Ok, I'll put the controls aside for a moment. In what sense is the TR games 'forgettable and average' outside of the controls? Seriously, I'm curious. You seem pretty sure about the view, so you must have some reasons for holding that position. From my view, they have some of the best level design of any game from its generation, and the level design still literally annihilates almost every modern game in the genre. I mean it's not even close. Compare to the grotesque TR2013. The game might as well hold your hand for what it pretends is 'exploration.' The game's platforming is so pathetically forgiving that it's basically one huge insult to gamers everywhere. The developers are saying: "We think you're terrible at games and have no motor skills, so we'll help you out!"
The game is filled with abundant challenges that force you to acquire skills and then actually apply them in sequence. There's some fantastically integrated puzzles which actual require lateral thinking in combination with quick reflexes. In TR2013, or Uncharted, or any game you can think of that's even remotely similar there's nothing even close anymore. Developers have given up trying to actually challenge gamers and design things that force people to think.
I mean the only thing I can say definitely sucks by today's standards is the visuals. I find them hard to stomach too, but it's OK with all the mods on PC. I guess we can say the combat isn't exactly appealing, but that's another bonus about the old TR games - they're meant to feel isolated, so you face much fewer enemies than you do in today's games. A lion or a bear here or there and a few other animals (or dinosaurs), and one or two humans per game. Combat is a tiny fraction of the whole game, you spend maybe 10% of your time ever in combat... and that's being generous.
On the controls ->
I can perform every function in the OG Tomb Raider series to pitch perfect perfection without any problems whatsoever. I could, if I wanted, map out every button combination you need to press in which order - which little variation for certain minute directional changes and running jumps - and if you followed it very nearly to the letter, you would be able to beat the game. The controls have a steeper learning curve than more modern analog controls, that is true. But the result is that mastery of these controls enhances the precision of the controls well beyond what we have in virtually any modern 3D platformer around. There's no disconnect between you and the controls once you understand the approach. You get to a point where you realize it's so precise that it's basically almost always your fault for dying, because you failed to properly apply what you've learned. Steeper learning curve, better overall control upon mastery. The controls are not awful, they simply require a higher than normal base level of skill to become proficient with.
Yes, the series existed in a pre-Mario 64 era. As a result, they made a control system that was centered around the strengths of d-pad, and the result is clear.
