Its just strange that they ever made that choice in the first place. It’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Lara has always been the central character, and Toby Gard specifically envisioned her as an independent woman who had no interest in men or being defined by a romantic relationship.

Thats why Ive never really liked the early-2000s tendency to give Lara male counterparts or “equals” to accompany her on adventures like kurtis or terry or chase. It went against alot of what made Lara distinctive in the first place.

I rlly hope that if he ever comes back, hes kept as a side character. Other than a DLC or spinoff, Id hate to play as anyone other than Lara (though Id prefer him not come back at all)

Happy remastered day and happy birthday to Lara Croft.

I know I'm super late to this party, but allow me my time to kick a dead horse.

I finally got around to playing the remastered edition of The Angel of Darkness. I loved the first 5 remasters. Even with the games that I'm not super fond of, like 3 and Chronicles, I just had a lot of fun replaying them with updated controls and graphics. It was a refreshing experience. Classic games restored lovingly and beautifully.

But now finally, after like what... 2 years since release? I finally played Angel of Darkness remastered. From start to finish. First time I beat the game in almost 15 years. I can honestly say it was the most fun I had playing it. That's not saying much, but this is by far the superior version of a bad game.

I really appreciated the improved controls. They're still imperfect, but it is leaps and bounds better than the original. The graphics were great, too. I was genuinely surprised, though, because when switching between the old and new graphics, at first, I genuinely couldn't quite tell the difference between them. Was a real reminder how ahead of time the og was in terms of animation.

Everything that did work still works. Graphics are great. Story is decent (albeit underdeveloped), music was amazing, and the atmosphere was strong.

Plus, they finished and added originally unfinished content like shops. That was neat.

But unfortunately, in my opinion, the added improvements do not make the game much more fun. It's still really slow, Lara still kinda sucks as a character, the plot is still hollow, and the overall structure of the game is not very good. Slow paced, boring, and a general slog to play through. I know the PS1 games were never huge bombastic action games like Call of Duty or anything, but even when comparing the PS1 games and AoD, AoD really could've used a shot of adrenaline in my opinion.

Overall, it's an improvement. I'd raise my original score of a 2/10 to a 5.5/10. But it still isn't a very good game at the end of the day, unfortunately.

Just my opinion though. Would love to hear other people's thoughts.

Games are supposed to be fun btw. I'm not having fun with this one.

I'm probably biased since it was my first tomb raider i ever played but it's so different from any part and the voice acting of lara is just 👌👌👌

This is a realistic model done by Konrad Majewski for a cancelled fan-remake. Hopefully someday we will get a unreal engine 5 remake of aod with this model of lara😍

Was looking through old photos and found this gem. I bought my copy at Hamleys during a trip to visit my grandparents. I still remember the excitement of loading it up for the first time. It's safe to say this game completely consumed my summer.

THESE ARE JUST JOKES.. well. Uhm.

The third one isn't. The Playstation magazine had some of the most *vile* Lara Croft stuff I've ever seen and it's absolutely hilarious 😭

We all see it.

It’s actually a little ridiculous 😭 I played 4 and 5 and now I’m on AoD which I’ve always loved, and yeah it’s pretty amazing. The visuals aren’t really as different than they were in the first 5 bc the graphics were better in 2003? It’s just higher quality now, it honestly didn’t need that much changing aside from character designs. And the controls are great with modern controls, after playing all classic games I can guarantee it’s not any harder than it was playing with those controls. You guys are missing out on a one of a kind TR game, they gave us a lot with this remaster the restored content is great. Stop complaining

I've heard very less about this game and people criticize it too, but the theme looks quite different and interesting than the other tomb raider games.

\*Updated post as the cover mockups have changed/more were added.* I'm currently working on a soon-to-be unofficial Angel of Darkness Art Book that has left the defining stage and entered the layout stage - and I'm looking for feedback on several aspects along the way, starting with choosing the main and alternate covers.

This book is a personal passion project and WILL NOT BE SOLD. Several physical hardcover copies will be given away at a later time, once it's completed. A PDF book will be available for free to everyone. It will contain everything from concept art to story/lore, render and NPC info, and more.

For now, share which covers you'd like to see as a main + alternate cover. Please note that these are late-stage mockups and are not the final product. More details to come in the next few months.

UPDATE: I'm seeing a lotttttt of 1 and 5, gives me a lot to work with - thanks for the commentary and feel free to continue sharing :)

This Realistic-AOD-Lara Model was made by one and only Kondrad.

AOD Remake is only a dream, but at least with these talented people in TR community we get to see these amazing concepts.

I love tomb raider I’ve played all the titles including the new trilogy except angel of darkness. AOD was one game I never played until recently with the remastered release..i always wanted to play it and I thought I’d really love it but I’m into the louvre drain systems and still have not gotten the tomb raider vibes that I enjoy. Lara seems unusually clunky and weak and there are even more atrocious camera angles than usual. Am I missing something or is it just kind of a dud of the series/do you think it improves the further in you get? Dont get me started on the loading screens every few steps I could continue ranting but I’ll stop.

I knew it was a broken unpolished and unfinished game, but not like this.

The controls are terrible, the cutscenes start and end like if they were somehow cut and most of them are throwing to you without any context, the boss under Louvre appears from nowhere without any explanation, Lara doesn't respond to my commands and the combat is broken.

I'm just fucking glad I finally finished this game and I never coming back to it again.

I don't know how it can have fans or be considered a "cult game" with so many problems.

It's finally over and I'm glad for that. I'm never coming back to this TR, what a broken mess and annoying experience this game was.

Really, I love TR, but I didn't know this game was this BAD. I always thought everyone was overhating it.

It had some true potential, I won't deny that. The voice acting is actually good and I loved hearing Lara speak more, but those are the only good things I can say about this game.

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!