Halloween will soon be upon us so I thought we’d start getting in the spirit of things and take a look at ten of the scariest enemies Lara has come across in the Core Design games. That is, from the very first Tomb Raider (1996)all the way through to (and including) the 2003 game Angel of Darkness.
The low-tech graphics of the 1990s and early 2000s only adds to their fear factor, in my personal opinion.
So, here are the 10 scariest Tomb Raider enemies from the Core Design games in no particular order!
The “Torso Boss” from Tomb Raider I. I genuinely panicked the first time I had to deal with him. Ah, the good old days… (Image credit: Otakusphere)The T-Rex is easily one of the most memorable enemies from the first game. I remember the first time I saw him come around that corner, heading in my direction… (Image credit: Tombraiders.HU) Just look at this thing! One of the mutant scientists that appears in the Antarctica levels of Tomb Raider 3. I told you that the low-tech graphics only make these guys creepier. (Image credit: Katie’s Tomb Raider Site)Remember those velociraptors from Jurassic Park? Well, those evil little dinos make an appearance in a couple of the earlier Tomb Raider games and they always seem to come out of nowhere… (Image credit: Tombraiders.HU)If you’re easily frightened, look away now! This hideous creature is the sea hag from the Ireland levels of Tomb Raider Chronicles. She wouldn’t look out of place in a horror film. (Image credit: Katie’s Tomb Raider Site)Like the original Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider 3 had a thing for mutants. Meet the Willard Spider! Not one for the arachnophobes among us. (Image credit: Tomb Raider Forums)Just in case you haven’t seen enough mutants yet, here’s another. Scientist Kristina Boaz transforms into this creature after she is fed to one of the Cabal’s mutants. (Image credit: Katie’s Tomb Raider Site)Panther mummies. Not only will they scare the living bejesus out of you, they also explode when you kill them. Don’t get too close to them… (Image credit: Wiki Raider)Winged Atlanteans, crawling Atlanteans, Atlantean centaurs. All Atlantean mutants have two things in common: no skin and the uncanny ability to make you jump out of yours. (Image credit: Katie’s Tomb Raider Site)Don’t be fooled by this yeti’s smile. He may look friendly but he’d sooner crush your skull than invite you round for drinks. (Image credit: I Love the Yeti)
I hope the sight of these critters won’t give you too many nightmares. 😉
Do you agree with the ten Core Design enemies I’ve chosen? Are there any enemies that should have been on this list instead? Feel free to share your thoughts below!
Kelly McGuire is a writer, part-time translator, and gamer who is passionate about archaeology, language learning, travel, and wildlife conservation. She tweets under the username @TRHorizons and is the admin and chief content creator for Tomb Raider Horizons.
18 Comments on “The 10 Scariest Tomb Raider Enemies: The Core Design Years”
I love the face on the Winged Atlantean. Makes me laugh. The good old days!
Their lack of facial skin makes them look like they’re smiling. Maybe they just wanted to befriend Lara.. 😉
By the way, I’d also like to give an honourable mention to pretty much any animal Lara comes across in the games. One of my biggest frights and “fails” came at the hands (or should that be paws?) of that bear that comes charging out of the hut in Vilcabamba. It was the first time I’d played the game and in my panic, I ended up falling into the pool and drowning because I hadn’t figured out how to make Lara swim. :-p
I can so relate to this. Also the bear in the pit in the caves. Once you know it’s there, it’s easy enough to stand on the rim and shoot the bear from above, but when I was first learning to control Lara and hadn’t quite mastered the set-up for a running jump, I missed that one on the first try and fell into the pit. Terrifying!
not a single enemy from The Last Revelation? I found the guardian at the Chambers of Tulun really frightening! and I am a 20 year old man! LOL
I don’t really remember the enemies of Last Revelation that well…but I couldn’t really think of any particularly scary ones. I found the scarabs a bit scary but that’s about it. 🙂
The first one, I hated him!
And the worst bit is that it’s so easy to fall off the edge….and it was a heck of a long way down. Long enough for Lara to scream at least twice as she plummeted to her death. :-/
I hated him grabbing her more, the scene was horrendous.
I remember my first fight against the T.rex. I had dreams about fighting off a T.rex with a pair of pistols for a while afterwards. Unlike Lara, I never won those fights.
Great list, but I missed the giant spiders from Temple of Xian!
Sorry, but where was the butler in this list? He genuinely scared the crap out of me in that awfully quiet manor of hers.
I still say the Bog Witch looks like Freddy Krueger
To me the most terrifying of all the enemies in the series is the wolves from TR1, I was three years old when my sister starting teaching me to play that game, and I used to really enjoy it until the wolves jumped out at me and it would make me cry. I’m pretty sure I even had nightmares about it. Playing today and looking at those wolves I still get a reminder of that terror whenever they snap at me or run around a corner in the distance.
The Yeti’s STILL terrify me!
That dark room with the yetis in Tomb Raider 2…. *shivers* o_0
I love the face on the Winged Atlantean. Makes me laugh. The good old days!
Their lack of facial skin makes them look like they’re smiling. Maybe they just wanted to befriend Lara.. 😉
By the way, I’d also like to give an honourable mention to pretty much any animal Lara comes across in the games. One of my biggest frights and “fails” came at the hands (or should that be paws?) of that bear that comes charging out of the hut in Vilcabamba. It was the first time I’d played the game and in my panic, I ended up falling into the pool and drowning because I hadn’t figured out how to make Lara swim. :-p
I can so relate to this. Also the bear in the pit in the caves. Once you know it’s there, it’s easy enough to stand on the rim and shoot the bear from above, but when I was first learning to control Lara and hadn’t quite mastered the set-up for a running jump, I missed that one on the first try and fell into the pit. Terrifying!
not a single enemy from The Last Revelation? I found the guardian at the Chambers of Tulun really frightening! and I am a 20 year old man! LOL
I don’t really remember the enemies of Last Revelation that well…but I couldn’t really think of any particularly scary ones. I found the scarabs a bit scary but that’s about it. 🙂
The first one, I hated him!
And the worst bit is that it’s so easy to fall off the edge….and it was a heck of a long way down. Long enough for Lara to scream at least twice as she plummeted to her death. :-/
I hated him grabbing her more, the scene was horrendous.
I remember my first fight against the T.rex. I had dreams about fighting off a T.rex with a pair of pistols for a while afterwards. Unlike Lara, I never won those fights.
Great list, but I missed the giant spiders from Temple of Xian!
Sorry, but where was the butler in this list? He genuinely scared the crap out of me in that awfully quiet manor of hers.
I still say the Bog Witch looks like Freddy Krueger
To me the most terrifying of all the enemies in the series is the wolves from TR1, I was three years old when my sister starting teaching me to play that game, and I used to really enjoy it until the wolves jumped out at me and it would make me cry. I’m pretty sure I even had nightmares about it. Playing today and looking at those wolves I still get a reminder of that terror whenever they snap at me or run around a corner in the distance.
The Yeti’s STILL terrify me!
That dark room with the yetis in Tomb Raider 2…. *shivers* o_0