Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered vs RTX Remix Performance Review

Models

The Remastered version significantly improves Lara Croft’s model, transitioning from a blocky, angular design to a smoother, more organic appearance. This substantial upgrade is noticeable from the outset, enhancing her facial features, ponytail, and overall curves. The original model had approximately 250 polygons, primarily concentrated in her face. The Remastered model, in contrast, likely utilizes tens of thousands, providing a considerable visual enhancement.

However, this improvement doesn’t extend to Lara’s movement, animation, and physics. The RTX Remix offers a middle ground, augmenting the model with greater polygon counts and incorporating the ponytail. While closer to the original than the Remaster, the RTX Remix still lacks the visual refinement of the remastered version.

Both versions leverage the original animations, but the Remaster excels in textures, features, and shadowing. The RTX Remix, thanks to its path-traced lighting, boasts sharper textures and superior per-pixel lighting and shadowing, yet the Remastered version, in overall aesthetic quality, offers a more impressive update to Lara’s appearance.

Performance

The Remastered version consistently runs at 60fps across various platforms, including the Switch. This ensures a smooth gaming experience, though occasional dropped frames may occur during camera cuts. The original mode, conversely, is locked at 30fps, potentially causing inconsistencies in frame pacing and judder.

The original engine’s limitations seem to be a factor in the 30fps cap on the Remastered version. The interpolation of the original graphics into higher frame rates causes performance issues. On the other hand, running the original game on period-appropriate hardware, on the Sega Saturn or a DOS PC, presents a very different picture. The original Sega Saturn version demonstrates a variable frame rate, with 25 fps and up to 12 fps in demanding situations.

The RTX Remix, demanding more processing power, typically runs at frame rates in the 30-50 fps range, even on high-end hardware. While this is not ideal for a consistent experience, it does surpass the original mode’s performance. The Remastered version stands out for its relatively stable performance across diverse hardware, whereas the RTX Remix’s stability is impacted by the RTX rendering.

Textures and World Detail

The Remastered version excels in increasing the geometric detail of surfaces in the environment, improving textures and introducing surface effects, even with a somewhat broken parallax occlusion map on ladders. Movable objects, like skulls, now exhibit more complex surfaces. Grass, vines, and trees have been enhanced, transitioning from 2D sprites to 3D objects, a feature more common in later sequels. Many 2D billboards also now have 3D counterparts.

While detail improvements exist, certain elements, like water, haven’t benefited from the same degree of enhancement. The water’s static texture and limited detail in the Remaster contrasts with the RTX Remix, which offers a more realistic specular and reflectance map, complete with a distortion map for submerged objects.

The RTX Remix surpasses the Remaster in water visualization, but the Remaster maintains a better balance between realism and visual fidelity in submerged scenes. The RTX Remix, with its approach, sometimes sacrifices visual clarity for an ethereal effect, while the Remaster offers more detail-rich visuals in the broader environment.

Lighting and Shadows

Both versions drastically improve upon the original lighting and shadowing, but the RTX Remix achieves a significantly more dynamic and atmospheric quality. The Remaster utilizes point lights, shadow maps, and normals, but the RTX version’s path-traced global illumination generates a more realistic and believable lighting system that interacts with the environment in a much more dynamic way.

The RTX Remix excels in creating a realistic effect where light sources bounce and cast shadows with impressive detail and fidelity. The Remaster, while an improvement, falls short in its limited light source capabilities and struggles to accurately portray the nuanced play of light and shadow. Both versions struggle in certain areas with a lack of lighting. The RTX Remix resolves some of this by incorporating a head torch in the 3rd person view, which is absent in the Remaster.

Controls

The Remaster’s controls, designed for modern input methods, feel clunky and imprecise in comparison to the original’s “tank controls” and the RTX Remix’s implementation of those same controls. The Remaster’s lack of precision in movement, particularly while climbing or traversing uneven terrain, negatively impacts gameplay experience. Mouse and keyboard provide a better, more immersive alternative to the game’s improved controls in the Remastered version.

The original’s tank controls are better suited to the game’s mechanics, which are based on a grid tile system for movement. This grid system is clear throughout the world design. The modern controls lack the precision required for smooth and precise traversal that the original and RTX Remix versions maintain, with the RTX Remix offering an improvement on the original while keeping the same grid-based mechanic.

The tank controls in both original and RTX Remix versions allow for better precision and a more natural gameplay feel. The original game’s controls, whilst having potential issues with newer input methods, feel far better in comparison to the controls of the Remaster. The RTX Remix, through its continuation of the original’s tank controls, provides an overall better experience in comparison.

Sound

The soundtracks of both versions are direct lifts from the originals, immediately evoking nostalgia. Nathan McCree’s scores effectively transport players back to the game’s 1990s release. Voice acting, with options for original or AI-upscaled audio quality, is also carried over from the original. MPEG advancements ensure the sound quality of original cutscenes is comparable to a modern game.

The RTX Remix’s approach provides a straightforward audio experience, sticking closely to the original sound design and maintaining its impact. The remaster, however, offers an expanded and updated sound design which can potentially lead to varied perspectives in a user’s experiences. Both versions rely significantly on the user’s personal audio setup to enhance the soundscape.

Summary

The Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered collection demonstrates a strong understanding of the series’ legacy and provides valuable enhancements, including high frame rates, multiple modes, and DLC inclusions. However, the AI-like texture and character updates hint at a focus on broader appeal, rather than fully maximizing the visual experience. The RTX Remix, as a free mod, showcases the potential for far greater visual enhancement. It offers a significantly more engaging visual style, surpassing the Remaster’s enhancements. While the RTX Remix does not excel in all areas, its superior visual clarity and atmospheric realism ultimately give it the edge over the Remastered collection.