Lara Croft herself became a cultural icon, rising to prominence as one of gaming's most recognisable characters.

The game is one of the best-selling video games for the PlayStation, with seven million units sold worldwide, and it remained the best-selling title in the Tomb Raider franchise until the release of the 2013 reboot. Reception of the game was very positive, with praise for its innovative 3D graphics, controls, and gameplay, and it went on to win several industry awards. Originally announced in 1995, the title went on to receive extensive press attention and heavy promotion from Eidos Interactive. The music was composed by Nathan McCree, who took inspiration from English classical music. The 3D grid-based level design, innovative for its time, was inspired by the structure of Egyptian tombs. The character of Lara was based on several influences, including Tank Girl and Indiana Jones.

Production began in 1994 and took 18 months, with a budget of £440,000. The initial concept was created by Toby Gard, who is credited as Lara's creator and worked as lead artist on the project. Gameplay features Lara navigating levels split into multiple areas and room complexes while fighting enemies and solving puzzles to progress. The game follows archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft, who is hired by businesswoman Jacqueline Natla to find an artefact called the Scion of Atlantis. It is the debut entry in the Tomb Raider media franchise. It was first released on the Sega Saturn, followed shortly by versions for MS-DOS and the PlayStation. Tomb Raider is a 1996 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive.

Lara croft in bikini