Hobby developer Nicobass has been working on a remake of Tomb Raider 2 since at least 2016. The action-adventure should thanks to the Unreal Engine 4 shine in new splendor. Over the past few years he has already published screenshots, videos and a playable demo, but the project is not finished yet.
The now published Version 1.2 von Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian but shows how good the remake looks now.
The classic Tomb Raider 2 in a new look
Version 1.2 of the demo, which you can download from the Tombraider-Dox website, offers some new features – especially in terms of graphics.
- The water has been revised and behaves more realistically
- Volumetric lighting creates a more coherent atmosphere
- There is denser vegetation
- The animations have been optimized
- The demo runs more smoothly and bug fixes are included
This is what you can expect in the demo for the fan remake for Tomb Raider 2: The demo only includes the first level “The Great Wall”. Lara Croft is located in China and searches around the Great Wall of China for clues as to where the mysterious dagger of Xian is. The demo starts with a sequence in which Lara reaches the wonder of the world by helicopter, abseils down and discovers a cave.
Now you take control. From the pursuer’s point of view, you guide the adventurer through the level, climb, jump, swim, find items and even mess with wild tigers.
The demo of Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian basically features a full gaming experience – which is limited to one level. To play this through, you need about half an hour.
How big is the download? The file is 1.9 GB. You just download it and run the .exe file. This is how you install the demo on your PC.
What’s next? As long as there is no legal problem and rights holder Square Enix discontinues the project, Nicobass wants to continue and recreate Tomb Raider 2 level by level. Until the complete game is available as a fan remake. But that can still take a while. Implementing and optimizing the first level alone took over four years.
For whom is the Tomb Raider 2 demo worthwhile?
Everyone who knows Tomb Raider 2 and would like to experience the game in a modern way again can download demo 1.2 of the fan remake Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian without hesitation. But everyone who is simply a big fan of Lara Croft and wants to see how the action adentures used to play should have a look.
Visually, Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian is modern and very pretty. The demo plays like Tomb Raider 2 from 1997. So it is a classic action adventure without modern RPG elements, which doesn’t have to be bad.