Tomb Raider superfan breaks record for massive Lara Croft collection

Superfan Amy Dyson, 33, has loved the heroine Lara Croft since she was a child and her collection began to grow after 21st birthday.

Amy's haul reached a record of 291 items when she was awarded the accolade - but now owns a whopping 342 video games, magazines and even a life-sized Lara statue.

The franchise centres on archaeologist Lara Croft searching dangerous tombs for lost artefacts, featuring 12 mainline games and three live-action films.

It will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year (2026) ahead of two new entries into the series.

Amy, whose collection sits in her mom's home in Milton Keynes, Bucks., said the franchise helps with her functional neurological disorder (FND).

Amy, whose favorite game is Tomb Raider II, said: "The levels are familiar because I've played them again and again.

"It's a nice distraction technique to calm me down especially if I'm struggling with brain fog.

"It's helped me in other ways too.

"I've always been terrified of heights but I channelled my inner Lara to climb the O2 arena.

"I wanted to create something I could look back on with pride and show that FND doesn't define what I can achieve."

Amy was diagnosed with FND eight years ago after her arm began twitching.

She suffers from brain fog and paralysis - and said the Tomb Raider franchise is her saving grace.

Amy explained Lara had showed her women could have leading roles in often male-dominated spaces.

She said: "I was one of very few girls in my primary school and I was the only one playing video games.

"The games were catered towards more caring aspects of their female characters but with Tomb Raider, I'd finally found something where the woman was a lead character.

"She was out having all of these adventures and, growing up in the countryside, I would feel like Lara, climbing over things."

Amy began playing Tomb Raider when she was six after she, her dad and her brother found Tomb Raider II in a discount bin of a shop.

While they waited for it to install, Amy - who wasn't allowed to play it due to the age rating - read all of the instructions.

When her dad and brother couldn't get past the first levels, she took over and her obsession began.

At university, Amy was gifted some Tomb Raider merchandise for her 21st birthday and began buying more on eBay with spare student loan money.

She said: "To begin with, I was looking more at the quirky merchandise. I realised I was sitting on some rarities and I kept finding more.

"My bank would call me to check the transactions were actually me - I was ordering from abroad."

Amy came into the possession of a 6'7ft-tall Lara Croft statue and kept it at her university digs.

She added: "When we had a house viewing, I kept her hidden in the corner.

"All these poor new students got scared by this giant Lara Croft by the front door. I had to tell them she was mine and no, she didn't come with the house."

Amy's most prized part of her collection is the June 1997 edition of Face Magazine - with Lara as the cover star.

What makes Amy's special is that it is signed by various voice actresses for Lara and staff who worked on the games, including Neal Boyd, a level designer on the early games.

Amy now runs Tomb Raider Games Library (@tombraidergameslibrary), an Instagram account where she shares photos of her collection inviting people to share in the nostalgia.

Two new Tomb Raider games are set to be released in the autumn of this year and Amy will be looking to add to her collection.

She said: "When I was a child, my brother and I picked up a gaming magazine and he read that there was going to be no more Tomb Raider.

"I burst into tears in the middle of the shop, I was absolutely distraught.

"Then later we were watching TV and we saw an advert for a new Tomb Raider. Lara was coming back.

"She always does and with the new games coming out this year, we can't wait."