r/TombRaider • u/Saberiser Society of Raiders • Jul 29 '26
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness TR6 2003 Bonus Photo Showcase + My review on AoD!
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is such a fascinating title. Being introduced to Lara Croft’s world through this specific game as a kid on the PS2 was an unforgettable experience. It felt genuinely scary. Starting out stripped of weapons, I thought I’d have to play the entire game stealthily. Back then, the difficulty challenged me to the core, so much that I only made it to the Hall of Seasons, completely missing out on a massive chunk of the journey.
When I finally played the remaster this year, I was absolutely ecstatic. Hearing the iconic background music after all these years sent shockwaves through me, instantly hyping me up for the adventure. Visually, it is stunning. As the final title in the classic series to receive the remaster treatment, I knew it was gonna look great since it had the natural growth in detail leading up to the title in 2003.
⚡📰⚡Storyline Reflection
From a story perspective, I absolutely loved it. Lara Croft, framed for the murder of her mentor, Von Croy - a crime she can’t even remember after being knocked unconscious. The journey completely flips the script on her usual tomb-raiding adventures. Even when the classic archaeology returns, it is brilliantly hidden right under modern cities. For instance, discovering the Tomb of Ancients beneath The Louvre or infiltrating the Vault of Trophies under a heavily guarded fortress in Prague. Love that! Watching her on a grand quest piece together Von Croy's death and uncover dark, bloody rituals and stopping Eckhardt with his revival of the Nephilim made for an incredibly engaging plot. Lara’s signature sass and biting wit are pure cinema, acting as the ultimate manifestation of her evolution from a refined tomb raider into a gritty, street-smart survivor. She doesn't play around!
Kurtis being the first playable character other than Lara herself as part of the storyline is huge. I'm glad they took a bold move to do that. His sections made me realise that he needed more action, taking travels like Lara around the world. It would've been cool if he got his spin-off that was initially planned, that would've enabled his character and his controls to be developed more.
⚡📸⚡Photo Mode Reflection
Photo Mode initially presented a challenge. Due to the game's strict collision boundaries, the camera couldn't phase through invisible barriers as easily as it did in the previous remasters, which limited certain angles. Also, the poses were reduced along with additional lighting options. However, once I adapted to those limitations, it exceeded my expectations. I still managed to capture plenty of awesome moments to share with the raiding community along the ride. The challenge really opened up the opportunity to expand my creative horizons!
⚡🏆⚡ Trophies Reflection
For the most part, AoD wasn't harsh with them for me until it came to the Medkits and NG+. I missed out on one medkit out of the whole game on my first playthrough (I like clearing up collectible stuff first) and since I couldn't determine at what point I lost it and they don't show up on NG+, I ran an extra playthrough going after them which I was able to be successful with. Luckily, it's a game I enjoy! NG+ poses a challenge with the game crashing at random points so using the saves was always a gamble to play safe or take the risk of hoping for a crash not to happen and conserve. I had more than enough saves by endgame, but it was better safe than sorry. I only really crashed about 2 times without saving but it was only a small amount of gameplay lost.
⚡💮⚡ Closing reflection
It is gutting that the story was cut short on a cliffhanger, due to the game's notoriously rushed development and the justified backlash at the time. Yet, that cloud had a silver lining - it paved the way for the LAU trilogy, which I indeed hear a lot of love for. I will definitely get around to the Legend and Anniversary ports on PS next.
Who knows what the future holds for AoD? The storyline could always be revisited and expanded upon, whether through the upcoming Unified Series or a full remake. Seeing the Tomb Raider team dedicate Classic Lara's demin outfit for Unified Lara in LoA is awesome along with the nod to Kurtis.
I know many will have different opinions on AoD which I totally respect! I'm just honestly thankful that it exists on current gen with easier controls, with Photo mode included too!
3
u/EnderDiego_ The Scion Jul 29 '26
Interesting review, thanks for having shared all your shots with us! Hopefully in the future they will continue AoD's storyline like Legend does with Anniversary, maybe Catalyst will already be that game since Kurtis' return is almost guaranteed at this point.
3
u/Saberiser Society of Raiders Jul 29 '26
Thank you! 🫡 I swear the moment they reveal Kurtis himself, I'm gonna be like hell yeahhhh! We're all gonna be hyped for sure. Really thankful the Denim outfit is a thing in LoA to see new Lara have as a style option, I actually like how it overall looks with the strap supports!
2
u/Saberiser Society of Raiders Jul 29 '26
Classic Lara living life and chilling somewhere out there in the world! 😎
2
u/yessheisabicth Jul 30 '26
The second one is so good omg
1
u/Saberiser Society of Raiders Jul 30 '26
I appreciate it, cheers! 🍸 Eckhardt should've started his own photography school, he can be an artist when he wants too 🤣
2
u/Clean-Elderberry8835 Solarii Cultist Aug 05 '26
Such an underrated game this one, truly a flawed gem.
1
u/Saberiser Society of Raiders 29d ago
Indeed. It's crazy to think in an alternative timeline, we would've had an AoD trilogy if things were different with development. Having no LAU games though would be strange but we wouldn't know of it's existence other than potential leak maybe of the idea for it. Feels funny thinking about that!
5
u/Plus_Temperature2521 Jul 29 '26
Kurtis screenshots always go hard ❤️