25 PlayStation Games You Must Play Before You're 25

8. Tomb Raider

There are some franchises that only aged with grace, and although I'd heartily recommend the rebooted 'Raider from 2013 or any other instalment in between over this one, considering how much of a cultural icon Lara Croft became, you owe it to yourself to see where it all started.

If you already played through Tomb Raider, you'll remember the tank-like controls and the incessant need to place Lara on just the right part of the environment before jumping, otherwise she'd fall over, and over, and over again.

Thankfully, a slight (if unintentional) saving grace came precisely from this. Because platforming was so awkward, climbing the titular tombs and ascending through any run of platforms and handholds genuinely felt death-defying - just as much in a "I really don't want to do this all again" kinda way, as fearing for Lara's safety.

Almost every aspect of Tomb Raider's gameplay has been refined and updated, but there's something about this original's 'broken' feel that's really rewarding in the long run.