Level reviews

"It is a short, straight-forward type of level with nostalgic TR1 atmosphere. Gameplay is quite easy and usual consisting of several switches to pull, some basic jumps, collapsible floors, boulders, and two timed runs. There is a one quite illogical part where you have to open a door by backtracking to an earlier area, kill a bat and return back to the opened door. Without a walkthrough this would have been very difficult to figure out. Overall, it is a fun level to play through if you are looking for something short and easy." - Samu

"A very nice Incan level. Would be amazing if the unused spaces were used, and if it had a proper goal and ending, as we just whoosh through and find nothing. Despite of that it stays immersive all the time and I had no problems whatsoever. Recommended." - DJ Full

"The author has absolutely nailed the TR1 Peru atmosphere, as far as I am concerned, all the way to the black skybox. No dinosaurs in sight as you search for a number of levers and a couple of key items in these ruins, but it still evokes a very good feeling of nostalgia. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound effects as well, not just for the wolves but also the doors, and the audio selection is also very appropriate. Definitely worth checking out. 35 minutes, 2 secrets. 02/22" - Treeble

"I enjoyed most of this TR1 inspired and atmospheric level with good texturing and easy progression. Good work with flipmaps and use of sinks. The 2 Secrets are easy to find. In the third part of the level, i thought i would give up for there was a crash in the tunnel with darts area. As the timed closed door was not opened again I looked at the walkthrough and it says : " jump back over the gap and use the slopes to get back to the tunnel entrance. I killed a bat and walked over the tiles at the top of the slope. I did not enter the slope area again. Then I went back to the door and it was open". ...Problem is i could not do that because of the crash (and no bat appeared). Then i thought of another game Tomb Raider Peru by Idealist where in one of the levels , you have to kill all enemies so not to experience crashes. I did the whole city sequence again from a previous savegame, this time i killed the 2nd bear you meet in this level even if this one was not aggressive. Then i could proceed as the walkthrough says. So to be on the safe side, better kill all enemies you meet (except the guy that can not be killed the first time). It is still strange that a door opens by the appearance of a bat, that what seems to happen here anyway. That spoils a bit the experience, but i'm glad i could finish eventually. The end section is a bit more challenging with a great timed door although not very taxing." - eRIC

"If you're in for a bit of nostalgic raiding in the TR1 style, then this is the one for you. It's not a straightforward remake of the respective Lost Valley level, but the textures and music will likely bring those memories flooding back (whether you liked the original game or not). Nothing difficult in the gameplay section (not even the timed runs were taxing) and the ending was a bit abrupt, but the environments are evocative, enemy attacks action packed and overall it has definite entertainment value." - Ryan

"I really enjoyed this level. I thought the design of the level was kept quite simple and linear, in key with the original Tomb Raider game. There was some quite pretty moments in the game too. I was looking for a game based upon TR1 which didn't require the use of dosbox, so was happy to find this. One thing I would comment on, which I think was overlooked slightly, was that, the sound effects reminded me that I was in fact playing a level based upon the TR4 engine. I think it would have been really nice to hear some of those retro TR1 styled footsteps/ gunshots, etc. Also, just slight inconsistency with the shadows. It may have been better to leave shadows out altogether IMO. Overall, not a bad level at all, and I will definitely look into playing other titles from Dennis16." - Cosmos

"In this level we go back to the basics from the original Tomb Raider. Although this is in no way a remake, everything here feels like it came right out of the original. The game play is fairly simple and fluent and I did enjoy this level a lot until I hit a game-stopping bug where my level crashed to the desktop. I tried everything to revive it and even transferred from Win7 to a XP computer but it kept crashing at the exact same spot (after running up the stairs with the poisonous arrows). Luckily I did find the save game from the Hungarian website and was able to finish by missing about ten minutes of game play. (Link below in the review by Obig). This annoyance aside the level was nicely built. There was good use of cameras, nice secrets and lots of original Tomb Raider sounds and objects like weapons and Medipacks. Room architecture and layout was nice and complimented by good TR1 cave texturing and well-done lighting. I would have rated higher if it wasn't for that unfixable crash, but I would still recommend it, especially if you liked the original Tomb Raider, you'll love this one. Just remember there is a save game in case you run into the same bug." - Blue43

"A standard level which reminds us something of Peru I guess. There are wolves, bats and Larson to fight along with some keys to find and the Idol symbol at the end. I don't like such levels because I find them way too old and so out of our time. You should play this only if you want an easy level and still like the old, uninteresting textures and sceneries of older TR games. I found two secrets that were easy enough." - Kristina

"Having just replayed the original Tomb Raider 1 game prior to booting up this level, I can say it was a real pleasure playing The Inca Trail. Dennis has created a little side storyline to fill in some gaps in Lara's adventure after her first encounter with Larsen. The level has stayed authentic to all facets of the TR1 game - music, lighting, texturing and enemies and of course Lara. Fortunately one aspect of the original game is avoided - Dennis's texture application is very good so the level is pleasant to the eye. There is good use of rock and cave areas, providing some fun jumps to get around certain areas. There are a couple of good timed runs to perform, although one of them had me stumped for a while as there was no camera clue to indicate that the door was timed. A few missing in-game sounds slightly took the edge off the overall atmosphere for me. I liked the use of some reverse angle camera shots as Lara entered new areas. Originality in gameplay is a little lacking, but maybe this is more an artefact of Dennis wishing to stay true to the TR1 style of gameplay. If that was his intention, then he's succeeded in capturing that style of play. There is some good tension introduced in the ambush by Larsen, that will have you ducking for cover as you search out an escape route. The level is fun to play as you really do feel like you're playing a level that could have been in the original game. I'd recommend it for when you're in the mood for a fun hour or so of classic TR style raiding. Difficulty is reasonably easy and suitable for all players." - EssGee

"I couldn't complete the level, because of a bug, had to use Michaels's savegame. That ruined gameplay, which wasn't bad otherwise, easy and fluent, levers and timed runs. Some rooms weren't utilized enough, there were places, mainly in the upper areas of the larger rooms, it seemed Lara will go there, but she didn't, that left a mild feeling of unaccomplishment. She could have done more in those areas. Also I found an uzi clip, but there was no uzi, maybe a sequel will come? Some objects more, for decoration would have been nice, some rooms felt empty. Enemies, music, and well applied textures from the TR1 Peru levels, that I liked, atmosphere was good too, lighting was a bit too uniform." - Akcy

"This level is very beautiful, it really brings back the Vilcabamba level of TR1. The enemies are wolves, bears and a gunman. The level is not hard; it's an easy little adventure. But there is an annnoying bug. When you pick up the Inca Symbol near the end of the level and start going out of the room, the game quits. I could only complete this adventure using Michael's savegame too, that I downloaded from http://trle-community.net/. The savegame can be downloaded at the hungarian walkthrough, but I also inserted it into the ZIP-file of the level. It's a pity, this bug made the ratings a lot worst. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/the_inca_trail.htm" - Obig

"This time Lara explore an old inca ruins, but... she's not alone. Although there's not great puzzles, gameplay is good and sometimes you have the sensation to let something back, tasks are easy. I couldn't find flares, but easy secrets and enemies are majority animals. Good ambience, this level will remember you the first adventures of Lara in Peru jungles. Sure that you'll take a good time if you play it." - Jose

"Back to root of Laras episodes. Very nice made level with characteristics of old age, when Lara start to going to trouble in old ruined fortress and buidlings of lost civilisations of Inka, Maya... Level are very gentle made it with beauty old sounf and atmospheric of first Tomb Raider. Big water pool in some kind of red and blue with water lever are one of great made it for this kind of porpose. And only one lever inside for action, when go out and stand on block, two big rolered down. Wolfes are good and man in red too with classic weapons, when he start with granades not could hurt Lara. Maybe are little simple what to do and after one area second are almost same, but still keep it attention on playing and for about one hour i finished this nice level." - Ivan

"This started out pretty good (btw Mac (for sure) and PC players you might not be able to finish the level, see further down as almost at the end my game crashed and I wasn't the only one). I love the textures of TR1, so I was on my way. It isn't so hard that one gets frustrated but I had to pause every now and then and think things through and figure out where to jump to and what to do. Up till the room where I got the Idol Key (the one with the two rolling balls) and yes, apparently lots of other people experienced the same crash. There is a TR4 exe one could download but that didn't help, as the game at my end never would start. For the PC I got a saved-game from the boss so I could hit the finishing rigger, which wasn't that far away, but still.... So Dennis, I don't know what you did but you better fix this right away as you can do better than that, as this ruined it for me big time" - Gerty

"This is an excellent creation of the much loved (certainly by me) TR1 - the textures, the version of Lara, the audio files - the whole atmosphere just transported me back to those exciting early days of discovering tomb raiding. The gameplay has no great complexity, but it's fluid and moves along nicely, with a few interesting moves to achieve and a good timed run. Not many enemies - mainly dogs, so the shotgun comes in handy. I'd say this is a level for players of all abilities and if you have a soft spot for TR1 you really shouldn't miss it." - Jay

"Apparently TR1 is quite 'en vogue' these days with Levelbuilders - maybe because of the 10th anniversary of its original release - but I am not complaining. This starts out as a somewhat linear and fairly easy level that does however never really get boring as Dennis has Lara do a series of tasks that feel quite authentic in following an Inca Trail. Maybe a few too many levers and a few to few enemies, but some fun jumping, flooding of areas needed, a wheel and a key to find and two nice secrets. Then however, I had a crash though when I pulled the lever near the big medi after a pushblock and checking the forums it seems many others are experiencing similar crashed in different places in the level. I could play another big section and actually reach the finish trigger with a savegame from the levelbase, but of course the overall experience of the game was spoiled." - MichaelP

"I have enjoyed all of this author's levels. When I saw this posted I stopped the one I was about to start and compiled it instead. I was not dissappointed, I thouroughly enjoyed it. With it's Inca style setting it is very reminiscent of Lara's first adventures and included some of the music from these. It was very atmospheric and the difficulty was just right for me, no hard puzzles but I did have to stop and think how to progress sometimes. Enemies were bats and dogs, and Larson makes a reappearance. They are well placed and made me jump more than once. When I reached the end I was sad that it was over. The sudden ending does, however, suggest there may be a sequel. As I said, I am a fan of this author and cannot wait for his next adventure." - Jez