Ah, Tomb Raider. A videogame icon worthy of the name, I don't know about you, but I've been traipsing through tombs, ruins, and caves since the '90s, meaning I've played just about every Lara Croft game out there, including the ones most fans think of as being 'bad' or 'subpar.' Once such adventure turns 22 years old today, instead of calling Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness a 'bad' game, I call it an underrated one.
Now, I'm not out here to say that Angel of Darkness is one of the best Tomb Raider games because, quite frankly, it isn't. But it's part of a trilogy of Lara Croft adventures that gets quite a bad rap. Admittedly, The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness aren't the pinnacle, but they're still a fun time, and I think Angel of Darkness is the best of the three.
Yes, critics rightly called out the original 2003 PS2 action game for its rather poor controls and performance issues, but the release of the Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Collection fixes that, so new players should play the game in 2025 to experience my favorite thing about it with the improved controls. The story of The Angel of Darkness is among the best in Tomb Raider history, to me at least.
22 years ago, our heroine found herself mixed up in a 'who done it' situation, when people falsely believe she's responsible for the murder of her former mentor. It offers something slightly darker and more urgent than some of the other games in the series. Admittedly, Lara, it does look a bit sus if you're the last person to see the victim alive, I'm just saying. Still, your adventure is all about Miss Croft going on the run, trying to clear her name.
Overall, The Angel of Darkness shifted 2.5 million copies, which is pretty respectable for a PS2 game, and it's certainly not the worst-performing Tomb Raider game commercially; that prize goes to Tomb Raider: Anniversary with 1.3 million, while The Angel of Darkness' predecessor, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, sold just 1.5 million copies.
However, if you go to Metacritic, Chronicles is ahead with a score of 63, compared to 52 for The Angel of Darkness. I won't dispute the score due to the performance, camera, and control issues, but remember, I'm here for the story, and the recent remaster fixes those problems, for the most part.
With the hardware improvements of the Nintendo Switch 2, I have hope that when we see a new Tomb Raider game, it'll arrive on the platform, but until then, playing games like The Angel of Darkness on it will have to do. If you think I'm being optimistic about anything other than more remasters for Lara Croft, you should check out our Nintendo Switch 2 review and Cyberpunk 2077 Switch 2 review to see exactly what the new console is capable of.