The remasters of Lara's later adventures have a load of little tributes hidden across Tomb Raider IV-VI, some aimed at rival adventure franchises, some at the people who made the originals. Here's what's in there and where to look.
TLDR;
- An Indiana Jones skeleton, fedora and whip included, in TR4's opening level
- The Core Design Graveyard in TR5, with headstones nodding at the series' development history
- The Level Editor turning up on computer screens in TR5
- Tidied-up weapon details, including a shotgun that finally works like the SPAS-12 it's meant to be
- Assorted visual touches scattered through the remastered environments
Indiana Jones Tribute in Tomb Raider 4
In the opening Cambodia training level of Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation there's a skeleton caught in a spike trap, and he's wearing a fedora and holding a whip, so no prizes for guessing who he's meant to be. Friendly rivalry, apparently. This one isn't a remaster addition either, Core Design put him there back in 1999, the new graphics just make the hat a lot easier to spot.
Keep your eyes open during the training segments with Von Croy and you'll find him in one of the trap-filled corridors, left there as a warning to adventurers and competing archaeologists alike.
Core Design Graveyard in Tomb Raider: Chronicles
The opening graveyard scene in Tomb Raider: Chronicles (TR5) is the pick of the bunch, because the headstones are actually readable now and they're stuffed with references to the series' development history:
- A gravestone for "Melissa Croft", a nod to the scrapped idea of Lara having a sister
- A memorial for Core Design itself, the studio that made the originals
- A pile of other tombstones with quieter references to game development and characters
Custom Tomb Raider Levels Get a Nod
Chronicles also tips its hat to the fan community that's kept these games alive for decades, over in the Von Croy Industries section, where the computer monitors are showing the Tomb Raider Level Editor interface. That's been on those screens since 2000, the remastered textures just make it readable at last.
Enhanced Weapon Details
The shotgun in The Last Revelation and Chronicles has a proper pump mechanism now, so it finally looks and works like the SPAS-12 it's modeled after, which tidies up something that always looked off in the originals. It doesn't change how the gun actually plays.
Visual Enhancements and Hidden Details
All three games picked up extra detail in the environments along the way:
- TR4's golden skull secrets do more than pad the stats screen — find all eight in the Angkor Wat training level and Von Croy leads you down a harder route than the one you'd get otherwise
- The Angel of Darkness (TR6) has restored elements and details that were in the design documents but never made the original release
Not everyone's sold on the polish, since the originals looked grittier and plenty of people reckon that was the point, but you can flip between classic and remastered visuals whenever you like and settle it yourself.
Restored Content in The Angel of Darkness
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (TR6) gets its extras a different way: a handful of previously cut voice lines and gameplay elements are back in, mostly Kurtis Trent material. AoD was famously rushed out the door the first time round, so there was plenty left lying about to put back.
Finding These Easter Eggs Yourself
If you want to spot these in your own playthroughs:
- Explore each environment fully, a lot of this is tucked away in corners or needs a proper look
- Use the photo mode to get better views of detailed environments
- Talk to all the NPCs and poke at objects that look like set dressing
- Watch the cutscenes, some references only flash up for a second