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Slay the Spire 2Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Legend (2006) is Crystal Dynamics' first Tomb Raider, a fast, short adventure in which Lara Croft hunts the pieces of Excalibur to learn her mother's fate. It scored 82 on Metacritic and shipped over 2.9 million units in its first months.
Tomb Raider: Legend is the April 2006 game that relaunched the series after The Angel of Darkness: the first made by Crystal Dynamics, published by Eidos Interactive, in which Lara Croft searches for Excalibur and the truth about her mother's fate. It worked. Critics gave it 82 on Metacritic for PS2, PC and Xbox, and SCi, Eidos's owner, reported that it shipped over 2.9 million units by its September 2006 results. It is also the shortest main Tomb Raider, at 7 hours for the main story on HowLongToBeat, and it opened the story that Tomb Raider: Underworld finished.
Quick facts
| Released | April 2006 (Metacritic dates its Xbox 360 page Apr 11, 2006) |
| Developer | Crystal Dynamics |
| Publisher | Eidos Interactive |
| Platforms | PS2, PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, PSP, DS, Game Boy Advance |
| Lara's voice | Keeley Hawes |
| Levels | 8, plus a Croft Manor training level |
| Metacritic | 82 (PS2, PC, Xbox), 80 (Xbox 360), 67 (PSP), as of Nov 1, 2026 |
| Shipped | Over 2.9 million units (SCi, Sep 2006) |
| Length | 7 hours main story, 15 completionist (HowLongToBeat) |
| Buy today | Steam |
Sources: Metacritic, Nov 1, 2026; Game Developer, Sep 27, 2006; Game Developer, Feb 23, 2006; Stella's Tomb Raider Site, Nov 2, 2026; HowLongToBeat, Nov 2, 2026.
What is Tomb Raider: Legend about?
Legend retells where Lara came from. As a girl she survived a plane crash in the Himalayas with her mother, who then vanished, and the game follows the adult Lara collecting the pieces of the sword Excalibur in the hope that it explains what happened, as Stella's Tomb Raider Site sets out the opening. Eidos introduced her in 2006 as "Lady Lara Croft, the 11th-generation Countess," and called Legend the seventh game in the series. Lara talks to two friends at Croft Manor, Zip and Alister, over a headset throughout.
Levels in brief
| Level | Location |
|---|---|
| Training | Croft Manor |
| 1 | Bolivia |
| 2 | Peru |
| 3 | Japan |
| 4 | Ghana (West Africa) |
| 5 | Kazakhstan |
| 6 | England |
| 7 | Nepal |
| 8 | Bolivia Redux |
Source: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: Tomb Raider: Legend Game Info and Walkthrough, Nov 2, 2026.
The short list hides a lot of variety: jungle ruins, urban skyscrapers, an abandoned military research lab and Himalayan slopes, in Stella's list. Each level hides bronze and silver rewards and one gold one, which unlock outfits, pistol upgrades and art, per Stella.
What changed from the Core games
Almost everything about how she plays. Stella's guide describes it: Lara carries her dual pistols with infinite ammunition and one other gun at a time, up to three health packs and four grenades, in place of the old bottomless backpack. A magnetic grapple pulls objects, swings her across gaps and yanks enemies off balance. She rides a motorcycle in several levels, and checkpoints save automatically.
Lara herself was redesigned. Crystal Dynamics says it first built its own version of the Angel of Darkness model, and then Toby Gard, who had joined the studio, played a major role in redesigning her, with character artist Kam Yu. Keeley Hawes, then known for the BBC's Spooks, became her new voice; she voiced Lara through Tomb Raider: Underworld and beyond.
Reception and sales
Reviews welcomed Lara back. Joystiq called it "a refreshing return to the Lara of old" and gave the Xbox 360 version 7 out of 10, while warning "It's over quickly." Metacritic's scores run from 82 on PS2, PC and Xbox and 80 on Xbox 360 down to 58 on DS.
It sold. SCi's results for its year to June 2006 said Legend shipped over 2.9 million units and was the best-selling new release in the UK that year so far. That is a figure for copies sent to stores, not bought by players. The same spring, Guinness named Lara the "most successful video game heroine of all time," in Engadget's words, as the series passed 28 million games.
For its 20th anniversary, on Apr 7, 2026, Crystal Dynamics released an early playthrough with an early version of the Bolivia level.
How to play it today
Legend is on Steam as app 7000, and Metacritic lists PS4 and PS5 versions too. The trilogy it begins continues with Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), Crystal Dynamics' remake of the first game, and Underworld (2008). Crystal Dynamics says Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set years after Underworld; see Tomb Raider Games in Order.
Frequently asked questions
When did Tomb Raider: Legend come out? Tomb Raider: Legend came out in April 2006 on PS2, PC, Xbox and Xbox 360, with other versions after; Metacritic dates its Xbox 360 version Apr 11, 2006.
Who made Tomb Raider: Legend? Crystal Dynamics made Tomb Raider: Legend, its first Tomb Raider, after Eidos moved the series from Core Design in 2003. Eidos Interactive published it.
How long is Tomb Raider: Legend? HowLongToBeat puts Tomb Raider: Legend at 7 hours for the main story and 15 hours to complete everything, the shortest main Tomb Raider game.
What is Lara looking for in Tomb Raider: Legend? In Tomb Raider: Legend, Lara searches for the pieces of Excalibur, hoping the sword will lead her to the truth about her mother's disappearance.
Is Tomb Raider: Legend connected to Underworld? Yes. Tomb Raider: Legend, Anniversary and Underworld form one Crystal Dynamics story, and Underworld resolves the question of Lara's mother that Legend begins.
How many copies did Tomb Raider: Legend sell? SCi said in September 2006 that Tomb Raider: Legend had shipped over 2.9 million units to stores; no later official total for Legend alone has been published.
Sources
- Tomb Raider: Legend, Metacritic, Nov 1, 2026
- Tomb Raider: Legend, Steam, Nov 1, 2026
- Lara Croft, Crystal Dynamics, Nov 1, 2026
- Tomb Raider: Legend Turns 20, Crystal Dynamics, Apr 7, 2026
- New Voice Of Lara Croft Revealed, Game Developer, Feb 23, 2006
- SCi Reports Beats Forecasts After Eidos Acquisition, David Jenkins, Game Developer, Sep 27, 2006
- Joystiq Review: Tomb Raider: Legend (Xbox 360), Jennie Lees, Engadget, Apr 27, 2006
- Lara Croft lands in Guinness Book of World Records, Alan Rose, Engadget, Apr 7, 2006
- Tomb Raider: Legend Game Info and Walkthrough, Stella's Tomb Raider Site, Nov 2, 2026
- How long is Tomb Raider, HowLongToBeat, Nov 2, 2026
- History of Tomb Raider (1996 - 2018), Nick930, Sep 7, 2018 (video)
Moments
History of Tomb Raider (1996 - 2018)
Nick930
- Tomb Raider: Legend is the April 2006 game that relaunched the series after The Angel of Darkness: the first made by…
- Legend retells where Lara came from. As a girl she survived a plane crash in the Himalayas with her mother, who then…
- Almost everything about how she plays. Stella's guide describes it: Lara carries her dual pistols with infinite…
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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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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Rise of the Tomb RaiderRise 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.
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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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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 (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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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.
See also
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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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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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Tomb Raider: UnderworldTomb Raider: Underworld (2008) is Crystal Dynamics' third Tomb Raider, in which Lara Croft confronts Natla and learns what happened to her mother, ending the Legend story. It scored 70 to 80 on Metacritic, and Eidos said it sold about 1.5 million units by the end of 2008, below its forecasts.
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Tomb Raider: AnniversaryTomb Raider: Anniversary is Crystal Dynamics' 2007 remake of the 1996 Tomb Raider, rebuilt in the Tomb Raider: Legend engine and released first on PC and PS2 on Jun 5, 2007. It scored 83 on Metacritic for PC but sold 1.3 million copies, the series' lowest.
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Tomb Raider: CatalystTomb Raider: Catalyst is Crystal Dynamics' next all-new Tomb Raider game, set in Northern India and published by Amazon Game Studios. Official pages still say 2027, but Amazon Games' Jeffrey Gattis said 2028 in July 2026, and Amazon has given no date since.