Just in case you needed additional reasons to place Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr among your blacklist.
The launch of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered proved to be a resounding success for the Embracer Group and Crystal Dynamics. The game received widespread acclaim from both fans and critics, lauded for delivering a “faithful” HD rendition of Lara Croft’s original trilogy.
However, the game was overshadowed by political messaging, notably with Crystal Dynamics introducing a anti-racist disclaimer at the start of the game.
This disclaimer asserted that the original Tomb Raider trilogy included offensive depictions of people and cultures that were “rooted in racial prejudice” and labeled the stereotypes within the collection as “deeply harmful and inexcusable.”
Apart from the unnecessary virtue signaling disclaimer, the game remained largely faithful to the originals, with one minor exception: the exclusion of Pierre’s infamous jacket which was censored because pixelated boobies and nipples are deemed problematic for modern audiences.
However, a new issue has surfaced for Tomb Raider I-III Remastered: the games second title update released on April 11th has introduced further censorship. This update specifically targets suggestive pin-up posters featuring Lara Croft within the expansion pack of the third game in the trilogy, Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact.
The pin-up posters that were removed in the games latest title update features gaming’s most iconic female protagonists, dressed in her trademark attire and reclining against a red velvet backdrop. While the post may be enticing, describing it as being sexual would be a stretch.
The second poster, which was removed, elevates the level of sensuality considerably. It portrays Lara fully nude, wrapped seductively in a bed sheet, with her body illuminated by a pair of candles. While there are no explicit glimpses of her breasts or private parts, it’s unmistakably clear that she is nude in the image.
What adds to the confusion is that the pin-up posters were essentially recreated and prominently featured in The Lost Artifact’s fourth level, regardless of whether the player chose the “original” or “remastered” graphical preset.
However, in the former graphical option, their appearance was significantly reduced to mere pixels. Despite this, they were still removed in the latest update.
The update was rolled out on April 11th, but it wasn’t publicly announced until a few days later. Fans on the TombRaider subreddit were the first to notice the retroactive censorship, with the removal of the pinups being completely absent from Aspyr’s changelogs, as were a multitude of other things.
The altercation of Pierre’s jacket is most understandable, given how its original depiction featured a nude women with breasts and nipples on full display, there’s no outright justification in removing these posters two months after the game released, it all just seems like a small addition to the game whose removal would generally go unnoticed by players and forgotten just as quickly if discovered.
Using game updates to retroactively censor or remove content is unacceptable. It can be seen as theft to unsuspecting buyers, who are the true victims in this situation.
After all, those who have pirated the game are not obligated to install updates.
The woke disclaimer regarding racism was already enough of a red flag, but for others, it might have been the inclusion of the Tomb Raider Shadows of Truth DEI tabletop game, aimed at distancing the franchise from its “colonialist” roots.
This is a blatant bait-and-switch tactic orchestrated by Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr who recently botched the release of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, Aspyr’s release also includes an outdated version of a user-created mod that incorporates elements from the original game’s DLC, previously exclusive to Microsoft’s XBOX console.
It’s evident that Aspyr isn’t a trustworthy company, and Crystal Dynamics is effectively endorsing the same for themselves. Removing content from a game, regardless of its significance, mere months after release should be considered unacceptable and possibly even illegal.
Right: Day One Patch
This RPG, based on the manga series by Hiro Mashima, launched on the Sony PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms in 2020. Gust, renowned for their Atelier franchise, imposed a day one update that would censor the game’s fanservice content, such as introducing a black void when attempting to view characters’ panties.
Much of the game’s marketing material enticed players who pre-ordered with attractive character outfits, only for Gust to spoil any attempts at enjoying those aspects of the game with a day one update.
Players were understandably outraged by Gust and Koei Tecmo’s actions. Koei Tecmo continues to face financial challenges, as evidenced by their latest financial report projecting a further 11.6% drop in net sales and a 28% decline in operating income.
Square Enix, another advocate of ESG principles, has also implemented retroactive censorship in its game products. Under the pretext of “continuity,” Square Enix retroactively censored Tifa’s cowboy outfit in the Nibelheim flashback in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.
Controversially censoring a four-year-old game, citing continuity, shortly after earning widespread praise and admiration on social media for a canonical beach scene featuring Tifa and Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
This move effectively squandered the free publicity and promotion they had garnered. The game subsequently underperformed on store shelves, with Japanese sales plummeting by 90% after just one week of release.
Gamers are not quick to forgive and forget. While Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr may have already achieved their desired sales and praise from the release of the Tomb Raider trilogy remaster, the long-term impact on their credibility is undeniable.
Any future products they release are likely to face significant skepticism and will struggle to find success, to me, this is but another valuable lesson that justifies piracy as being morally righteous.
