The Lara Croft Collection Switch Review- The best of Lara

At long last Lara Croft’s isometric set of games is here on the  Nintendo with the release of The Lara Croft Collection. Back in 2010, Crystal Dynamics decided to take a chance on mixing up the Tomb Raider formula with Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light. Instead of the traditional 3^rd person action, platforming and puzzle game, Crystal Dynamics instead opted to embrace an isometric Diablo-style type of game. Four years later a sequel, Lara Croft and The Temple of Osiris, continued Lara’s new adventures with some additions to the gameplay.

Both games were viewed from an isometric perspective as Lara spelunked through ancient tombs and forgotten cities in a quest to stop gods and monsters from destroying the world. The games functioned as action platforming, puzzle-solving twin-stick shooters. While that’s quite a mouthful, the developers managed to pull of all these feats incredibly well and managed to retain the spirit of the mainline Tomb Raider games.

There’s quite enough action to keep the shooter in you engaged with plenty of mythical beasts looking to perforate Lara while the game’s various tombs were filled with puzzles to solve that usually needed quick thinking and nimble movement in tandem. And just when it felt like that was a little too much of one thing, the game threw in some platforming that, while simple, took its cues from the main games and featured Lara’s grappling hook and remote-activated bombs prominently.

Newer elements were added in each game via the mythology present such as Osiris’s staff in The Temple of Osiris that functioned as both a fancy laser weapon and a way to close dimensional rifts, while The Guardian of Light gave you Totec’s spear to use as both an overpowered weapon and a stepping stone to reach higher ledges as Lara could balance on the shaft of the spear when it was chucked into a wall. Rounding out the arsenal were a variety of guns ranging from assault rifles to shotguns.

And for those wishing for more meat on these bones, a variety of challenges were added from high scores to speed running that unlocked more weapons, relic powers and gear with different stats. It gave both games a nice dose of replayability for the obsessives amongst us.

And, finally, Crystal Dynamics also added co-op fun to the mix. The Guardian of Light featured a two-player co-op while Temple of Osiris upped the ante to four players for chaotic shenanigans.

Now while this may not have been the direction players wanted from a new Tomb Raider game, both Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris proved to be fantastic, arcade-style experiences. They captured the spirit of the Tomb Raider series and kept the action nicely contained to ancient cities and ruined temples while also being incredibly fun.

Why is this important? Because developers Feral Interactive have ported both Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and The Temple of Osiris over to Nintendo’s Switch to create The Lara Croft Collection. Perhaps not the adventures you were hoping for, but certainly ones deserving of your attention.

For The Lara Croft Collection, Feral Interactive has brought the games over in their entirety, including all the DLC that was released making this a comprehensive collection for both Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris.

There are 7 DLC packs available in The Lara Croft Collection:

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light 3 DLC packs:

• Things that go boom
• All the Trappings
• Hazardous Reunion

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris 4 DLC packs:

• The Twisted Gears Pack
• The Deus Ex Pack
• The Legend Pack
• The Icy Death Pack

Apart from the DLCs listed above, there are also Kane & Lynch and Raziel & Kain character packs for The Guardian of Light and Hitman pack for The Temple of Osiris, however these were not included into the Nintendo Switch release.

Both games, also, have more than stood the test of time and play just as well as they did on their original release. The single-player mode is still just as much fun as it ever was, but if you can bring along a friend, the ante and shenanigans get upped considerably. One noticeable omission is online co-op play though, especially as the games were designed with that feature in mind. Personally, I prefer local co-op play as nothing beats having another human sitting next to you during gaming time.

However, it must be noted that this has been designed for multiple players on one machine so it’s best suited for a fully-featured Switch if you plan to jam with others. While the game looks and plays just as great on the Lite, it’s not exactly designed for same machine play on the much smaller screen.

For the most part, the games look great and run well on Switch as well, though Temple of Osiris did have some frame dips and hitches here and there even in SP mode. It doesn’t mar or break the experience in any way though.

The Lara Croft Collection contains two fantastic games that have more than stood up to the test of time. If anything, they’re better now than they were, especially on the Switch where it feels like a perfect match for the game style and design. If you missed out on these two games before, then now is the perfect time to play them again. With a fun design, plenty of combat and fantastic puzzles and platforming to match, Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and The Temple of Osiris rank right up there with the best of Lara’s fully featured adventures.

The Lara Croft Collection Trailer

Read more reviews here https://invisioncommunity.co.uk/category/review/

Go grab your copy of The Lara Croft Collection here https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/The-Lara-Croft-Collection-2402097.html