I definitely have some nostalgia for the original two Tomb Raider games for the original PlayStation going on, but really the current console series (the 2013 Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) is my preference. The new Lara is just a more human and flexible character.
My absolute favorite installment in the franchise to date is definitely the 2013 console Tomb Raider reboot. It had the most genuinely compelling story and the most surprisingly dynamic character arc for Lara, plus less map clutter than Rise of the Tomb Raider and also than (to judge by the available preview footage anyway) Shadow of the Tomb Raider as well. It felt the most natural of all the games in the franchise to me. No wonder it's also been the top-seller among them! I feel that since then they've focused on making Lara into more of a superhuman type of character again and that's okay with me (I mean I get that this is an Indiana Jones-inspired franchise, after all), but not actually the way I'd prefer for this franchise to go at the end of the day.
