Tomb Raider remaster divides fans over racial content warnings

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered may have received largely positive reviews, but it’s already cursing a ruckus online.

Over on Metacritic, the game has garnered a respectable score of 79 on PlayStation 5. PushSquare wrote, “Based on the original source code, this trilogy flawlessly reframes three iconic PS1 puzzle platformers as you remember them – warts and all. While you will need patience to navigate this trilogy of globe-trotting escapades, the upgraded art style sticks closely to Core Design’s intended vision and it’s a genuine pleasure to experience these 90s classics on all-new hardware,” while TheGamer added, “These are solid remasters of excellent games, and fans of the series will thoroughly enjoy the experience. It’s part nostalgia, part respect for its legacy, and part truth when I say Tomb Raider 2 is a perfect game for its era, and the titles either side of it aren’t bad either.”

Take a look at Tomb Raider I-III Remastered in action below.

The discourse, however, is centred around the collection’s handling of its outdated and harmful stereotypes. Instead of altering the game’s content, Crustal Dynamics used a disclaimer like you may have seen on Disney+ displayed before films like Peter Pan and Dumbo.

The disclaimer reads: “The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudice. These stereotypes are deeply harmful, inexcusable, and do not align with our values at Crystal Dynamics. Rather than removing this content, we have chosen to present it here in its original form, unaltered, in the hopes that we may acknowledge its harmful impact and learn from it.”

The issue is that players are split over whether this was the right move. “Deeply harmful and inexcusable which is why we are remastering them and reselling them to you,” sarcastically wrote one Twitter user. “I honestly don’t see a problem with adding disclaimers,” added another. Social media is rife with the two warring sides, neither of which I can see budging on their stance.