How to play the Tomb Raider games in chronological order
All the timelines from the PS1 original to Shadow.
Tomb Raider is one of the most storied franchises in gaming history. Debuting almost 30 years ago, Lara Croft's first adventure was one of the pioneers of early 3D gaming, and turned the fearless adventurer into an instant icon.
Since then the Tomb Raider series has spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs and movies, along with an upcoming new TV show. The mainline games themselves can seem trickier to navigate than the caves Lara often explores, with multiple timelines and different styles of games, which most markedly changed with the franchise's gritty reboot over a decade ago.
If you're not sure where to start, we've put together this guide on how to play the Tomb Raider games in chronological order, which walks you through how to play each timeline in the right order, and how to play the entire series in release date order.
How to play the Tomb Raider games in order
If you want to experience everything the Tomb Raider series has to offer, you can either play the games in chronological or release date order. Whichever route you choose, it's important to point out the Tomb Raider series has three separate timelines, which each offer a different take on Lara's adventures.
Chronological: If you want to play the Tomb Raider series in chronological order, you need to decide if you want to play through every single timeline in the series, or just focus on one or two. There are three timelines in the franchise - Original Saga, Legend of Tomb Raider and Survivor - which each have their own chronological order.
Release date: You can also want to play through the Tomb Raider series in release date order. Doing so would let you experience all of the timelines, along with the standalone spin-off games, in the order they were released over the years.
If you're just getting into the Tomb Raider series, where you start will also be influenced by which consoles you have in your collection. If you want to play the Legend of Tomb Raider timeline and you're on PlayStation, you'll need to dust off one of your retro consoles as some of these games haven't had a modern re-release. If you're on PC and Xbox though, once the next Tomb Raider Remastered collection launches in 2025 virtually all of the mainline games will be playable on Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Tomb Raider chronological order
The Tomb Raider series has 20 games in total, which includes 13 main games and seven spin-offs. The mainline games take place across three timelines, which each have their own plotlines and offer different takes on Lara and her supporting characters.
The three timelines in the Tomb Raider franchise are:
To keep things simple, we'll focus on the mainline games in the Tomb Raider series, explaining the chronological order for each saga.
Original Saga timeline
As the name suggests, the Original Saga focuses on the first set of Tomb Raider games which are synonymous with the PS1. If you haven't played any of these games, soon almost all of Lara's early adventures will be playable on modern consoles.
The first three mainline games have been bundled together in the Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered collection which released earlier this year. And in 2025 the Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered collection is launching, which means the only game from the Original Saga that won't be playable on modern consoles is the Game Boy Color adventure The Curse of the Sword.
Tomb Raider (1996)
The original Tomb Raider is one of the defining games of the early wave of 3D gaming. It launched as a timed exclusive for the Sega Saturn before heading to the PS1, where it became one of the best-selling games for Sony's first console. This huge success made the game's heroine, Lara Croft, an instant gaming icon, who to this day is one of the most recognisable characters in all gaming.
The first game in the Original Saga has Lara being hired to find an artefact known as the Scion of Atlantis, which sends the archaeologist off on a globe-trotting adventure. It laid the blueprint for the series, with its mix of platforming gameplay, puzzle solving and gunfights. Like Super Mario 64, it was a watershed moment for 3D gaming, which offered a previously unprecedented level of movement over the 2D games people were playing only a few years earlier.
The huge success of the original Tomb Raider led to an exclusivity deal that saw subsequent sequels available exclusively for the original PlayStation. For more on Lara's debut adventure, read our Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered review and also check out our feature on how Tomb Raider was created.
Tomb Raider is available to play on: PS1, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Sega Saturn, Switch, Evercade and PC
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword (2001)
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword is the seventh game released in the Tomb Raider series, but it's chronologically the second game in the Original Saga timeline. A spin-off sequel to the first game, it sees Lara Croft hunting for a mystical sword that will bring an evil magician known as Madame Paveau back to life.
Unlike other games in the series, Curse of the Sword is a 2D side-scroller that was released exclusively for the Game Boy Color. It's been over two decades since the game first launched, and it's still only available for the GBC. If you want to play it today you'll have to dust off your old Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance, which was backwards compatible with the GBC. Alternatively, you could pick up a Analogue Pocket or the ModRetro Chromatic if you want to play Curse of the Sword and other Game Boy games.
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword is available to play on: Game Boy Color
Tomb Raider 2 (1997)
Tomb Raider 2 is the second, mainline game in the series. It marked the start of a yearly release cycle for the franchise, and a period of exclusivity for the original PlayStation. The sequel follows Lara as she hunts for the Dagger of Xian, a magical weapon that an Italian cult is also searching for. This time Lara's adventure will take her to Venice, the Great Wall of China and Tibet.
Tomb Raider 2 plays largely like the original, with Lara having to solve puzzles, fight enemies and use all of her movesets to navigate the game's levels. Like before, Lara can walk and run around the game's 3D worlds, but Tomb Raider 2 shakes things up a bit by expanding Lara's moveset. The explorer is now able to climb walls instead of just shimmying along ledges, wade through shallow water and use zip lines to move across large gaps. Most notably though, Tomb Raider 2 also added vehicles including the speedboat used in the much-loved Venice level.
To find out what made Tomb Raider 2 so special, make sure you read our feature that celebrates the game's 25th anniversary.
Tomb Raider 2 is available to play on: PS1, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Evercade and PC
Tomb Raider 3 (1998)
Tomb Raider 3 follows Lara Croft as she hunts down four pieces of a meteorite that crashed into Earth thousands of years ago. The pieces are believed to hold great power, with Lara getting hired by a large corporation to track down the ancient artefacts that have been scattered around the globe. Her mission will take Lara to locations including India, London and Nevada.
Built using an upgraded version of the engine used to create the first two games, Tomb Raider 3 plays similarly to its predecessors but has more of a focus on puzzle solving than shooting. Like Tomb Raider 2, the third game also has a training level in Croft Manor, which introduced Lara's butler Winston. This training level is famous for an Easter Egg, which lets you lead Winston through Croft Manor into a walk-in freezer and lock him in there. The Remastered Collection even has a Trophy for this.
Tomb Raider 3 is available to play on: PS1, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Evercade and PC
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation saw the series' console exclusivity on PlayStation come to an end. The fourth mainline game in the series originally launched for the PS1 and PC, but later launched on the Dreamcast as well. It follows Lara trying to stop an ancient evil God called Set, who she unwittingly unleashed on one of her expeditions, from destroying the world.
The Last Revelation also introduces a new character, Lara's former mentor turned enemy Werner Von Croy who is possessed by Set. The antagonist could have led to our heroine's eventual downfall, with The Last Revelation having an ambiguous, cliffhanger ending which - spoiler alert - leaves things looking like Lara had died. This had been the original plan, after the game's developers Core Design had grown tired of the series' yearly release cycle. Lara's fate would remain uncertain till the end of the next game in the series.
The Last Revelation is available to play on: PS1, Dreamcast and PC
Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000)
Tomb Raider: Chronicles follows on from the events of The Last Revelation. With Lara presumed dead following the end of that game, three of her friends gather at Croft Manor to reminisce about her past heroics. Told through flashbacks, levels take place during Lara's early adventures in New York, Rome, Ireland and Russia.
Chronicles was the final mainline Tomb Raider game released for the original PlayStation, the console where the series became so famous. It was, however, launched to a mixed reception. If you'd like to know more, make sure you read our Tomb Raider: Chronicles review from the game's launch.
By the end of Chronicles, it looks like - spoiler alert - Lara did survive the cliffhanger ending of The Last Revelation, which set the series up to continue into the next-generation of consoles.
Tomb Raider: Chronicles is available to play on: PS1, Dreamcast and PC
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was the first game in the series fully built for the sixth generation of consoles. While Tomb Raider had previously appeared on the Dreamcast, this was still a game underpinned by the engine that made the PS1 games so famous. Angel of Darkness was meant to be a big new start for the series, and the first game built for the PS2.
The sixth mainline game in the series follows Lara, who is alive after the events of The Last Revelation, after she has been framed for the murder of her former mentor Werner Von Croy. Angel of Darkness tried to freshen up the series gameplay, by introducing stealth elements inspired by the Metal Gear Solid series, along with hand-to-hand combat and RPG-style dialogue choices that impact the story.
Angel of Darkness, however, had a troubled development with multiple delays. When it launched, the game which was meant to be the beginning of a new trilogy of Tomb Raider games was met with a poor critical reception. If you want to know more, you can read our Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness review from the game's launch.
While Angel of Darkness was poorly received, it marked a seismic moment for the series. In the aftermath, then publisher Eidos decided to move development of the Tomb Raider games from its original developers, Core Design, to Crystal Dynamics who ended up rebooting the series with a new timeline. Angel of Darkness was the last Tomb Raider game Core Design ever made, with the studio going on to create just two more games before later shutting down.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is available to play on: PS2 and PC
Legend of Tomb Raider timeline
Following the poor reception of Angel of Darkness, development for the Tomb Raider series shifted to Crystal Dynamics, best known at the time for their work on Gex and the Legacy of Kain. The developers rebooted the series with the Legend of Tomb Raider timeline, which ushered in a raft of changes to freshen things up including a more forgiving control scheme, a redesign of Lara's character model and the introduction of quick time events. Lara's movement, which in earlier games felt rigid thanks to the grid-based system developers previously used, was overhauled to make exploring levels feel more fluid and natural.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is the eighth mainline game released in the series, and the second game developed by Crystal Dynamics. It is a remake of the very first Tomb Raider game, which follows Lara as she hunts for an artefact called the Scion of Atlantis. It is chronologically the first game in the Legend of Tomb Raider timeline, which rebooted the series following Angel of Darkness.
Toby Gard, who is credited as the creator of Lara Croft, was involved in the creation of the Legend trilogy. The trilogy helped redefine Lara's reasons for trekking around the world in search of ancient artefacts, with the plot of the original game and the character motivations getting fleshed out more in Anniversary.
In our Tomb Raider: Anniversary review from the game's launch, we said: "Tomb Raider Anniversary goes back to its roots and shows how remakes should be done. As such, it has ended up being one of the stand-out games of the year so far, and also one of Eidos' best ever. It's a must buy for any Lara fan, simple as that."
Like other games in the Legend trilogy, Anniversary launched on a wide variety of platforms, unlike earlier games in the series which were console exclusives for PlayStation.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is available to play on: PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility), Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Wii and PC
Tomb Raider: Legend (2006)
Tomb Raider: Legend was the first game developed in the series by Crystal Dynamics. Released before the Anniversary remake, Legend is the seventh mainline game in the Tomb Raider series. It was the game that rebooted the franchise following the poor reception of Angel of Darkness, ushering in a raft of changes that freshened up the series, including a redesigned control scheme and a new character model for Lara.
Legend follows Lara as she travels around the globe, trying to find King Arthur's sword Excalibur - and beat her friend-turned-rival Amanda Evert to it. Her mission to find the mythical sword takes her to locations including Peru, Bolivia and Japan. The plot of Legend also redefines Lara's motivation for adventuring. While in the original games it was her thirst for adventure that drove her, in Legend her driving force is trying to find out what happened to her mother, who went missing when she was young.
If you'd like to play it today, Tomb Raider: Legend is widely available on most modern consoles and was added to the PS Plus library earlier this year. If you'd like to know more, check out our Tomb Raider: Legend review from the game's launch and read our retrospective feature on Tomb Raider: Legend.
Tomb Raider: Legend is available to play on: PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility), Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Game Boy Advance, DS, GameCube and PC
Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
Tomb Raider: Underworld is the concluding chapter of the Legend timeline. Beginning with an explosion at Croft Manor, the game follows Lara as she tries to investigate her mother's disappearance and hunt for Mjolnir, a mythological Norse artefact that holds the key to the afterlife. Her quest to find the relic also reveals more about her late father Richard, who is presumed dead after disappearing under mysterious circumstances.
Underworld wraps up the overarching plot of the Legend timeline, and features returning characters from the other games in the trilogy. Natla, the antagonist from the original Tomb Raider and its Anniversary remake, is back again and this time is searching for Mjolnir too. Lara's friend turned rival Amanda, who appeared in Legend, also plays a major role as does a new antagonist called the Doppelgänger, who looks just like Lara.
In our Tomb Raider: Underworld review, we said: "At its best, however, Tomb Raider: Underworld is everything that's great about videogames. It's beautiful, exciting, challenging, rewarding and absorbing."
Tomb Raider: Underworld is available to play on: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility), Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Wii and PC
Survivor timeline
The Survivor trilogy marks the second time the Tomb Raider series was rebooted. This time around the franchise received a gritty reboot, in the vein of the Christopher Nolan Batman films or the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, which focuses on Lara's origins and how she became a hardened survivalist. It also features a more grounded setting than the previous games.
Tomb Raider (2013)
Tomb Raider (2013) is an origins story that redefines Lara Croft and the entire series. Developed by Crystal Dynamics, it rebooted the series for a second time, offering a more gritty and grounded take. The game begins with Lara as an untested explorer, on an expedition to Yamatai - a fictional island off the coast of Japan where a mysterious kingdom once existed.
After being shipwrecked on the island, and finding it inhabited by cultists, Lara has to quickly learn to adapt if she wants to survive and save the other members of her expedition team. As with other Tomb Raider games, Lara will have to climb and jump as she explores the dangerous island of Yamatai, but with so many threats around the corner combat also plays a big part. Unlike previous games where Lara auto-aimed, in the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot the player is free to aim anywhere. The game features cover shooting mechanics, which were in vogue when the game released, along with close quarters combat and stealth kills. RPG-style elements also mean Lara's survival and combat abilities can be upgraded.
In our Tomb Raider (2013) review, we said: "Beneath the noise there is an engaging story clamouring to be heard, and there are moments of true beauty, serenity and pathos fighting for attention. The game does get better as it goes on, and despite the distractions the last few hours are a pleasure to play. At the centre of it all is a brilliant character, still iconic but more human and believable than she's ever been before."
Tomb Raider (2013) is available to play on: PS3, PS4, PS5 (via backwards compatibility), Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Mac and PC
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)
Rise of the Tomb Raider is the second game in the Survivor trilogy. Set one year after the events of Tomb Raider (2013), Lara is experiencing PTSD after her time on Yamatai island. Struggling to understand the supernatural things she saw, she ends up heading on a new expedition to Siberia to find the legendary city of Kitezh.
Like its predecessor, combat plays a big part in Rise of the Tomb Raider, however this time Lara is a more seasoned combatant. Lara can use melee attacks to take down enemies, environment-based attacks and stealth kills. An expanded crafting system also allows Lara to craft weapons and ammunition while out in the wild.
While most of the early games in the series were PlayStation exclusives, Rise of the Tomb Raider originally launched as a timed Xbox exclusive, with the game even published by Microsoft Studios on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
In our Rise of the Tomb Raider review, we said: "Rise of the Tomb Raider is a well-made game. It's a handsome and solidly entertaining, if seldom inspired, way to while away a dozen hours. It has a famous name and an avatar of real dynamic power at its centre. It has tombs to raid. That ought to be enough."
Rise of the Tomb Raider is available to play on: PS4, PS5 (via backwards compatibility), Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Mac and PC
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the concluding chapter of the Survivor timeline. The 12th mainline game in the series, it is also the most recent core game in the Tomb Raider franchise. Set three years after Rise of the Tomb Raider, the action this time takes place in the Americas as Lara travels to the legendary, lost city of Paititi. The explorer's racing to save the world from an apocalypse she inadvertently triggered, when she grabbed an ancient Mayan artefact from its resting place on one of her expeditions.
Like other games in the Survivor trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a mix of combat, stealth and survival gameplay. There is more of a focus though on actual tomb raiding, with Lara now able to explore larger tombs that offer more complex puzzles. Unlike other games in the same timeline, Shadow of the Tomb Raider wasn't helmed by Crystal Dynamics, who were busy making Marvel's Avengers at the time. Instead, development duties were handed over to Eidos-Montréal, who had previously done supportive work on other games in the series.
In our Shadow of the Tomb Raider review, we said: "Shadow of the Tomb Raider ends this reboot on much the same note that it began, which for its fans may not be such a bad thing. This is a well-crafted and polished experience, and when the game actually gives you full control and leaves you alone to seek out its quieter mysteries, it can render you wide-eyed with wonder."
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is available to play on: PS4, PS5 (via backwards compatibility), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (via backwards compatibility), Mac and PC
Tomb Raider series release date order
If you'd rather experience the Tomb Raider series as it was released, then here's how to play the main games in release date order:
- Tomb Raider - (1996)
- Tomb Raider 2 - (1997)
- Tomb Raider 3 - (1998)
- Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation - (1999)
- Tomb Raider: Chronicles - (2000)
- Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword - (2001)
- Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - (2003)
- Tomb Raider: Legend - (2006)
- Tomb Raider: Anniversary - (2007)
- Tomb Raider: Underworld - (2008)
- Tomb Raider - (2013)
- Rise of the Tomb Raider - (2015)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - (2018)
Besides the main games in the series, there are also seven Tomb Raider spin-off games, including the recently released smartphone game Tomb Raider Reloaded.
Here's all the spin-off games in the Tomb Raider series and when they were released:
- Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color) - (2000)
- Tomb Raider: The Prophecy - (2002)
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - (2010)
- Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris - (2014)
- Lara Croft: Relic Run - (2015)
- Lara Croft Go - (2015)
- Tomb Raider Reloaded - (2023)
What's next for the Tomb Raider series?
The next mainline game in the Tomb Raider series is currently in development, but exact details are thin on the ground. Back in December 2022 it was announced that Crystal Dynamics is working on the next Tomb Raider game and it would be published by Amazon. More updates emerged this year when it was announced the next Tomb Raider is being made in Unreal Engine 5 and the boss of Amazon Games said work on the new Tomb Raider is "going well".
Amazon, meanwhile, is also making a live-action Tomb Raider show, with Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner reportedly playing Lara Croft. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator of Fleabag and the original showrunner for Killing Eve, is set to write and produce. It's unclear though when the new Tomb Raider show will be launching, as a release window for the upcoming Prime Video series hasn't been revealed yet.
Besides this, in 2025 more Tomb Raider games are getting the remaster treatment. Following the release of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, in February 2025 Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered is scheduled to launch. This collection will include remasters of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles and Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.
That's it for our guide on how to play the Tomb Raider series in chronological order. For more on the iconic franchise, read our retrospective look at the original Tomb Raider games, our Digital Foundry review of Tomb Raider Remastered 1-3 and the DF Retro analysis of the first Tomb Raider.