Has Tomb Raider’s violence been toned down for PS4 & Xbox One re-release?

Crystal Dynamics has toned down the extreme violence found in one of Tomb Raider’s key scenes for the PS4 and Xbox One re-release, according to a new report.

Hardcore Gamer reports that the scene, which sees Lara captured and beaten around halfway through the game, has had the original version’s extreme blood and heavy bruising removed from Lara’s face, “with just trace scratches left on her arms”.

The site also has screens appearing to verify the claim, which we’ve cropped and pictured above.

“While there’s not a lot of of times in the game where Lara is visibly bloody (at least from being hurt, not falling into it), we noticed it on a few other occasions as well,” reads the report. “It’s unclear what spurred this decision as both versions of the game are rated Mature and Crystal Dynamics has not mentioned removing it, but it’s an interesting case of apparent censorship in the ‘Definitive Edition’ of the game.”

Both the original Xbox 360/PS3/PC release and Xbox One/PS4 re-release carry the same PEGI 18 rating and – bar an additional line regarding drug references in the next-gen version’s comic book – identical ESRB descriptions.

However, rather than actively censoring the game, one explanation could be that Crystal Dynamics simply failed to remodel some of the extreme wounds found on Lara’s face while re-modelling her face for the next-gen versions.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition went on early sale in the US last Friday, and is due to launch in the UK this Friday, January 31. VideoGamer.com has contacted Square Enix for comment.

Source: hardcoregamer.com