Levels listed...
TR5 - 31
TR4 - 3141
TR3 - 177
TR2 - 133
TR1 - 61
72381 reviews (20.4/level)
3532 (99.7%) walkthroughs
445 Hall of Fame levels
1221 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
10-Apr-2021 |
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# of downloads: |
212 |
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average rating: |
9.18 |
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review count: |
24 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
111.00 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Cambodia |
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author profile(s): |
email(s): |
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n/a |
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| Reviewer's comments |
"Another challenging custom level that was really well made. I enjoyed the creepy atmosphere and the
textures made it nice. Well, everybody already said everything about it, so I only recommend it." - Crofti (28-Feb-2023) |
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| "When I played part 1 and was teased with 'to be continued' I certainly wasn't expecting a
part 2 to be released when seeing how long ago part 1 was released... part 2 was well worth
the wait and has become one of my top fave TRLEs! The visuals along with the color scheme
are stunning and the ambient soundtrack is very pleasant to listen to - it certainly sets
the tone for the location. Optional 'easter eggs' to pick up were a nice touch which gave
reference to other TR games.
Highly recommend. Took a little over 2 hours to play" - izzynoodles (08-Nov-2022) |
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| "If you want to an example of how far and high standards have come in the last 20 years of
TRLE building play Ayutthaya: The Old Capital and then follow it up with this ORC level. The
contrast is pretty staggering! The level of detail and craftsmanship is clear to see in this
level. I had myself asking "how big is one room?" on a couple of occasions as was staggered
at how much could be fit into one if this level met the requirements of the competition
haha! 10's across the board, everything is fantastic and would wholeheartedly recommend!" - Feats (28-Sep-2022) |
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| "This sequel is visually strong, just like its predecessor. Great use of lighting and effects here. It also has some of the same flaws, such as missing camera cues, backtracking, and trial-and-error puzzles (the water scales) but not nearly as frustrating as before. The initial pushables puzzle makes for a great start and clicked together once I found the hint. Then there is some target practice and the aforementioned scales before going into a large underwater area, which I have mixed feelings about. This is where most of the backtracking occurs, and because of all the winding passageways it is a bit too easy for a player to lose their bearings. I'm not a fan of the strangely arranged water currents either. However I did like the use of the harpoon gun, and this area also had a very strong atmosphere. There is some engaging combat along the way, including a challenging final boss, before Lara regains her freedom. 1 hour 55 minutes." - JesseG (15-Aug-2022) |
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| "For a One Room Challenge, I can just say WHOUAAA!!
It's certainly one of the best ORC level I played but also one of the best Khmer/Cambodian levels too.
Maybe not for a beginner player beacuse the level is hard but for me it's not a bad thing.
Personnaly, if there are not writed One Room Challenge, I would never have thought the level was built with only one room (+ the underwater room). Congratulations.
Since the beginning to the end it was impossible for me to stop the game, I always wanted to know what happened next.
The game is not really dark so it's also very cool.
I also really liked the big underwater room with the giant head of TR4 Cambodia.
This aera is wonderful even if it's maybe the most difficult part of the level but nothing impossible for a player like me.
I'm also very proud to have discovered all secrets but I think I've missed some easter eggs.
2h05 in the stats but certainly 5h in real to finish it and it was 5h of pure fun.
Now I have played this adventure, I am ashamed of my own ORC - Sharabhang level and his poor 25 mins lol !!
I can just congratulate Vandit for this beautiful adventure and I hope play another one in a near future.
Recommanded for everyone and congratulations again :-) !!" - Bigfoot (27-Oct-2021) |
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| "Not a very pleasant level for me. I was not able to finish it, even reading the walkthrough so, I think it's only for very expert players. The puzzle in the room with the moveable bells is confusing, the litres to place in the scales are not marked anywhere, the ammo for the uzis (why don't more weapons?) is insufficient, the game crashed several times with no sense; there are "millions" of switches/chains/levers to pull (unnecessary) and at the end, in the underwater room with the lions statues, I was not able to deal with the current to go through the right opening. Really a very bad effort. I think the author has created too many difficult and complex situations for the level to be only enjoyable for very few people all around the world. Of course, it's his choice. But not entertaining for me." - Jose (21-Sep-2021) |
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| "This is a BTB Khmer map, with some additions. The visuals would be great for a "normal" map, let alone one based on a One Room Challenge; each area is full of detail and good object use, along with a range of different moods throughout-from beautiful to spooky-that provide variety while still feeling like part of a whole. The lighting and texturing are also excellent, with no notable issues. Gameplay is also pretty great given the limitations, with a large variety of tasks and plenty of exploration too. Despite the limitations it's another level that took me over an hour, and barely felt like it was designed under harsh limits at all. Combat also has a bit more engagement than usual as it springs some higher-tier enemies on you with relatively few supplies; even with the secrets you are relatively limited in firepower, and the final boss can be pretty tough as well (though there not being any bleed effects to show you are doing damage doesn't help). There's even a substantial final secret that could make up a lesser ORC entry in itself, though, since you need all the previous secrets for this it would be nice if you weren't blocked off from a couple later; I ended up having to replay the map to reach this section, although it's good enough that this wasn't too big an issue. A medikit that's essentially a cheap shot death trap felt like an odd addition given everything else, but it's a small issue. I said that Egyptian Adventure would be hard to beat, but this one manages it for me, and it's a masterful example of making use of every bit of a small space." - Mman (21-Aug-2021) |
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| "I played the twice updated level and found it to be challenging but fair. You did have
to time-manage your trips to the air pockets in the underwater section, but there were
enough of them. The scenery was great and I loved the atmosphere. I did have a crash in
the boss's room if I was looking at the knights when they exploded into life - however
waiting until they were live before turning around fixed that. The boss himself was
easily dispatched if you found the so-called bonus room. An amazing effort to make this
apparently multi-location level a one room challenge. As others have said - I hope the
next offering from the builder comes before I'm too old to physically play it..." - Adrian (27-Jun-2021) |
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| "This is an excellent level that hardly looks or feels like an ORC. The environments and
atmosphere are top notch and I enjoyed the gameplay on dry land very much. The
underwater part, though, not as much. It's difficult to explore an area with much
vegetation, many traps and sneaky openings while constantly paying attention to Lara's
air meter and the distance to the closest air pocket. An aqualung would be beneficial
here and it would give us time to enjoy the extremely beautiful environment. I also
didn't enjoy the final boss fight with no powerful weapons or enough ammo for them.
Difficulty is more on the challenging side." - billie2001 (29-May-2021) |
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| "This is really a play-it-if-you-dare adventure, definitely not for the faint of
heart, but as a halfway seasoned raider you can really only be inspired by how much
has been cramped into how little space here. There are several distinct areas which
then have a multitude of tasks for you to master to open up the place and allow you
to move on, and most of the time I just loved figuring it out and making my way
forward - with one exception... the whole underwater part was just a bit too much for
me. There is just no fun to be had in a gameplay method of... swim for while, see
what the next few areas have to offer, die, reload, rinse and repeat dozens of times.
I am sure it would actually play nicely when you go for it as second time and kind of
know your way around a bit, but alas, as a first timer, I just found it veeery
tedious and frustrating and hence my gameplay score of 8, despite the ingenuity of it
all. Some will probably also say there is a bit of an overload of traps, but I did
not mind these. They were generally fair game and easily managed with a bit of focus
and patience. I may have missed a hint for the waterscales puzzle, but was lucky
enough to quickly pick the right options, as there are not so many in the end. The 6
secrets are a great addition as well and so are the TR25 bonus pickups. So, overall a
really overwhelming and quite challenging game of 130 mins for me and I enjoyed
almost every single one - mostly those where Lara had her head above and not under
water." - MichaelP (28-May-2021) |
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| "Best level of the competition. Other ones tried to be fragments, rooms, demos or memes, like if they instantly disbelieved they can be a full game. This one didn't, and it's the only one which feels like it's not missing anything. The only advice is to update the map with the way back for the first secret, because nobody wants to put effort only do discover he was doomed from the start (same advice for Nanaki's level), not to mention the bonus room is the best sequence which should have a bigger chance not to be missed." - DJ Full (09-May-2021) |
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| "I expected a level lasting longer than the usual ORC level, but every time I thought it is about to finish as the complete possible space is covered, it just goes on and on and at the end I netted an incredible 80 minutes of gameplay and many more not directly counting, all that without excessive backtracking. It is beyond belief that this all takes place in one (or two, including the underwater areas) room(s). Surely this level has its lengths and I didn't so much enjoy e.g. the quest for the underwater levers in the huge hall with a lot of annoying collision, but the level is so epic in its compactness that this didn't affect my impressions overly. The texturing is faultless, very tough to do so in such non-regular and restricted areas, and the lighting is creating a very authentic and moody atmosphere. Enemies are also very well placed, not too much ammo is around but if you go for the extra secret you can at least kill the final boss easily. The secrets themselves are nicely hidden, some are harder than others but after absolving the extra quest there's a huge feeling of accomplishment. There's really little to actually fault from my side and the builder has put the maximum in to make this a memorable adventure, so hats off and I hope to see more from this guy sooner than in 18 years (which by the way beats the recent record of the longest time span between two levels of a builder)..." - manarch2 (06-May-2021) |
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| "How this sprawling game map could ever be said to consist of but a single room is beyond my
comprehension, but who am I to question? The builder has managed to wring a great amount of
gameplay out of these handicapped conditions, as in my case it took close to three hours to
complete the level, although I was writing a walkthrough while playing. There's quite a lot
of back and forth to endure, but the surroundings are so pleasing to the eye that it's
actually a pleasure in most cases to revisit previously explored territory. The initial
timed run was really quite generous to the player and set the tone for what was to come.
Some of the pickups with arcane names were never put to use, making me wonder why they were
there in the first place. But everything fits together quite nicely, and it's obvious that
this builder is extraordinarily gifted. Top recommendations." - Phil (03-May-2021) |
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| "What a breathtaking adventure (literally
in some ways). Were it not for the One
Room Challenge title, it would not have
been at all apparent that I was playing
anything of the sort. It took me nearly
two whole hours on the statistics and I
was in admiration the whole way through.
Yes, the water sections had me going round
in circles for quite a while and there is
a bit of a scarcity of ammo around, but
the gameplay is thoroughly engaging and
involving and I absolutely loved what the
builder was able to cram into the
constraints here. The surroundings are
flawlessly constructed, the lighting is
beautiful, the atmosphere is gripping and
I really liked the haunting audio files
that played in one of the later underwater
areas and actually didn't find it annoying
at all. The pushable puzzle was
ingeniously put together if slightly on
the tedious side, Lara's new moves are
leveraged very nicely and the scales
puzzles are always welcome additions
(there are hints if you look closely, i.e.
up in the same room). The fast and
frenetic boss ending served as a
challenging and fitting conclusion to a
wonderful, satisfying raid. Highly
recommended." - Ryan (30-Apr-2021) |
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| "A very, fresh, breath. But with issues.
This level shows finally a gameplay that stands up to the graphic quality (which is generally higher than gameplay's, in most of levels, sadly), and this satisfies me a lot. However, a common problem of original gameplay and challenging tasks, is to manage the frustration of the player, and this level suffers of that (I really know something about this...). It looks like this level wasn't actually tested by enough players, or it has been tested by too merciful friends. I think such "risky" gameplay should be tested by requesting someone to screenshare or record the playthrough, because it says a lot more than a simple report.
One of the most impressive things is the fact that this is an ORC and it's incredibly long. You will completely forget you're playing a "one room" level and it's a good sign.
Gameplay has very interesting tasks and challenges, that differ from the basic usual gameplay in the execution (yet using many classic mechanics). You can feel the builder planned carefully and intelligently each section and nothing feels drafty or rushed. Thinking out of the box sometimes gives you actual rewards instead of disappointment and this is satisfying as well.
My opinion is probably biased because I also make difficult levels so my tolerance might be higher than average, but I've enjoyed a lot all the challenges, from the first timed run (that's not just consisting in running through a corridor, but has actual obstacles) to the last combat with not much resources available (...because I spammed medikits underwater). The only real issue of this level is the frustration, which is not the same as "difficulty", but it's all about littering the adventure with design issues that slowly add to the frustration while trying to proceed and that have nothing to do with the actual difficulty of the tasks. For this reason, I wouldn't replay this level and I wouldn't suggest it to others, and this is a shame because the ideas are worthy. Examples of this issue are: the pushable puzzle is brilliant (finally some pushables that have to be also managed vertically -and- following a scheme instead of merely pushing stuff around to open a path!), but you have to keep climbing again and again the same exact block until you get nausea, plus the bells on the bottom have no actual sense about their order (they look the same, I didn't see anything distinctive that justified their needed position) so this might require even more pushing and climbing if you make it wrong and the amount of ways you can get to slip down by accident also doesn't help. Another example is the underwater architecture, that is all dense and convoluted with no sense and forces you to continuously stop at every meter, at every corner behind any square, to actually understand the geometry and orient yourself. Very very tedious exploration, and when I got the harpoon I would have paid someone else to shoot all the bells around. Which is a great idea though, but the geometry is terrible to navigate. To not mention the fact that we are underwater, so all this messy swimming also needs continuous backtracking for air. I was just glad that area ended...
I didn't get all the secrets so I can't comment on that, but I can say the easter eggs were a bit out of place (however this won't impact the rating because I think this is probably more like a personal preference): they're not enough to set an unserious mood (play Cakeworld as an example of easter eggy mood), and they're too many to actually surprise us like easter eggs should do. I understand you did it for the 25th anniversary, though.
Combat was good enough, and a bit more interesting than the usual: crocodiles get finally a chance to actually threaten the player instead of simply requiring to get out of water and holding Action while drinking your tea (you fight against it with harpoon underwater at some point, and fishes, which is nice); big spiders aren't dumb and they follow you pretty quickly, in places where you don't have instant blocks to climb on; the final combat doesn't let you jump left and right while holding Action because a rotating fire obligates you to find out other strategies. A fresh breath in combat.
Traps are good as well but quite basic instead, and I didn't like those trial&error traps where you are attracted by a pickup then get spiked or eaten by pirhanas, because there is not even an indication to give a chance to careful players to actually avoid the pickup intelligently, so this is not even a "puzzle" but simply something tedious to throw at the player.
Visually the level is very good looking, sometimes it has a too flat light with no contrast but I find this forgivable and the atmosphere is always on spot. Lack of human enemies somewhat keeps the atmosphere more magic. Sometimes textures are placed (or chosen) in a bit random way (not often anyway) and some objects don't blend very well. Anyway, there are some amazing views, like the first time you enter in the underwater big room.
A big problem of the experience was also the choice of the audio tracks, which I had to mute -twice-, because too annoying. Not that I didn't like the tracks, but some of them are too special to be put as a repetitive background, which should be instead more modest and anonymous. I muted the background in the pushable puzzle area and in the underwater area iirc, and I've been told I'm not the only one. I just think such tracks should be used only once to present one area like a special entrance and never in loop.
A small bug: when I got the double-headed jaguar, I came out from the room and probably it stepped on some heavy triggers or something outside, because the room flipped and I saw some untextured test areas.
My real rating would be: gameplay 8.8, visual/audio 8.9. Really some adjustments to the adventure (but keeping the same difficulty) would have really made the difference and I'm disappointed I can't give 10 to this gameplay I wanted to reward." - dinne (28-Apr-2021) |
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| "Good level. Very solid in all sections. I really enjoyed the final boss. Recommended!" - requiemsoul (24-Apr-2021) |
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| "The many years separating parts 1 and 2 saw many changes, mostly for the better. I loved the environment and greatly improved graphics, and everything seemed to fit the theme of the level, and provided a little sense of continuation in relation to the last part. The only caveat is, of course, the underwater marathon, the only part that really has Lara going back and forth a bit, and without a rebreather it tends to become frustrating. Still, this is near perfect. It has you scratching your head and has its share of unfair traps (including underwater again), but I think it is of moderate difficulty. A beautiful and smooth use of the best available tech to make a modern TR, so I recommend it despite its flaws in underwater gameplay. It is majestic! Congratulations, vandit! Thank you for this second half of this beautiful lost city. Keep it up!" - MigMarado (23-Apr-2021) |
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| "This is an impressive level from a point of view of the One Room Challenge but in
any case regardless, even if it was just a normal adventure on its own. Took me 2 hours
to finish up entirely and I can truly say that I was almost "afraid" it would have been
during longer haha! Onto the actual review.
Gameplay is really nicely done, fun to play and satisfying, this until 2 big problems of
this level: underwater section and pushable blocks. Let's review them individually:
- Underwater section: what really kills this part is that the second third of the game
is spent there, in a fun enough swimming through traps section, but what really kind of
made me hate this part was the search for the bells to shoot, for some reason I must
have been blind the whole time and I had lost one for a good 2 hours, not to mention
that luckily version 1.1 fixed the breath issue, where Lara had way too few air to
effectively manage to explore. Might kill some gameplay aspects, but I would really
recommend vandit to instead give Lara infinite breath, perfectly doable :3
- Pushable blocks: as it for now I have played version 1.1 thus I am unsure if this is
the case with the newer releases vandit is kindly providing us, but in my version the
third and last part of the pushable block chore was really made annoying by the fact
that 3 same object had to be rearranged without knowing there each of them went, it is
not an annoying thing as the one cited above, but sure did bring me some annoyance over
the object look same, I do comprehend that perhaps the author could not do otherwise but
I do hope in a fix ^w^.
Object usage was fairly superb through the game, I only ever found it a bit maybe
annoying in the underwater section, this would in fact make me detract one point from
this section, but instead the secrets and easter eggs bring it again to 10, I really
liked the secrets I was able to grasp, specially the one involving the underwater
stargate (so they are called) traps, QRS vibes ^w^.
Atmosphere was very good too ^w^, I am surprised the level could look stylistically
talking diverse and real big, truly amazing, what also elevated it for me was the
usage of music, diverse too during the game, between climatic tracks and more chill
ones, music usage in games is hard to obtain good, but the author should give himself a
pat and say "Good job!" :3
Lighting was pretty good too during the level and the texturing was pretty fine too, I
have to be honest and say that something is stopping me from giving a 10 in this section
and is the fact some of the texture do not connect properly right and should have been
mirrored, again I might be a little too much precise >~< but that really, really settled
on me so much so as I found myself genuinely asking why did not vandit do that, but then
again, maybe that is the idea he had, so I cannot rate that badly, I can detract tho the
look of the first area we explore, I am not sure why but the author seems to have become
suddenly very much more inspired when we enter the temple, the earlier scenes,
especially the little passages on top had some texturing that did made me skeptical
about the whole level look, that in the end tho revealed to be just a bit of dust over a
diamond.
Woah, what a long review for my standards and what a wonderful level is hidden here! Do
not let yourself fooled by the fact this level was part of the one room challenge, it is
much more. Definitively recommended and also I do hope the author giving us some more,
because this definitively shows the author has a lot to offer and sure 19 years brought
shine. Wolfy Regards :3" - Wolf7 (18-Apr-2021) |
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| "The first Ayutthaya was already challenging , but this one is two times more. Pffew, for
the ORC challenge , i had the feeling to play almost a multi-levels game as each (not
oversized) area demands time and accuracy in what you do. Sure there is some redoing in
one of these, but generally it was fun with well balanced gameplay between action ,
platforming and puzzles, and a good underwater section. I quite like the fact that some
jumps demand a leap of faith. Quite an immersive level with a lot of care put into it ,
excellent atmosphere even if it's not the typical temple/jungle atmosphere regarding the
backgroung audio loops. Not too many enemies , they are well chosen , beautiful objects
and textures , good secrets too. My favourite from this ORC edition." - eRIC (18-Apr-2021) |
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| "An excellent cambodian/khmer themed level which I really loved. I loved so much
atmosphere, lighting and everything. Im very impressed how much builder made in only one
room. There were many things to do and it was long level as for orc. Gameplay was very
well done with much clever tasks and one really interesting puzzle in which we need to
think some time before we will solve it. We ecnounter some enemies on way like tigers
and spiders. As I said level have wonderful atmosphere with big khmer feel. Every room
was very nicely decorated and textured. I remember I watched on youtube first part which
was also very good. Overally, its very well done level with big cambodian/khmer feel,
with wonderful environment, with solid and interesting gameplay. Definetly recommended!" - BlackWolfTR (17-Apr-2021) |
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| "I was doing really well with the first part of this level and was just about to give myself
a pat on the back for figuring out the puzzles and finding my route through the squishy
block maze when I entered the underwater area and disaster struck! After what felt like
several days of getting turned round, drowning, getting completely lost, drowning, and not
really achieving all that much, apart from possibly setting a new record for drowning, I
gave in and went screaming off to the internet to find a walkthrough. Sanity preserved, I
settled down to enjoy myself again. This can be quite challenging at times, as it feels
like a huge area (kudos to the builder for packing so much in) and it is easy to become
disorientated in the underwater areas. That aside, it is very cleverly designed gameplay
and looks wonderful – the underwater areas in particular are gorgeous – and, with a
walkthrough not too far away, I think you should have a very good time with this one. Oh,
and you may just want to save your fire power for the boss ending." - Jay (17-Apr-2021) |
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| "This map has a lot of pros and a lot of cons, it will be hard for me to sort it out somehow, but I will try my best.
The atmospherical aspect of the level is well executed, I can not say a word against it.
The same works for lightning and textures, which seemed to be almost perfect, sometimes I had just a problem noticing if it is texture, or texture saying there is a
ladder.
Amount of enemies seems to be good, during the level it is all nicely done and you can enjoy the game with the right amount of enemies. (Some of them were spiders, not
for my arachnophobia) The problem I had was at the end of the level with 3 statues in motion in such a small area, which caused me to suffer for a while, furthermore,
it seems to be working on horseman mechanics, so the only vulnerable part was a chest from the front. The final boss fight, that flying demi-god was insanely hard for
me, and it should be a little bit easier. I found some uzis and Deagle ammunition, but not the weapons for them, so they must be well hidden which is not good for such
a difficult level. Secrets were well hidden and there were some more collectables as a reference on other TR games (bonus point for that)
The gameplay was nice, nicely designed level helped a lot, and I enjoyed it enough, but on the other hand, a lot of puzzles was not intuitive, was not easy to do and
you need to prepare yourself to suffer on some spots. (Two ropes jump over spikes, measuring the amount of water - did not notice a hint for litres I need to use,
underwater chain searching with so limited air, bell searching, a lever that was damn well hidden and it would take me a while to get it if I was not fortune and find
it by accident, some other harder underwater traps like blade swimming for the switch.)
To sum it up, I liked the level, I recommend this for playing. Also in part after you use the tear and open the door to claim the dagger, there were pickups I was not
able to claim due to the skeleton, maybe it is just a problem of me, not knowing the proper move.
----><----
Footnote1: I heard about the update for this map, that solves some of the problems, but I played it with the version downloaded before that patch." - DroneQuadcopter (16-Apr-2021) |
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"April 16: As the builder has provided updates addressing issues mentioned in my original review, I have changed the score to be 8/9/10/10, up from 7/8/10/9.
(7) Gameplay & Puzzles: This challenging, epic adventure (2 hours for me) has such a huge variety of tasks and feels very robust; you wouldn't think it was built with the ORC confinements. I have strong mixed feelings about the gameplay. There are some gameplay elements that I really enjoyed, such as the timed run over the pool with the fishies, shooting the underwater bells, solving the scales puzzles, and the platforming in general. However I do not think the overall gameplay progression/flow is very good, largely due to 2 factors: A) The very tedious 3 color pushables puzzle. I loved the idea of clues on the walls, however, why make the player repeat the platforming sequence over and over to pull the chain, which is needed to raise and lower blocks? Furthermore, there are 3 identical bells which need to be pushed onto 3 identical green tiles. You would think that any bell can go on any green tile, but that is NOT the case, and it results in a frustrating trial-and-error of pushing... and pushing... and pushing. B) The entire lengthy underwater section. It's not a maze, technically, but it still felt very disorientating, with unpleasant trial-and-error to find air pockets. Once you find the air pockets, it's still not very fun, because there's so much swimming back and forth, use a lever, surface for air, use a lever, surface for air, repeat. (8) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: There's a wonderful array of custom enemies and I particularly enjoyed the dangerous big spiders (I always feel bad for killing small spiders that die too easily and hardly do any damage). The thrilling final boss fight was one of the best I've encountered in all of the TRLEs I have played, and I thought it was a neat touch how the player has to be on their toes, avoiding the rotating flame, while also fighting the boss. The wraiths were well utilized as well. I could tell that the beautiful object decor was done with great attention to detail, particularly the underwater flora and fauna. I loved the trap variety, with the spinning blade trap being my favorite, near the end of the game. I was not a fan of the "piranha punishment" if the player grabs a large medipack underwater; I found this to be obnoxious, considering that there's not that many medipacks to begin with. Furthermore it was also frustrating to go back and forth between underwater traps over and over. I think it would have been much better to deactivate the traps once the player had conquered an underwater area. That way, the player doesn't have to deal with them later on when they're passing through. (10) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: I was truly blown away by the architecture and I tip my hat to the builder for creating such visually interesting areas despite the space restriction. No area felt "boxy" or too cubic, and the builder's attention to the smallest details such as sunrays and ruined windows to enhance atmosphere were greatly appreciated. There were many atmospheric highlights for me, such as the initial pool with the fishies, the underwater cave with the giant head, and the eerie boss room with the candles everywhere. I loved the immersive music selection, which captured the mood of the area perfectly. My favorites were the underwater theme song as well as the remix during the ending credits. Cameras and flybys were done well. (9) Lighting & Textures: Both of these are absolutely stunning, with no texturing errors spotted. The Khmer ruins textures were a visual treat, and I especially enjoyed the builder's use of a very subtle, purple colored lighting to bring attention to areas. In fact, the builder's usage of color overall was brilliant. I wanted to briefly mention the issue that is visibility. It's not a dark level overall and the builder provides plenty of long-lasting flares for occasional darker areas. The issue is that sometimes objectives are difficult to see, such as climbable foothold objects or vines on the wall that blend in with their surroundings. An example of visibility being an issue was the spider cave, where the foothold objects looked too similar to the wall texture, and the walls and ceiling looked identical so it was difficult to get my bearings. Visibility issues aren't that bad when you've got binoculars, but when you're underwater and searching everywhere for a small triangular crack in the caves, with no binoculars, it becomes frustrating. Overall, this high-quality level is clearly a labor of love, with so much varied gameplay and breathtaking aesthetics, but I just didn't find it very fun to play, I'm sorry to say. If you're a player who isn't annoyed by backtracking, lengthy pushable sequences, and super lengthy underwater sequences, then I would cautiously recommend this level to you, nudging you to keep your binoculars handy. 7/8/10/9." - nerdfury (13-Apr-2021) |
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| "Don't be fooled into thinking this will be a short trip due to the One Room Challenge label. What awaits is actually quite a sprawling and engaging raid with many areas and sub-areas masterfully packed into the limits imposed by the challenge requirements. The visuals and atmosphere are nothing short of breathtaking from the get-go with masterful texturing and lush lighting present throughout. The flora, Khmer statues, and stone reliefs are well brought to life with these visuals, and the submerged temples towards the end benefit greatly from the author's skill in setting the atmosphere. On the gameplay front there is a variety of platforming tasks both timed and non-timed that includes ledge traversal, rope-swinging, parallel bars and dodging squishy blocks along with spike traps. Swimming sections, occasional combat with two boss sections, and pushable puzzle sections are present as well. For the most part the focus here is on exploration and getting access to further passageways or locating a series of levers to advance. Sometimes the path to progress is sneakily hidden and requires very keen attention to environmental detail in order to make progress. The underwater sections can be challenging as openings for air are rather sparse and feature an almost maze-like layout. There is even a trigger for spawning piranhas to make things harder in the large underwater cove area with no prior indication, adding to the frustration. One of the pushable puzzle is cleverly designed, though is marred by a large degree of backtracking to the chain that manipulates raising blocks to get all the pieces in the correct areas, and the inclusion of trial-and-error with the stone bell pushables felt unnecessary. Taken as a whole, along with the hunt for the golden skull secrets, everything combines into an engaging raid that urged me to push on further. There's a nice nod to previous TR games as part of the 25th anniversary celebration as well with optional collectible items, 3 of which I was able to find. I very much enjoyed the hour and a half this level offered, and I am hopeful that we will see further releases by this talented author. High recommendations!" - Relic Hunter (11-Apr-2021) |
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