Level reviews

"Make no mistake, this is "mini" in name only. This is a massive rubik cube where each of the smaller cubes hold a different setting and a lot (a lot) of things to do. To be honest, I have vague memories of a similar concept (perhaps The Cube?), and while it's quite an interesting design it was way too long. I played over the span of two week nights and only reached the end thanks to manarch2's walkthrough, and even then I found myself scratching my head often: even though the areas are all named and you have a map, I don't think they're a perfect match to the cardinal points and the path isn't always as straightforward, often requiring jumping and climbing around the sides. There's also a very elaborate pushblock sequence here, longest one I've seen in a while. Overall, while it's an interesting piece, it's hard to tell if you're doing any progress at all as you keep going back and forth through the same areas so often that it becomes a bit of a chore to see it through to the end. 2h10min, 7 secrets. 09/25" - Treeble

"Oooooommmmmmgggggg WHaaaaaaAAAaaAT?? This took me 12 hours which must be an absolute record for a single level. The biggest problem is non-intuitive names of the rooms in the inventory map. I also wish the shortcuts worked both ways, not just one way which made it more tiring and confusing instead of clear. Play it. I guarantee everything else will be a breeze compared to it- [sudden flashback to Dun Huang] ...okay maybe not everything but 99% of them will be. Tip: if you don't go for secrets you might finish 2 hours faster, exactly like I refused to do. Mini Cube, Maxi Brain. Recommended for hardcore players." - DJ Full

"Huff...huff...phew, I made it to the end. In this level Lara is trapped in areas that are connected together like a Rubik's cube, in a scenario similar to The Most Dangerous Game. While the concept sounds interesting, the execution is exhausting. I'll start with the visuals. From the beginning it sounds like each environment is going to be unique, but this is only somewhat true, and some rooms are copies of each other, which is a letdown. And of course, given the structure of the level you can expect the rooms to look eclectic and blocky. A good variety of textures are used, but they are wallpapered and could use a bit more care with the lighting. Now for the gameplay, my goodness there is a lot of backtracking. Sure, you will open up more of the connections between the areas as you progress, so it gets a bit easier, but it is still a painful process overall. What doesn't help is that a little less than half of the connections are timed runs, which Lara will have to do again and again as she goes back and forth grabbing keys or a torch, and of course it means she can't return the way she came and will have to go back the long way around. There are too many opportunities for players to complete a tricky timed sequence or trap only to be faced with an empty receptacle...guess you will have to do that all over again after you find that item. I thought I was softlocked toward the beginning because I had made my way down to the fog rooms and library without grabbing the map or starting hints (why in the world weren't these made to be mandatory pickups?) but it turns out a specific part of a curtain can be jumped through as a return route - yes, this adventure has several of these walk-through solid textures, one of the least player-friendly things that can be put into a level. I sort of liked the pushable puzzle, but it was a bit long-winded and I would have liked it much more if the switches for the raising blocks were put in more reasonable places. Most of the traps are pretty entertaining, tricky to get past but not too much so. The mirror room is also its own interesting puzzle, and it at least made sense in hindsight. The combat is also a pretty enjoyable challenge, but because the travelling is rough on Lara's health, the player will need to be very mindful of their stock of medpacks. 3 hours 5 minutes." - JesseG

"On my search for demanding levels , lizard queen suggest me this small diamond..many rooms , many receptacles , many tasks(some tricky enough) , too much confusion..i tried to visit as many rooms as i could without the proper keys or items so i can have an idea of my surroundings..worked quite well..first explored everything and then followed the flybys..i cant express how well all the cubes are connected and how impressive this trle is..found 5/6 secrets and i advised the walk once..Hints: 1.keep moving and dont overthink which path to follow , eventually you will remember the visited cubes 2. take notes of the locks, some paths and info generally 3.u need 3 crystals , 2 damned items some colour keys and bundle of keys 3. torch light in one place and u lit only one pot(didnt used any banana jump as mentioned below) Shoutout to the machine gun task room" - Petaludas

"I came upon this level via the random feature screen and I'm so glad I did. What I liked about this level… a LOT but here are a few highlights: 1) The concept and compactness. So much gameplay packed into very small spaces is very appealing to me. 2) The Central jump room with raising and lowering platforms to get to the various openings in the walls. Well designed and great fun! 3) The torch puzzle but only if you follow the intended actions and path perfectly, which you can via the walkthrough. What I didn't like: 1) The many ways you could screw up the torch puzzle if you didn't follow the walkthrough. For example, I took the torch through the wrong corridor while the wraith was still following, through thumpers, over spiked pit, through poisonous gas only to discover that that was the wrong path and completely impossible to survive. The thing is, I think every level should be built to restrict the player's access to catastrophic pathways by simply blocking access. I had to go back quite a few savegames to get to a point before the chaos began. It's too bad because the level had been built so perfectly otherwise, never getting stuck and always an alternate way out which for the complexity of this level is pure genius. 2) The banana jump with the torch… sheesh. 3) The timed underwater sequence that took me a million tries to do. Do builders ever play their games or just devise the most devious of tasks to torture us? Conclusion: I still immensely enjoyed this level and had great fun playing it. So if you are looking for brilliant design and gameplay, don't mind consulting the walkthrough or having to reload a savegame and have an abundance of patience, then I'm sure you'll love this level as much as I did. This will definitely be one of those rare levels that I will gladly replay when craving some truly fun gameplay. Not for beginners though." - Lizard Queen

"Phew, this is definitely one of the more complex and long single levels out there. It's extremely well put together and contains some ingenious gameplay sections, but it can get very complicated and quite confusing at parts. I highly recommend keeping the walkthrough close to hand as this will almost certainly help reduce the frustration factor. The surroundings are pleasing, the gameplay is really clever and puzzling in sections and the concept of creating one great, interconnecting cube is a neat one, but I did knock one point off the gameplay score because I found the constant backtracking a bit repetitive after a while, maybe a bit more flow would help. This is still a worthwhile and playable effort, though, but I repeat what I said before: do use the walkthrough. Recommended for more experienced raiders." - Ryan

"This is surely one of the most inventive debut levels I've played. The story takes place in a structure called Minicube where Lara has been trapped in by a crazy man, who is making some kind of human experiment. The idea is very original, just like the gameplay which is very innovative and also very challenging making this level perhaps frustrating for some people. I found it however, extremely enjoyable even if I had few moments when I got quite confused about what to do or where to go due to complexity of level design. This game will challenge you almost every ways by forcing you to solve complex puzzles and some very tough jumping tasks. The navigation in the level is also a puzzle in itself, since the level is very non-linear and contains many details that are easy to forget. Because of this you have to do plenty of backtracking which would be normally a disadvantage for the level in my opinion. However, in this case I can't drop the scores because of backtracking, because everything is put together so smartly and the level has an extremely well designed combination of tasks that will challenge you while being entertaining at the same time. In contrast to great gameplay, the environment design was weaker in my opinion, but definitely not bad either. Lighting was maybe a little bland and the rooms had a bit simplistic design, because they didn't include much decoration and visual details. Anyway, this didn't prevent me from having an enjoyable gaming experience with this level, which is really well built and stands out from the mass. I can easily recommend this level for everybody who like challenges but those who prefer easy gameplay where you can progress quickly, may wan't to choose some other level instead." - Samu

"Minicube: the living proof of the fact that one can have too much of a good thing. Magnificent as the game is, and brilliant as the author must be, I won't play it again. Its multifold areas with almost infinite vertical and horizontal options tired Lara so much, so much... and what should I say about the necessity of passing more than once for that hateful Lava Cross? It's true that once a found a way of NOT passing by it when the walkthrough was telling me to pass, but even then..." - Josey

"Another stunning debut. Two decades after the release of TR1, we're blessed with enough new talent to keep us busy raiding for years to come. This is a huge and complex level that took me nearly four hours to complete. It's the kind of level that's really fun to play - if you have a walkthrough handy. I marvel at manarch2's ability to churn out his verbal roadmap so quickly after the level's release. Not only did he get it all down, he did so with an economy of words that I found mind-boggling. I'm not sure why he went to the trouble of compiling that chart that serves as an appendix, as I never referred to it. The verbal instructions are quite sufficient. The only complaint I really have about the game is the constant backtracking from one section to another, requiring the repetition of difficult moves already achieved once. I would have been much happier with more of a linear progression where you finish all required tasks in one area and move on to the next. I've docked the game one point in the gameplay department as a result. The tasks themselves are not of game-stopping difficulty, although it took me a while to conquer that timed swim near the end (tip: turn Lara around with the arrow keys after pulling the lever, instead of doing a flip turn). Unless you're a masochist, play this one with the walkthrough. High recommendations." - Phil

"What should I say about this level!? The most difficult and twisted level ever played! I just think the author is like a great and accurate math and for this I admire him. The fact of building 27 cube rooms (plus 2 long corridors) developed on 3 different levels and almost all connected is diabolically genial.. what I reccomend is to write on a blocco notes document the objects necessary for every room because at a certain point the player would ask himself: where shall I go this time!? When the player keeps in his own mind the complessive structure of the rooms, then he can maybe go on and understand. Anyone fronting this level - expert or not - becomes frightened for the complexity and proceeding without a walkthrough or a personal guide marked on and on is nearly impossible. Luckyly we find at the beginning of the level a message and a map assisting you in the whole level, but.. stop! It doesn't finish, not yet.. you're able to reach an objective after a lot of time.. and now!? You see you need an other thing in order to proceed.. I think a teleportation would help eheh (nice the similiar one in AG room). I've talked about enigms and they aren't the only difficult thing: very good time trials, a hard banana curved jump or the curved jumps to make in the Lava Cross room or the time trial plus fighting crocodiles in the under water sections. A couple of adjectives to define the level? 1) very-very frustrating 2) really so genial How to evaluate it due to these adjectives? It depends by what you feel and I personally choose the second one, cause I like mathematic study and detailed things. A perfect level with 7 segrets of middle difficulty and some of them harder; not so many enemies but the present ones are very effective, expecially skeletons, mafia clan and the flying woman attacking you all together and the dangerous wraiths and crocodiles. Excellent atmosphere-music (I appreciated the ones in the Music room itself) and textures-lights. The conclusion consists of the fact if you want to make the best of yourself improving your abilities, you should use this chance; if you are looking for a relaxing level..ehm.. you have chosen the wrong level eheheh" - Steven Svorticher

"There is a one word review for this level and that is 'wow'! 'Wow' that someone put together so much marvellous gameplay, 'wow' that the builder made it so unbelievably complex and 'wow' that anyone managed it without the walkthrough. I admit it, I started without the walkthrough, got completely lost, frustrated, angry and wanted to bin the whole thing. But then Manarch2's most excellent walkthrough came out (thank you, thank you and much kudos!) and, much though I hate using walkthroughs, I gave it another go. For the first hour of gameplay (it's about four hours) I was torn between admiring the various areas and hating being led round not knowing what I was doing, pull that lever, go back to that room and use this drop switch etc. But if you can get past that you'll find well made rooms, good agility tests, a couple of sentry guns to blow up (always good fun), tight but do-able timed runs and swims, timed trap-door runs and a smattering of baddies (my favourite was the timed swims with the two crocs and the underwater wraith after you - fun!). I'm glad I played the level but the complexity made it virtually unplayable without a walkthrough and therefore I didn't score it as high as I would have." - Diz

"Phew, what a level. Firstly, I would like to say congratulations to anybody who managed to get through this without a walkthrough, secondly, my admiration for manarch2, the hardy soul who actually managed to write the walkthrough, knows no bounds and thirdly, I highly recommend using the walkthrough - I did. This may be a simple notion for a level, but in construction and gameplay it is extremely complex, clever, fascinating and frustrating in just about equal measure. It certainly is hard to believe this is a debut level, containing as it does such a variety of well made rooms, traps, agility tests and enemies. There is a map included in the game, which does help to a certain extent (although I never was much of a navigator), but in the end it's a bit like playing three dimensional chess and I'm not exactly brilliant in one dimension. I did however appreciate the secrets being bottles of wine - now that's my kind of secret. Certainly Lara felt in need of a stiff drink at the end of it all. A definite must play if you're patient and reasonably experienced - it's definitely not one for beginners." - Jay

"It 'a level to be addressed as if it were a treasure hunt. There is a bit 'of everything without exaggeration. A lot of good object and puzzles. I am not an expert player, but I enjoyed it very much. A tip: take notes and everything will be easier. Play it!!!" - Chopper

"27 segments form one vast cube - don't get wrong with the title. A level completely confusing at first glance, but when players carefully progress (using the hints and following the excellent cutscenes) it all is quite doable. Gameplay never was boring, there always were so many thing to do, timed runs, traps, platforming and the best part, logic puzzles, as in the storage and in the mirror room. I loved the use of the revolver and also that you had to find a hidden path to overcome those sentry guns. Sometimes however even with the best orientation and/or text hint aid players run around and around and find nothing more to proceed, mainly because there were rooms that looked pretty similar like the fogs, so a walkthrough can be quite helpful in this level. The builder used a lot of WADs and texture sets, mostly however he concentrated on the BtB Venice one, which worked pretty well in my opinion, but sometimes the different areas were pretty strange. Sometimes, an invisible block was in front of a door (after the timed run to the crowbar for example), and the architecture is - quite intended though - a bit too squaric to be convincing. Texturing was mostly good, without a fault, and lighting also was used well, but it was a little flat in some areas, and a bit too dark in the side passages of the cube. Enemies were placed pretty well in this level, as the dog in the sewers that could be seen from a distance, but to everyone's surprise two more dogs appear; not only at this point their apperance can give you a little shock. The boss fight at the end was just perfectly balanced so that a few medikits and a lot of ammo is used, but never so much that you run out of items, if you searched carefully in this level. Seven very sneakily hidden secrets could be found in this level, and I had to think a lot to get five of them myself, two with the help from the forum. I loved the usage of a harpoon, don't know if this has been used before but this was the first time in a TR 4 level for me to use one.
After two and a half hours of net gameplay I finished this level, but it was a lot more of actual play time. All in all, this was a very unique and fun level, but maybe for next time: A 2*2*2 cube would be a lot more player friendly..." - manarch2

"If you are up for a unique level that is mentally and physically challenging, understand going in that this is going to be a test of true grit. From the start you need to be in the mood for something demanding, like being ready to do the NY Times Sunday crossword in ink. The story behind the level is that Lara is drugged and placed in a torture cube that no one else has ever survived--think Dr. No (the book, not the movie). This explains the diabolical setup. The cube is divided 3 x 3 x 3. The twenty-seven mini cubes are maddening, in that most of the time Lara is confused, not sure what she is looking for, and if she finds something, not sure where to take it. Navigating the x/y/z axis of play is not at all easy for the first few hours (there is a map immediately at hand, so take it). After all, Lara can often drop down, but not get back up, and at first there seems to be several route choices at every turn, and the cubes can contain a surprising amount. I measured play not in hours but in days. There is no sense writing a review and complaining about how hard a lot of this is; just understand this will tax even seasoned raiders if they lack a walkthrough. The design is functional, so there isn't much in the way of wow graphics, but what is here is solid, and often intriguing and clever, and the different cubes allow for variety. After a while players become involved, and will enjoy this. There are helpful cameras, and lighting is mostly good, although sometimes a little dark in places. Mafia types pop up in some cubes, but as for enemies the main difficulty was trying to hunt crocodiles underwater with a weak harpoon gun. Once a walkthrough is available there is no reason for players not to experience the, er, joys of this level. Think of the satisfaction when Lara finally says, "Daylight! I have found an exit."" - dmdibl

"This is the most strange and articulate TR level that I've ever played. 27 all interconnected cubes that can be maddening the average player, so many things to do, many objects to find, all this things only for find the way out. 27 cube rooms with good and various puzzles, 7 good secrets of which a couple well hidden. The game is recommended for expert players." - Pablito_it

"It's pretty hard for me to review this level. I was one of the testers and while I wasn't that enthusiastic about the first few minutes in the game it started to grow on me the more I played it. I'm almost sure this game will divide the minds. Some people will love it as it might be easily the most complex single-level they have ever played and others will hate it for the exact same reason. Jock Stewart (read the story - it's great) really did his best to fill his minicube with loads of evil "surprises", including deadly traps and a handful of agility-tests. However the main difficulty of this game is beyond doubt not to lose one's bearings even with all the nice flyby sequences and camera hints. That said, I still think that every raider should give this level a try since raidertom had some amazing ideas. I especially loved the triple-timedrun in the poisoncube, the unusual mirror-room and the multilevel-pushblockpuzzle, just to name a few. Visually this level isn't a masterpiece and you won't find so-called eye-candy but from the technical point of view the author still did a good job and crafted most of the 27 cubes with some special eye for detail. Highly recommended but you might want to wait for the walkthrough ;)" - Soul