One must really think about why a remaster needs an update to make it look worse as Tomb Raider I-III Remastered becomes the first one to do so.
When Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was released a few weeks back, people were expecting to dive deep into their childhood again, but with better graphics and overall improved gameplay. Unfortunately, the title turned out to run poorly with barely any updates to the graphics engine. Consequently, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered hasn’t received any positive feedback. As time went on, some people realized why this could be the case.
Alongside consoles, the game was released to PC for Steam, GOG.com, and Epic Store respectively. Upon booting up the Epic Store version of the game, people found out the versions besides Epic Store contained much lower quality textures, missing objects, and an absent extra level in the Steam/GOG versions of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. The difference was picked by one of the fans of the game and then forwarded to the Tomb Raider fan account on Twitter, which caused a chain reaction and people started digging for what they had been missing.
What is more confusing is, that once the game’s better side started showing and presumably leading people to think they had been scammed, the Epic Store version was also updated to match the worse versions available on PC and consoles. Not all the news about de-mastering is bad though, the developers made an announcement post that they are aware of the difference and working on a new update. Considering the Epic Store version also has an extra level that Steam/GOG versions don’t, you really have to ask if they are hiding something.
Sounds a bit iffy, but the update is expected to bring new shaders, textures, skyboxes, and more. Considering the Epic Store version was superior to all of it, maybe that specific branch was being used for testing out the upcoming additions, and seeing if it works in real-time. While that sounds plausible, developers already have their test rigs in the office to try out their planned additions without implementing them. Therefore, why would the team would opt to release a fully optimized and proper version of the game for only one platform?
Well, the questions really do not matter as Crystal Dynamics is planning to bring all the missing features back to every single version of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered available in the future. Let’s hope they do not forget a crucial detail we already knew about in the Epic Store version.
