Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Comes with Racism Disclaimer

Video Games

If you liked the old Tomb Raider games, you should be ashamed of yourself. That’s what Crystal Dynamics thinks, anyway. The video game developer, which now produces the series, is about to release Tomb Raider I-III Remastered; those games were made before Crystal Dynamics was given the Tomb Raider franchise. They were also made in an era where people weren’t offended by everything under the sun, up to and including Friends, so Crystal Dynamics is keen to let everyone know that, though they’re still releasing remastered versions of the video games everyone loves, their pearls were firmly clutched the entire time they were doing it. To that end, the developer has put together a disclaimer that, according to Tomb Raider Chronicles, runs “only once during first launch of the game.” You can read it below, compliments of X account Tomb Raider Tweet:

Crystal Dynamics has condemned the "offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudices" in #TombRaider I-III Remastered and says the stereotypes portrayed are "deeply harmful, inexcusable, and do not align with our values."https://t.co/LJlvtNYxKk pic.twitter.com/sSATXmf3Jt

— Tomb Raider Tweet (@tombraidertweet) February 13, 2024

Don’t you feel super excited to play Tomb Raider now that Crystal Dynamics told you it’s racist? Is the implication that people who enjoyed the games are racists too? Because those first few Tomb Raider games aren’t all that old, and people who played them as kids are likely the biggest chunk of the customer base for the remaster. I wonder if they appreciate the suggestion that they’re bigots by proxy or even that their favorite old games are racist. Of course, Crystal Dynamics has no problem continuing to make money off of the games that built a lucrative franchise for them; they just want you to know that you’re scum for playing them as you hand over the cash. And this is the way of things now; you must be told how to view the art you consume and what to feel as you make a pixelated British adventurer jump over a chasm, because nothing can just be entertainment anymore. I guess the warning signs were there; Lara Croft has had her body noticeably changed in more recent Tomb Raider releases because well-endowed women offend modern sensibilities. Sooner or later, they were going to call everyone (but themselves) racist. And I don’t accept the argument proffered when the same thing happened to Gone with the Wind, where this is a compromise so that the work doesn’t have to be changed. Why should there be any kind of compromise on this? Just don’t do anything and let people enjoy the media they’re giving you money to interact with, and in return, you may be invited to the occasional party.