All Tomb Raider fans, gather ’round! The renowned Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered collection has been inconspicuously traversing the updates list in SteamDB for several weeks, but today there has been a captivating twist. Astonishingly, 15 concealed achievements have emerged in the game’s database and the gamers are going mad trying to plot the forthcoming events.
Could it be that a special mode is coming? For indeed this is the question everyone is asking since the Twitter account @KubaCodex exposed the discovery that was also retweeted by Infinity Tomb Raider. The gaming community instantly started to speculate what these silent accomplishments could mean for the cherished retro trilogy.
So this is what happened. The year saw the release of the Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered which was undoubtedly a success, right? Nevertheless, the developers shifted their attention to the release of Tomb Raider IV-V-VI Remastered which was indeed accompanied by some quality-of-life updates that the first trilogy was not given. Changes such as better brightness controls, a 60fps mode, and improved controls. Players have been requesting the same upgrades for the first three games and now it looks like the good mood might return.
One user to not stop there is kevin, he not only found hints that were saying it would not just be matter of quality life but also did some research. He is suspecting that the new mode will come with enemy modifiers and outfit bonuses. Just like the wetsuit that grants Lara unlimited air? That would be nuts for those underwater sequences which I used to panic over in the past.
The reactions from the community have been quite different. Some players are over the moor, for example, Seth who tweeted ‘This is exciting!! Can’t wait to see what comes.’ On the contrary, there are people who try to keep their expectations realistic. The user wpstart said they will ‘gonna temper my expectations but this is certainly exciting!’ which possibly is a wise move considering that sometimes game updates can disappoint.
Then there is the entire contention of whether this implies we shall receive Tomb Raider 4-6 remastered content too. Ryan19687923 speculated that ‘TR 4-6 remastered will follow’ but Infinity Tomb Raider replied that it’s better not to expect such additions since that doesn’t seem to be the goal. However, they did admit they hope they are wrong about that.
What is particularly intriguing is that some players were of the impression that support for the first trilogy had been terminated. Panoskrb98 remarked that ‘the last major patch was november 2024 so i think we are getting close to the definitive patch this november!’ So this sudden activity after months of silence has everyone speculating what’s up.
Core Design themselves seemed taken aback by it, tweeting ‘Didn’t expect them to keep working on the first remasters after all this time so it’s a good surprise.’ When the original developers wonder, you know that something out of the ordinary is going on.
But the achievement hunters are already troubled. User la_yumu posed the question ‘ppl already got the platinum!?’ which is a valid concern for anyone who has already completed the games to 100%. Now they may have to go back and reap more achievements, which Vic Viper aptly expressed with ‘Dunno if I should rejoice or REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE’ next to a cat crying meme. The mood is set.
MrCGY91 made a suggestion that it would be really nice if they could add a randomizer mode to the console versions, which would undoubtedly make earning those new achievements much more interesting. Meanwhile, PuppyOnLeash has remarked on how hilarious it is that the first trilogy already has way more achievements than the second one, and now they are still adding more.
The timing is indeed quite right. November is round the corner, and this is the month when most games are thought by the community to receive their big ‘definitive’ patches. Thus, if any time could be a surprise update with new modes and achievements, it would be now.
What I am really wanting to know is whether this means the developers are taking notice of the players’ feedback regarding the transfer of the quality-of-life improvements from the later remasters to the first trilogy. Andrea Ariu went as far as to say, ‘Whatever it is, I hope it includes a general upgrade that incorporates the improvements seen in IV-VI Remastered.’ And ArgonaceM mirrored that with ‘As long as we get texture filtering and the 60fps mode.’
But the point is, hidden achievements usually indicate new content, not just fixes. So we might get the double treat of quality-of-life updates and something completely new to play around with. Perhaps challenge modes? Maybe difficulty modifiers? The actual possibilities are quite exciting if you think about them.
The gaming community has been pretty much divided as far as they want new content or just technical improvements.
