The Tomb Raider franchise has been around for decades and has cemented its status as an icon in the gaming sphere. There are very few video game protagonists who are able to trudge alongside the names of Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, and Link. But that’s exactly what Lara Croft has been able to do. She is undoubtedly one of, if not the most iconic video game character of all time. She was responsible for singlehandedly proving to the gaming public that a female character would be more than capable of leading a top-tier gaming title.

Given that Lara Croft first burst onto the scene in 1996 in its titular Tomb Raider game, fans were automatically taken aback. From then on, Tomb Raider has always been on the list of peoples’ most favorite video games ever made. Over the past decades, the Tomb Raider franchise has managed to produce a bunch of different titles that only add to the lore of Lara Croft herself. Some of them have been massive hits while some haven’t done as well. In this list, we are going to go over the top 5 best Tomb Raider games and apps ever made.

Tomb Raider (1996)

The best way to begin this list would be with the game that started it all back in 1996. When the original PlayStation first came out, the brand was struggling to penetrate the market with brands like Sega and Nintendo dominating the space. However, with great exclusives like Tomb Raider, the PlayStation just took off and went on to become one of the bestselling gaming consoles of all time. Playing the original Tomb Raider game now may not blow people away anymore. But at that time, the three-dimensional gameplay was truly groundbreaking and wasn’t like anything that anyone had ever seen before. The game was one of the pioneers of plat forming and puzzle-solving quests into a video game. 

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016)

It was very hard for the franchise to come out with games that would manage to live up to the sheer quality and innovation that the original game provided. But that’s exactly what Rise of the Tomb Raider was able to do when it came out back in 2016. One of the main reasons why Rise of the Tomb Raider was so successful was because it went back to all the fundamental gameplay features that made the original game so popular and well-loved among fans. It had amazing graphics that still hold up even five years later. It also offers survival and crafting mechanics that just add to the overall appeal of the game. 

Tomb Raider Slots (2004)

This particular entry is a non-typical video game, but it’s still one of the most popular titles on this list. The Tomb Raider slots game is a 5-reel and 15-line video slots game that was originally developed by Microgaming. The game offers an interesting feature wherein you are allotted a bonus mini-game if you manage to match three or more golden idols among any of the 15 pay lines in the game. Despite being originally launched back in 2004, it’s still one of the most popular slot games in circulation today. It also spawned a sequel entitled Tomb Raider: Secret of the Sword. 

Tomb Raider (2013)

The Tomb Raider franchise was in need of a formidable reboot by the time the 2010s came coming around and they did things right with the Tomb Raider game of 2013. The Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics development company were able to give the beloved gaming franchise a more cinematic quality and tone to it. The game itself took large inspiration from other successful franchises like Uncharted and the Arkham Batman games. Fans fell in love with the reboot right away as it was the best-looking Tomb Raider game to have come out at that time.

Tomb Raider 2 (1997)

And to conclude this list, we’re going to talk about the beloved sequel to the original Tomb Raider game. Tomb Raider 2 was a perfect testament to the idea of not fixing anything that isn’t broken. While many were afraid that the second game wouldn’t live up to the hype of the first Tomb Raider game, it still managed to hold its own and sell a lot of copies to the fandom.