Level reviews

"A level clearly inspired by Silent Hill with very eerie and psychodelic atmosphere. A really good job with the soundtracks which make you feel anxious. The enemies are customized - they look really cool and scary and sometimes jump scare you. The gameplay mainly resolves around running around the place and collecting keys. Though, there are some cool tasks provided such as pushable sequences and some traps too. All in all, it's a really cool level. Recommended." - BlackWolfTR

"Here I am trying to dodge one of the three feature-length levels pending from my 2005 raidlist only to find myself in an even weirder trap. While my final stats were just short of 80 minutes, it sure felt like it took me much longer to play through this (on a single sitting on a Wednesday night, no wonder it feels like I never have time to do anything!). I can't pinpoint why but I'm sure the darkness played an important factor in that feeling. I'm grateful Harry blazed through this to provide a walkthrough as otherwise I don't think I'd have it in me to reach the end. While the atmosphere is definitely there, it's mostly due to the audio selection as otherwise, even when you do light up a flare, it's not particularly appealing. The theme song, the horn, the shift with the red walls, all of these were nice touches (and I believe nods to the source material), but otherwise I think I'd have preferred if it was a 40-minute affair. I managed to run into the exact same situations Harry documented: the instakilling sharp blades blocking a narrow corridor, and later on during the fight with the boss she ran through the gate just as it closed. 80 minutes, 10 secrets. 03/23" - Treeble

"I came to a conclusion TRLE people just cannot build horror levels - for the ages, I've been waiting for that ONE level which will force me to change my pants, and to no avail. This one somewhat happens to deliver the atmosphere, but then skips almost all horror opportunities, and even WARNS you about the incoming jumpscare which completely nullifies the point - in fact, the most scary thing were those shield traps, because you just don't see them coming in a level of this category. Sounds are often missing although it improves the atmosphere - particularly interesting was the completely silent secret sound, which I legit think was meant to stand for "silent" hill. Enemies are okay and fit the topic of the game referenced, but decorations are very, very poor and could really do better than a set of copied corridors filled with generic objects - this is probably the most "stock" horror level I remember playing. To sum up, I will recommend this level, but again only for livestreaming, because in single player it makes no sense." - DJ Full

"I AM STILL FREAK OUT OF THIS GAME. I've played it in the 2015, I was thirteen at that time, and I remember I couldn't even play the game properly as I was so scared out of it! But then I managed and I noticed that the game isn't that bad at all, it's PURE HORROR though! The care to the atmosphere is unique, I'm not talking about the mediocre lighting or the quite bad texturing, no I'm talking about how much I remember I felt - and still I feel - freaked out of this game! OK, let's now talk about the level and not how this game was nightmare fuel for a tiny cub I was (yes, I know, it's only been 4 years, but I changed in this time! I swear!). The gameplay, it is overall exploring based, nothing is quite an enigma in this game to be honest ... it might be understanding where exactly you are supposed to go? I usually am OK with exploring based gameplay, yet I'm not with this level! Why? FLARES! One - freaking - hundred-fifty flares is not enough at ALL for this dark level! You might ask why I think picking up flares is an action that can be considered gameplay? Well, whatever is not part of the aesthetics and can be picked up is gameplay! Enemies, I don't remember getting pretty quickly the pistols, that has got very limited ammo though, yet I remember some enemies, that I didn't kill BECAUSE of the LIMITED AMMO. Atmosphere, I already covered this before as I did with lighting and texturing so ... I'm fine ... this review is finished ... I don't know how much I can really recommend this level, it's a great scary experience, quite Silent Hill 1-ish, yet it's not a great game because of the lighting so ... choose yourself, but beware, it's scary! Don't let yourself playing this game if you can be easily disturbed, or else ... well nothing pretty happened to me ... so ... Wolfy Regards." - Wolf7

"This game begins in the Dark Rooms, and I do mean dark. It's certainly atmospheric, but still a bit frustrating groping around in virtual pitch-blackness looking for your next objective. You do get 150 (!) flares to make use of as you go through both levels of this game, and it's quite twisting in places. The audio files do help in setting the scene and you meet up with your fair share of supernatural enemies, including a couple of familiar TR1 Atlanteans. Ammo is limited, so initially you have to explore for more and avoid the enemies you encounter, but by hightailing it to the exit in a few places, you should make it through fine. A good pick if you're a fan of the horror genre." - Ryan

"This might seem to be a strange selection for me to make here during Advent season. Moreover, it's a dark level, and as everyone knows, I hate dark levels. But once you accept the fact that you're not playing it for the eye candy, it's actually a pretty fun raid. There are two levels which seemed about the same to me, since both are equally dark, but together they'll give you well over two hours of net playing time. The gameplay is also quite inventive in places, and there are monsters unlike anything I've seen before in a custom level. Harry Laudie somehow managed to grope his way through while writing a very helpful walkthrough (making frequent disparaging comments about the darkness), and without it I wouldn't have bothered. If spooky levels are your thing, this is the download for you." - Phil

"DarkRooms--This level speaks for itself. This level was way too dark for anyone's liking. I mean, the author got the horror atmosphere down, but; there's no need to use excessive shadows as I thought the levels were scary enough. There were enough flares to last me the entire level and game so I'm not complaining, but; having to hit the shortcut for flares every 30 seconds is very annoying. Next thing on the list is the way that objects were used; they weren't blending in with the background...at all. Things stuck out and absolutely killed the mode but then; some objects were tinted and I was wondering why the builder didn't do that for all the objects unless he did and I was just blind from all the darkness. Here, it was mostly find your way around the area looking for stuff to use with other stuff that you'll need later on for other stuff. As confusing as it sounds...it's as confusing as it sounds. Puzzles were finding material and keys of such to open gates and other rooms to access along with switches. The only thing that got me was the atmosphere...it was superb. I liked the use of regular colors such as blue, green, and red. They added a lot of horror and mystery to the level especially the flooded basement area. That was the most creepiest part for me. Underground--This was about the same in terms of atmosphere, objects, enemies, but; the author does spice up the gameplay a little more. Now there're traps you have to watch out for especially the Tomb Raider 2 rolling blades which I've always wondered how they move on their own without a hill of any sort. Nethertheless, I was a little more intrigued with this level than the last. Now, talk about confusing mazes, no one likes a dark maze filled with already dark textures. Don't turn around in the Underground mazes unless you like being lost. But, yet again; the atmosphere was excellent. I personally like the room with the single bed with the blue lights and the end room with the boss fight lady w/ sword. Dark Rooms (Revisited)-- Lara finally ends up grabbing the dark cross from the last level if you managed to save enough ammo and is able to defeat the boss. You can proudly place the cross into its respective place and climb the pole while a Silent Hill soundtrack plays in the background. Overall, this game had it's moments but were sometimes ruined with frustration and complete confusion. I never usually look at a walkthrough unless I really like the game and really want to complete it, so I was relieved to have walked up to the light source at the end of the game. It gave me a few jolts as well. Time - 6hrs Secrets - 4/? Difficulty - Medium/Hard Recommended - Yes but you have to look really hard for things and think outside the box." - Larabiker301

"This is a very good take on a silent hill like level. I must say the enemies were very well done and made me jump quite often!" - Croft Storm

"Dark and scary level. Fortunately not always. In some places flares are not needed. We exploring huge and deserted building with traps which they are not difficult and few creatures. I don't know if some of them are immortal or not, because killing take too much time, so I gave up. Great music, perfectly fitting to atmosphere." - Andzia9

"As other reviewers already stated, this is a very, very dark level. You do get however 150 flares and I never ran out. But (and there has to be a"but" here) it is still quite dark and a nuisance to light a flare every few seconds. I only could play this level in shots burtst because the darkness gave me a headache. That is a real pity though. Overall this is quite a game. I jumped in my chair a few times. The enemies you encounter in the first level are far and between, but later you will see more of them. I didn't kill all of them though because of the limited ammo you get and although I did try, I ran out of ammo and had to reload and then made a dash to saver grounds. There are two game stoppers here, one shooting a throne and trying to get a key. Don't as you will be killed immediately and you don't need that key at all and much later, when encountering a she-devil (she has a key you need), don't go after her but stick in the room where you picked up some goodies as the gate will slam shut and there is no way out. You main goal is to find a cross and you end up almost on top of the place where you can use it. That was very good, as by then I lost my way completely. If you like horror, you like this one. But personally I think if this level was a tad brighter, it would attrack more players." - Gerty

"MpGrill clearly means a dark level when he builds a dark level. I think he wanted it to add up to the atmosphere, but it isn't necessarily so. As it isn't necessarily the opposite. To cut it short, the game could have done with a little less darkness, but at least we're given 150 flares right at the start and that's quite enough. It's a nice mistery/horror game with the drawbacks of the editor - but we all love the editor. I was puzzled quite often and had to resort to the walkthrough. Often because I couldn't see somenthing because it was so dark. But I was also amused amd I don't regret having chosen to shoot a few monsters here and there and having to put up with the limited ammo even for the pistols. If you like the genre, this is nice." - Jorge22

"I am a huge fan of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, so I was looking forward to this level. Yes, the level is very dark, but it fits with the level theme. The author was not a sadist, he included 150 flares at the very beginning! I never ran out and I was NOT conservative with them. The gameplay was pretty fun and definitely scary at times. I did wish that more of the baddies could be killed, but that added to the horror feeling. I can imagine that many players will be upset by the limited pistol ammo, but I never ran out of any ammo, so that wasn't so terrible. There were many areas that were a bit too confusing, and I would have been lost without the walkthrough. I really liked the Silent Hill inspired switching to an even scarier atmosphere. In my opinion, this wasn't used enough. Not everyone will pick up on the Silent Hill borrows, but that was one, the siren was another, and there was some great SH music in there, "Lullaby" being a standout, and maybe the only track, but I doubt it. The medi-paks were from Resident Evil and that was nice. There was one area that, if not careful, would have resulted in a fatal error. When I came upon the female demon, I entered the room with her, and a gate closed behind me, however, the female demon somehow ended up in the room I just came from. This is very bad, because she holds a key you need to move on. I believe this should have been caught by the author or beta testers. I was also a bit disappointed that there was no final battle. Since the author was taking this level in a Silent Hill direction, I imagined that Lara would face a final, evil demon who would have Lara's mother's soul, but then Lara could never get her back, or the whole thing could have been a ruse to get Lara in this horrible place, without reward. The author should have shortened the level by taking out some of the endless tunnels and connecting rooms and made a final battle that would have been a satisfying ending for the player." - Shandroid

"Your levelset was a lot like Silent Hill, and I can know it, 'cause I have played them myself. Exept that you didn't use a lot of objects. I can see you tried, though. The enemies were done pretty good, weird looking creatures. I was happy with those ;P. There was a lot of dark, and it kind of frustrated the hell out of me that I had to use flares all the time. Some light bulbs would be okay. Like the exit sign in the first level, that was pretty cool. The atmosphere itself was okay. It wasn't bad but I think it could've been better. It's still a nice horror level, we don't have a lot of them here on trle.net ;)" - Skyler

"This level is too much dark for me to like. This ruins the gameplay and makes useless the camera shots or the cutscenes. It is just very annoying. The flares to play the two long levels were not enough for me. The level is well builded, with interesting enemies, although I only found two puzzles in the second part, moving a boxes and two pedestals, rest of the game was bored only running in the darkness through the corridors looking for switches to pull or keys to find. The title is very aproppriate, this level is a pure horror. Sorry but I don't like this kind of levels." - Jose

"This is a solid attempt at a horror game, although the game play in the first level was mainly running around the dark labyrinths and rooms (with around 150 flares in your disposal) to find the next lever or next key. The second level was somewhat like the first one, but had a few more things to do to spice it up. As a horror game, the master here is simply the atmosphere, and this was dark, damp, bloody,creepy and eerie as all horror games should be, with appropriate sounds and background ambient and the scare moments in the shape of mutants and creatures appearing all of a sudden. Horror fans, this one is for you, no doubt." - Shady Croft

"I am instantly put in mind of Shadowman with this level. From the title screen on, it's a nightmare of beast-like screams in the dark of a tortuous environment much like The Playrooms of that game (at least in terms of atmosphere) and I am immediately expecting much of the same kind of difficulties which that game holds. In concert with that then, much of this level is a maze-like setup of seemingly endless rooms and corridors, each requiring pretty much constant flare use. It is very easy to get lost here or simply not spot a crawlspace or jump switch. So the player may find themselves running around in circles. To say this level can be hellish is a bit of an obvious statement to make, given the title, but it's not hellish in the way one would expect. There are few enemies, relatively speaking, and despite expecting the horror to be coming from that quarter, it does, rather, come from the complexity of the two levels played. That said, because of their scarcity the appearance of enemies usually proves to be a heart attack moment, made all the more likely because of the deeply ominous, blood stained environments we find ourself navigating. For the most part enemies do also appear in relatively confined spaces, making them all the more annoying and difficult to despatch quickly, but then I think that is also part of the 'charm' of such purposely designed torture. I have mentioned almost constant flare use, and for the most part they are effective enough. But there are some areas in which their use is barely worth the effort as any light they cast seems to be completely absorbed by the textures. Thankfully, these are few, though still unpleasant because at least one is yet another maze amidst the (as said) basic maze-like construction. For the most part then, this level is trial by sameness, sometimes going from one dark maze straight on to another, with most rooms, walls and corridors looking pretty much identical. Spin Lara around too fast and you'll likely find yourself going back the way you came whilst thinking you are moving forward. The best section for me in this level was the area which contains the rolling blades of Barkhang Monastery, and I really enjoyed playing dodge with them. There are plenty of levers to push in this level and happily most of them show the player what they have triggered. The problem of course is actually finding the door you've opened. It could also become quite tiresome as there are quite a few levers over all, I think. Though they didn't particularly bother me. Despite my over all enjoyment of this level I'm glad the ended when it did because by that time I'd had quite enough." - Czar

"I love horror levels so I had to give this one a go, and I enjoyed playing through these two levels a lot. Luckily my screen is naturally bright so I didn't suffer too much with the darkness, although I did still use a lot of flares, of which there is ample supply. I really appreciated the atmosphere, especially as the background audio is a mix of Silent Hill music. The author used the good bits from the Silent Hill music, ones which really fit the levels. This combined with the dark ambiance convincingly made a scary game. But I did feel it was still a little too dark in a lot of places, and many rooms were just lowered to a dark red ambiance without any other lights and it made it difficult to see. The objects also stood out in many rooms because they didn't have a coloured tint, whereas others did. The biggest problem I had though was its maze-like structure. I got lost pretty often, especially in the first level. I think it's meant to resemble a building but it was hard to really see that since there were endless rooms, most of them with dark featureless texturing. But I wasn't massively bothered by that as I was enjoying roaming around. The enemies are pretty scary, including some huge slug type creatures and there are some great individual set pieces to scare you. You get limited pistol ammo which adds a nice challenge. At the beginning it is possible to run out but later on you get more than enough along with two other weapons. It took me a while to finish this though since I got lost so much and I needed a break, but in the end I was glad I finished it. It probably only really appeals to those into this kind of genre, and if that is you then give it a go." - TrueRaider

"The Dark Rooms (40+5 min, 3 secrets): This feels a bit like a darker version of a combination of Multiple Rescue and Tombcool's Purgatory levels. I loved the atmosphere which comes across well, as very desolated and creepy thanks also to the audio files used. You initially run around without weapons and when you find them you need to conserve limited ammo, which made for a nice extra challenge. Enemies are few and far between though, so not too tricky to manage. Gameplay relies much on simply moving from room to room and finding the next lever. Initially quite linear and you then circle around back to the start, so remember where that one key hole was, so you can find it again quickly. As much as the atmosphere worked for me the overarching darkness is just a bit too much. Most of the level is essentially pitch black and while I did not run short of flares, it is simply a nuisance to light a new one every 30 seconds.
The Underground (45 min, 7 secrets): This part is equally dark and has few puzzles with push objects added, some rolling balde wheel traps and some good little fights with flying sea hags. It is all about finding the vital keys to get the cross and return to level 1 and exit through the roof. I like the scene where the cross structure appears and the room with the bed in the center looked great. Of the 7 secrets the revolver did not register as a secret in my game." - MichaelP

"The Dark Rooms: This is a very accurate description. The builder recommends playing this level at night in a darkened room, but I raid almost all day so I'm damned if I'm doing it all night as well. Luckily, he has been kind enough to provide quite a lot of flares in the inventory from the word go and nothing else but a small amount of pistol ammo, so gameplay initially consists of exploring the huge, creepy area to find weapons and medipacks and trying to avoid all the scary mutant creatures you can because you simply haven't enough ammo to kill them all. I was glad to get the shotgun though. The Underground: Yup, still dark - any hopes of a somewhat more cheerful setting were soon dashed. The gameplay hots up a bit in this section, with one or two quite interesting tasks to achieve and more fire power available to deal with the enemies that show up. There are some well hidden ladders/crawlspaces and a cross to find that is very well placed to confuse. Once in possession of this artefact, you return briefly to the first level to place it and make your escape into the daylight. Aaaaah, daylight, yes please. If you like dark, nightmarish levels, you'll have a ball with this one. The textures and sound files are quite disturbing and whether or not you like the atmosphere you certainly can't dispute that it's dripping with it." - Jay