One of the most iconic elements of the Tomb Raider franchise are puzzles that Lara Croft encounters on her adventures. These range from simple, intuitive tasks to some real brain-teasers that require patience and a sharp eye. Some are even paired with platforming challenges, which could be considered a category of their own. But for this list, we’re focusing on the puzzles that made fans pause and really think about how to solve them (perhaps even take a peek at Stella’s Tomb Raider Site).  

A big shoutout to the members of the Official Fansite Program for lending us their thoughts on the most difficult puzzles in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered! 

5. Yellow Robot – Thames Wharf – Tomb Raider III 

Lara might be at home in London, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe from the city’s dangers. In the tunnels, she runs into an automated yellow robot with spinning, live electric cables. To get past it, Lara needs to steer the robot - which always sticks to the left side of the track - to reach a panel and create a short circuit that opens a trapdoor. 

4. Omega & Upsilon – Palace Midas – Tomb Raider 

The first real head-scratcher in Tomb Raider appears in the level Palace Midas. In one of the initial rooms of the level, Lara climbs to a platform with five levers, overlooking the room's lower floor, which has four doors marked with the Greek letters Omega and Upsilon. To open the doors, Lara must determine how the positions of the levers correspond to these letters. 

3. Burner Hall – 40 Fathoms – Tomb Raider II 

Lara’s hunt for the Seraph takes her to the depths of the sea, where she explores the wreck of the luxury liner Maria Doria. One of the most challenging puzzles in this level is the Burner Hall. The goal is to open the door that allows Lara to progress to the next area. However, before she can reach the lever to open the doors, she must disable the burners blocking her path. This puzzle doubles as a timed challenge, testing both memory and precision. Players need to remember the room’s layout to move through the corridors quickly and know exactly which lever to pull. 

For those going for a speedrun, a common strategy is to stock up on medipacks, sprint through the flames, pull the lever which opens the door, and dive into the nearby water to put out the fire. Since this puzzle can be bypassed with a clever workaround, we’re not ranking it at the top of the list, despite it being one of the toughest challenges in the series. 

2. The Food Chain – The Lost City of Tinnos – Tomb Raider III 

The Lost City of Tinnos is filled with puzzle-platforming challenges; however, for this list, we decided to highlight just this one, as it is the most cryptic. 

To progress to the next area, Lara must press three circular buttons located at the center of cross-shaped structures. Each cross has four symbols at its ends which can contain one of the following: a man with a spear, a bird, a fish, an ox, and a plant. The key to solving the puzzle is pressing the three central circles in the order of the food chain, from top to bottom. For example, the correct sequence would be: man with spear, bird, and fish. Although this might sound straightforward in hindsight, the lack of clear instructions makes it a highly challenging puzzle when players first encounter it. 

1. Timed Doors, an Old Penny and a Masonic Temple Maze – Aldwych – Tomb Raider III 

Aldwych is known for its challenging design, so it felt right to include all three of its hardest puzzles as a single entry, earning it the number one spot on our list. 

Reminiscent of the Burner Hall, the first puzzle involves three timed doors, where Lara must press buttons to open these doors and complete a timed run. There's a risk of getting soft-locked in this part, so it's recommended to create a separate save file at the beginning of the sequence. 

Another puzzle that left many players stumped was the Masonic Temple Maze. In this puzzle, Lara needs to break into the Masonic Temple to obtain a hammer required to unlock a door. To access the temple, she must press the buttons in the correct sequence within the maze to unlock the entrance. Just like with the timed doors puzzle, we recommend creating a separate savefile at the beginning of the maze. 

At some point, Lara finds an old penny that must be used at one of the ticket booths at the start of the level to obtain a ticket to pass through one of the automatic ticket gates blocking her path. While this task appears straightforward, it is cryptic as there are no real indicators of what needs to be done, and which ticket booth actually provides the ticket.

 What were some of the puzzles that had you puzzled? Sound off on social and let us know! 

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Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

Tomb Raider (1996)

Tomb Raider II

Tomb Raider III