Honestly, the way Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20 Year Celebration landed on the PlayStation 4 was kind of a mess at first. Not because of the game—the game was incredible. But because of that whole timed-exclusivity deal Microsoft inked with Square Enix back in 2015. PlayStation fans had to wait a full year while Lara Croft was out there freezing her boots off in Siberia on the Xbox. It felt like a betrayal to some, especially since the franchise literally built its legacy on the original PlayStation back in '96.
But when it finally showed up in 2016? Man, it arrived with a vengeance. Crystal Dynamics didn't just port the game; they stuffed it with everything they could find in the office. It wasn't just a "Game of the Year" edition. It was a massive, sprawling tribute to two decades of raiding tombs.
The content dump that changed the game
What most people forget is how much extra stuff actually came in this package. You weren't just getting the base game. You got the Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch DLC, which featured some trippy, hallucinogenic platforming and a boss fight that was way more creative than the main game's final encounter. Then there was Cold Darkness Awakened, basically a "zombie" mode where Lara has to shut down a Soviet chemical weapon facility while being hunted by infected soldiers.
But the real heart of the Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20 Year Celebration was the "Blood Ties" expansion. This was a non-combat chapter set entirely within Croft Manor. It was a love letter. If you grew up playing the original 90s games, walking through the dusty, dilapidated halls of the manor felt like coming home. You weren't shooting people; you were reading old letters from Richard Croft and finding relics that explained Lara’s complicated childhood. It grounded her. It made the "Survivor" version of Lara Croft feel more connected to the billionaire aristocrat we knew from the Core Design era.
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Why the PS4 Pro version was the real technical leap
Timing is everything in tech. This version launched right alongside the PS4 Pro. Because of that, it became the "poster child" for what mid-gen refreshes could do. Crystal Dynamics and the wizards at Nixxes Software gave players three distinct visual modes. That was a big deal back then. You had the 4K mode for people with new TVs, a "High Frame Rate" mode that aimed for 60fps (even if it fluctuated a bit), and an "Enriched Visuals" mode that kept things at 30fps but cranked up the hardware-intensive effects like hair physics and foliage density.
The "Enriched Visuals" mode is still my favorite way to play. The way the snow deforms under Lara’s feet in the opening mountain sequence? Incredible. Even in 2026, those textures hold up. The sub-surface scattering on Lara's skin—the way light passes through her ears or nose—makes her look more "human" than most characters in modern cross-gen titles.
Survival isn't just a story beat here
If you want to talk about replayability, we have to talk about Endurance Mode. They added a co-op version for the PS4 release. It’s basically a rogue-lite. You and a friend get dropped into a procedurally generated forest. You have to manage heat and hunger meters. If you get too cold, you die. If you don't eat, you die. You’re raiding crypts to find artifacts that give you "cards" (game modifiers), and then you have to signal for a helicopter to get out before you're overwhelmed by Trinity soldiers or wild animals. It’s tense. It’s sweaty. It’s probably the most "pure" tomb raiding experience because you're actually worried about the environment, not just the guys with guns.
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The cards were a weird inclusion, though. A bit of a "2016-era" trend where every game needed some sort of pack-opening mechanic. Some of them were funny, like the "Big Head Mode" card, but others actually changed the gameplay significantly, making Lara more resistant to fire or giving her unlimited poison arrows.
Addressing the "Survivor Lara" criticism
Look, a lot of old-school fans complained that this version of Lara cried too much or felt too vulnerable. But Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20 Year Celebration represents the exact moment she stops being a victim of circumstance and starts being the aggressor. In the first game, she was scared. Here? By the time you get to the Geothermal Valley, she’s a predator.
The game does a brilliant job of showing that transition through the gear system. You start with a rusty pickaxe and end up with climbing broadheads, grenade launchers, and a tactical combat knife. The combat is "crunchy." When you hit someone with a poison arrow or drop a chandelier on their head, it feels impactful.
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The 20 Year Celebration extras you might have missed
- Classic Lara Skins: You could actually play the entire modern, hyper-realistic game as the low-poly "Blocky Lara" from Tomb Raider 2. It’s hilarious and jarring.
- Extreme Survivor Difficulty: No checkpoints. You can only save at base camps, and you need wood to light the fires. It turns the game into a genuine survival horror experience.
- VR Support: "Blood Ties" was playable in PSVR. Honestly, it was a bit nauseating for some, but seeing the scale of the library in virtual reality was a trip.
- The Reimagined Outfit: The package included a modern take on the classic teal tank top and brown shorts, though Lara keeps her long pants for most of it because, well, it's Siberia.
The legacy of the 20 Year Celebration package
When you look at the "Definitive Survivor Trilogy" that came out later, it’s basically just these versions bundled together. But the PS4 20th Anniversary edition remains the high-water mark for the series' presentation. It was the moment the franchise felt truly "big" again. It outsold the initial Xbox release by a significant margin once it hit the broader PS4 install base, proving that Lara Croft’s home will always be where the fans are.
The story itself—hunting for the Divine Source in the lost city of Kitezh—is a bit predictable. The "villain" Constantine is a standard zealot. But the environments are the real stars. The Prophet’s Tomb in Syria, which serves as the prologue, is one of the best-designed levels in action-adventure history. The lighting, the dust motes dancing in the air, the way the water drips off the walls... it’s masterclass level design.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Players
If you’re picking this up today on a PS5 (via backward compatibility) or a PS4 Pro, here is how you should actually play it to get the most out of it:
- Ignore the "4K" mode on PS5. Use the "High Frame Rate" mode. The PS5 locks this to a silky-smooth 60fps, which makes the combat and platforming feel entirely different. It’s a night-and-day transformation.
- Play "Blood Ties" before you finish the main story. It gives so much context to Lara’s motivation. If you wait until the end, some of the emotional beats in the main campaign won't hit as hard.
- Use the "Scavenger" skill tree first. People always go for combat skills. Don't. Get the skills that allow you to find more resources and craft on the move. It makes the "Survival" aspect feel more integrated and less like a chore.
- Try the Endurance Mode co-op. Seriously. It’s one of the most underrated multiplayer experiences from that era. Grab a friend, set the difficulty to high, and see how many days you can last. It changes the game from a linear movie into a desperate struggle.
- Look for the "Classic" skins in the base camp menu. They are unlocked from the start in the 20 Year Celebration edition. Toggling them on during a serious cutscene is some of the best unintentional comedy you'll find in gaming.
Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20 Year Celebration isn't just a port. It's the most complete version of what is arguably the best game in the modern trilogy. It balances the "Uncharted-style" spectacle with actual, honest-to-god exploration and puzzles. While Shadow of the Tomb Raider went harder on the tombs, and the 2013 reboot went harder on the grit, Rise sits right in the middle. It’s the sweet spot. It’s Lara Croft at her absolute peak.