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

Tomb Raider: 10th anniversary, a remake of the original Grave robber game for Sony’s PSP, canceled in 2006, recently resurfaced as a playable alpha, according to PC player. The game was developed by Core Design before being closed in favor of the Crystal Dynamics multiplatform Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Tomb Raider: Legend, a reimagining of the origin story of treasure hunter Lara Croft.

The playable alpha features rock climbing, swimming, and general platforming from the original game minus dialogue and enemies. It’s a nice throwback to an older style of Grave robber unlike the more cinematic and realistic approach taken by the new games. The alpha includes levels set in Greece, Peru and Croft Manor. You can see an example of the game’s gameplay in the YouTube video below.

The path taken by alpha files and assets to get here has not been entirely straightforward. Core Design, the original creators of Steep gravesr, was eventually sold by its publisher Eidos to Rebellion after the canceled remake. The unfinished game was then redesigned as a demo for a Indiana Jones game for LucasArts and as National treasure Game. Neither field was ultimately taken over, and the PSP game has gone down in history and in fans’ memories – until now. If you are curious about the development of Grave robber and the history of Core Design, EuroGamer has great functionality.

To try out the game for yourself, you will need to download the files from the Internet Archive and follow the instructions on Ash grave (a Grave robber fan site) so that the game is patched and playable. From there, you’re ready for a taste of the history of the game that never came to fruition.