It’s 1997. You’ve just finished a bag of Tangy Cheese Doritos, the glowing green light of the original PlayStation is the only thing illuminating your bedroom, and the iconic, harpsichord-heavy theme of Tomb Raider 2 PlayStation begins to swell. If you weren’t there, it’s hard to explain how monumental this felt. If you were, you probably still have the muscle memory of that desperate backflip-roll to avoid a Great White shark in the 40 Fathoms level.
Lara Croft wasn't just a character; she was a cultural supernova. But the second game? That’s where the series actually found its soul.
The first game was a lonely, atmospheric trek through dusty caves. It was brilliant, sure. But Tomb Raider 2 on the PlayStation was something else entirely—bigger, louder, and significantly more violent. It swapped the isolation of Peru for the canals of Venice and the rusted hulls of sunken ocean liners. It gave us vehicles. It gave us the M16. Most importantly, it gave us the ability to lock a long-suffering butler in a walk-in freezer.
The Venice Violins and the Shift in Scale
When Core Design sat down to make this sequel, they had a massive problem. How do you top a game that literally defined 3D action-adventure? Their answer was simple: more of everything.
The engine was tweaked to handle much larger outdoor environments. You can see this immediately in the Venice levels. Suddenly, Lara wasn't just climbing blocks; she was piloting a speedboat through clock towers and blowing up mafia goons with grenade launchers. It felt like a Bond movie. The music by Nathan McCree remains some of the best work in the 32-bit era, especially "Venice Violins," which triggers the second you hit the open water. It’s pure, unadulterated adventure.
People often forget how hard this game was. Like, genuinely, "throw your controller at the cathode-ray tube" hard. The save system on the PlayStation version was actually a mercy compared to the first game’s "Save Crystals." In Tomb Raider 2 PlayStation, you could save anywhere. You needed to. One mistimed jump in the Barkhang Monastery and you were looking at a very jagged loading screen.
💡 You might also like: Why EA Sports Cricket 07 is Still the King of the Pitch Two Decades Later
That Infamous Butler and the Croft Manor
Let’s talk about Winston. You know the one. The rattling tea tray. The constant, wheezing groans as he followed you through the gym.
Locking Winston in the freezer is perhaps the most universal "shared trauma" in gaming history. There was no trophy for it. No secret unlockable. We just did it because we could, and because his moaning was honestly kinda creepy when you were trying to practice your swan dives. It’s these weird, emergent player behaviors that made the game feel alive. The training course in the manor was a game in itself, a sandbox before we really used that term, letting you master the "tank controls" before the real nightmare started in the Great Wall.
The Technical Reality of 1997
Looking at it now, the textures are essentially postage stamps stretched over triangles. But back then? The lighting in the "40 Fathoms" level was terrifying. Dropping into a pitch-black abyss with only a few flares to guide you created a sense of thalassophobia that modern horror games struggle to replicate.
The game pushed the PlayStation hardware to its absolute limit. You had 2D sprites for things like plants and some items, mixed with a complex 3D world that used a grid-based system. Every jump was calculated. You knew that if you stood at the edge, took one hop back, and held the jump button, Lara would clear exactly two and a half blocks. It was mathematical. It was precise.
Why the Dagger of Xian beats the Scion
The plot followed the Dagger of Xian, an artifact that could turn its wearer into a dragon. It’s campy, sure. But it gave the game a much-needed drive. Unlike the first game's search for pieces of an ancient internal combustion engine (basically), the Dagger felt dangerous. The journey took you from the Great Wall to a secret base in the Adriatic Sea, then down to the wreck of the Maria Doria.
📖 Related: Walkthrough Final Fantasy X-2: How to Actually Get That 100% Completion
That middle stretch of the game—the Maria Doria—is where Tomb Raider 2 PlayStation becomes a masterpiece. You are wandering through an upside-down ship at the bottom of the ocean. Chairs are on the ceiling. The sense of vertigo is staggering. It remains one of the most atmospheric sequences in any game, period.
The Combat Problem
If there’s one thing most fans get wrong when they look back with rose-tinted glasses, it’s the combat. It was... clunky.
Lara had a semi-automatic lock-on, but the enemies were often bullet sponges. In this sequel, Core Design added way more human enemies. Suddenly you weren't just fighting wolves and bats; you were in shootouts with guys in trench coats. Because the controls were designed for platforming, the combat often devolved into "jump left, jump right, keep holding the fire button until the guy falls over."
It wasn't perfect. It was messy. But when you finally found the Uzis? You felt untouchable.
Real-World Impact and Legacy
The success of this game turned Lara Croft into a literal magazine cover model. She was on The Face. She was in Lucozade commercials. But behind the marketing fluff was a game that actually demanded respect. It didn't hold your hand. There were no waypoints. No glowing yellow paint on the ledges to tell you where to climb. You had to use your eyes and your brain.
👉 See also: Stick War: Why This Flash Classic Still Dominates Strategy Gaming
If you go back and play it today on original hardware, you'll notice the input lag. You'll notice the "wobble" of the PlayStation's affine texture mapping. But you'll also notice that the level design is tighter than almost anything released in the last decade. Every room is a puzzle. Every corridor is a threat.
How to Experience it Now
You have a few choices if you want to dive back in. You can dig your old PS1 out of the attic, but good luck getting it to look decent on a 4K OLED without an expensive upscaler like a Retrotink.
- The Remasters: The recent Tomb Raider I-III Remastered starring Aspyr is the way to go. It keeps the original code but lets you toggle the graphics.
- Original Hardware: If you’re a purist, get a CRT television. The low resolution actually helps the atmosphere—your brain fills in the gaps that the jagged pixels leave behind.
- Emulation: Probably the easiest route for most, allowing for "save states" if you find the 90s difficulty curve too punishing.
The reality is that Tomb Raider 2 PlayStation represents a specific moment in time when developers were still figuring out 3D space. It has a rough-edged charm that modern, polished "cinematic" games lack. It’s lonely, it’s frustrating, and it’s beautiful.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
- Check your version: If you’re playing the original disc, make sure your PlayStation's laser is clean; the Maria Doria levels are notorious for crashing on aging hardware due to the heavy asset loading.
- Master the Flare: Don't hoard them. Use flares to scout the corners of rooms. Many of the game's "Secrets" (the stone, silver, and gold dragons) are hidden in shadows that are literally invisible without a light source.
- Learn the "Step" trick: If you're struggling with jumps, remember that walking (holding R1) prevents you from falling off edges. Walk to the very edge, tap back once, then run and jump. It works every single time.
- Revisit the Remaster: If you haven't played the 2024 remaster, try the "Modern Controls" setting, but honestly? The "Tank Controls" are how the levels were balanced. Give them twenty minutes and your brain will click back into 1997 mode.
The Dagger of Xian is waiting. Just try to keep Winston out of the cold this time. Or don't. He's used to it by now.