Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian is a free fangame and also the most comprehensive remake of the classic Tomb Raider 2. For now, there’s only one demo available. When you try it out, you’ll want Square to hire these fans to officially finish the project.

More than a remake

The demo for Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian includes one level at the moment: the Great Wall of China. You’ll need an hour to complete it. A little longer if you decide to look for the three well-hidden secrets scattered throughout the level. Don’t expect an exact recreation of the first level of Tomb Raider 2.

Tomb Raider: DOX isn’t exactly a remake but rather a “reconceptualization” of the original game. There are similar sequences but you’ll run into new ideas and scenes made possible through the Unreal Engine 4.

Brilliant presentation

The graphics are brilliant. The demo is on the same level as cutting-edge games like The Witcher 3 and others, as long as you have the right system. At 60fps, the experience is truly seamless with only a few hiccups when there are many elements to consider, such as the lake section.

The platform is more flexible and up-to-date. You don’t need a PhD to understand and memorize the controls, BUT the platform isn’t as automatic as today’s games. There are challenging moments and death is always on the prowl. We’ve died 5 times during the demo and we’re not exactly bad players!

We want more!

The good news is that Crystal Dynamics, the developer now in charge of the official Tomb Raider, has approved the amateur team to continue development. The issue is that we’d prefer it weren’t a simple approval: the team behind this demo has done a job worthy of professionals and we’d like Square Enix to get on this and hire them to create an official remake. You’ll feel the same way once you’ve taken a look at the demo.