Tomb Raider Chronicles is an action-adventure video game in which the player assumes the role of archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft, exploring a series of ancient ruins and tombs in search of ancient artefacts. The events of Chronicles are portrayed as a series of flashbacks to adventures at different points in Lara's life.[4][5] The levels are split between four locations; Rome, the coast of Russia, an island near Ireland, and a corporate building in New York City.[6][7] The Windows version includes a level editor, allowing players to create levels using available Tomb Raider architecture and mechanics.[8]
As with earlier Tomb Raider titles, the game is presented from a third person perspective with a camera system which moves with Lara or remains fixed depending on the environment.[4] Key to progress is solving puzzles scattered through the level, which can rely on pulling different types of switches, completing platforming challenges, or finding key items.[9] Gameplay is mostly carried over from Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation; Lara is navigated via tank controls, can jump in four directions, walk, sprint, crawl and roll through narrow areas, swim and wade through bodies of water, climb up and along ledges and ladders, and use monkey bars to traverse gaps.[4][9][10] New additions are her ability to walk along tightropes, swing from horizontal poles, and flip out of crawl spaces.[6][11]
She can search the area, including cupboards, for items such as medipacks and secrets.[4][6] She has access to several tools including binoculars for seeing far off areas, a grapple gun for creating ropes to swing on, and a crowbar that can be used contextually to break locks.[4] Combat focuses on Lara firing at enemies with her equipped weapon; they are her trademark pistols with unlimited ammunition, weapons that can be found in levels such as a sniper rifle.[7][10] Each level has specific themes and mechanics or styles; the Rome levels are inspired by earlier Tomb Raider titles, the Russian levels includes an Extreme Depth Suit for exploration in an underwater area, the Ireland levels portray a young Lara without access to weapons, while the New York levels focus on stealth and give Lara limited ammunition for her weapon.[6][7]
