GoKawiilHobbyist runs OpenLara Tomb Raider port on $25 ESP32-P4 microcontroller board
Developer TheAlexKid777 demonstrated the OpenLara open-source Tomb Raider engine running on Espressif's ESP32-P4, a sub-$25 dev board with a dual-core 400MHz RISC-V chip. The game renders at 320x240 and is hardware-scaled up to 1,024x600 with stereo audio, all while the board draws only about 1 watt at peak.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The demo shows how far low-cost microcontrollers have advanced, now offering enough headroom to run playable 3D games that once required dedicated consoles or PCs, without demanding careful resource optimization from developers. It signals a shift where cheap, power-sipping chips can handle workloads previously reserved for far pricier and power-hungry hardware, opening doors for retro gaming and embedded projects alike.
- ESP32-P4 dev board costs under $25 and uses roughly 1 watt at peak power.
- OpenLara runs at 320x240 natively, scaled to 1,024x600 via hardware scaling.
- Modern microcontrollers now offer enough power that developers need less strict optimization for complex 3D games.
Espressif ESP32-P4 Function EV Board — This is the very chip behind that playable Tomb Raider demo — a dual-core RISC-V microcontroller board you can tinker with yourself. It's an ideal jumping-off point for running OpenLara ports, driving a display, or just exploring how far modern MCUs have come.
See Espressif ESP32-P4 Function EV Board on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: tomshardware.com — Mark Tyson, 2026-09-13
Published there as: “Playable Tomb Raider runs on a humble 1-watt chip — $25 board with dual-core 400 MHz ESP32-P4 MCU scales OpenLara up to 1,024 x 600 playable pixels”
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