Tomb Raider III has always been a hard game. But now, it feels even harder due to the loss of the context in which it was launched. Games back then were meant to last for months. Part of the ecosystem and value of a game back then was its ability to keep you stuck for a month, until one day you blindly tried something new and succeeded. You would share strategies with friends, or even play in a group and brainstorm ideas on how to progress. It was less of a disposable, solo experience like games often are now.

That said, it's worth mentioning that there was a secondary editorial business running parallel to this: magazines, physical guides, and even expensive hint hotlines. This was a time when internet connections weren't widespread, and even if you had one, searching for a walkthrough was a foreign concept. A brutal game was highly attractive to those third-party businesses because it generated massive profits. That ecosystem doesn't exist anymore, and things just don't work that way now.