7 Hardest Tomb Raider Games, Ranked

Highlights

• Rise of the Tomb Raider introduced new mechanics for a challenging experience but also made hunting animals tougher.
• Tomb Raider: Underworld stands out for its mind-boggling puzzles and satisfying combat against dangerous enemies.
• The Last Revelation is notable for backtracking and tough puzzles, providing a demanding experience for players.

When the first Tomb Raider game was first released back in 1996, it was a revolutionary step-forward for video games, setting the blue-print for what would become known as the action-adventure genre which has become so popular over the years. As a result of its innovation, the series has amassed a huge number of fans since its inception, despite the fact that quite a few of the games are known for being brutally difficult, sometimes to the point of absurdity.

Though a lot of people refer to the classic trilogy when talking about the hardest games in the Tomb Raider franchise, there have also been more than a few modern titles which have also posed a pretty serious challenge through their combat, puzzles, and, of course, their platforming sections. The Tomb Raider series is therefore well-known for its punishing difficulty, but which of the games is considered the hardest of them all? Keep reading to find out.

Updated March 3, 2024, by Ewan Lewis: With the release of Aspyr’s Tomb Raider remasters, a plethora of new fans have been trying out the original trilogy for the very first time, and as so, it seems like the perfect time to reflect on the series once again to analyze which are among the hardest titles to beat. These remasters include a few tiny changes that do compensate for some of the challenge, and as a result, these will be mentioned when ranking the games listed below.

7 Rise Of The Tomb Raider

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 2.97

While the first game in the survivor trilogy set out a good template for the modern series of games to follow, Rise of the Tomb Raider added a plethora of new mechanics and activities which really helped flesh the game out, and ensured that it never became too repetitive. On the other hand, this did also end up making the game quite a bit harder, like with the hunting mechanic for example, which was much trickier due to how aggressive and fast the animals became.

Although Lara is given a few brand-new tools to use during stealth sections, such as trip mines and poison arrows, being able to use these effectively can be more challenging than it sounds due to the sheer number of enemies that are packed into every single area. This also means that running and gunning isn’t anywhere near as viable as it was in Tomb Raider (2013), so being patient and taking a strategic approach to encounters is always the best method for survival.

6 Tomb Raider: Underworld

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.06

Because a lot of the modern Tomb Raider games tend to lean more into the action genre, it can sometimes mean that the puzzles that were once so crucial to the core gameplay loop appear less frequently, but Tomb Raider: Underworld is an exception. This game features some of the most mind-boggling puzzles in the entire series, such as the Shiva statue puzzle and the stone calendar riddle, to name a few.

Aside from the puzzles, the combat is fairly easy to get used to, especially now that the camera has been greatly improved from the previous reboot games, but there are still some very dangerous enemies who ramp up the difficulty, with the final boss being a notable example of this. Ultimately, though, this does make the game incredibly satisfying to beat, as even reaching the final level is a demanding task in itself.

5 Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.14

As a remake of the very first game in the series, Tomb Raider Anniversary does carry over a lot of the challenge that was presented in that iconic title, while also introducing just a few new additions to make the game a little more accessible to newcomers. A prime example of this is the grapple, which Lara can use to swing her way around the environment, along with being able to wall-run, which is very handy when there are so many pools of lava and spike pits lying around.

With that being said, because the level design has remained relatively similar to the original, it means that all of these areas can still be very tough to beat, even with the controls being much easier to handle this time around. Enemies are also a lot more durable than they were in the original, which can make combat sections very challenging, especially when multiple wolves or soldiers are thrown Lara’s way at once, which is a very common occurrence.

4 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.45

By the time that The Last Revelation was being developed, developers Core Design had started to get a little worn out after putting out three games back to back to back, and so it feels like the game features a lot of unnecessary backtracking and padding, which ends up making the overall experience pretty long, and very challenging at times. Though there are some pretty good puzzles scattered throughout the levels, the lackluster tutorial means that it’s easy to lose track of how Lara can actually interact with her environment, making these sections much harder than they really ought to be.

For example, one puzzle in Karnak tasks Lara with opening up multiple doors while underwater, something that was never explained to actually be possible during the tutorial. Added to this, some puzzles feel a little unfair in how they’re set up, such as when Lara must shoot a specific set of targets to progress, but since each of her guns only has a finite amount of ammo, it means that backtracking just to scavenge a few extra bullets becomes a regular occurrence. It’s unclear if developers Core Design truly intended for The Last Revelation to be as demanding as it ended up being, but at least it didn’t end up being a pushover.

3 Tomb Raider

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.48

The original Tomb Raider is a shining example of how to make a game brutally difficult without it ever feeling unfair or ridiculous in its design. Although the core gameplay loop of traversing between platforms, shooting enemies, and collecting key items is pretty straightforward on paper, what makes Tomb Raider so hard is how unforgiving much of its level design is. Absurdly long gaps between jumps, vertical platforms that can easily kill Lara if she accidentally slips off, and plenty of lethal enemy types contribute to Tomb Raider’s challenging difficulty, though this does also mean that actually overcoming these obstacles is incredibly satisfying.

The controls also factor into this, primarily because moving Lara around can feel so stiff and unresponsive at times that it means executing precise jumps and movements takes a tremendous amount of practice and patience. While the recent remastered version does offer modernized controls to help negate this, even then, Lara’s running animation can be very unpredictable, giving the game a very high skill ceiling as a result.

2 Tomb Raider 2

Game FAQ Difficulty Spike: 3.51

Tomb Raider 2 carried over the stressful platforming sections and puzzles from the first game while also throwing a bunch more combat encounters into the mix, full of dangerous enemy archetypes, especially the ranged soldiers, who can melt Lara’s health with just a few well-placed shots. Because of this, it’s pretty common in Tomb Raider 2 to finally overcome a challenging platforming section or puzzle only to then wander into a room full of enemies wielding shotguns, rifles, and in some instances, flamethrowers. The improved frame rate in the new remaster does at least make it a little easier to target enemies and react to their attacks in time, but the staggering number of them that show up means that they still present a pretty formidable challenge whenever they appear.

Thankfully, the game does still feature plenty of open environments where the player can explore and seek out key items at their leisure, just like the original game, but these extra combat sections mean that it can be difficult to ever feel truly safe when there’s almost always an enemy behind every corner. Nonetheless, Tomb Raider 2 is still beloved among fans and contains some of the series’ most iconic areas, but actually reaching the end to witness everything the game has to offer is far from easy.

1 Tomb Raider 3

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.77

Not only is Tomb Raider 3 often considered the hardest game in the series, but some have even gone as far as labeling it as one of the most challenging games ever made. A big reason for this is the simple fact that Core Design clearly expected anyone jumping into the game to have already played the previous installments, and so they didn’t feel the need to pull any punches, since players would know what they were getting into. This is evident from the very first jungle level, where Lara’s first task is to slide down a giant slope while avoiding a myriad of spike traps and boulders that will relentlessly chase her to the end. It’s certainly one way to kick a game off.

This was only a taste of what players would be in for though, as the difficulty only ramps up with each and every level going forward, resulting in areas like Lost City of Tinnos and Lud’s Gate becoming infamous for just how insanely difficult they were. Alongside the regular thugs and soldiers who were seen in previous games, Lara is also forced to take on a bunch of new enemies who are far more durable than anything she’s come up against before, especially the Tinnos Mutants, who look like something ripped straight out of a Gears of War game. Combine all of this with a plethora of puzzles, extremely long levels, and a severe lack of Save Crystals, and it results in a game that will provide a true test of skill for even the most experienced Tomb Raider fans.