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[andrespi]

Hello guys,
I thought I would open a new thread. So I just read that the remasters of tomb raider I, II, III are cancelled. Which is a pity, I was really looking forward to them. Nowadays I don't really play many games anymore (it's hard to find much time between work, family, and so on) apart from wrpgs, action/adventure or walking simulator and a few others genres (maybe one or two per month if I'm lucky). So I will start saying I don't like at all the new tomb raiders. Finished the first one and it was a slog for me, and the second one I didn't even want to finish it (arrived halfway and was bored and uninstalled it).

So now that the remasters are cancelled, is there any game you could recommend that can scratch that itch:

- Puzzle platforming ?
- Large tombs to explore?
- "Archeological" theme if possible.
- Not too much combat. If there is something I hated from the reboots, is how much combat there is. I don't like fighting thousands of enemies one after the other. It's just not for me It's ok having some combat, but not hundreds of enemies. I don't want to play a shooter or a game focused only on action.
- No open world filled with thousands of icons, markers and boring side activities. I got the open world fatigue and I especially don't like the maps filled with thousands of repetitive side activities and collectibles. It's okay for the map to have some secrets and some collectables to find, but these should be rare, with a lot of space to explore in-between (negative space to feel isolation), not too many of them and hard to reach or find.
- Not too much hand holding, especially with maps telling you exactly what to do and how to reach every location. I loved games when you didn't have any maps, or at least maps didn't hand hold you.

Games like old tomb raiders or even indiana jones and the infernal machine to sum it up. Even if it doesn't have an archeological theme, it's ok.

I'm thinking of replaying anniversary or a few of the latest tomb raiders (before the reboots). But the old ones are hard, with no support controller, and I'm not sure if they even work on windows 10. I tried the adam venture game on steam, but they were mediocre or plainly bad in many parts, but that is the type of game I was looking for, just made better (because that adam venture remake was mediocre or bad) .

 

[drotahorror]

If you want to play Tomb Raider 1 with controller support, proper resolution support etc I recommend these guides -

Controller setup:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=644307505

Automated fix for improved graphics/resolution/etc
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=932208684


I love the genre but I don't think there's much in it. The only thing in my library on Steam that even comes close is Enslaved Odyssey to the West. It has plenty of climbing similar to Uncharted, but focuses on melee combat. The story, voice acting, gameplay, art direction is all VERY good though. Pretty underrated game and I'd say Ninja Theory's best game they've ever made.

Other than that, just go back and play Anniversary, Legend and Underworld.

 

[sublimit]

Sadly there are no alternatives for what was the gameplay of the first five TR games.

At times the closest i felt to the essence of the classic Tomb Raider games was with the first Mirror's Edge and with the Souls games but obviously they are also very different.

 

[Gavin Stevens]

Well... this sucks...

 

[Shifty]

Thief Gold might be worth a look.

It's not so much archaeologically-themed, but it does have a fair amount of tomb / underground levels mixed in with the series' signature mansion robbery.

Environment-wise, each level is self-contained while also being large and open-ended. There's zero handholding, a focus on exploration and player freedom, and combat is optional.

In terms of objectives, there's not a single map icon in sight. Your goals are well-structured and scale with difficulty goldeneye-style, so for example normal mode has you steal the main treasure, hard mode has you steal the main treasure and escape, while expert mode has you steal the main treasure, steal a bonus treasure, then escape without killing anybody.

The game also isn't afraid to mislead you and have objectives change on the fly, which is pretty refreshing in our current super-scripted gaming landscape. Highly recommended.

 

[DonJimbo]

Uncharted series

 

[Shifty]

Uncharted series

OP already said that they don't like the new Tomb Raiders, which probably extends to Uncharted as well.

 

[andrespi]

OP already said that they don't like the new Tomb Raiders, which probably extends to Uncharted as well.

Uncharted series

Yeah, I played them. They are not really what was looking for. Too much action packed-scenes and "action"/gun shooting gameplay. I'm looking for something with very slow-paced gameplay, careful platforming, focused on puzzle solving and very little combat and gun shootings.

One of the reasons I don't like new tomb raiders is that they became too similar to open world uncharted games (but worse becausethey are just filled with icons and markers ubisoft-style).

Probably I will just have to replay the older ones.

 

[andrespi]

Thief Gold might be worth a look.

It's not so much archaeologically-themed, but it does have a fair amount of tomb / underground levels mixed in with the series' signature mansion robbery.

Environment-wise, each level is self-contained while also being large and open-ended. There's zero handholding, a focus on exploration and player freedom, and combat is optional.

In terms of objectives, there's not a single map icon in sight. Your goals are well-structured and scale with difficulty goldeneye-style, so for example normal mode has you steal the main treasure, hard mode has you steal the main treasure and escape, while expert mode has you steal the main treasure, steal a bonus treasure, then escape without killing anybody.

The game also isn't afraid to mislead you and have objectives change on the fly, which is pretty refreshing in our current super-scripted gaming landscape. Highly recommended.

I might have a look at this. never played it, don't know much about it apart from the name. Didn't know there were tomb levels. Does it work on windows 10?

 

[Shifty]

I might have a look at this. never played it, don't know much about it apart from the name. Didn't know there were tomb levels. Does it work on windows 10?

It does- I just finished my first playthrough last night after getting it in the squeenix steam sale. Mission 3 is where the tomb stuff really kicks off.

You'll need to install some fixes to get the best experience out of it on a modern machine, but it's all pretty simple stuff. You can find the details over on its PCGamingWiki page.

 

[NovumAngel]

While it's doesn't share any sort of the archaeological themes or anything, I would put forward The Last Guardian.
Big beautiful environments, plenty of puzzles and tricky platforming sections either with the kid or together with the creature Trico.
There are some combat sections but they aren't the main focus and generally aren't too hard.

Enslaved, as mentioned above, is also a good one but it does have a lot of combat in it.

 

[JimboJones]

Prince of Persia 3D ?

The Disney Atlantis PS1 game kinda fits the archeological theme but it's more of a platformer but I remember it being actually a decent enough game.

 

[Revolutionary]

Tomb Raider Anniversary's PC port was fine from what I remember.

 

[Larxia]

Did you play Tomb Raider Underworld? I know a lot of people don't like it but as far as I'm concerned it's one of my favorites. It keeps the old (the real!) Lara and the "before reboot" approach and atmosphere of Tomb Raider, while having a much smoother gameplay than the previous ones, I really liked it a lot. It's also available on Steam.
I remember there were a few Indiana Jones games similar to the TR games during the ps2 era, I think some of them are on PC too, but I don't really remember if they were good or not, and you would probably have the same issues as the old TR games, like probably bad controller support / resolutions etc...

Bonus: It's not complete so don't get too excited, but if you never heard about it, there's a Tomb Raider 2 fan remake project being made, and a demo was released back in august, it's really amazing and worth a try:
http://tombraider-dox.com/

 

[LegendOfKage]

So now that the remasters are cancelled, is there any game you could recommend that can scratch that itch:

- Puzzle platforming ?
- Large tombs to explore?
- "Archeological" theme if possible.
- Not too much combat. If there is something I hated from the reboots, is how much combat there is. I don't like fighting thousands of enemies one after the other. It's just not for me It's ok having some combat, but not hundreds of enemies. I don't want to play a shooter or a game focused only on action.
- No open world filled with thousands of icons, markers and boring side activities. I got the open world fatigue and I especially don't like the maps filled with thousands of repetitive side activities and collectibles. It's okay for the map to have some secrets and some collectables to find, but these should be rare, with a lot of space to explore in-between (negative space to feel isolation), not too many of them and hard to reach or find.
- Not too much hand holding, especially with maps telling you exactly what to do and how to reach every location. I loved games when you didn't have any maps, or at least maps didn't hand hold you.

Games like old tomb raiders or even indiana jones and the infernal machine to sum it up. Even if it doesn't have an archeological theme, it's ok.

Perhaps Darksiders 2. It's more Zelda than Tomb Raider, but there is loads of puzzle platforming. It was also free on PS Plus a few months ago, so you might already own it, if you're the type of person who adds the free games to your account every month.

- Puzzle platforming ? - Yes.

- Large tombs to explore? - Large underground areas. Some of which are actual Tombs, but most just dungeons.

- "Archeological" theme if possible. - You play as death, and he's kind of a skeleton. Does that count?

- Not too much combat. - There is about as much combat as there are puzzles, and there are lots of puzzles. Some of the combat also features "puzzles," especially the bosses. It's not a shooter, though. Closer to God of War.

- No open world filled with thousands of icons, markers and boring side activities. - There is an open world, but the "tombs" or dungeons are pretty much linear. Again, think Zelda.

- Not too much hand holding, especially with maps telling you exactly what to do and how to reach every location. - The puzzles don't have any hand-holding, and maps are strictly overhead, not 3D. They'll show you that a collectible is in the area, but you'll have to figure out how to get there. There is a bird that can guide you when you're lost, but it doesn't explain everything, and you can choose simply not to summon him.

Not exactly what you're looking for, but there are a lot of environment puzzles in that game. I'd recommend it.

 

[andrespi]

Did you play Tomb Raider Underworld? I know a lot of people don't like it but as far as I'm concerned it's one of my favorites. It keeps the old (the real!) Lara and the "before reboot" approach and atmosphere of Tomb Raider, while having a much smoother gameplay than the previous ones, I really liked it a lot. It's also available on Steam.
I remember there were a few Indiana Jones games similar to the TR games during the ps2 era, I think some of them are on PC too, but I don't really remember if they were good or not, and you would probably have the same issues as the old TR games, like probably bad controller support / resolutions etc...

Bonus: It's not complete so don't get too excited, but if you never heard about it, there's a Tomb Raider 2 fan remake project being made, and a demo was released back in august, it's really amazing and worth a try:
http://tombraider-dox.com/

Yes, I played all of the old tomb raider (pre-reboot) including underworld. Rise of tomb raider is actually the only tomb raider i've never finished.

i've also already played indiana jones and the infernal machine, but can't really play it anymore; digital version doesn't seem to exist and it's not available on digital platforms. I own the boxed original version, but that wouldn't work on my w10. I already have them; was looking for something new, since I have replayed them a lot and there is only so many times I can replay them.

Didn't know about this fan remake of tomb raider 2. looks great. Will try the demo, this seems exactly what I was looking for.