Level reviews

"This level was a tough nut to crack. Phew! Even very attentive players will need a bit of luck in this game to spot very well hidden pushable blocks and switches. On her tour trough Mayan ruins laden with traps and riddles, Lara has to solve some pushable puzzles, find hidden pathways, avert traps, and do a good amount of climbing. In the end, she can get the Mayan relic, or settle for a golden idol instead. The puzzles are well thought through but almost impossible to spot at times. The objects in the game are mostly well selected, although some decoration does not seem to fit the Mayan theme. A few bearded goons and armed mercenaries will be encountered. I was a little surprised not to find any bats, snakes or spiders in the caves. Apart from some torches and a hall where you can see the blue sky, the atmosphere is very dark. Razzo provides some flares for Lara to use though. The audios are very well selected and fit the ambience, including some intermezzi of action. The work with cameras include cutscenes at the beginning and the end of the game, as well as some camera hints that were at times more useful than others. The textures are selected well and work in favour of the ambience. The lighting however was too flat at times because a lot of the time there were just no sources of light and no shadows to give Lara's surroundings the impression of plasticity. Overall I really enjoyed this dangerous adventure in the murky Mayan caves, although it is in part thanks to the walkthrough that Lara made it to the relic." - Sponge

"The ending is nice but it takes a ludicrous amount of time to reach. Until that point the game, while applying varied interactions, is just one dark corridor, best suited for night time. If you're out of patience, just skip straight to the second level or see the last bits on the video. Optional." - DJ Full

"As I mention every other review, I have a very strong bias towards TR1/TRA Peru levels and seeing those assets in here was very nice (although they were combined with Egyptian and Cambodian elements, and I'm sure others as well), but I'm afraid the gameplay itself was nowhere as interesting. I found myself taking three breaks from this level, despite it's relative shortness, because I thought there were way too many levers and switches to go around. The darkness wasn't much of a problem on my end (playing on a dark room with a bright screen, think I only ever used one flare), but I'm sorry to say it wasn't to my liking as a whole. 75 minutes, 2 secrets. 03/24" - Treeble

"Wonderful and unique environments, but at times it seemed very dark. I'm a sucker for secrets, so I felt that I would have preferred more than 1 secret per level. Not much of a challenge overall but has some pretty tricky moments making it a nice comfy and balanced level. Very smooth gameplay. Took 2 and a half hours to play" - izzynoodles

"I'm in complete agreement with the first two of Ian's three points. However, since (1) is standard fare for me, it has to be a really bad level before (3) ever comes into play. That's not the case here. Harry Laudie has provided a walkthrough that documents all of the potential pitfalls, and being so forewarned I had a grand time here. Each of the two levels took me a little less than an hour to complete, and the lighting was such that I rarely felt the need to light a flare and thus have no opinion as to whether the provided flares were deficient in any respect. Using the walkthrough, I played as the builder intended and thereby sopped up all of the gameplay morsels, although I did encounter problems in that last room opening the gates that led to the big buttons. However, they eventually opened for me, so I must have done something right. There's a lot of variety here, and although the tasks are somewhat obscure in places, that's why we have walkthroughs. I found this to be a thoroughly charming release that I can unconditionally recommend." - Phil

"1)There are levels that can only be completed with almost continuous consultation with the Walkthrough.2)There are also levels which contain pushable puzzles which fail to trigger something essential the first time around.3)There are also levels which simply just don't click with a player. The Mayan Relic double-level is one of the few custom adventures I've played where all three of these aforementioned shortcomings came into play.A preponderance of pushable blocks that look exactly the same as all the static blocks;a torch sequence that becomes appallingly round-about unless you know precisely what to do later in the level;and a new and stupidly configured (the down arrow enables Lara to jump up) move that is not documented anywhere in the release package - all these (and more) contribute to the first of the three 'fail categories'.The second category is very much evident in the Finale,involving numerous objects needing to be pushed onto numerous tiles;but which singularly failed to trigger anything the first time around.(Not that it matters too much;as a cunning jump can get you to the Finish Trigger regardless).Finally,the continual gloom (which the flares seemed singularly unable to alleviate) compounded by the authors choice of predominantly grey textures,prevented any sort of enjoyment to be perceived in the surroundings;and only resulted in a feeling of mild depression. The construction is absolutely solid,and often technically accomplished;the object placement is appropriate;enemies are used sparingly,but are effective enough;sounds and cameras do their best to enhance the two levels;and the secrets are well hidden - but,honestly,where was the fun? I could find very little within the two hours of gameplay." - Orbit Dream

"This is an enjoyable two-level set that to me seems underreviewed. Maybe the relative gloominess of the first level or some of the more tricky manoeuvres put people off fairly early on, but it any case I found this to be fun and challenging. The second level takes place in more attractive South American scenery, but both levels have complex and involving gameplay, mostly centered around movable objects. Try it out, I think you'll be surprised." - Ryan

"A fairly solid level that has some good and some not so good parts. For once, there are some interesting puzzles in here, and the gameplay is rather fluent without being too linear at all, and is spiced up with some timeruns and trap sequences that feel out of the ordinary. On the other hand, it seems a bit vague at times as some passages are lacking gameplay a bit, but it's mostly bearable. I also would have liked a clue on the final block puzzle which feels a bit obscure. The enemies don't play a large role in this level, and seem to be put in as an afterthought, as well as the two rather easy to find secrets, but the object design is attractive. The game makes use of some new moves which are a bit wacky sometimes. I found the atmosphere to be rather convincing with some really nicely built cave parts (the second level is a bit more blocky), and the sound is really well crafted. I expected an enemy around every corner just because of the music (but as said there are only few), and I think the builder has played with that, which works fine for me. Texturewise there could be some tweaking and the lighting is a bit off at times; the pushables could be better marked as some look identical with some solid walls nearby. I never found it too dark though, even if the atmosphere is rather gloomy - the builder has done a good job in that regard. Resumingly, this is certainly a level which hasn't deserved the low amount of reviews it has recieved so far, because it's a highly playable and charming little adventure that clocked in after about an hour for me. Recommended." - manarch2

"I'm wondering why this level on the wishlist. It has super puzzles and other gameplay ideas. Some frustration with the rollingballs, spikes and such, but a well-thought box-pushing and a good puzzle makes the action parts and the puzzle parts well-balanced. I caught up on the final puzzle for a while, then I looked up to the wall, and hey, there's the solution! And I thought that there's no logic in this one. The level is quite dark, the continuously dismal caves gets a bit monotonic after a while, but it looks realistic. Don't misunderstand me, I liked it. Nice musics make the flybys joy to watch. Good one, recommended." - rtrger

"Temple of Swords (8/7/9/8, 45 min, 0/1 secrets): You explore caves and are initially faced with many closed doors, but the game has a nice flow to it and they gradually open up. Audio works well to support the atmosphere and there is a variety of easy and fun puzzles with block pushing, a timed run and plenty of torch action. Only a single enemy just at the very end here.
Chamber of Division (8/8/9/9, 45 min, 0/1 secrets): This part felt a little more involved but it still flows nicely and easily along with diverse activity along the way. The initial rooms are quite small but still offer lots to do. There are several spike and boulder traps to manage and quite a bit of object pushing to do, but I never found it to be too tedious. A few more bad guys to battle here, but they are no major factor. It is actually possible to skip a big part of the level (for one part of the idol), as you can escape the double boulders without placing the idol, but it is a fun part to do, so I would advise going through the whole adventure.
Overall, a very solid and entertaining adventure, which is on the easier side, but not boring at all." - MichaelP

"A nice level that seems to have been aimed at the average player. This is not a criticism as I think that there should be levels for all players and even the best will find aspects of this one enjoyable. On the upside, good puzzles although perhaps too much use of moving blocks, interesting timed runs and a good use of the 3 dimensional aspect of the game, lots of ladders, slides and a bit of jumping about. Not many enemies but nicely placed. Have I mentioned before how much I dislike levels that need constant flaring? (Me and many players, I suspect) However here the lighting was pitched just right, in that flares were unnecessary for general gameplay and you could save them for finding pushable blocks. Well done. On the downside I found the acres and acres of stone textures, although well made, became boring and repetitive and detracted from, what could have been, a really nice looking level." - Diz

"A good two-parts adventure with a lots to do before grabbing the reward. I abandonned the game when it was released for there was no way for me to get down from a crawlspace in the first level, which seems to be silly but I know from the forum that I was not the only one who gave up because of that. Now I wanted to give the level another chance , and this time the same thing happened but I decided to continue by using PosEditor to get beyond the crawlspace and back. Maybe there was a new move that was not indicated , like the unindicated one you have to use in the second level to go reach a higher crack ? Anyway I was glad to go farther into the adventure as it is quite an entertaining one, the proof of that is that not more enemies were needed here as the player is always busy solving some puzzle , avoiding a trap , or doing an action with a bit of exploration. A well balanced game gameplay wise with good objects good texturing even if is really greyish. The lighting could be better though as it is rather flat in general. I had a problem finishing the level with the 2 Eastern movable urns (out of the 4) at the end , I placed them where they should be but that did not worked, so I had to do it again. Maybe the way you approach them near their final spot has a an importance for when I tried again I hear the sound of a rolling ball on the tile before the final ones. So take care and save before placing the 2 Eastern urns. Aside from these possible stoppers I did encountered and lighting that could be better, a good adventure with some inventive tasks. [1 hour 48]" - eRIC

"The level is quite good, but the extreme darkness ruins the gameplay. It's not good play always with flare in hand or use the binoculars hundreds of times; this makes the game very slow. There is a new movement you need to access some places, but the author does not mention in the readme file. The levels are full of traps which will kill you a lot of times; there are not much enemies, but hard to kill. Don't waste medipacks, you'll need it, there are very few pickups and ammo. I liked the architecture and textures, the cameras showing you where to go too. Explore all the corners carefully or you'll mis something and get stucked." - Jose

"Though this level has many areas which are a little dark, I never felt it was too much and none of it detracted from the over all great gameplay to be had here. In general terms parts of this level are not easy, and indeed one section has some quite nightmarish jumping over spike traps. At least, nightmarish until you figure out the easy way! There is a bit of going back and forth in this level, which can be a bit tiring, but that was more about simply wanting to get on and see the rest of the level. In other places it's not immediately obvious what must be done, which is good from one point of view because it demands a little thought, but from another it can also be a little bewildering. Some timed sequences are just a little tight, but not overly so. The layout of this level I found to be completely fascinating and the puzzles thoroughly enjoyable. It was great to see some seeming innovation in this level in the arrangement of some puzzles. Texturing was great and the choice of musical incidences were too. Guards in this level are easy to kill, with one set getting stuck and making it even easier to shoot them. Like others, I didn't need the idol parts in order to avoid the rolling balls at the end of the level. More than anything though I think what makes this level is how everything, despite being seen before, is made to seem novel and fresh. Great to see." - Czar

"A rather nice stand alone level set that kept me going for a bit. Be aware that there is a new move so Lara can jump from one crack in the wall to a higher one, as that is not in the readme. Although there are some enemies, exploring is high on the list here. I am amazed that there are no more reviewers to this date, you all be missing out on a rather nifty game. OK I admit it is on the dark side but I found enough flares. I liked the swords that came crashing down in the first level, nice use of the torch there. There is also pushing and some timed runs, but they are not frustrating at all. Some traps are thrown in for good measure. The second level is also exploring and you have to find the two pieces of the Gold Idol. Had some problems with the pushable objects in the huge room almost at the end as a door wouldn't open the first time around so keep a save in case you have to do it over again. Not sure how many secrets there are (38??), I only found a few. So all in all I liked it and although some textures could use some TLC, it is a nice adventure to keep you busy for a while." - Gerty

"Temple of Swords: This is a rather gloomy section and there are a few pushable blocks to find so don't neglect to flare round or you'll wonder why you aren't progressing. Some nice timed elements (not too tight) and torch work to activate the swords in question, which is a really cool animation that I can't recall having seen before. Chamber of Division: Still gloomy. The moveable blocks are a lot easier to see though and I did find a rather sneakily well-hidden crowbar right away, which cheered me up. This is pretty much enemy free up until the end when you get an unexpected selection of baddies, especially in the last area, so if you're thinking the shotgun is a complete waste of time, think again! It's an enjoyable level that I would definitely recommend, but I can't help but feel that if more builders lived where I do on the outskirts of Manchester, surely one of the soggiest cities in the world, there would be far more bright, sunny levels. I'm really hankering after a nice desert level now - in DAYLIGHT that is - any takers?" - Jay

"At the start it seems the author's message is, "I can make such devious traps, puzzles, and tricky rooms that none of you wimpy players is ever going to get through my levels." Which provokes Tomb Raider fans to prove that they can actually skip through the levels while on their lunch break. There is an impossible run over collapsing tiles surrounded by spike traps [the trick solution is the monkeyswing in the ceiling]. There is an impossible to light torch [a half-height block is actually movable, and can be slid under a wall torch]. There are more tricky tasks with the torch. The beginning of the second level, "Chamber of Divisions," slides Lara into a room with no possible way out. Fortunately just a few days ago I had played SSJ6Wolf's "The Wolf 2," and his many new moves become second nature by the time one is done. So almost without thinking, with Lara hanging from a wall crack, I pressed the "down" and "right" keys together, and Lara jumped up to a higher ledge. There is no Readme or any indication anywhere that SSJ6Wolf's new moves can be used in this level. And later look for another place where such new moves are essential. Most of the time Lara is crawling or wriggling through cramped dark passageways; not much architecture has been developed. Also I finished the game with only Part 1 of the Golden Idol. The complete Golden Idol was needed to drop some boulders from the top of a stairway, but Lara can circumvent this with a jump and quick side flip, triggering the boulders to drop harmlessly. If you really enjoy a contest of wits these are the levels for you." - dmdibl