Lara Croft: The Sun Obelisk

About

Lara Croft: The Sun Obelisk is a text-based adventure built with the ADRIFT toolkit. Players follow Lara on a quest to recover the Sun Obelisk, an ancient artifact with powerful properties. The story unfolds through rooms and inventory management, with Lara racing against her former ally Damian Strathairn to reach the artifact first. The game offers two versions, one adult and one non-adult, giving players control over tone and content. Exploration centers on navigating 31 distinct rooms, each containing 5 to 6 collectible objects that influence progression. What sets this game apart is its branching approach to storytelling, letting players shape the narrative’s maturity level. The ADRIFT framework keeps the focus on puzzle-solving and item-based logic rather than combat or action. While not graphically intensive, the game’s strength lies in its straightforward structure and Lara’s signature tenacity. Community logs note the title remains a niche entry in the Tomb Raider mythos, with puzzle enthusiasts appreciating its clean design. Released in 2003, it holds a steady 7.2/10 on IFDB, praised for its accessibility and dual-path flexibility.

Storyline

The Sun Obelisk follows Lara’s attempts to find the forgotten Sun Obelisk, an artifact that grants special powers to anyone who has contact with. However, the map that was showing the location of the Sun Obelisk has been stolen by Lara’s former friend, Damian Strathairn. But Lara had a copy of that map.... and the adventure begins...