For many years, Square Enix has been the publisher of several well-loved game series. They’re most famous for their Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs), including franchises like Final Fantasy, Octopath Traveler, and Kingdom Hearts. However, Square Enix also used to be the owner of the game developer Crystal Dynamics, known for its work on the Tomb Raider series. From 2009 until 2022, Square Enix owned Crystal Dynamics and was able to publish the first Tomb Raider game with cooperative play, called Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.
This unique game featured Lara Croft, but it wasn’t branded as a Tomb Raider title on the box. Despite this, it’s still recognized as part of the Tomb Raider series, and a rather distinctive one. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light first came out during the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 generation. Different from earlier Lara Croft adventures, Guardian of Light focused on cooperative play. Players could play as Lara or as Totec, a Mayan warrior who was her companion. Now, thanks to a re-release on Game Pass, the game is available on newer Xbox consoles.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Joins Xbox Game Pass
On September 30th, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light became available with Xbox Game Pass. Players with either the Standard or Ultimate subscription can now play this 15-year-old game on their Xbox One or Xbox 360. Although there’s a single-player story for those who prefer to play alone, the game is best known for its cooperative mode. Luckily, Crystal Dynamics is making that experience accessible again with its addition to Xbox Game Pass.
Players with an Xbox Game Pass subscription can play Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light with a friend, either locally or online. An active Game Pass membership is needed to play online on Xbox, but many returning players probably already have one. If you’d prefer to experience this classic game without a subscription, you can purchase it outright for $14.99. Honestly, the game still looks surprisingly good considering its age.
It’s often unpredictable when a well-established series tries a co-op game for the first time. However, Guardian of Light was generally well-received by critics. It earned an aggregate score of 85 on Metacritic when it launched and sold over 1 million copies within its first two years. The game was so successful, in fact, that it led to a sequel, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, which came out in 2014.
Since 2023, Nintendo Switch players have been enjoying both of these team-up Lara Croft adventures, which were re-released as The Lara Croft Collection. Now, the original game is also coming to Xbox consoles, letting even more Tomb Raider fans experience the co-op gameplay.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light can now be played with Xbox Game Pass, or you can buy it separately for Xbox One or Xbox 360. The next game in the series isn’t included with Game Pass, but it’s available to purchase on its own for $19.99 on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.
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2025-09-30 22:43