Let's be honest here, the modern controls in the Tomb Raider remasters get a bad rap. A lot of people don't understand them, and honestly? The game doesn't do a great job of explaining them either. So you end up with all these players thinking the modern controls are super limiting, that Lara can't do half the things she can do with tank controls. But that's just not true.

You can do absolutely everything with modern controls. Every single move. Some things are just done differently, that's all.

One thing that trips people up right away is that there are two different "action" buttons now. Aspyr and Saber split them up, and they're used for different situations. The Action button, which defaults to Triangle on PlayStation, Y on Xbox, X on Switch, and E on PC, is what you use to interact with the world. Levers, doors, buttons, blocks, pickups like keys, medpacks, ammo, weapons - all that stuff.

The Grab button is the Secondary button. That's R2 on PlayStation, RT on Xbox, ZR on Switch, and Left Mouse Button on PC. This is the one you're going to be using constantly while platforming. It's what makes Lara hold onto ledges. With all that out of the way, I hope this guide helps you out.

Remember that in modern controls, directions are relative to the camera. Not to Lara. That's the biggest difference and it takes some getting used to.

Vault to grab ledges, same as tank controls

Hold the grab button (Secondary/Grip) and press forward.

Hold the draw weapons button and wait for the animation. Then press and hold jump, and immediately after, press back, left, or right.

Now, I've seen some people complain that you can't sideflip without your guns out. But honestly? Sideflips are pretty much useless outside of combat in modern controls. Lara can instantly turn and jump in the same movement, so there's really no need for them. Backflips might have some very situational uses, like when you want to jump over something and Lara's legs might clip the ground, but those occasions are rare. And if you do need one, just pull out your guns and do it.

Hold the draw weapons button, wait for the animation, then tap backwards. Or you can press Look to toggle look mode, hold back, and then toggle look mode off while still holding back.

Press Look to toggle look mode. While in it, hold walk plus left or right. Keep holding them and press Look again to toggle it off.

I honestly think sidestepping is almost completely useless in modern controls. Just hold walk and move left or right normally, or use momentum going forwards and backwards if you need to run and jump. But in case you absolutely need it, now you know how.

Run towards the ledge and let Lara fall while holding the grab button. She'll turn around and grab the ledge automatically.

From idle: Press and hold jump, then immediately press forward plus walk.

From running: Keep holding forward, then press jump plus walk.

While hanging from a ledge, hold walk and press forward. Lara will do a stylish flip up onto the ledge.

Swimming is actually way easier with modern controls. Lara swims freely in all directions based on where the camera is facing. That includes up and down depending on where you're looking. No need to hold jump constantly.

To swim to the surface, just look up as far as you can and move forward until Lara breathes again. You can swim forward, backward, and sideways freely on the surface. To dive, hold the jump button. And if you need to grab a low ledge, hold forward plus grab.

Moving backwards while crawling/crouching

Hold walk while crouched and tap backwards.

Use the backwards movement method above until you're positioned with your back to the ledge. Then hold walk plus grab, and hold backwards.

While sprinting, keep holding forward and press roll.

Getting into vehicles is simple. Use the Action button and approach from either side. Steering works just like tank controls, these things can't strafe, obviously. Forward accelerates, down goes in reverse, and left and right turn.

To exit a vehicle, hold Roll and press either left or right. Lara will hop out on the side you pressed.

If your vehicle has a boost, use the Sprint button while moving forward. Lara will hit the gas and you'll get a speed boost for as long as you hold sprint. Just be careful, hitting a wall while boosting will damage Lara.

Some vehicles can't boost. Instead, they have machine guns. Use the Grip/Shoot button to fire while driving. This is actually how it worked in the originals too, the Action button was used for either boost or shoot depending on the vehicle. It forced you to choose the right vehicle for the right situation and kept you from abusing the machine gun power. Which is a bit of a shame, honestly, because those machine guns are really fun.

Light flare and throw flare: F on keyboard, or Selecl plus right bumper on controller.

Quick weapon select 1 through 8 on keyboard. On controller, Select plus A is pistols, Select plus B is shotgun, Select plus X is Desert Eagle/Automatic Pistols, Select plus Y is Uzis. The harpoon gun is automatically equipped when you're underwater.

Big medipack: 9 on keyboard. Small medipack: 0 on keyboard.

These are the same as in tank controls.

Look, modern controls aren't perfect. But they're a solid alternative and a great addition to the game.

Back in 1996, Tomb Raider was absolutely groundbreaking. But 3D adventure games were still new, there was no standard for controls yet, and analog sticks didn't even exist. The game was designed completely around tank controls, and the remasters stay faithful to that design.

I wrote this whole guide for modern controls, but that was never meant to discourage anyone from trying tank controls. Honestly, give them a shot. They make these classic games feel unique even today. If you're still struggling after trying, then absolutely switch to modern controls. You can play the whole game flawlessly with them and have a great time.

My goal here is to help newcomers and maybe even some veterans, enjoy these games in a new way. So please, don't give up on these amazing games because of the controls. They meant so much to me as a kid, and I know they mean a lot to a lot of other people too.

Remember, this is an optional control scheme. This is a single player game. There's no right or wrong way to play it. There's only YOUR way.