Tomb Raider games in order: Story and release chronology

radiotimes.com:

If you’re new to the series and want to know what all the fuss is about, you will want to know how to play the Tomb Raider games in order — and whether you even need to or not.

With 12 mainline entries as well as numerous spin-offs, there are a lot of Lara Croft games and knowing where to start is essential information.

Following its sale by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is set to make a comeback (again) with Amazon Games handling publishing rights to the Eidos and Crystal Dynamics-developed game that could unify the timelines of the series.

The games are split in continuity across three timelines, and the whole thing is a little confusing for new players. We’re here to make things easier for you.

Read on below to discover how to play the Tomb Raider games in release date order and in story order.

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The Tomb Raider franchise began back in 1996 with the original game, with the latest release in 2018 being Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There are plenty of spin-offs, too, with every title released in the series noted below along with original release years and platforms in brackets.

Here is the complete list of Tomb Raider games in release date order:

Many of the games above are also playable on modern consoles via their digital stores. We’ve bolded the games considered mainline entries. The others are all worth playing if you can find copies of them but they can be skipped if you’re looking for a streamlined playthrough of the series proper.

Playing the Tomb Raider games in story order will prove to be a tricky