Photo mode allows you to take shots of picturesque scenery and characters in fun poses, trying your hand at amateur photography in a virtual space. I’ve done that plenty in Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, but thanks to its photo mode being limitless in how far you can take it and how it functions like a standard camera, separate from the tank controls, it’s a perfect cheat code to platforming challenges that have stumped players for decades.

I’ve used it to check what’s ahead of me when the camera refuses to turn, to scout different paths to determine which I should take first, to find secrets I’d otherwise have missed, and to solve puzzles I’d normally need a notepad for. The perfect example of how you can bend its utility to your will is found in the Egypt chapter in the first Tomb Raider. Within the temple, you come across five levers and four doors. Each door has a pattern along the top corresponding with the levers.

Back in the ‘90s before I was even born, you’d have to drag Lara to each door, jot down what you see, and then go back to the levers. The other solutions were to open the doors one at a time or to find a guide. With photo mode, I simply flew down to them, closed the menu, and had Lara pull the switches without moving her an inch.

Then there are the times when you press buttons or pull handlebars down and the game doesn’t play a cutscene to indicate what’s changed, but with photo mode, you can quickly fly around the entire level and uncover what new avenues have opened up (while making note of all the easy-to-miss items hidden away). The old tank controls are fiddly, so exploring every nook and cranny can be a pain if you make a mistake and need to get back up to higher platforms - the photo mode circumvents all of that.

Aspyr recently revealed that it actually designed photo mode to be used in this way, so don't expect the limitless scope to be patched out.

Another great use for the photo mode came when fighting the T-rex early on in the original Tomb Raider. I didn’t have a clue where to go to avoid getting devoured in one bite, so I hopped into photo mode and found a few different ledges I could hide in to take potshots, as well as a few paths that led me to higher ground. Normally, I’d have run around like a headless chicken trying to find these while inevitably dying over and over again, but I avoided that entire rigmarole.

I’m sure using photo mode as a way to essentially noclip around each map and find the best ways to handle each situation will upset purists, but it’s made the original Tomb Raider games more approachable than ever.

I tried these games before the remastered bundle and, as an outsider who didn’t have the rose-tinted glasses that existing fans do, found them far too obtuse. Twisting the photo mode into this quality-of-life cheat has not only made the first game tolerable, but has shown me why it’s the beloved classic that it is.

Without the tedium of fixed tank control cameras limiting my perspective and the painstaking back-and-forth failed platforming segments, hoping there’s something worthwhile at the end, Tomb Raider has opened up to me. It’s no longer the archaic icon barred by a steep learning curve, but an exciting challenge to overcome. Sure, it’s not the intended way to uncover its world and conquer its puzzles, but it’s far more welcoming.

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