Every Tomb Raider game, ranked
All 8 Tomb Raider games we hold, spanning 1997 to 2013: 4 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 284,742 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Tomb Raider Game of the Year (GamingPickz Score 8.7), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Tomb Raider II (1997) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Tomb Raider: Legend gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Tomb Raider games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 4 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
4 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 4 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Every game by critic score
The grid above is built from Steam data, so it can only place the Tomb Raider games that were on Steam. This one uses the Metacritic critic aggregate, which the older console-only entries have too, so the whole series lands on a single chart: critic score against release year.
On Steam (also has a GamingPickz Score) Console-only (Metacritic only)
4 best Tomb Raider games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Tomb Raider Game of the Year
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
8.7GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTomb Raider Game of the Year at a glance Released 2013 Studio Crystal Dynamics Player sentiment 96% positive of 269,396 Critics 86/100 Price $2.99 Steam Deck verified Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 96.0 on 269,396 reviews, then blends with the 86 critic aggregate, giving 8.7.
What the data supports- 96% positive across 269,396 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 2
Tomb Raider: Legend
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
7.5GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTomb Raider: Legend at a glance Released 2006 Studio Crystal Dynamics Player sentiment 88% positive of 6,103 Critics 82/100 Price $0.97 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 88% shrinks to 87.7 on 6,103 reviews, then blends with the 82 critic aggregate, giving 7.5.
Nintendo GameCubePlayStation PortablePCPlayStation 2PlayStation 5Xbox
- 3
Tomb Raider II
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
7.2GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTomb Raider II at a glance Released 1997 Studio Core Design Player sentiment 87% positive of 2,360 Critics No aggregate Price $3.49 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 87% shrinks to 86.5 on 2,360 reviews, giving 7.2. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 4
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
6.8GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTomb Raider: Underworld at a glance Released 2008 Studio Crystal Dynamics Player sentiment 77% positive of 6,883 Critics 80/100 Price $0.98 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 77% shrinks to 77.4 on 6,883 reviews, then blends with the 80 critic aggregate, giving 6.8.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
Only the 4 Tomb Raider games with Steam review data can be scored and ranked. The complete series, scored or not, is charted in order below.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Tomb Raider game we can score is Tomb Raider Game of the Year at 8.7. The lowest is Tomb Raider: Underworld at 6.8, a 1.9-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 1997 to 2013. The later entries score higher than the earlier ones: the series has been trending up.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Tomb Raider: Legend at $0.97. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Tomb Raider: Legend, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Tomb Raider entries on Steam:
- Verified: Tomb Raider Game of the Year
- Playable: Tomb Raider: Legend
- Unsupported: Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider: Underworld
Platforms across the series
Where the 8 Tomb Raider games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 6 of 8 |
| PlayStation | 7 of 8 |
| Xbox | 1 of 8 |
| Nintendo | 2 of 8 |
| Mobile | 1 of 8 |
The Tomb Raider series, game by game
Every Tomb Raider game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 1997
The second instalment in the Tomb Raider series invites you to join Lara as she travels around the globe to retrieve a precious artefact before it falls into the wrong hands. The legendary artefact, the Dagger of Xian, is said to give its possessor the power of a fire breathing dragon. (Steam)
Plot
Lara Croft is searching for the Dagger of Xian, a magical weapon once used by an ancient Emperor of China to command his army; by plunging the weapon into its owner's heart, the weapon has the power to transform its bearer into a dragon . Having tracked the Dagger's chamber to beneath the Great Wall of China , Lara is accosted by a member of the Fiamma Nera, an Italian cult obsessed with the Dagger. Before killing himself, the cultist reveals that his… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Tomb Raider II received positive reviews from most critics. At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100, the game received a score of 85 for the PlayStation version based on 13 reviews, which indicates "favourable reviews". The majority commented that while the differences from the original game are relatively small, Tomb Raider was a strong enough game that these differences and the consistent execution were enough to… (Wikipedia)
- 1998
Tomb Raider III
Metacritic 76Tomb Raider III is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1998, and for Mac OS in 1999. It is the third title in the Tomb Raider series, following Tomb Raider II (1997). The story follows… (Wikipedia)
Plot
A corporation called RX-Tech excavates the crash site of a meteorite that impacted on Antarctica millions of years ago and finds strange Rapa Nui -like statues alongside the grave of one of HMS Beagle 's sailors. Meanwhile, archaeologist -adventurer Lara Croft is searching for an artefact known as the Infada Stone in the ruins of an ancient Indian Hindu temple once inhabited by the Infada tribe. After taking the artefact from a researcher working for… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Although Tomb Raider III received generally favourable reviews from critics, it did not fare as well as its two predecessors. Edge considered Tomb Raider III "a valid addition to the growing franchise", stating that it offers more attractive graphics and more innovation than Tomb Raider II , while Next Generation called it the biggest and most rewarding game of the series. CVG described it as a perfect mix of the exploration and puzzles of the… (Wikipedia)
- 1999
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
not scoredTomb Raider: The Last Revelation is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1999, then on Dreamcast and Mac OS the following year. It is the fourth instalment in the Tomb Raider series. The narrative… (Wikipedia)
Plot
The Last Revelation opens with a flashback to a teenage Lara Croft in 1984, when she and her mentor Werner Von Croy are exploring a section of Angkor Wat for an artefact called the Iris. Upon discovering the Iris, Von Croy's haste to retrieve it triggers a trap, forcing Lara to escape without him. In the game's present of late 1999, Lara is in Egypt exploring the Tomb of Set, where the titular god of chaos is said to be imprisoned. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Review aggregate website GameRankings gave the PlayStation release a score of 79% based on 18 reviews. The PC release saw a slightly lower score of 75% based on 23 reviews. The Dreamcast version was the lowest-rated version, scoring 62% based on 22 reviews. (Wikipedia)
- 2000
Tomb Raider: Chronicles
Metacritic 59Tomb Raider: Chronicles is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released for PlayStation, Windows, and Dreamcast in 2000, then on Mac OS the following year. It is the fifth instalment in the Tomb Raider series. The narrative continues from Tomb Raider:… (Wikipedia)
Plot
Following the events of The Last Revelation , Lara Croft is presumed dead, buried under the collapsed Great Pyramid of Giza . At Lara's home of Croft Manor, three former friends and associates—Lara's butler Winston, the family priest Father Patrick Dunstan and Lara's history teacher Charles Kane—reminisce over some of Lara's early exploits following a memorial service. The first story follows Lara's quest through the catacombs of Rome in search of the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . While reviewers were divided on specific elements they liked or disliked, all noted that the game had few new mechanics, with the series becoming stale and lacking innovation compared to other popular game series. Edge referred to the overall game as mediocre due to its underwhelming graphics and lack of new mechanics. (Wikipedia)
- 2003
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Metacritic 49Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is a 2003 action-adventure game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. A Mac OS X port was developed by Beenox and published by Aspyr the same year. It is the sixth instalment in the Tomb Raider series, acting as a direct… (Wikipedia)
Plot
The Angel of Darkness follows on from events in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Chronicles , where Lara Croft was presumed dead. An unspecified time later, Lara arrives in Paris at the request of her former mentor, Werner Von Croy, who was tasked by a man named Eckhardt to find a set of artifacts known as the Obscura Paintings. The city, and Von Croy, are gripped with fear over a serial killer the press has dubbed the "Monstrum". (Wikipedia)
Reception
Sales Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness received strong initial sales, mostly driven by an aggressive advertising campaign. The game reached 6th place in the UK Top 20 sales charts, but dropped to 13th by the following week. The game's PlayStation 2 version received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. (Wikipedia)
- 2006
Follow Lara Croft down a path of discovery as she travels the globe to remote, exotic locales in search of one of history's greatest artifacts, that unleashes unwelcome figures from Lara's mysterious past. (Steam)
Plot
Characters Tomb Raider: Legend retells the story of British archaeologist/adventurer Lara Croft. As a young girl, she and her mother, Amelia, are the only survivors of a plane crash in the Himalayas . Publicly, Lara was the only survivor of the crash, as her mother was apparently killed upon interacting with a magical artifact in a Nepalese temple where they took shelter. (Wikipedia)
Characters
Tomb Raider: Legend retells the story of British archaeologist/adventurer Lara Croft. As a young girl, she and her mother, Amelia, are the only survivors of a plane crash in the Himalayas . Publicly, Lara was the only survivor of the crash, as her mother was apparently killed upon interacting with a magical artifact in a Nepalese temple where they took shelter. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Tomb Raider: Legend met with positive reviews. Multiple websites called Legend a return to form for the Tomb Raider series following a string of below-average sequels after the original game. Comments focused on its modern redesign. (Wikipedia)
- 2008
Tomb Raider: Underworld represents a new advancement in exploration-based gameplay. As fearless adventurer Lara Croft explore exotic locations around the world, each designed with an incredible attention to detail resulting in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that creates a truly believable world and delivers a new level of... (Steam)
Plot
The story begins in medias res ; Lara Croft navigates her home Croft Manor after an explosion, then is shot at by her tech assistant Zip. One week earlier, Lara is investigating a sunken island in the Mediterranean Sea as part of her search for Avalon , hoping it will lead her to an explanation for the disappearance of her mother Amelia and salvage her father Richard's academic reputation despite the scepticism of Zip and her research assistant Alister.… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Tomb Raider: Underworld received generally positive reviews from critics. The Xbox 360 , PC and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were generally highly praised, with many critics comparing Underworld to older titles in the series, such as GamesRadar and The Guardian . In reviews, the environments have been widely praised, many reviewers also praised Lara's motion captured movements and the much less linear style of gameplay, while some… (Wikipedia)
- 2013
Tomb Raider explores the intense origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a young woman to a hardened survivor. (Steam)
Tomb Raider, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Tomb Raider vs other series
How Tomb Raider stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Tomb Raider vs Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider vs Trine, Tomb Raider vs A Plague Tale, Tomb Raider vs Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider vs Danganronpa, Tomb Raider vs Darksiders, Tomb Raider vs It Takes Two, Tomb Raider vs Lego Harry Potter, Tomb Raider vs Little Nightmares, Tomb Raider vs Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider vs Portal
Common questions
How many Tomb Raider games are there?
We hold 8 Tomb Raider games in the catalogue, released between 1997 and 2013. 4 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Tomb Raider game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Tomb Raider Game of the Year rates highest at 8.7. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Tomb Raider games in?
Release order is listed below, from 1997 to 2013. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.