it doesn’t come with the brand title that is Tomb Raider. The main focus of the game is on the cooperative kind of gameplay.
Players can take the role of either Totec who is a Mayan warrior and is 2,000 years old or can play as Lara Croft; this is if they are playing in multiplayer. Their aim is to work together and defeat the evil spirit known as Xolotl. You can also play in the single-player mode but in that mode, Lara won’t be able to get any help from another non-playable character.
Critics were quite generous towards Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, it managed to get positive reviews. An average score of 85 out of 100 was given to the Xbox version.
Tomb Raider 2013
In the list of Tomb Raider games in order, this one is the tenth title in the franchise. It was published by Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics. In the year 2013, it was released for PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It was released for OS X in 2014, for Linux in 2016 and for Shield TV in 2017.
The hype for Tomb Raider increased due to its delayed release. The game received a lot of positive reviews and praises upon its release. Critics praised the performance of Lara, the overall gameplay and outstanding graphics. A little criticism was towards the multiplayer mode.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris 2014
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is one of the action-packed Tomb Raider games. In the year 2014, it was published by Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics. Moreover, it was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. This one is the sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light released in 2010. In this game, the voice for Lara Croft was provided by Keeley Hawes an English actress.
Critics gave favorable reviews for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. It was also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition by D.I.C.E. Awards.
The rise of the Tomb Raider 2015
This one is the sequel to Tomb Raider 2013. Apart from that, it is an eleventh entry in the Tomb Raider game series. It was developed by Crystal Dynamics. In the year 2015, it was released for Xbox One and Xbox 360 by Microsoft Studios. In 2016 the game was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 by Square Enix.
In 2014 Microsoft Studios announced about the Rise of the Tomb Raider. The gaming press and community criticized the game and there was an outrage from the players as the game was said to be a timed exclusive for Microsoft.
After the release, the game was critically acclaimed and grabbed praises for the gameplay, excellent graphics and characterization. However, a few reviewers believed that the makers could have taken some risk and tried something even better.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 2018
Together with Crystal Dynamic, Eidos Montreal developed Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It was published by Square Enix. The narrative of Rising of the Tomb Raider 2015 is continued in this one as well. The game was released for Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. It is expected that the game will also be released for macOS and Linux in the year 2019.
Critics gave positive reviews to it; the particular praising was for the puzzles and tombs. However, some reviewers criticized the lack of innovation and repeated gameplay.