Level reviews

"This game begins with a search for an almost invisible key and a good deal of highly contrived back-and-forth, but gameplay becomes more compact and picks up thereafter. There are one or two good traps, though others don't work quite as well (the revamped floor_4blades were obviously never meant to be run through, but jumped over; while the rollingballs are a little too easy to avoid). Enemies are placed in a fairly random manner, as though the builder's sole aim was using one of each, and two goats. An exception is the Medusa who is on a security detail guarding the Horn, but you can simply run past her while she's powering up and grab the artefact, thus ending the level. Since this takes place in a modern town with fruit vendors (well, one fruit vendor) and cats, none of the traps or enemies or puzzle items - not to mention the crowbar switch - are plausible; escaping the skeleton requires a rather obscure solution (which, however, may not bother those who have played other entries of the Greek BtB), and to defeat Perseus merely so you can use his sword as a crowbar seems just petty. The town itself looks pleasant enough, but not much of it was used for actual gameplay, and all its interiors seem to be underlit and drenched in perpetual twilight. Not a lot of use was made of audio either, and a (however vaguely) musical track is always a bad choice for a background loop. Generally speaking, it seems as though the town and the area leading up to it were built first, and gameplay was then sprinkled over it some time later; so while the level is solidly constructed (bar a few illegal slopes) and reasonably appealing to look at - especially for a debut - , in terms of gameplay it is somewhat wanting. For a small-scale level such as this, including both an underwater maze (however small) and a trial-and-error procedure (the two switches, one of which is a booby trap), is just not on. Pick one. Or better still, none." - Mulf

"Not a bad debut. At least there are not the typical errors from a novice like the paper walls, the bad placed doors, etc. I think there are "obscure" points in the gameplay, like the key to open the city doors lying anywhere, the movable in the church with no hint to open the trapdoor or the two switches with spikes again with no hint. There are also some sneaky traps, like the room with the pit and two pillars with blades; it was not easy for me jump to the back of this room to get the coin. I also found excessive flare pickups too. All in all a decent debut with some nice touches for texturization and lighting. A pain that this author didn't release a new level, 'cause with some efforts with the architecture and puzzles the ratings could be higher." - Jose

"Obviously more of a beginner level; the design here is acceptable enough (mainly a town area, with some temple and terrain sections) but it's all pretty simplistic without much flourish, the ambience in less bright areas outside also felt a bit on the dark side, especially for a level that's supposed to be on a sunny day. There's also a single ambient track for almost the whole level. Gameplay is acceptable enough but it's pretty straightforward and with one bit of unnecessary backtracking after the crowbar (especially as the switch makes no sense even on the most abstract level). Some of the traps later on have some more involved design, but it's over by the time it feels things might be ramping up. The end is also odd, as you just stroll right past the "boss" to get your prize and then it's over? An okay map, but it does show the author has the basics in place for moving onto greater things." - Mman

"A bit short and unfulfilling for my liking. I think that the backtrack to the first crowbar lever took about 2 minutes. It is quite well built, but could be better. Hopefully I can see improvement." - Ryan

"Debut levels are never easy.There are too many things that can go wrong with the editor, additional time is lost due to inexperience.....When you add the BtB deadline in the equation, it really wasn't an easy task.This is one short, easy level that won't get any rewards, but it will serve as a relaxing break from other task-heavy levels.It's typical beginner level, it doesn't look spectacular but it's decent enough.Texturing&lighting is pretty much basic and certain rooms are much bigger than necessary.On the other hand, the builder showed some potential in the starting area with caves that are very nicely shaped.Gameplay is simple enough, picking up items, opening doors, killing occasional enemies, avoiding a few traps and after some 20-30 minutes it's over.There are some expected beginner mistakes - Forced backtracking, random guessing which lever lets you progress and which one kills you....In other words, things that every builder realizes sooner or later as he gets more experience.Thankfully, there are some opposite examples with more player-friendly gameplay where you are provided with a shortcut in order to avoid repeating the traps etc.... There are some "little" things the builder also has to improve, like putting more audio tunes and also some more camera hints.There is also an anticlimatic ending where you simply walk near the monster to end the level.At least, it served it's purpose in DJ Full's epic BtB trailer ending :).All in all, if we compare this level to the other BtB levels, it doesn't offer much.However, if we look at it as the individual debut level, it's definitely worth checking and I'm looking forward to see how Constantine will develop in the future." - Tolle87

"And now something shorter. A quite organic canyon leads to a quite realistic village where some preparation gameplay arranged in standard town style (one item for one house) opens a core puzzle/trap sequence unlocking a cave with a final treasure, somewhat guarded but also ending the game. A pity in all that brevity the author managed to include a backtrack to a switch opening a door a mile away. SUMMARY: Peaceful and relaxing though without much to do." - DJ Full

"The hunt for the Horn of Amalthea starts out outside a small cave, in which you'll find a key that opens the gate to a small village (you can jump through the window of the building with the blue door opposite of where you enter, but that's unintended). While the cave is small, at least it looks okay. The village, on the other hand, is drab and boxy. The lighting is flat and a bit dark in the entire level (but you get 63 flares, so that takes care of that). You'll enter a couple of buildings, find a key and even head back briefly to the cave before entering the baths. On the right, there are two doors that lead to traps, after which are two keys. On the left, there are two rooms without much in them except two switches that I assume open the gate that leads to a short underwater maze. On the other side of the maze there are some rolling balls, then you'll run into Medusa, but the level ends before she even has a chance to do anything. Along the way are one gorilla, a couple of birds, two goats, a swordsman and a Minotaur. There, I just saved you twenty minutes." - Magnus

"At barely half an hour, this is probably the shortest level in BtB 2015 - not to mention, the shortest BtB level I've ever played. A good chunk of this short playtime is taken up by having to trek to a very randomly placed crowbar lever at the beginning of the level and then back to the village. There's a rather annoying sequence in which you have to jump onto pillars topped with a blade trap, and the collision of the blades keeps pushing Lara off the pillars, so the whole thing is an exercise in trial and error. There's a mono-textured underwater maze near the end (fortunately it's not dark, or else it would have achieved the dubious honour of combining all my major pet peeves). Apart from these few issues, there's nothing much that's wrong with the gameplay, as such, just that there's so little of it, and that it's very unmemorable. Most of the gameplay involves wandering around the village, using a few switches, and avoiding the occasional trap. The bathhouse has a couple of good traps, but that's about it.
There are few enemies, and the ones that are there pose little danger - for example, at the end, you can simply ignore the medusa completely and walk past it to get the final artefact. The gorilla at the beginning and the minotaur in the bathhouse are the only challenging enemies.
The looks are nearly as underwhelming as well. Everything is solidly built, and there are no glaring technical errors, but there is very little that I found aesthetically appealing either. The initial harbour area is quite nice; the main hallway of the bathhouse is pretty. But apart from that, there are a number of gloomy interiors and underground areas, and a fairly bland outdoor area in the village.
Overall: I am sorry to say that this is my least favourite BtB 2015 level so far. It's not a bad level per se, but in comparison with some of visual delights and gameplay thrills offered by a number of the BtB 2015 levels, it falls sadly short." - Mytly

"There are enough flares and that's a good thing, because the game is dark. It has that other fault of continuous music, and the additional drawbacks of lack of camera to show elevating blocks, and lack of hint to show which one of two possible levers is not trapped. It is also the single game where Lara had to shoot a cat, because the cute thing was following her everywhere and trying to push her into spikes and blades. Other enemies were not very indicated, too: gorillas and goats. As a counterpart, those who love difficult traps will find at least two here to content their heart - and apart from those, the game is easy, short and simple, with big, empty rooms and nothing special in terms of objects and scenery. But at least, here's the easiest Medusa of all: she appears only at the very end, and Lara has no trouble to bypass her and go to her back in order to pick up the much searched Amalthea's Horn." - Josey

"This is a quite short level, clocking in at just under 30 minutes for me. Since I've taken other BtB builders to task for releasing levels that take far longer to play than the guidelines provide for, I suppose it's only fair to take some points away from gameplay where the level is only about half as long as it should be. Still, even if this is a debut effort, it's a rather fun raid. There's a nice balance between indoor and outdoor areas, and although the indoor areas were a tad too dark to suit me, you're provided scads of flares (more than you'll ever need). The scenery is tasteful and easy on the eyes, so I consider this level to be a pleasant change of pace in between the longer and more demanding BtB levels." - Phil

"I liked this very short level and very fun to play, relatively easy with some nice pieces." - Drakan

"Amongst all the senior builder taking part in the competition, this level does show that it is likely built by a less proficient builder, possibly a debut level and for that it holds together quite well. The opening flyby is pleasing and after some initial linear running through a nice cave and a (rather bare and square) city setting, killing a few enemies along the way, the section around the bath is quite accomplished in terms of design and use of traps. The small underwater maze seemed a little unnecessary (as was the long backtrack at the start to the sword lever) and the ending is quite abrupt, without ever engaging into the big boss fight that this could have maybe had. [30 min, no secrets]" - MichaelP

"Probably the most simplistic level in BtB-Greece, this is a pretty ordinary level in and out. You go room through room completing a few tasks in classic key-based progression until you eventually have the two coins of Amalthea to retrieve the Cornucopia itself. I'm not sure if the medusa had any purpose at all as you could simply run past her to the prize, but anyway, it was good to have a short level considering just how lenghty some of the others have been. 25 minutes. 10/15" - Treeble

"By far the shortest entry in the competition thus far, coming in at around 35 minutes, it's quite fast paced and lively and extremely suitable for less experienced players. Linear and straightforward, it provides an enjoyable break from long and challenging levels. The atmosphere is pleasant and the enemies are lightly used and from the gentler end of the spectrum." - Jay

"A relatively short and easy level.decent building,atmosphere and lighting." - janachorider

"Interesting level with a good placement of the bow and some areas well-made such as under the church area but I think the shooting of the Cross a bit much - beyond the pale and an easy place to get stuck for some. Getting to the area beyond the wall was fun and would have made a good place for secrets but there are no secrets to be found. Cameras could have been used for better effect but gameplay in the Baths was good with a really appreciated return over those spikey pillars - nice not to go through them again! Music was a good choice - a delight as it should be and not an intrusion. Easy to see this is a builder with great promise and I am looking forward to playing future levels." - Bene

"Among the shorter entries we have this small level. The author knows how to make nice looking surroundings, especially the beginning part and the caves at the start and towards the end look quite good. The town section looks alright, though some of the lighting seemed to be overly dark, and the design of that section was a bit labyrinthine with no engaging gameplay to pair it with. Inside the town church though there was a nice little sequence of traps to get through, I'd liked to have seen more of that and a little less of some of the other less thought-out tasks. The backtrack to the crowbar switch in a cave that somehow opens the church didn't make much sense. The section where you had to jump across two pincer-spike-trapped pillars was a decent idea that became a frustrating exercise to get across because the object collision on that trap would keep throwing Lara off the pillars. The guess-the-right-switch-or-you-die puzzle doesn't work either. It's very uninspired and doesn't offer a clue for the player to make a decision off of. The gorgon at the end seemed tacked on to, you can just run past her. The level's looks are its best asset, so at least the adventure was pretty to look at. Next time though, more substance would best pair with style." - Relic Hunter

"Although this is a charming level to look at,the gameplay (while not being poor) leaves a little to be desired.For a start,you have a rather silly backtrack to a distant crowbar lever,which presents no logic within the story except to pad out the duration of the level.Then there is the deeply frustrating pillar jumping sequence,which relies on pure luck rather than any innate skill within the player;followed by an underwater maze,which felt like a bit of a cheap shot.The ending is awfully anti- climactic,as you are presented with a seemingly terrifying Boss;only to realise that it does absolutely nothing whatsoever.In all other aspects (aside from the lack of secrets) this is very pleasing.The town is rather charming;the music is incorporated well;enemies (although appearing to have been chosen quite randomly) are placed well enough to spice up the adventure;and the lighting and texturing is highly capable and evocative.Not a winner,by any means;but interesting enough." - Orbit Dream

"I hope I won't quite sit down in the nettles again (for Mugs doesn't take part in the competition ;)) but it clearly shows that this is most likely a debut level. The areas aren't badly designed (the cave section at the start being rather decent) and there are attempts to create an interesting atmosphere here and there, but there are many things to improve, like a sometimes odd use lighting and several texture mistakes. The village has a very boxy appeal too and most areas look rather bland and uninspired. The tasks at the start are not very interesting, with a hardly visible key and a major yo-yo-backtrack to a crowbar lever (which by the way opens a crowbar door - why can't it just be used to open the door directly?) but later on it is a bit more interesting, with a few traps to avoid and basic, yet rather fluent progression. Most are fairly easy to avoid though, even with non-intended methods, while the one on the high pillars is rather frustrating - staying on the ledge is almost purely based on luck, and most of the time an invisible collision pushes Lara off it, so it is not really a challenging, but more a random task. There are a few enemies to fight, but most seem to be placed as an afterthought and don't seem to fit very well. The final boss is not an obstacle at all. Sadly there are no secrets at all to find here and the game ends after only 14 minutes - overall it's not a very memorable experience already, but if this is a first effort, it's a solid enough one - and pretty short, not overly taxing levels like this also have their value." - manarch2

"Very beautiful level with a nice atmposhere. I like the idea of ancient Greece legend. The town in a level looks very realistic. Maybe there could be more puzzles. I hate the trap in spa." - Pablo Fuentes

"I guess... a debut map. It was so short but enjoyable with a lot of fun traps. I like the"Bath Room". Difficulty: Easy. 20 minutes" - requiemsoul