Tomb Raider I-III Remastered gave Lara Croft updated looks when it released for PC and consoles earlier this year, but players have noticed that a few in-game images can no longer be found following a recent update.
As reported by Kotaku, one fan on Reddit noticed that a couple of pinup pictures of Lara, which could previously be found at the beginning of Tomb Raider 3’s Sleeping with the Fishes level, are no longer visible when switching to the remastered version of the game’s graphics. Others quickly booted up their copies of the third Tomb Raider game to check for themselves and found that the pictures were indeed gone, with many reporting that they remembered seeing them there just weeks ago. Interestingly, the original graphics option still seems to feature the images of Lara in all their blurry glory.
It’s unclear exactly when the change happened, but it appears to have come with the game’s second major update, which rolled out on April 11. There’s no mention of the posters or their removal in the patch notes.
You can see a before and after image as provided by X/Twitter user @SmashJT below.
No fcking way. They did it. They actually did it.
Crystal Dynamics censored out the pics of Lara in the update on Tomb Raider.
WTF!?
Credit/Thx: @momiji_doa pic.twitter.com/yaSBtFXaoH
— Smash JT (@SmashJT) April 19, 2024
IGN has reached out to developers Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics for comment on why the remastered graphics version of pictures disappeared more than two months after the trilogy’s launch. Adding to the weirdness is the fact that, days after the Tomb Raider Remastered trilogy released, the franchise’s official website highlighted the posters as an interesting detail that some fans may have missed. It’s also worth noting that Tomb Raider I-III Remastered opens with a message warning players that they may encounter offensive material. The team chose to keep the content in order to present Tomb Raider in “its original form, unaltered.”
Still, the spontaneous removal has led many to hurl accusations of censorship against Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics.
“Absolutely pathetic that someone could think something so harmless needed to be removed and even more so trying to hide it by making it a undocumented change,” one Reddit user said. “Shame on Aspyr and shame on Crystal Dynamics.”
“I’m fine with them not being there tbh they don’t make a lot of sense,” another user said.
Whether the images’ removal was intentional or accidental, it wouldn’t be the first time there was confusion regarding Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. Last month, fans noticed that the Steam and Epic Games Store version of the experience were different in a few substantial ways.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
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