Tomb Raider (2015) is a longstanding series that has been rebooted in recent years. This means it not only gets a fresh coat of paint like a re-release but is built from the ground up. All the games feature Lara Croft as the titular hero. She shoots, runs, jumps and fights her way to tombs that offer a calmer puzzle challenge.

This combination of exploration, puzzles and combat (along with an attractive powerful female protagonist) is what the game was originally known for. Although this continues into modern games, Lara is now a more vulnerable and believable person in her own right. She is motivated not only by adrenaline but also empathy with other characters and a conflicted relationship with her father.

The most modern games add in huge open worlds to explore and survive in. This ups the need to collect items and upgrade Lara as you do in a role-playing game. The puzzle-solving persists here too, both in main tomb complexes and smaller side-tomb quests although there is a focus on archaeological importance rather than hoarding valuable artefacts.

The original series:

• Tomb Raider (1996) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac, iOS, Android
• Tomb Raider II (1997) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac, iOS, Android
• Tomb Raider III (1998) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac
• The Last Revelation (1999) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac
• Chronicles (2000) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac
• The Angel of Darkness (2003) available on PC, PlayStation, Mac

The second series added more cinematic production and quick-time events where you have to press the right buttons quick enough to progress the filmic action sequences:

• Legend (2006) available on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360
• Anniversary (2006) available on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Mac, PlayStation 3
• Underworld (2008) Mac, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360

The third series brought Lara to an open world and re-imagined her character and visual style for more modern audiences:

• Tomb Raider (2013) available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2019) available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

There are also spin-off portable games:

• Tomb Raider on Gameboy Colour
• Curse of the Sword on Gameboy Colour
• The Prophecy on Gameboy Advance
• Relic Run (2015) available on iOS and Android
• Go (2016) available on iOS, Android, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita,Mac

There are smaller action spin-off games:

• Guardian of Light (2010) available on Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
• Temple of Osiris (2014) available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Tomb Raider 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.