So big shocker right? It’s Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for PS4.

So for backstory, when it comes to console, I tend to either rent or borrow my games. Technically, I “own” other games for PS4 because of my Playstation Plus membership, but since they disappear once the membership disappears…

So I had had a library copy of Tomb Raider for PS4 for a few months (I actually had it even before I owned the PS4) simply because no one else was getting in line for it. Then apparently there was a surge in PS4 purchases in this area and it went from no one on the waitlist to several people (to this day, I’m still waiting for the game to find its way back to me, which sometimes doesn’t even happen given that library patrons often run off with a game and never return it).

Around that time, it went on sale for $30. I just couldn’t justify that, but somehow I ended up buying a PC instead.

Part of that though was that I was more interested in the PC speedrunning route. It’s shorter and has more interesting tricks. I didn’t want to shell out $30 for the PS4 version, only to have it gather dust because I was more interested in playing the PC version.

Well, flash forward to the present, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the library’s PS4 copy because, as a “seasoned” PC speedrunner now, I’m really looking forward to trying out tricks on the PS4 version.

Of course, the PS3 would be a better choice in many ways (and even more so, since Definitive Edition is proving to be more than just a graphical upgrade), but for other reasons, probably mostly the loading times, I decided I didn’t want to run on PS3. Sort of a shame in a way, because in the whole time I’ve been waiting for the PS4 copy, the PS3 copy has been easily available.

So every so often, on the PS4, I’ll menu over to the Tomb Raider item (it’s installed since I previously had the disc), and check on the price.

Well, last night, I happened to check on it, and voilà, $18.

See, when I’ve seen it on sale for $30 as a disc, I’ve thought, “Too much. If only it were $20, I’d probably jump.”

So I jumped.

What kind of sucks is that I almost missed the sale too. Given the time on my digital receipt, I may well have bought it in the last possible 30 minutes of the sale. And as of today, it’s back up to $40 (though that’s cheaper than the $60 it was before).

So here’s some random thoughts on the digital experience. For one, I wonder if I should’ve bought it direct from the PS4 instead of from a browser. After it was purchased, my Tomb Raider menu item would no longer show the option to purchase it, just to launch it. When I’d try to launch it, it would say the disc wasn’t inserted.

So I had to delete the whole install. And maybe if I had just purchased it from the PS4, it would’ve magically “upgraded” it.

Next, after hours initially downloading it, I tried to load a save file.

Bam. It needs more content so let’s wait through another couple of hours downloading.

Apparently some (all?) digitial copies can do some sort of progressive download. It’s actually kind of a cool idea. I’m assuming that if I had started a new game instead of loading a save file from halfway into it, that I would’ve been able to start playing right away. Well, “right away” after the initial download, that is.

Basically, by the time everything was ready, it was pretty late.

I did however find time to demonstrate the final boss skip on PS4 (which apparently works the same way on xbone). Which is to say, it doesn’t work:

So as a run down, here are some random notes about the PS4 version vs. the others in terms of speedrunning:

  • radio tower OOB is definitely possible and this was the first major skip I learned (and as of now, the only major PS4 skip I’ve learned)
  • in the room in the bunker where you’re supposed to fill it with gas and break the windows, I can confirm that you can still jump above the door (a door clip is also theoretically possible here)
  • door clipping is possible at the 30-60 FPS but far more inconsistent and difficult - Greys confirmed that deer door and fire arrows gate clip are possible, but she had far more trouble on the PS4, whereas on the PS3, she clips doors like a fish ([ed. note: if you want the origin of this phrase, it’s because I told her that she took to door clipping like a fish to water, which somehow devolved into the bizarrely worded compliment that she can door clip like a fish])
  • the Akheon clip in Shantytown that you use to “fast forward” yourself to the last Grim battle… well, it appears to be impossible because they appear to have patched the fence - Greys wasn’t able to get it, and from watching her stream (have not yet seen it in person), it looked like the gap in the fence no longer existed… if true, it’s yet more proof that the Definitive Edition is more than just a graphical upgrade
  • house skip is possible on PS4 (as proved by greys) - I used to hear that supposedly there was some sort of “jump extension” that was only available on PC, but from locking my PC framerate to 30 FPS, my theory is more so that it’s just damn difficult to get the timing of the scramble jump at the low framerates and not that the PC somehow magically gives you a bit more distance
  • airboat skip is possible on PS4, in fact I find it far easier with a controller than on PC with the keyboard and mouse given that you have to use non-intuitive movements on PC to make it happen
  • the final boss skip doesn’t work - the jump seems to be harder to pull off even than on the PS3, but more importantly, unlike PS3/x360/PC, there’s no cutscene loading trigger on the platform with Sam, Himiko, and Mathias. You can wander around up there for fun, but once you reload, you’ll be back where you started. I’m still interested in seeing if there’s an alternate skip here or if there’s maybe a way to force the game to load the cutscene trigger somehow.

I think that about sums up what I know about the PS4.

Frankly, I think a huge reason why I wanted the PS4 copy wasn’t even necessarily to run it, but to do more trick finding. Trick finders/game breakers like Eydas/Eydass deserve a huge shoutout for the work they do. I think I’m finding I enjoy the trick finding far more than I enjoy putting it all together into a speedrun.

And in true first-world-problems fashion, I’ve been waiting for Outlast and the DLC to go on sale at the same time. See, whenever I play through Outlast, I’d like to have the option to go right to the DLC afterwards. And of course, the day after I buy Tomb Raider for $18, voilà, there’s my email notification that Outlast/Whistleblower are both on sale.

On the plus side, unlike how I found out about the Tomb Raider sale at nearly the last possible minute, I have nearly a full day to make my decision about whether to buy it now or wait for the next sale (if PC gaming has taught me anything, there’s basically always a next sale).