My ranking puts Rise of the Tomb Raider first, followed by the 2013 reboot and the 1996 original. That order weighs exploration and puzzle design, platforming and controls, combat, level variety and fairness, story, and how successfully each game expresses the design ideas of its era. It is an argued editorial order, not an objective consensus.
This list covers the 12 mainline adventures released through Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It does not include Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Temple of Osiris, Relic Run, Lara Croft Go, remasters, mobile versions, or platform-specific adaptations.
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How this ranking works
A fixed-camera 1996 adventure and a cinematic 2018 stealth game are trying to do different jobs, so a simple review-score comparison would be misleading. I use six questions for every entry:
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- Exploration and puzzles: Does the world reward observation, route planning, and experimentation?
- Platforming and control: Are jumps readable, movement consistent, and failures understandable?
- Combat and action balance: Does fighting support the expedition fantasy rather than overwhelm it?
- Level variety and fairness: Are environments distinct, navigation coherent, and hazards earned rather than arbitrary?
- Story and characterization: Does Lara’s personal arc or the surrounding adventure add value?
- Era representation: Does the game achieve what its technology and design language set out to achieve?
GamesRadar+ published a different 10-game order on February 18, 2026: Chronicles, The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider III, Underworld, Tomb Raider II, Legend, Shadow, Tomb Raider (1996), Tomb Raider (2013), then Rise. That is useful as a comparison, not a universal ranking; it omits Anniversary and The Angel of Darkness, which a complete 12-game order must place.
#1 Best Overall
- See the Classic & Remastered Visuals: Play with the original polygonal models or swap to the remastered graphics at any time.
- Travel the Globe: Follow Lara Croft around iconic locales including Cairo, Rome, Paris, and many more!
- Experience Lara’s Darkest Adventures: Uncover the secrets of Lara Croft’s past and shed light on the mystery of her disappearance.
- Languages: Voice: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean; Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified).
The release-era groupings are also useful orientation rather than an unqualified statement of current canon: the original run ends with The Angel of Darkness; Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld form a later continuity, with Anniversary remaking an earlier story; and the Survivor trilogy begins with the 2013 reboot.
The complete order at a glance
| Rank | Game | Release year | Era or continuity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness | 2003 | Original run |
| 11 | Tomb Raider Chronicles | 2000 | Original run |
| 10 | Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft | 1998 | Original run |
| 9 | Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation | 1999 | Original run |
| 8 | Tomb Raider II | 1997 | Original run |
| 7 | Tomb Raider: Underworld | 2008 | Legend continuity |
| 6 | Tomb Raider: Anniversary | 2007 | Legend continuity remake |
| 5 | Tomb Raider: Legend | 2006 | Legend continuity |
| 4 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 2018 | Survivor trilogy |
| 3 | Tomb Raider | 1996 | Original run |
| 2 | Tomb Raider | 2013 | Survivor trilogy |
| 1 | Rise of the Tomb Raider | 2015 | Survivor trilogy |
12. The Angel of Darkness (2003)
The Angel of Darkness finishes last because its ambitions are repeatedly undermined by execution. It attempts a darker Lara, investigative hub areas, stealth, character conversations, and a more elaborate story, but the basic movement and combat often feel unreliable. A missed jump or awkward camera response can look like player error when the underlying problem is control feedback.
The hub structure also makes progression less transparent than in the earlier games. Conversation choices and item requirements can leave players unsure which action advances the plot, while the game’s unfinished-feeling systems compete with its strongest ideas. Its 2003 release was widely treated as a disastrous turning point; Legend subsequently served as the series’ recovery.
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There are still worthwhile ideas here: the Paris and Prague settings broaden Lara’s world, and the attempt to connect traversal with investigation points toward systems later games would handle more cleanly. Those ideas cannot outweigh the inconsistent controls, uneven level design, and opaque progression, so this is the one mainline entry I would recommend only to committed historians of the franchise.
11. Chronicles (2000)
Chronicles is structured as four stories told by characters remembering Lara’s earlier adventures. That anthology format creates welcome variety in setting and tone, but it also exposes the aging technology rather than hiding it. GamesRadar+ places it tenth in its 2026 top-ten list and specifically criticizes the tired engine, controls, and level design.
The shorter, segmented campaigns can be appealing when you want a sampler of classic Tomb Raider ideas rather than one long expedition. The problem is that none of the episodes develops enough momentum to compensate for familiar movement friction and uneven encounter design. Its best moments rely on atmosphere and novelty; its weakest moments feel like the series repeating itself without a strong structural reason.
It belongs above Angel of Darkness because its core interactions are more dependable and its scope is honest. It ranks below the other classic games because the anthology does not produce a consistently satisfying arc or a major mechanical advance.
10. Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998)
Tomb Raider III is an ambitious expansion of the original formula. It adds denser environments, more movement options, vehicles, and attempts at stealth, while allowing players to tackle some locations in different orders. The ambition is real, but the resulting spaces are often difficult to read.
Rank #2
- Live the critically acclaimed, cinematic action adventure, re built specifically for next gen consoles
- Survive high octane combat, customize Lara's weapons and gear, and overcome grueling environments to uncover the island's deadly secret
- See Lara Croft like never before, with every bead of sweat, strand of hair, and article of clothing delivered in obsessive detail
- Endure a stunningly re imagined island, fraught with new, unforgiving storms, and alive with motion
- Own the complete Tomb Raider experience with all of the DLC, including the Tomb of the Lost Adventurer, six outfits for Lara, a digital mini art book, and the digital comic " The Beginning
GamesRadar+ describes it as ambitious yet sometimes obtuse, noting both its movement options and confusing layouts. That balance explains its position here. When the game’s visual language communicates a route, the larger levels create a satisfying sense of expedition. When it does not, progression becomes a hunt for a barely visible switch or a route that looks decorative rather than usable.
Combat and hazards can also punish experimentation without giving enough information about what the game expects. It is more varied than Chronicles, but variety is not the same as clarity. Players who enjoy solving environmental riddles and revisiting large spaces may rank it several places higher; players who value readable routes and fair checkpoints will find it exhausting.
9. The Last Revelation (1999)
The Last Revelation is a strong example of a game that can be excellent at a particular thing and still land low in a whole-series ranking. GamesRadar+ ranks it ninth while praising its demanding classic platforming. I agree with the praise: the game asks for deliberate positioning, careful timing, and an understanding of how Lara’s movement works.
Its Egypt setting gives the campaign a coherent identity, and the connected environments encourage players to remember routes instead of treating every level as a disposable stage. The same commitment can become a barrier. Backtracking, exacting jumps, and limited guidance make mistakes expensive, especially for players accustomed to modern checkpoints and more forgiving traversal.
The game’s value depends heavily on whether “classic difficulty” is a feature or a cost. For a purist who wants the original grid-like rhythm and demanding platforming, it may belong in the upper half. In this order, its concentration on one demanding style keeps it below the more varied and accessible entries.
8. Tomb Raider II (1997)
Tomb Raider II expands the first game with vehicles and more open outdoor environments. Venice, coastal areas, snowbound locations, and industrial spaces make the adventure feel broader, and the added movement options give Lara a larger physical vocabulary.
GamesRadar+ ranks it sixth, praising the expanded environments while noting trial-and-error deaths. That trade-off is central to the game. The larger spaces can feel adventurous when you are reading a route, but instant-death traps and unclear jumps sometimes turn exploration into repeated guessing. The vehicle sections add spectacle, although they do not always integrate smoothly with the slower platforming that remains the series’ foundation.
I place it below The Last Revelation because its expansion is less disciplined. It is a more welcoming recommendation for someone who wants a classic sequel with recognizable variety, but the original’s tighter spatial design gives it a stronger claim to the series’ identity.
Rank #3
- Reveal the Mysteries of the Past: The classic story has been expanded with deeper connections that bridge Lara Croft’s defining adventure to her future.
- Discover Extraordinary and Dangerous Worlds Lost to Time: Explore treacherous landscapes filled with ancient artifacts and hidden secrets, from the jungles of Peru to the crumbling ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious island shrouded in myth.
- Skillfully Traverse Deadly Environments: Use Lara’s strength, agility, and grappling hook to climb, leap, and swing across perilous terrain.
- Solve Ingenious Ancient Contraptions: Manipulate water flow, redirect light beams, activate pressure plates, and decipher symbols to unseal secrets locked away for centuries. Every solution combines knowledge you’ve uncovered and clever thinking.
- Face Lethal Predators: Armed with Lara’s iconic dual pistols and other unlockable weapons, master acrobatic abilities to unleash devastating attacks against savage wildlife, mercenaries, and mythological creatures.
7. Underworld (2008)
Underworld is one of the most attractive entries in the Legend era. Its environments, animation, and lighting give archaeological spaces a sense of scale, and it restores more emphasis to puzzles and traversal after Legend’s streamlined approach.
GamesRadar+ calls it handsome and credits those restored strengths while arguing that its apparent freedom is not fully realized. That is the right criticism. The levels look open, but many routes are still tightly authored, and the game can communicate a promise of free-form exploration that its actual collision rules and traversal paths do not always deliver.
The result is a technically accomplished adventure with uneven friction. Its best ruins make movement feel graceful and purposeful; its weaker moments expose awkward interactions and unclear objectives. It sits above the classic sequels because its presentation and controls are easier to live with, but below the strongest modern and remake-era entries because its freedom is more visual than systemic.
6. Anniversary (2007)
Anniversary is a remake of the 1996 original built in the Legend technology and continuity. Its placement is my own judgment; it was omitted from GamesRadar+’s 2026 top ten. The remake keeps the original’s core locations and major beats while modernizing movement, camera behavior, checkpoints, and presentation.
That modernization makes the classic route easier to approach without erasing the emphasis on observation and traversal. Signature set pieces are clearer, and the more expressive animation helps Lara move through spaces that would feel extremely rigid in the 1996 game. At the same time, the remake sometimes adds visual noise or timing demands that make a familiar puzzle less elegant than the original version.
Anniversary ranks above Underworld because its level structure is more focused and its relationship to the original formula is more deliberate. It does not outrank the 1996 game: the remake is a polished interpretation, while the original established the spatial grammar every later version is borrowing.
5. Legend (2006)
Legend is the series’ cleanest reset before the 2013 reboot. It returns the emphasis to puzzles and platforming after The Angel of Darkness, gives Lara responsive controls, and moves briskly from one memorable location to the next.
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Rank #4
- Full game with 7 bonus missions
- 5 co-op challenge tombs
- Digital copy of original soundtrack
- All previously released outfits and skills
- New “Croft Fitness” outfit for the Tomb Raider in training
The limitation is that the streamlined design reduces the sense of being lost in a dangerous archaeological site. Puzzles are often signposted, combat is serviceable rather than deep, and the campaign can feel over before its ideas have fully developed. It is an exceptionally effective adventure, but the games above it offer either richer exploration or a more consequential evolution of the formula.
4. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the most technically accomplished of the Survivor trilogy in several of the areas that matter to longtime fans. It gives stealth more room to breathe, includes demanding challenge tombs, and offers set pieces that make the environment feel dangerous rather than merely decorative.
GamesRadar+ ranks it fourth, praising stealth, gunplay, challenge tombs, and set pieces while identifying the story as a weakness. That distinction matters. The mechanics often understand what a Tomb Raider game should feel like: observe a space, choose a route, manipulate the environment, and commit to a traversal solution. The narrative can be less confident, with character and plot beats that do not always match the quality of the spaces around them.
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3. Tomb Raider (1996)
The original Tomb Raider remains the clearest expression of the series’ central idea: an explorer enters a hostile space and succeeds by understanding it. Its levels are built around landmarks, loops, vertical relationships, and puzzles that ask you to think in three dimensions before the genre had standardized those conventions.
GamesRadar+ ranks it third, citing influential exploration, considered design, and memorable classic encounters while acknowledging stiff movement by modern standards. The stiffness is real, but it is also part of the game’s language. Lara’s jumps are based on consistent distances and deliberate positioning, so the player learns a physical grammar rather than improvising with analog freedom.
The game’s historical influence should not be the only reason to praise it. Even without nostalgia, its restraint is impressive: long stretches can pass without combat, and the strongest rooms create tension through scale, silence, and uncertainty. Modern players must accept dated animation, a rigid camera, and limited quality-of-life features. In return, they get the purest version of the exploration-and-puzzle loop.
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The 2013 reboot successfully rebuilds Lara as a modern action-adventure protagonist while retaining enough climbing, traversal, and environmental problem-solving to remain recognizably Tomb Raider. Its Yamatai setting, hub areas, platforming, and combat give the campaign a strong forward rhythm.
Best Value
- Reveal the Mysteries of the Past: The classic story has been expanded with deeper connections that bridge Lara Croft’s defining adventure to her future.
- Discover Extraordinary and Dangerous Worlds Lost to Time: Explore treacherous landscapes filled with ancient artifacts and hidden secrets, from the jungles of Peru to the crumbling ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious island shrouded in myth.
- Skillfully Traverse Deadly Environments: Use Lara’s strength, agility, and grappling hook to climb, leap, and swing across perilous terrain.
- Solve Ingenious Ancient Contraptions: Manipulate water flow, redirect light beams, activate pressure plates, and decipher symbols to unseal secrets locked away for centuries. Every solution combines knowledge you’ve uncovered and clever thinking.
- Face Lethal Predators: Armed with Lara’s iconic dual pistols and other unlockable weapons, master acrobatic abilities to unleash devastating attacks against savage wildlife, mercenaries, and mythological creatures.
GamesRadar+ ranks it second. Metacritic lists an 86 critic Metascore from 70 reviews and an initial release date of March 5, 2013; that is a snapshot of the page accessed October 13, 2026, not a timeless measure of quality. Contemporary criticism included concerns about the smaller scale of some puzzles, the writing, and the stronger action-shooter emphasis.
Those caveats explain why it does not take first place here. The reboot’s strongest spaces invite exploration and its combat is satisfying, but the balance sometimes tips toward shooting and cinematic survival. Lara’s transformation is dramatically presented, although the intensity of the narrative can sit uneasily beside optional collectibles and leisurely side exploration. Even so, the reboot is an unusually effective bridge between classic Tomb Raider structure and modern third-person design, making it the best starting point for many new players.
1. Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)
Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best all-round mainline game because it expands the 2013 reboot without abandoning its central strengths. Larger hubs create more room for optional routes and return visits, while set pieces preserve momentum. Platforming, puzzles, shooting, and resource decisions are better integrated than in the previous game.
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Its story is not flawless, and some open-area activities can feel like checklist content. Those weaknesses are less damaging because the underlying traversal and level design remain rewarding even when an objective is optional. The game also preserves enough friction to make reaching a remote tomb feel like an accomplishment rather than a waypoint activation. That combination of freedom, variety, and control makes Rise the strongest recommendation overall.
Which Tomb Raider games are worth playing?
Your best route depends on whether you want historical design, modern action, or a focused remake.
- For the classic formula: Start with Tomb Raider (1996), then try Tomb Raider II or The Last Revelation if you enjoy deliberate, demanding platforming.
- For a modern introduction: Play Tomb Raider (2013), followed by Rise and Shadow in release order.
- For a compact, accessible adventure: Choose Legend.
- For a modernized version of the first story: Choose Anniversary, then compare its solutions with the 1996 original.
- For tombs and stealth: Choose Shadow, accepting that its narrative is less consistent than its environments.
- For franchise history: Include Chronicles and The Angel of Darkness, but expect aging controls and uneven design.
How to play the lower-ranked classics today
Tomb Raider IV–VI Remastered is a released collection containing The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness. It is the most direct current route to those three entries as a group. Platform availability, editions, physical stock, and pricing can change, so verify the store listing for your platform before buying.
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For the original 1996 game, Anniversary offers modern controls and presentation but is not a substitute for seeing how the original’s rooms and movement rules were designed. Playing both is especially useful if you want to understand why the first game still ranks so highly despite its age.
What is next for the series?
An Embracer Group announcement dated December 12, 2025 described Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis as a modern reimagining of Lara Croft’s debut, planned for 2026, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst as the next major chapter, planned for 2027. The announcement named PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. These were plans in that release, not released games in this ranking, and launch schedules can change.
Quick Recap
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