The long-lost Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary game has reappeared as a playable alpha – The Verge

Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary, a remake of the original Tomb Raider game for Sony’s PSP that was canceled in 2006, has recently resurfaced as a playable alpha, according to PC Gamer. The game was being developed by Core Design before it was shuttered in favor of Crystal Dynamics’ cross-platform Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Tomb Raider: Legend, a reimagining of the origin story of treasure-hunter Lara Croft.

The playable alpha features the climbing, swimming, and general platforming of the original game minus dialogue and enemies. It’s a neat throwback to an older style of Tomb Raider in contrast to the more cinematic and realistic approach the newer games take. The alpha includes levels set in Greece, Peru, and Croft Manor. You can see a sample of gameplay of the game in the YouTube video below.

The journey the alpha files and assets have taken to get here hasn’t been an entirely straightforward one. Core Design, the original creators of Tomb Raider, was ultimately sold by its publisher Eidos to Rebellion following the canceled remake. The unfinished game was then reskinned as a demo for an Indiana Jones game for LucasArts and as a National Treasure game. Neither pitch was ultimately picked up, and the PSP game faded into history and the memories of fans — until now. If you’re curious about the development of Tomb Raider and Core Design’s history, EuroGamer has a great feature.

To try out the game for yourself, you’ll have to download the files from the Internet Archive and follow the instructions on Tomb of Ash (a Tomb Raider fan site) to get the game patched and playable. From there, you’re ready for a taste of gaming history that never came to pass.