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Slay the Spire 2Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) is Crystal Dynamics' second Survivor game, sending Lara Croft to Siberia in search of the Lost City of Kitezh. Critics rated it among the best Tomb Raider games, at 86 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best-reviewed games in the series: 86 on Metacritic for Xbox One (102 reviews) and PC (46), and an 86 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, with 88% of 114 critics recommending it. Crystal Dynamics made it and Square Enix published it on Nov 10, 2015, for Xbox One and Xbox 360 first, then PC and PlayStation 4. It is the middle game of the Survivor trilogy that began with Tomb Raider (2013) and ended with Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Lara Croft, voiced and performed by Camilla Luddington, travels to Siberia and races the organization Trinity to the Lost City of Kitezh.
Quick facts
| Developer | Crystal Dynamics |
| Publisher | Square Enix |
| First release | Nov 10, 2015 (Xbox One, Xbox 360) |
| PC (Steam) | Feb 9, 2016 by Steam's date |
| Later version | Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration (2016) |
| Lara | Camilla Luddington |
| Setting | Siberia, the Lost City of Kitezh |
| Metacritic | 86 (Xbox One), 86 (PC), as of Nov 1, 2026 |
| OpenCritic | 86, "Mighty", as of Nov 2, 2026 |
| Steam reviews | Very Positive, 92% of 32,690, as of Nov 1, 2026 |
| Length | 13.5 hours main story, 35.5 completionist (HowLongToBeat) |
| Reported sales | Over 7 million (Square Enix, 2018) |
Sources: Metacritic, Nov 1, 2026; OpenCritic, Nov 2, 2026; Steam, Nov 1, 2026; HowLongToBeat, Nov 2, 2026; TheGamer, May 3, 2022.
What is Rise of the Tomb Raider about?
Lara sets out on what Steam calls her first true tomb raiding expedition, to Siberia, looking for the Lost City of Kitezh while Trinity races her there. Crystal Dynamics' own profile of Lara sums up the plot as a search for immortality in Kitezh that ends with her destroying the Divine Source. Trinity, the secret organization introduced here, returns as the enemy of Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
How does it play?
It keeps the 2013 game's mix of climbing, stealth, combat and crafting and leans harder on tombs. The Steam page promises that "Tombs are back", with large ancient spaces, traps and environmental puzzles, and has Lara hunting animals to craft weapons and making explosives on the fly. The Season Pass adds Expeditions with over 35 expedition cards, which change the rules of a replay and can put classic Lara models in the game.
What did critics say?
Most reviews called it an improvement on the 2013 reboot. On OpenCritic, Game Informer gave 9.5 out of 10, IGN 9.3 and GameSpot 9, and IGN wrote that it "improves on it in every way." The dissent came from Eurogamer, which gave no recommendation and said the game does not resolve the series' identity crisis. A common complaint across reviews is a story that leans on its predecessor, but the tombs, the size of the hubs and the crafting were widely praised.
20 Year Celebration and the DLC
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, which Crystal Dynamics lists as a 2016 release, is the version sold today. It bundles:
- Blood Ties, a story set in Croft Manor, and Lara's Nightmare, a zombie invasion of the manor
- the Baba Yaga and Cold Darkness Awakened
- Endurance, a survival mode with online co-op
- The Extreme Survivor difficulty, a Tomb Raider 3-inspired outfit and weapon, and five classic Lara skins
On Steam it is app 391220, dated Feb 9, 2016. Some press reports date the PC launch Jan 28, 2016; that date was not confirmed in a source checked for this page.
How long is Rise of the Tomb Raider?
HowLongToBeat players report 13.5 hours for the main story, 22 with extras and 35.5 for everything, and slightly more for the 20 Year Celebration: 14, 23.5 and 39 hours, as of Nov 2, 2026. See How Long to Beat Tomb Raider for every game.
Sales
Square Enix said in 2018 that Rise had sold over seven million copies, against 11 million for the 2013 game. A later headline quoting Square Enix's president put it at "almost 7 million"; both are the owner's figures, worded differently. More in Tomb Raider Sales.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rise of the Tomb Raider worth playing? Critics rate it among the best Tomb Raider games: 86 on Metacritic and OpenCritic, and 92% positive among Steam players as of Nov 1, 2026.
Do I need to play Tomb Raider (2013) before Rise of the Tomb Raider? It helps, since Rise continues the Survivor story of the 2013 game, but its Siberian plot is told on its own terms. Where to Start with Tomb Raider lays out the options.
When did Rise of the Tomb Raider come out? It launched Nov 10, 2015 on Xbox One and Xbox 360, then on PC (Feb 9, 2016 by Steam's date) and on PlayStation 4; the 20 Year Celebration edition is dated 2016.
Who voices Lara in Rise of the Tomb Raider? Camilla Luddington, who played Lara in all three Survivor games. See Lara Croft Voice Actors.
How long is Rise of the Tomb Raider? About 13.5 hours for the story and 35.5 hours for everything, by HowLongToBeat players' times as of Nov 2, 2026.
What comes after Rise of the Tomb Raider? Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018), the end of the Survivor trilogy, made by Eidos-Montréal. The full list is in Tomb Raider Games in Order.
Sources
- Metacritic: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Metacritic, read Nov 1, 2026
- Rise of the Tomb Raider Reviews, OpenCritic, read Nov 2, 2026
- Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, Steam, read Nov 1, 2026
- Lara Croft, Crystal Dynamics, read Nov 1, 2026
- HowLongToBeat: search "tomb raider", HowLongToBeat, read Nov 2, 2026
- Report reveals most Tomb Raider sales from reboots, TheGamer (Vlad Mazanko), May 3, 2022
- History of Tomb Raider (1996 - 2018), Nick930, Sep 7, 2018 (video)
Moments
History of Tomb Raider (1996 - 2018)
Nick930
- Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best-reviewed games in the series: 86 on Metacritic for Xbox One (102 reviews)…
- Lara sets out on what Steam calls her first true tomb raiding expedition, to Siberia, looking for the Lost City of…
- It keeps the 2013 game's mix of climbing, stealth, combat and crafting and leans harder on tombs. The Steam page…
Related
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Core DesignCore Design was the studio in Derby, England, that created Tomb Raider and Lara Croft, made the first six games from 1996 to 2003 for publisher Eidos, then lost the series to Crystal Dynamics. Toby Gard, credited with creating Lara, left after the first game and returned at Crystal Dynamics in 2004.
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Crystal DynamicsCrystal Dynamics is the California studio that has made Tomb Raider since 2003, from Tomb Raider Legend to the Survivor trilogy. Owned by Embracer Group since 2022, it is making Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis with Flying Wild Hog and Tomb Raider Catalyst, both published by Amazon Game Studios.
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Lara Croft Spin-offsThe Lara Croft spin-offs are the Tomb Raider games outside the main series, led by the co-op games Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010) and Temple of Osiris (2014), the puzzle game Lara Croft GO (2015), the runner Relic Run (2015) and Tomb Raider Reloaded (2023).
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The Angel of DarknessTomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (Tomb Raider 6, 2003) was Core Design's last Tomb Raider, a troubled PlayStation 2 and PC game rated 52 and 49 on Metacritic, the lowest of any main-series game. Weeks after it launched, Eidos moved the series to Crystal Dynamics.
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The Last RevelationTomb Raider: The Last Revelation (Tomb Raider 4, 1999) is Core Design's Egypt game, in which Lara Croft frees the god Set and must imprison him again, and which ends with her apparent death. Metacritic lists no critic score for it, but its users rate it 8.3.
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Tomb Raider (1996)Tomb Raider (1996) is the first Tomb Raider game, made by Core Design in Derby and published by Eidos Interactive in late 1996 on Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC. Lara Croft hunts the Scion across 15 levels in Peru, Greece, Egypt and Atlantis; it sold over 7 million copies.
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Tomb Raider 2Tomb Raider 2 (Tomb Raider II, 1997) is Core Design's first sequel, sending Lara Croft after the Dagger of Xian from the Great Wall of China to Venice, a sunken ship and Tibet. It holds an 85 on Metacritic for PlayStation, one of the best scores in the series.
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Tomb Raider 3Tomb Raider 3 (Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft, 1998) is Core Design's third game, in which Lara Croft tracks four artifacts carved from an Antarctic meteorite through India, Nevada, the South Pacific and London. It scores 76 on Metacritic and is the longest classic Tomb Raider to finish.
See also
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Tomb Raider (2013)Tomb Raider (2013) is Crystal Dynamics' reboot, Lara Croft's origin story on a stormbound island, published by Square Enix on Mar 5, 2013 with Camilla Luddington as Lara. It scored 86 to 87 on Metacritic and had sold 11 million copies by 2018, though Square Enix first called its sales below target.
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Shadow of the Tomb RaiderShadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) ends the Survivor trilogy, with Lara Croft trying to stop a Maya apocalypse in the jungle. Eidos-Montréal led it with Crystal Dynamics; critics liked it less than the two before it, at 82 on Metacritic for Xbox One and 80 on OpenCritic.
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How Long to Beat Tomb RaiderTomb Raider (1996) takes about 15.5 hours to beat on HowLongToBeat, or 20.5 hours to find everything. The shortest main game is Tomb Raider: Legend at 7 hours and the longest is Tomb Raider 3 at 20.5; Legacy of Atlantis has no figures before its Feb 12, 2027 launch.
- Tomb Raider SalesTomb Raider has sold over 100 million games, Crystal Dynamics said in October 2024, the figure behind Lara Croft's Guinness World Record as the best-selling videogame heroine. Tomb Raider (2013) is the best seller among the games with published figures, at 11 million by 2018, but Crystal Dynamics has not said which game sells best.
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Where to Start with Tomb RaiderStart Tomb Raider with Tomb Raider (2013) for the modern Lara, with Tomb Raider I-III Remastered for the classic 1996 game, or with Tomb Raider: Legend for the middle era. From Feb 12, 2027, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a fourth door: a modern retelling of the first adventure.
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Lara Croft Voice ActorsAlix Wilton Regan voices Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst. Before her, Lara was voiced by Shelley Blond, Judith Gibbins, Jonell Elliott, Keeley Hawes and Camilla Luddington, and by Hayley Atwell in Netflix's animated series.