Classic Tomb Raider runs on a 1 W ESP32-P4 chip thanks to a DIY port

Hardware creator Alejandro Villegas Alonso got the original Tomb Raider running on an ESP32-P4 microcontroller — a 32-bit RISC-V chip with dual 400 MHz cores that draws just 1 watt according to its datasheet. The clip surfaced on YouTube and the project details are up on GitHub.

The port runs OpenLara, an open-source recreation of the Tomb Raider 1 engine — not a PlayStation emulator, but a clean reimplementation that normally runs in-browser with unlocked FPS. Alonso's build uses a software RGB565 renderer at 320×240, hardware-scaled up to 1024×600 via the chip's Pixel Processing Accelerator, with stereo audio through an ES8311 codec and input handled by a USB keyboard. The specific board used is the ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board, which includes a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen and a camera module — both of which push total power draw well above that 1 W figure from the chip alone, with the 1024×600 LCD screen accounting for most of the extra load.

The ESP32 family has become a go-to for DIY hardware tinkerers precisely because the chips are cheap and capable enough to surprise. Development boards based on the ESP32-P4 run for under $30 in some configurations, which keeps the barrier to entry low. Recent projects in the same spirit include a credit card-sized computer, a pocket Game Boy emulator built around an e-reader panel, and something its creator cheerfully called the world's worst USB drive — all built on similarly modest silicon.

The project is open on GitHub for anyone who wants to dig into the implementation. Given how active the ESP32 modding scene already is, it would be no surprise to see more retro titles get similar low-power ports in the near future.