Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered

Which you can switch between at will!

by Fraser Gilbert Fri 15th Sep 2023

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered

Yesterday brought us the surprise announcement of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered as part of the September 2023 Nintendo Direct, and we've since learned that it'll also be coming to Xbox when it launches on February 14th, 2024.

One of the features that's included with the collection is the ability to switch between old and new graphics "at any time", and we saw some examples of this in the official trailer. Therefore, we thought it'd be a good idea to capture all of these comparison images and showcase them below so you can get a closer look at what to expect.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered is also officially now available to pre-order on the Xbox Store for a price of £24.99 / $29.99! That sounds pretty reasonable to us - we're looking forward to diving back into these classics.

Here's a look at those comparison images from the official TR 1-3 Remastered trailer:

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 8 — *Image: Old Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 7 — *Image: New Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 6 — *Image: Old Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 5 — *Image: New Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 4 — *Image: Old Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 3 — *Image: New Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 2 — *Image: Old Graphics*

Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The New & Old Graphics In Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered 1 — *Image: New Graphics*

Are you planning on pre-ordering Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered on Xbox? Tell us down below.

How Are You Feeling About TR 1-3 Remastered On Xbox? (710 votes)

I'm excited, it looks good!56%
It's nice to have, but I'm unsure about these visuals25%
Not that interested to be honest19%

Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.

1
mousieone
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I might actually buy this now … if only for the fact that I love the opening of TR2

2
Lavalera
Fri 15th Sep 2023

@FraserG it is available for pre order on Xbox. Just had to do a bit of searching but have it pre ordered. It seems to be 30 dollars or euro from what ive seen. Dont know the price in pounds

3
FraserG
Fri 15th Sep 2023

@Lavalera Found it, thank you! Article has been updated.

4
Zenszulu
Fri 15th Sep 2023

it's pretty much how you would expect them to look if they were remade on the PS2 at the time.

5
InterceptorAlpha
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I'm wholeheartedly excited for this.

6
flighty
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I'm absolutely thrilled about this, especially as someone who has gone back and played the originals recently and is very aware of the graphical limitations. It'll be lovely just having proper 16:9 without mods.
For people who are unfamiliar with these games: the game is very much one of figuring out not just where to go, but how to successfully navigate the terrain without injury or death. Laura does not move fluidly like you might assume, especially if you are a younger gamer. Navigating platforms require lining yourself up, and gauging not only the length of the gap, but how much of a running start you need before the jump. This ends up meaning that the clear cut tiles the the map is made from is not only a sign of the times the game was developed in, but also a bit of a requirement so that the player can has on clear measurement of distance, so that they can plan their next moves in a way that becomes more and more natural as you play.
This might not make much sense until you play it yourself, but it is a thoughtful sort of puzzle platformer that feels very rewarding to come to grips with.

7
GamingFan4Lyf
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I never got into these games. I tried the original on PC and found the input response to be terrible. I think a demo was available with my Diamond Monster Voodoo 1 graphics card (back when they were still required to piggyback off the onboard VGA output).

I may give these a try to see what all the fuss was about. Though, I wonder if Tomb Raider Anniversary would be better as it's available via BC. 🤔

8
rustyduck
Fri 15th Sep 2023

i hope they add a gps waypoint thing like in quake 2.

9
Darylb88
Fri 15th Sep 2023

OG Tomb Raider was the first video game I ever player back in Dec 1995!

10
Fiendish-Beaver
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I just find myself unable to enjoy games from the past for the most part. I like my graphics to be pretty modern, and the controls nice and fluid. I really enjoyed the rebooted Tomb Raider games, but never took the opportunity to play the games when they first came out, and so at this point in time, they hold no interest for me. That said, if the controls have been improved (and I base that on what people are saying about the original games) then I might look to pick these up in a sale, some months from now, though whether my backlog of games would see this as worthwhile, is another matter...

11
Fiendish-Beaver
Fri 15th Sep 2023

I think the first game of similar quality that I tried from that era, @Darylb88, was the original Resident Evil back in 1996. I played for a few hours and then got stuck, and unable to progress. Kids these days have no idea what it was like back then when you had no internet to turn to to guide you through games. If you got stuck, and had no one else to ask, that was it, game over...! 😂

12
niggyt2004
Fri 15th Sep 2023

It will be nice to have the originals to play again. Loved them on PS2 and have all the latest ones on xbox. Nice little collection

13
GamingFan4Lyf
Fri 15th Sep 2023

@Kaloudz I mean, I've been gaming for like 36+ years, so I'm no stranger to "products of their time", but I certainly welcome more modern QoL improvements to old games.

For example, I really want to try to enjoy Elder Scrolls Arena and Daggerfall, but the controls are atrocious! An overhaul in that avenue would be very welcome.

14
EvilSilentFrame
Fri 15th Sep 2023

This will be day 1 for me, and for 30 bucks, just take my money. I’m more excited for this than a lot of the new games coming out.

15
Fenbops
Fri 15th Sep 2023

@Kaloudz I was thinking that, the sphinx one I prefer original too. Sometimes when they change things like this they move too far away from the original artist vision and I don’t like that. Like the jungle one also the sky is now pinky and looks odd compared to the original.

16
RIghteousNixon
Fri 15th Sep 2023

Love the series. No way I can pass this up. Just a huge Tomb Raider fan all the way around. Looking at an original Andy Park Tomb Raider commission on my wall as I type this. Love his depiction of the character. Own a lot of his original comic art for the series. Haven’t delved into the originals in awhile. Should be fun.

17
NeoRatt
Fri 15th Sep 2023

Honestly I would've preferred a remake of these games with modern tech.

18
Duck_Farmer
Sat 16th Sep 2023

I remember spending forever finishing TR3 and the sheer relief every time I found a save game crystal.

19
EVIL-C
Sat 16th Sep 2023

@Fiendish-Beaver Are you forgetting magazines and Player's Guides? They helped me! 😂

20
ZYDIO
Sat 16th Sep 2023

I wonder if these will be better than Tomb Raider Anniversary was for the first one.

21
Fiendish-Beaver
Sat 16th Sep 2023

No, @EVIL-C, I didn't forget them. Indeed, I almost mentioned them. Truthfully, I was about 35 in 1997, with a young family and a mortgage I could barely afford! I'm not so sure I was even aware back then that magazines existed, and I certainly could not have afforded them...! 😂

22
Amigator
Sat 16th Sep 2023

@Kaloudz @GamingFan4Lyf With all due respect, Anniversary is atrocious. All the original magic is lost on that one. The grid based traversal is gone, environmental scale is gone. Just no.