Summary
TheTomb Raiderseries first hit stores in 1996 and has since become the 38th highest-grossing video game franchise of all time. The IP is universally recognized for itsIndiana Jones-like adventuresand for having one of the most iconic female protagonists in all media. Square Enix’s franchise has remained successful for over 20 years thanks to the consistently high quality of Lara Croft’s adventures, including the recent reboot trilogy, which featured some of the English archeologist’s best games yet.
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Shadow of the Tomb Raiderwas released in 2018 and marked the end of Lara’s rebooted origin trilogy; the franchise will almost certainly return in the future, though there has been no concrete word of a new main series game yet. For this reason, many people may be looking to revisit some of Lara’s past adventures to keep them busy in the meantime. To help such people out, we have rankedevery main seriesTomb Raidergameby their Main Story completion time onhowlongtobeat.com.
Updated August 07, 2025 by Mark Sammut:This article of thelongest Tomb Raider gameshas been updated to include each title’s specifications.
The idea of afree-to-playTomb Raidergamedoesn’t really sound all that great, and it’s a shame thatTomb Raider Reloadeddidn’t manage to prove people wrong at all. The title features so much grinding that most players will drop this game the moment they reach Level 4 unless they decide to pay for the microtransactions everyone hates.
Tomb Raider Reloadedfeels like a generic action game with arcade elements that had the series' identity slapped onto it in a lazy bid to market the game. While playing this game out on a platform like Netflix does serve as a novelty in its own right, it’s far from a convincing reason to check this game out. HowLongToBeat doesn’t even have any data relating to this title, which proves just how forgettable this title really is.
Lara Croft Gois the perfect game to kick off this updated list, as it exemplifies the previous point about the series trying new and exciting things.Lara Croft Gois a turn-basedpuzzle gamefrom Square Enix and is a spiritual successor toHitman Gofrom the same company.
As one would expect from the game that finishes last on this list, some people were disappointed byLara Croft Go’sshort runtime of just 3.5 hours. Despite this setback, many fans and critics were full of praise for the game, and it even wonMobile Game of the Year from IGN.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiriswas developed by Crystal Dynamics and released in December 2014 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch. The game is the sequel toLara Croft and the Guardian of Lightand features a similar, arcade-inspired brand of action-adventure gameplay with a fixed isometric camera.
Like its predecessor, the game’s main strength is its cooperative play, withup to four players being able to join in on the action.
Tomb Raider: The Prophecywas released in November 2002 on the Game Boy Advance. Unlike the Game Boy Color games that came before it and had a side-scrolling perspective,The Prophecyoffered an isometric viewpoint that gave the impression of a 3-dimensional space.
Unfortunately, the game struggled to impress, particularly because of how simple and repetitive its gameplay was — especially for such a short runtime.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Lightwas first released in August 2010 as an Xbox 360 Arcade title, four years prior to its aforementioned sequel,Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris.
LikeTemple of Osiris, 2010’sGuardian of Lightfeatures non-linear, arcade-inspired gameplay; though only two people can play cooperatively, as opposed toTemple of Osiris’four-player co-op.Guardian of the Lightwas warmly received by fans and critics, exemplified by its85 critic score and 8.4 user score on Metacritic.
It’s fair to say that the Game Boy Color isn’t the most natural home for aTomb Raidergame, but Core Design and THQ teamed up to release a game on the system nonetheless, which was actually their secondTomb Raiderrelease on the handheld device.
To Core Design’s credit, the June 2001 release was well-received. The game featured some of the most impressive animations on the system at the time.
Tomb Raider: Legendwas released in 2006 by Square Enix Europe under their previous name, Eidos Interactive. The game was the first in the series to be developed by Crystal Dynamics, following the disappointment over Core Design’sTomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.
In hopes of revitalizing the series, Crystal Dynamics opted for a quality-over-quantity approach and consequently madeTomb Raider: Legendsignificantly shorter thanThe Angel of Darkness.The risk paid off, as despite the game only having eight levels,Tomb Raider: Legendwas well-received both critically and commercially.
Relic Run’score gameplay is similar to the hit 2011 gameTemple Run, though Simutronics tried to go above and beyond Imangi Studios' game in 2015 by offering more detailed environments, engaging vehicle sections, and even boss fights.
Ultimately,Lara Croft: Relic Runis nothing too amazing, but it is a fun enough free-to-play option with decent visuals and action. The game fits the overallTomb Raiderfranchise, especially as a stylistic throwback to the older entries.
Tomb Raider: Underworldwas the third entry in Crystal Dynamics’Legendtrilogy, following the release ofTomb Raider: Anniversarythe year prior. The game took a noticeably more modern approach to its gameplay, with destructible environments,more open levels, and an intricate weather system all implemented.
The game didn’t perform as well as its two predecessors critically. However, it still received respectable Metascores, which fell between 70 and 80 across its multiple releases.
Tomb Raider Chronicles’announcementwas somewhat of a surprise, as the previous main series game ended with Lara appearing to be killed after part of a temple came crashing down. However, the franchise’s success meant that Eidos Interactive didn’t wantTomb Raider: The Last Revelationto be the final main series game. Hence,Tomb Raider Chronicleshit stores almost exactly one year later.
Tomb Raider Chroniclesbegins with Lara’s friends reminiscing over her presumed death, with their stories becoming the playable levels.
