The game was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 on 5 March 2013. Tomb Raider is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix.

The Story Behind Tomb Raider

Orders from Amazon.co.uk received the Shanty Town multiplayer map. In the United Kingdom, Game offered the exclusive Explorer Edition bundle, which included an exploration-themed Challenge Tomb and a skill upgrade. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition was also released for Windows in April 2024 exclusively for the Microsoft Store.

Following Tomb Raider: Underworld, Crystal Dynamics was split into two teams; one beginning work on the next sequential pillar of the Tomb Raider franchise, the other focusing on the newly created spin-off Lara Croft series (debuting with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light in 2010). Exclusive for Europe is the Survival Edition. In the United Kingdom, ShopTo.net also offered the graphic novel Tomb Raider: The Beginning.

How Tomb Raider Plays

Players take control of the series lead character Lara Croft. On 4 June, at Microsoft's E3 2012 press conference, a new gameplay demonstration was shown, depicting environmental destruction and other interactivity, stealth combat using a bow and arrow, quick-time events and parachuting. There is a character progression mechanic in the game: better items, weapons and equipment are gained as players progress, though the appearance of most of these items is closely linked to events in the story.

The game incorporates role-playing elements: as players progress through the game, they earn experience points from performing certain actions and completing in-game challenges linked with hunting, exploring and combat: this enables players' skills and abilities to be upgraded in specific ways, such as giving her more storage capacity for arrows and ammunition. Tomb Raider went gold on 8 February 2013. In addition to the main story, players can complete multiple side quests, explore the island, revisit locations, and search for challenge tombs.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Tomb Raider lead writer later reflected that the controversy was the result of misinformation. On review aggregator website Metacritic, it garnered "generally favorable reviews". While many reviews applauded the single-player campaign, the multiplayer mode bore the brunt of the game's criticism, with MacDonald, Speer and Miller all finding fault with it, describing it as lackluster and stating that the difference between the developer's vision for the game mode and the finished product made it difficult to enjoy.

Ryan Taljonick of GamesRadar lauded the location's setting and environment, and expressed that the areas never feel like a rehash of another. While on the subject of character development, GamesRadar's Ryan Taljonick expressed that the supporting characters were underdeveloped relative to Lara Croft, describing them as generic and, while rarely annoying, not memorable. He praised the behaviour and presence of the enemies for the way they felt like they had actual tasks to perform on the island, rather than being clusters of polygons whose only function was to be killed by the player in order for them to progress.

Tomb Raider — Frequently Asked Questions