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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

In 2014, Square Enix released a remastered version of the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. And now, after almost a decade, this Definitive Edition is finally available on PC.

For those unaware, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition features the main game and all the DLCs that came out for it. Moreover, it brings some graphical changes to the game. For instance, Lara now has a refined character, with brighter skin. Moreover, there are some slight lighting changes.

Below you can find a comparison video between the original 2013 PC version and the Definitive Edition. And in case you’re wondering, no. Lara’s bombs have not been downgraded.



Now while this is good news, there is a catch. This Definitive Edition is only available on Microsoft Store. I don’t know why, but Steam does not have this version. And, since this was a shadow-drop, I don’t expect Square Enix to release it on Valve’s distribution service.

So that’s a bummer for those who want to play it but don’t like Microsoft Store. Still, if you already own Tomb Raider 2013, you can skip it. The visual upgrades are minimal, so you won’t miss anything special.

Source - dsogaming

 

[SoloCamo]

Didn't even know this existed.

 

[Tsaki]

The ""Definitive"" Edition has Lara's butchered face so this is a loss to no one. Glad I played it on PS3 instead of PS4

 

[RoboFu]

If you already own it on Xbox you can play it on pc as well. That's why it's in the MS store.

 

[squarealex]

Damn, I don't remember ballistics was so big.

 

[Unknown?]

Damn, I don't remember ballistics was so big.

Cancelled for killing women!

 

[Filben]

The PS4 has some nice visual upgrades, such as better textures and reactive foliage and better lighting reacting with particles that wasn't present in the PC version. However, the PS4 lacks tessellation, higher AF and better AA you'll find on PC. So having this version on PC now is truly the definitive edition. Hope this comes to Steam.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

MS store exclusive... I guess they don't care if it makes any sales.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Still waiting for Embracer to say they sold crystal dynamics to Microsoft.

 

[Antwix]

A recently added PlayAnywhere title (including the rest of the trilogy) is always good news.

 

[Kataploom]

The version with worse face by far, they wanted to make her face look more like old Lara, but then they released ROTR with a face change again completely different from any of the previous entry, I mean, if they were gonna change Lara's face in that "Definitive Edition" why not make it look closer to her face in ROTR and SOTR? It would make way more sense... Or at least make the face of the sequels look more like the DE or original one, it just makes no sense at all lmao

 

[newtypepilot]

ahh yes, the 2013 game where Lara griefs over having to kill a small animal but goes rampage after rampage against white men.

also, "A HIDDEN TOMB IS NEARBY!!"

 

[Kataploom]

ahh yes, the 2013 game where Lara griefs over having to kill a small animal but goes rampage after rampage against white men.

also, "A HIDDEN TOMB IS NEARBY!!"

Oh come on, she felt bad for killing men too, it's just that she got used to it after the game progressed and she understood it was them or her

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I thought exclusives were "anti-consumer"?

Oh wait, that's just BS lobbed out by people when convenient for a very specific company in gaming?

The more you know...

The version with worse face by far, they wanted to make her face look more like old Lara, but then they released ROTR with a face change again completely different from any of the previous entry, I mean, if they were gonna change Lara's face in that "Definitive Edition" why not make it look closer to her face in ROTR and SOTR? It would make way more sense... Or at least make the face of the sequels look more like the DE or original one, it just makes no sense at all lmao

Her butt looks nice in the OP tho.

 

[thatJohann]

Well, the Steam version has the original Lara face model which is the best face since it shows emotion, the updated face in the MS store version uses the new Lara face model which has dead eyes.

 

[violence]

Steam Lara is more dirty. That's my Lara.

 

[Soodanim]

ahh yes, the 2013 game where Lara griefs over having to kill a small animal but goes rampage after rampage against white men.

Justify that statement. Does she grieve over killing another ethnicity or women but not white men?

 

[Puscifer]

ahh yes, the 2013 game where Lara griefs over having to kill a small animal but goes rampage after rampage against white men.

also, "A HIDDEN TOMB IS NEARBY!!"

She's been killing white dudes before the reboot what is the deal here. It's as stupid as when people complained about white villains in the Star Wars reboot, as if they weren't already doing that

 

[Gojiira]

She's been killing white dudes before the reboot what is the deal here. It's as stupid as when people complained about white villains in the Star Wars reboot, as if they weren't already doing that

Wtf? The problem was the tone of the game itself and how it presented the character. Lara is a anxious,self doubting,daddy issue riddled whiner,and her crying about killing a animal after blowing away 20 men is just piss poor writing. Now more importantly her whole characterisation was completely against how she was portrayed in previous (better) games.
And Star Wars, the issue there was how they degraded EVERY fucking white male character into a husk of their former self to ‘empower’ all the DEI self inserts like Rei….Really not hard to grasp why people hate the new Star Wars…

 

[SpiceRacz]

If you’re going to play one of the games in the new trilogy, it ain’t this one. Play Rise or Shadow.

 

[Gaiff]

And Star Wars, the issue there was how they degraded EVERY fucking white male character into a husk of their former self to ‘empower’ all the DEI self inserts like Rei….Really not hard to grasp why people hate the new Star Wars…

Hold it right there. Finn was treated worse than most white guys.

 

[Generic]

Hold it right there. Finn was treated worse than most white guys.

Nope, he had the most screentime after Rey. Rose was the one who got treated poorly.

 

[Killer8]

The ""Definitive"" Edition has Lara's butchered face so this is a loss to no one. Glad I played it on PS3 instead of PS4

It was so bad, absolutely ruined the character:

I think whoever did the 'remaster' didn't even bother to hook up the face animations.

 

[Tsaki]

It was so bad, absolutely ruined the character:

I think whoever did the 'remaster' didn't even bother to hook up the face animations.

Yup. I watched a Let's Play a month ago that was the Definitive Edition and it made such a contrast to what I remembered playing a decade ago. She looks like she is from a third game in a trilogy, after she has already piled up thousands of kills and everything that's happening around her is "same shit, different day". But hey, at least this version had the slick hair physics.

 

[Gaiff]

Nope, he had the most screentime after Rey. Rose was the one who got treated poorly.

Doesn’t matter he had the most screen time. Dude was reduced to freakin’ comic relief after showing much promise.

 

[SnapShot]

Definitive has Doll face Lara

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Has shared achievements between Xbox and PC version.

No double dipping motherf**kers!

 

[Three]

Do you think this is that BC in play but it's PC?

 

[Cryio]

Bought it, test it.

Definitive Edition changes:
- improved audio mixing
- wind particle effects
- more vegetation
- more shadows
- some new cubemaps reflections!
- the new face (eh?)
- updated TressFX implementation
- better godrays
- Lara herself is slightly brighter in the environment
- some slight texture changes

Good news:
- the "Definitive Edition" changes
- 1st tomb is now no longer buggy jank that can soft lock
- updated TressFX means the hair doesn't spazz out sometimes, like it did before

Bad news:
- AO on Ultra is broken, doesn't work
- AO on High kinda works, you'll see a random black square in the upper left corner tho
- Refresh Rate is jank, needs to be selected twice to make sure you are above 60 Hz
- UI elements mentioning that "an upgrade is now available" is positioned partially OFF SCREEN, lmao. Terrible
- "Quit" on the main menu doesn't get highlighted
- updated TressFX from Definitive Edition is less lush than the original PC release, which means it's overall a downgrade. It's especially noticeable during close ups, but in general 3rd person camera too
- it's a UWP release, meaning "Exclusive Fullscreen" is also broken. So no downsampling. You need to downsample the desktop first
- I can swear Lara's model overall has less polygons than the original PC release, but it's a subtle tweak

Neutral:
- the new face never was fully polished, it still looks off
- the few FMVs that show the Xbox 360 era Lara face + no TressFX hair is now even funnier vs the real time gameplay with the new face and TressFX

Even assuming they would fix all the bugs and limitations this release currently has, the face is mostly a deal break for most.

So it will never fully become "the definitive way" to play Tomb Raider 2013.

 

[Three]

MS store exclusive... I guess they don't care if it makes any sales.

The fact that they shadow dropped it means they didn't really care much about promoting sales. Honestly I think they're just testing xbox one compatibility on their store releases giving credibility to the rumours that they're pushing for PC-like hardware with compatibility for their windows store instead of xbox store. I feel as though there is a possibility that they're going to migrate the store libraries slowly.

 

[Gojiira]

Hold it right there. Finn was treated worse than most white guys.

Yes he was, but one black guy being treated bad doesnt excuse the entirety of the white male cast being degraded in totality…No character was treated worse than Luke Skywalker either, TLJ literally destroyed his entire character arc, as well as Anakins, that is way WAAAAY worse.

 

[Husky]

Oh yeah, I remember they had the Definitive Edition on Stadia, with full keyboard and mouse support too (at least according to Stadia support, who I contacted out of curiosity), which would mean a PC version had been completed. Hope this gets a proper PC release someday.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Unless it has Denuvo your neighbourhood pirate will supply.

 

[RickSanchez]

Below you can find a comparison video between the original 2013 PC version and the Definitive Edition. And in case you’re wondering, no. Lara’s bombs have not been downgraded.

Fucking hell, the new face looks worse somehow. She looks dolled up, but not in a way that makes her looks nice. Looks more like clown paint.