Oh, Lara, life would've been so much easier for you if only you stayed away from all those perilous expeditions of yours - though that way, we wouldn't have gotten to see these incredible moments which make you such a landmark character. And Lara's accomplishments in Tomb Raider make her a personality to look up to; not many characters can say they've had as many game outings as Lara herself.
With the character still being discussed to this day, even over 25 years from her creation, Lara has some remarkable tales to tell. Every re-imagining of the character paints a new stroke of the character fans have come to love, mixing supernatural elements with the simplistic idea of guns and archery.
8 Ix Chel And Chak Chel - Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
Lara really does back herself into a corner after stealing a dagger that brings tarnish and death in the form of the Mayan apocalypse. The rest of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider then follows Lara as she searches for a way to prevent this from getting worse while also attempting to take down trinity, this time for good. Solving this requires Ix Chel (Lara) and Chak Chel (Crimson Fire), which represents a goddess duo, to work together.
Lara and Crimson Fire fend off Trinity forces, with Lara then defeating Dominguez and thus ending the sacrificial ceremony they've fought so hard to end.
7 Fighting The Bear - Rise Of The Tomb Raider
Not many games have missions where you hunt a bear that is actually a threat to the protagonist. Most times, it's a tutorial section teaching controls to the player. Rise Of The Tomb Raider takes this concept and turns it on its head with a bear fight that tests Lara's mastery and prowess.
Lara enters the cave the bear is inhabiting, drawing it out onto higher ground to fight the animal, firing a mix of standard and poison arrows to take them out. This moment perhaps best portrays the differences between the original and survivor games.
6 Climbing The Radio Tower - Tomb Raider (2013)
Players with fear of heights beware, as Lara climbs an astonishingly high radio tower in this entry to call for help. The 2013 Tomb Raider, which kicked off the reboot trilogy, put Lara through a lot all at once, setting a new origin for the character laced in heroic feats.
One of the most memorable 2013 moments is when Lara climbs all the way to the top of a radio tower, which is crumbling apart the higher she climbs. It's tough to watch and even tougher to control, as don't you worry; you will get to control Lara and her risky moves as she leaps and stumbles to reach the summit.
5 The Events Of The Red Alert Mission - Tomb Raider Chronicles
The "Red Alert!" mission wouldn't be only a giant undertaking for Lara but for you, the player, if you managed to break through this area without rage-quitting. It's a testament of how well you and Lara work together, which is sweet... sort of, or it would be if it weren't frustratingly difficult to complete.
Lara admittedly spends most of this time skulking around in the vents, jumping between and climbing ropes, and knocking out any enemies in her path, but it's an exceedingly intense and lengthy segment.
4 Taking On Natla - Tomb Raider: Underworld
Wielding Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, Lara enters the final showdown with Natla, braving to take her on despite the daunting odds. But it isn't necessarily the last meeting of Lara and Natla, which is one of her best feats. Instead, it's how Lara continuously dared to go head-to-head with Natla, knowing who she was going up against.
Lara has fought otherworldly beings before but watching her throw her sarcastic anger-fueled remarks while taking on all manner of foe just to get close enough to Natla is truly a sight to behold.
3 Enter The T. Rex - Tomb Raider (1996), Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tomb Raider is scary, actually - or at least the unintentional jump scares are like the one where a T. Rex leaps out and tries to take a big chunk out of Lara. The T. Rex is a boss in Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider Anniversary that makes its appearance after you fight a few smaller Dino enemies, which were already intimidating enough, but then this here T. Rex shows up to play.
Defeating a colossal once thought ancient beast is challenging already, so hopefully, Lara doesn't have to deal with the real-life version of tank controls.
2 The Great Pyramid - Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
During the events of The Last Revelation, Lara has to take a small break from the mission at hand to scale The Great Pyramid. As expected, there isn't a clear one-shot path to the exit, and so Lara must awkwardly shuffle and jump on the pyramid.
Even just the idea of someone traveling to a pyramid is a pretty cool thought; climbing and seeing it up close in Tomb Raider style is even greater. Lara's definitely seen her fair share of iconic historical landmarks that would make even Nathan Drake jealous.
1 Encounters With The Doppelganger - Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Underworld
Both versions of the Doppelgänger make things tough for poor Lara, curtailing her plan to stop whichever world impending doom is on the table this week. This is especially true in Underworld, where Natla brainwashes the Doppelganger into doing all her dirty work, making her nothing more than a mindless drone.
And with the moral question on the horizon of "Is Lara's Doppelganger at fault?" Well, no. Lara knows that. We know that. Everyone does, so it's a somber end when it's left unstated about the character's fate.