: From the snowy caves of Peru to the Colosseum in Greece and the high-tech ruins of Egypt, players had to master "tank controls" to leap across pits and scale massive structures.
Unlike many modern titles, the original Tomb Raider was not dialogue-heavy. Instead, it relied on atmosphere and environmental storytelling. Players navigated a series of increasingly complex 3D environments that were praised for their innovative graphics and challenging puzzles:
In late 1996, the world was introduced to , an intrepid British archaeologist whose name was chosen from a baby book for its "interesting derivation". Created by a small team at Core Design in just 18 months, the first Tomb Raider became a ground-breaking title that would sell over 8 million copies.