Claim Tomb Raider I-III Remastered this week on PS Plus — it’s the best deal Sony has given subscribers in months, and it disappears May 4. Three classic Lara Croft games, all their expansions, remastered visuals, and a toggle to switch back to the original polygon nightmare of 1996. Normally $30 on Steam. Free now.
Available: PS4 and PS5, April 7 through May 4, 2026. PS Plus tier required: Essential (the cheapest one).
What You’re Actually Getting
This isn’t just a port. Aspyr rebuilt all three games with updated lighting, higher-resolution textures, and modern control options — including analog movement, which the originals notoriously lacked. The classic tank controls are still there if you want them. Both modes work, both are playable. It’s one of the better remaster jobs in recent memory.
The collection includes six titles total:
- Tomb Raider I + the Unfinished Business expansion (4 bonus levels)
- Tomb Raider II + The Golden Mask (5 bonus missions)
- Tomb Raider III + The Lost Artifact (5 bonus levels)
Plus a Challenge Mode — modifiers that change how the games play, with unlockable outfits tied to objectives. We’ll get to that.
The games themselves hold up better than you’d expect. TR1 has some genuinely nasty puzzle platforming in its later levels. TR2 opens with the Great Wall and Venice sequences that were technically impressive in 1997 and are still memorable nearly 30 years later. TR3 is the hardest of the three — some players bounce off it — but it has the most location variety: London, Nevada, South Pacific, Antarctica. It goes places.
Total playtime across the full collection with all expansions runs roughly 30-40 hours. That’s a lot of free game.
Review Scores and What Critics Said
Metacritic at launch: 79/100 on PS5, 76 on PC, 71 on Switch. The Switch version had the roughest performance, which is expected. PS5 is the best version of the three.
IGN’s technical review called out “clear passion and skills for the legacy of Lara Croft” from the small Aspyr team. Polygon called it a must-download for PlayStation fans. The criticisms mostly centered on rough spots in the original games that the remaster preserved — particularly TR3’s difficulty spikes. Aspyr left those intact, which was the right call. A remaster that smooths out the hard parts isn’t actually faithful.
r/TombRaider’s reception was warm. Long-time fans appreciated that the team didn’t try to rebuild the level design or modernize the traps. The original geometry, the original death pits, the same save crystals in TR3 — all intact. It plays like you remember, but looks better.
The Challenge Mode Situation
Aspyr added a Challenge Mode to the collection in early 2026 — gameplay modifiers with unlockable outfits as rewards. The launch was rough. TrueAchievements called it “disastrous” and it got a patch on April 1, 2026 to fix bugs across PS, Xbox, Switch, PC, and mobile. The patch helped, but some issues remain.
If you’re new to these games, skip Challenge Mode entirely and just play the main campaigns. It’s an optional layer for completionists who’ve already finished the remaster.
There was also noise about new cosmetics that fans flagged as AI-generated. Aspyr denied it. Whatever happened, the base three games are completely unaffected — this drama is cosmetics-only and doesn’t touch a single second of the core experience.
How It Stacks Up Against the Rest of April’s PS Plus Lineup
April 2026 PS Plus Essential gives you three games: Lords of the Fallen (the soulslike — already covered here), Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream (20-player co-op anime RPG), and Tomb Raider I-III Remastered.
Lords of the Fallen is a real 20-30 hour game that Sony added ahead of its sequel launching later this year — the timing isn’t random. SAO: Fractured Daydream is niche, aimed at people who already watch the anime and want to replay iconic fights with friends.
Tomb Raider was the surprise. Nobody predicted it as the third game. It’s the oldest title in the lineup by 25 years, and it’s probably the one most subscribers will actually finish. A tight puzzle-platformer beats an anime co-op game for most people’s free time.
Should You Claim It?
Yes. No caveats needed.
If you’ve never played a Tomb Raider game, this is a legitimate piece of gaming history that still holds up. If you played them in the 90s, the remaster is good enough to revisit. If you try TR1 and the tank controls frustrate you, switch to modern controls — they’re in the settings, they work fine, and you don’t have to earn them.
You’re getting 30-40 hours of content at no extra cost on your existing PS Plus subscription. The May 4 deadline will arrive faster than you think. Claim it now, play it whenever.
The March PS Plus lineup (Monster Hunter Rise, Slime Rancher 2, PGA Tour 2K25, ESO: Gold Road) expires April 6 — if you haven’t claimed those yet, you have two days left. For PC players picking up free games alongside their PS Plus queue, the best free Steam games of 2026 are still available with zero subscription required.
Bottom line: Three Tomb Raider games, all DLC, remastered to 79/100 on Metacritic, free on PS Plus April 7 – May 4. Claim it.
