Levels listed...
TR5 - 31
TR4 - 3141
TR3 - 177
TR2 - 133
TR1 - 61
72342 reviews (20.4/level)
3532 (99.7%) walkthroughs
445 Hall of Fame levels
1221 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
12-Dec-2021 |
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# of downloads: |
1215 |
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average rating: |
9.81 |
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review count: |
22 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
2,246.00 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
nc |
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| Reviewer's comments |
"Well, where do I even begin to describe this one? I honestly believe this game should not
be available for free and it is absolutely amazing how one single person can pull it off.
It plays completely in a league of its own and the humble scoring system here does not do
it any justice. You can tell that the builder is a prefessional, ie does this kind of work
in real life as well. Yes, it does borrow/get inspiration from some of the big commercial
triple A games, like The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn, but it does mix the themes up
in a good way. And despite the fact that often times the almost 9 hours of net gaming time
I spent here felt as if it were primarily about collecting a myriad of pickups, I did not
mind at all, as wandering through these utterly impressive world, following a simple yet
effective narrative towards a pretty awesome conclusion at the end serves as enough of a
reward on its own. The one thing I relike disliked was Lara's face, which I thought looked
rather strange, but that is of course only a matter of taste. The enemies fit in very well
and are actually quite tough, ie do a lot of damage, if you let them, so some stealth
mechanisms are highly advisable. Plenty of secrets to be found to stack up your rather
overloaded arsenal of ammo and health items even more and well, countless other very
unique and special things happening throughout. Too many to fit into such a review. Maybe
let me mention one I liked a lot: the "V" key function that allowed you to highlight
nearby pickups to more easily spot them. Great idea - and one of many. There are a few
tougher battles and some commented the main spide boss fight was too tough, but for the
more broadly experienced gamers out there it really is a very common boss fight design
that is not so hard to manage once you figure out what needs to be done. In summary, I
just loved this. I cannot recall ever having been so immersed into a TR game since Psiko's
TRA back in the day and I hope MD gives the world much more of his extraordinary talent
whether in a TR context or otherwise..." - MichaelP (03-Apr-2024) |
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| "This is one of the most beautiful levels ever created. It's not even a Tomb Raider.
It looks like another game, it looks like The Last of Us, absolute spectacle.
I don't want to spoil it, absolutely play it if you haven't. It is absolutely worth it. is
an interactive movie.
Always interesting and fun gameplay, great aesthetics, what more do you want!" - DadRaider (09-Sep-2022) |
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| "It feels surreal to be playing this after so long, I have very vivid memories of seeing all
the different previews and trailers when I was a young teen... and now I'm a man grown,
getting to see this decade-long effort pay off is a thing of beauty really, that is not to
say that aren't any problems however any drawbacks pale in comparison to the remarkable
experience this was, the leveling system, re-balanced weapons, the tools you can use to
solve puzzles were all implemented superbly, the combat encounters were tense and the story
compelling though the open-ended conclusion might be hit-or-miss for some, the highlight of
the level-set is definitely the presentation, world-building and level design, there is an
overwhelming amount of detail and care put into each and every location of this game, it
maintains an oppressive atmosphere while still having a pretty diverse color palette, it had
been a while since I felt fully immersed in a experience like this, no one can deny the
passion that went into this project, tonally it may not be for everyone but it is worth a
try, it is a very unique tomb raider experience that deserves to be played by every avid
raider at least once." - Lud (12-Aug-2022) |
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| "Definitely NOT my type of a game, with much more here than my Pentium MMX brain can process, but after five minutes it was clear the author had approached this project more seriously than I approached life. After one hour I knew giving less than full score would be wrong, and there were still several hours to follow. This project could be a trailer of what TRLE can be, together with Reflection of Eternity, HyperSquare, Ancient Artifact, Mists of Avalon, you name them. Superb work, and knowing it's only a fraction of what TombEngine will allow, I'm sure after one golden age a decade ago, we will enter another. Congratulations!" - DJ Full (27-Jul-2022) |
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"With a setting and tone heavily inspired by The Last of Us and other overgrown post-apocalypses, this goes with Movement at the Monastery as a release that sets a whole new standard of TRLE visual design and presentation, although in kind of the opposite way, as Movement was about grand scale views, whereas, with some exceptions, this is mostly about relatively confined areas full of intimate amounts of detail. Almost all the objects and general assets are new, and it all looks excellent and fits together well, including a bunch of new animations for both Lara and others. It's all backed up by great lighting too. The modern city ruins make up the majority of the setting, but the set throws in some twists on the theme and completely different areas to stop it getting repetitive. It executes what it's going for near-perfectly.
The gameplay also puts a bit of a twist on standard gameplay, with more of a survival style, including healing animations of varying length and deadlier combat where both Lara and enemies can die very quickly. It mostly works, but there are a couple of things that were a frustration throughout; combat is mostly against enemies with guns, and they are frequently sitting on elevations or behind objects you can't see through, which leads to moments of dying repeatedly to something you can't even see. Lara's side and back flips have also been removed, and, while you get a sort of replacement for the former later, it makes movement a lot clunkier than normal despite all the new moves there are elsewhere. The new sprint jump grab is also a little unforgiving with how early you need to press grab, which can make it a bit awkward to execute. Despite the occasional irritating moments those things lead to, the gameplay is mostly engaging, with a lot of new animations and puzzle concepts, and the smaller scale areas are fully leveraged as places you explore and revisit from multiple angles and elevations. There's even things like an RPG experience system that provides various bonuses as you progress and explore. It also integrates a story throughout that is well-executed, and leads to an ending that could be a climax or a sequel hook depending on what the author does next. A long-awaited major TRLE project that lives up to the hype despite a couple of frustrating aspects, and a must play." - Mman (08-May-2022) |
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| "Lara fights for survival as she strives to find answers about a plague that has caused the apocalypse. There is a lot to talk about, but before anything else I need to have a serious talk about the controls, because some decisions were made that were a constant issue for me throughout the adventure. The most frustrating change is that Lara's side jumps and back jump have been removed. I can't stress this enough: when a game is a platformer using tank controls, every bit of agility is precious, and should not be considered optional. Sure, the "side dodges" eventually appear, but those are a poor replacement of the side jumps. They are a far cry from being able to reach landings without having to turn and face forward every time, in a game that puts the player in many tense situations where time is of the essence. Making Lara less maneuverable than she was in TR1 is not a worthy goal to aim for. With that out of my system, I'll get through the rest of my negative comments. The only other issue that appeared frequently was the forced backtracking, making Lara go back and forth to open doors in areas she had just left from. Note that whenever I make this complaint in a review I'm talking about the main gameplay – here the secrets are fun to run back to and unlock and as Lara gets more upgrades. Two specific moments rubbed me the wrong way, one being the forced removal of a torch when crossing between two particular levels (the torch disappears from her hands for no reason), and the other being the wild dogs encounter; trying to retreat into the pit Lara just exited from results in instant death for no discernible reason, and the timer was a bit confusing. Lara says "stay calm" so I first thought Lara need to evade the dogs for the alotted time. Instead it is the opposite case, where Lara must shoot all visible dogs before time runs out, and this happens for several waves. I'll grant that it was an interesting idea, but could have been made more player friendly. There were a lot of things I enjoyed in this adventure and I'm sure I won't remember them all as I'm writing this, but I will try. I'll start with the combat, which is very engaging, especially with the adjustments made to the weapons. The wideshot ammo is finally useful, and the steel crossbow arrows are much more satisfying than their former poison counterparts, as they can take down most enemies in one hit. The health system is a bit more challenging as Lara has to stand still to use most of the healing items, but there are still some that can instantly heal her. I especially enjoyed the boss fight, which requires both a good stock of ammo and some quick target practice to overcome. I'm glad to see the sprint jump return, although the lack of a late grab makes it a little difficult to use. There are also a few puzzles, including one to unlock a safe which felt like something you'd see in an escape room. There is an interesting experience system that I appreciate because it encourages exploration, giving more experience points for finding secrets, collecting items, and being clever in certain encounters. The player is awarded with various upgrades from this, including additional maneuvers and faster healing. And the thing I loved the most was the aesthetics, absolutely stunningly detailed – I ended with no less than 158 screenshots saved on my computer after I finished. Extra props for the lighting, and for including a flashlight so there aren't many visibility issues. Overall despite my grumbles about the controls, I'm still very glad I played this through, and I'm sure most players will feel the same. 8 hours 2 minutes" - JesseG (21-Mar-2022) |
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| "Visually and atmospherically the best TRLE I've played so far, it's a mix of The Last of Us, TR 2013 (from
which many music tracks were reused) and Horizon at the end. It's really impressive what the author has
done with the old engine, yes sure in some places the game jerks but it's all still playable. Exploring the
areas was the most fun for me, there are hardly any puzzles but still so much to discover. Unfortunately,
there are also some bugs, for example, the apartment key did not appear for me, although I had previously
checked the corresponding door. Only a complete restart of the game made the key visible. Before finding
the pistol, you go through a slide tunnel, in which Lara almost always died and I don't know why. Some
enemies were a bit annoying to take out unseen, because the pistol is very weak to kill enemies or the
collision of any objects was in the way to take them out by headshot but this is probably so intentional by
the author. The boss fights on the other hand were no problem, the spider robot was even really cool! I also
have to mention something that was annoying, many items can only be collected by crouching and often
Lara gets stuck on invisible collision of objects. That you could not jump sideways / backwards did not really
make sense, well, maybe Lara in this adventure is just too old for something like that, lol. The story I found
very okay, one problem I have though is with the unsatisfying ending and with the last level itself, that felt
out of place somehow. Thanks to the author for this phenomenal adventure that is unique in the TRLE world!" - vandit (18-Mar-2022) |
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| "The ending left a bad taste in my mouth. That battle with the spider monster was a bit over
the top, so I used Dutchy's second-hand savegame to get past that point. I may try again
later, but I doubt it. And those pixel-perfect sprint jumps at the very end were unnecessary
and annoying (Lara would consistently refuse to grab at the end of the jump). I finally gave
up on the last one and watched the concluding FMVs on the posted video. Before that, I had
found the game to be quite addictive despite the dark and macabre setting. By the time I'd
reached the boss fight I'd already logged eight and a half hours, so this definitely
qualifies as a marathon raid. Dutchy's walkthrough was indispensable for getting me past
some of the less intuitive spots, and one soldier proved so elusive (lurking below a fenced
roof) that I finally said to hell with it, dropped down to kill him at close range and then
took the long way back up to the roof so I could continue. Whoever provided Lara's voice did
an effective and convincing job, although her language became a bit salty at times. The
other voices were also done well, and lacked that reading-from-a-script impression so often
created by other levels. This is no doubt a remarkable level-building achievement destined
for early Hall of Fame honors, but I'm ready to move on to the next one." - Phil (05-Mar-2022) |
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| "Now this is something else. Bear with me a
little bit as I try to find my words,
because I'm still a little bit breathless
after that belter of a final boss.
Actually the previous reviews have already
explained everything in much greater
detail than I ever could, so mine might
end up being markedly shorter. This boldly
goes where Tomb Raider has never gone
before and it's hard to believe that this
is made via the Level Editor, it's
incredibly advanced and definitely worth
the ten years or thereabouts in the
making. The variety of settings, the new
gameplay mechanics, ways of manipulating
the environment to your advantage, the
letter/secret system, experience points,
upgrades (much better than the ones in
Angel of Darkness), the cohesive
storyline, the totally gripping
atmosphere... It all combines to make an
unforgettable gameplay experience. Maybe
the enemies were a bit on the overly
sneaky side (at least I found they were)
and the aforementioned final boss was a
tad overdone, but I really couldn't find
it in my heart to deduct any points as the
whole experience was just brilliant and it
completely changed by vision of what Tomb
Raider could look like for years to come.
Superb stuff." - Ryan (26-Feb-2022) |
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| "This starts a bit too "cinematic", the game stops you all the time with cut sequences, the path is pretty linear, and it's more like an interactive movie than a Tomb Raider game. But it gets much better later on. The levels are visually very detailed, though maybe a bit cluttered. Basically every tile is full with complicated looking objects (like literal clutter in abandoned homes). You need to learn which objects you can interact with, and which objects are just decoration. But you probably learn quickly. (I misinterpreted a hint that made me waste grenades, and there were other types of clutter objects, where I missed that I could blow them up.) I think the difficulty is a bit unbalanced. The first soldier was pretty hard compared to the rest (I didn't have enough ammo or medipacks), then it was mostly easy again, except later there were some equally frustrating soldier moments. The fight near the end of the game seemed to give a lot of players trouble (I found it manageable). In contrast, the looters appeared late, but were weak. In the beginning, ammo is scarce, and you have to decide whether to "waste" it to shoot bats and rats, or whether to tolerate and avoid the pests. In the end, I had a lot of ammo leftover. There was also an oddly hard boulder run, which apparently required an obscure new move to finish it, which wasn't needed anywhere else. I must have retried it 20 times or more. On the other hand, this would have been an easy run if some of Lara's normal moves had not been disabled. I'm not sure why this needed to be so tutorial-heavy in the beginning (hint system and all), I doubt there's a huge audience of players who are new to Tomb Raider, and it's slightly annoying to more experienced players. Also didn't care about these "experience points". The complicated medipack replacements seemed annoying: a couple of times it happened to me that I quickly saved when I was taking damage, but because I couldn't restore Lara's health instantly (as normally in TR), my savegame became useless. I didn't care for the new moves either, especially the extended jump seemed like a weird addition. On the other hand, some of Lara's standard moves were disabled, so it made me very grumpy about these changes in general. I'm thinking maybe these fancy things weren't needed, and less would have been more. Even if from the technical point of view, these changes are amazing. If you reduce the game to pure TR level design and gameplay, it was nothing amazing, but good enough to be fun. The game lives from the visual component, which greatly enhances everything, and makes it a very good immersive experience. The very last level was special: although the gameplay was way too simple, I found the atmosphere particularly amazing, and it was like a reward after defeating the final boss. Some levels had the typical problem that it was easier to find secrets than making game progress. I liked that it was possible to go back quite a bit in most places, and that the playing area was big, without making it too hard to find hidden things needed for progress. There is a LOT of story, which honestly didn't do much for me (especially when it got cinematic). But if you like games with a story line, it does it very well. Plus points for providing a workaround for a showstopper bug in the first release of the game. I was very pleased that I could continue with my savegame, instead of having to start over from the beginning. There were some other bugs that almost led me to abandon the game, but I managed to work them around. In conclusion, it's an amazing game everyone should play, and the length of it and the effort put into it make this a masterpiece. (Updated October with better rating and some small changes.)" - tuxraider (11-Feb-2022) |
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| "This goes where no Tomb Raider has ever gone before. It's actually not at all classic tomb
raiding at all. It tells a story (the - perhaps optimistic - ending is not your classic War
of the Worlds ending either), and is faultless in anything and everything one may think of:
fighting, stealth (a lot of it), objects and animations, atmosphere, puzzles, lighting,
textures, new moves and ways of acting and reacting, different settings of all sorts - the
mere fact that this was crafted using the TR engine(s) is amazing. The story grows as it
evolves, and it does it so well... I'll never be able to look at Tomb Raider with the very
same eyes again (true, it took about ten years in the making). I must say the fight against
the robot boss was quite tough, and took me a long time to get it right. And I'm not sure
I'd be able to save myself and the world easily had I been in Lara's shoes in the last part
of the saga, with all that complicated platforming. This was actually a film. Thank you so
much for this breathtaking landmark." - Jorge22 (23-Jan-2022) |
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| "Although the game is outstanding in the technical aspect and there is a lot of exploration
(the secrets are very nice), it left me a little cold in other sections:
-There are no puzzles.
-The combat is very unbalanced. And almost everything is concentrated in two levels towards
the middle of the game, sometimes it is a bit unfair because they start shooting at you
before you can see them. the variety of enemies is scarce; however, the final boss is
superb.
-The game looks like a long preamble. I hope there will be a second part, but not putting a
"To be continued" left me with doubt.
-Lara cannot perform certain movements (for example, jumping backwards) which is quite
uncomfortable.
-There is also a strange imbalance in the weapons. I only use the shotgun, since the pistol
takes very little life." - requiemsoul (21-Jan-2022) |
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| "I don't often review levels but I had to make an exception for this one. I'll try and keep
it brief.
This is not a custom TRLE, this is a full standalone game starring Lara Croft that just so
happens to be made with an older TR engine. Throughout the whole game it felt like I was
playing a newly released title by a game developer. It comes across like a AAA title but
with stylised older graphics. But this doesn't mean the game looks bad. This is the most
detailed, atmospheric and beautiful game I've played with this engine. The insane amount
of detail blows me away, I can't even. It's frustrating how good everything is. I couldn't
help but think as I played how things were built and achieved with this engine, especially
I assume being built without Tomb Editor.
The story was interesting and really well told through the cutscenes, level design and
visuals. The voice acting was also really good. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the
reboot Lara sound effects, as they make my ears bleed. The sound design in general was
fantastic. The background audio, music and sound effects had so much immersion throughout
the levels. The opening sequence of the attack was extremely well done. All the levels
were fantastic to play really. I did enjoy the leveling up system and collecting XP, as I
felt more determined to find secrets to gain more. The health system was well done too
even though some types I didn't use very often. Perhaps there were too many types? The
combat was challenging in the best way. I had to stop and think about how to approach
enemies and they felt scarier because healing wasn't so easy. It made you want to
seek cover. I also like the removal of the side/back flips because it made combat and
platforming more of a challenge. The boss fight level was amazing. I'm curious what enemy
slot that machine was in. The TR4 engine lacks good boss enemies, so to be able to turn
this into a full on boss fight was insane. Tricky but impressive.
Overall I'm blown away. All reviews should only consist of 10's. Anything under is
unacceptable. I don't think any other game made with this engine will be this
cinematic, detailed and polished. It's at a level I could never achieve. The bar has been
raised so high it's broke through the roof. But... you never know what someone might
produce next. This game definitely needs to be played if you're a TR fan but I really
think this should be played outside of the fandom too. Will definitely replay in future to
100% everything. Congratulations Mateusz." - Tombraider95 (08-Jan-2022) |
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| "Well what do we have here..??A mix of classic tr , tr aod , tr 2013 tower climbing , vibes of resident evil healing system , last level vibes from ac origin and hzd , good corona - infection story , nice dialogues , unique environments , perfect details especially the abandoned houses similar tlou..
What i didnt like were the easy secrets , easy enemies and the anticipation to fight aliens or creepy enemies but there werent any..
The big trump card of this is the fact that u actually always find your way to your next objective without backtracking or getting lost..u follow the game very smoothly and u dont need to be an experienced raider..
Top 5 trle level ever made..Wishing this trle to be aired some years before where the community was more active" - Petaludas (05-Jan-2022) |
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"Tomb Raider: War of the Worlds is an impressive and masterpiece TRLE after 10 years of
waiting to be released. The Gameplay, Story, Puzzles, Combat etc. are absolutely pure and
I'm going to review it.
Development: Back in 2011, the project was created by Maati with TRNG (Next Generation)
with a new system (Health, Experience Point, Torch, Combat etc.). In 2012, Maati released
the first gameplay video but unfortunately, the video was deleted or private after the
2015 gameplay video. According to 2012 and 2015s gameplay video, it should be more level
and more gameplay but now, it's only 13 levels (9 levels total while other 4 are just
connected). In 2021, the game was finally completed and released on 12.12.2021 after 10
years of development.
Gameplay: The gameplay mechanic is from TR4 but with the new system, we can use the Torch
from TR 2013 for burning the object to make the pass or secrets, Experience Point just
like TR 2013 and Upgrade Skills just like in TR AoD and 2013. With the upgrade of her
skills, Lara will be able to perform side to side jumps similar to TR Legend and
Anniversary and useful for combat to avoid her damage. Lara can destroy the object block
with her Shotgun or Grenade (From TR 2013). Her Dual Pistols will replace the Single
Pistols from TR Reboot. The Crossbow is useful for stealth and combat with the Steel Arrow
(Solid) to kill only one single shot. You can use the Vision Instinct aka Survival
Instinct to find the items or letters and the puzzles are not hard and solve the problem
which unlike the other TRLE. The Health Mechanic is new and you can combine the Red Herbs
with Alcohol to make 100% restoring health whenever during the combat or use the Blue
Herbs for preventing the bullet, similar to Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Now if you
remember, the base camp for using the torch back from 2015 was scrapped.
The Skill System and Experience Point is kind of impressive and fun to collect many EXP
for rewarding (Using Picture of Health, Found Secrets and Letters, Killing Enemies,
Reaching the Checkpoint etc). After you reach the first upgrade, you can read the Remarks
about the Upgrade Skills. If you complete all Upgrade Skills, you'll get a big reward with
handy Uzi and Explosion Ammo/Arrow. The Secrets are very hidden but some of them can be
easily found. For example, in the Outskirts (First Visit), you found only 4 secrets but
you can't find others because it'll be for a second visit in order to explore the other
area after the Swamps.
The Lighting and Texture are amazing and I can't describe the details but it impressed me.
Lara's Model is really impressive to see Underworld Lara but kind of a little Survivor
Lara from TR Reboot and I can't tell if it is unified or what but still impressive.
The Sound and SFX are amazing and it's suitable for this game as Survival-Adventure.
The Voice Acting of Lara Croft is by Jennifer Milward who did a really perfect job as Lara
Croft and it really sounds just like Lara. In 2015, there's different voice acting of Lara
but it sounded like a Reboot Lara and I don't know. I can't explain it.
Combat: The combat is difficult to kill the enemys due strongest health from militaries
and looters. Her single pistol is the weakest pistol in the game and can be used only for
destroying objects that contain items, explosions, snakes etc. Shotgun and Crossbow are
powerful if you select Wide shot ammo and Steel Arrow (Solid). If you deal the stealth,
you can use the Crossbow with Laser Sight to take down easily or Grenade work too but
beware the damage if you did too close or more powerful grenade can kill Lara easily.
The Story: It's similar to the War of the Worlds Movie but it is so interesting to play
her story about the Medical Pavilion and why they want to find the source of infection and
can finally save the world from infection or... found another solution?
My Score of Tomb Raider: War of the Worlds is 11/10 (If only it was real but of course
10/10). Maati did a perfect job for this game and 10 years of development is kind of a big
work to make the very impressive Survival-Adventure of Tomb Raider." - Eddys Tomb Raider Channel (27-Dec-2021) |
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| "What a brilliant game, a bit glitchy in places and the enemies are tanks, lol, but other
then that a well designed game, Lara has extra ability's such as the sprint jump and
sideways roll, she doesn't have her backflip and turn ability of which I kept forgetting and
was a shame but, this ties in well with the reboot games, the textures, lighting and
gameplay are cleverly put together and you wont be disappointed if u play. I really enjoyed
playing this, and managed to even find all secrets! quite proud of myself. Only thing i
would say is this game is exploration based and not many puzzles hence my score of 9. well
done." - Lady_Wise (26-Dec-2021) |
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| "What a custom level! I didn't have this kind of fun playing a TRLE custom for years!
First, thank you for this. Btw, my review is spoiler free.
Pros: I really love the cutscenes and gameplay innovations. Talking about gameplay, this
is the most important part for me in War Of The Worlds. The game is very detailed and
beautifully crafted, I know, this is awesome for sure but I really love how the gameplay
difficulty and pace are just right, just like puzzles, challenges and boss fights. This
here is just my style! I like that despise items being scarce, they're not exaggeratedly
scarce, so taking care of how I used the supplies, I managed to heal Lara every time I
needed and kill every single enemy in the game. Some puzzles were completely new in TRLE
universe and very creative/innovative, really liked these SO MUCH. The plot (and also the
cutscenes) made me feel attached to the story and always wanting to know more and more as
I progressed through the levels. This feeling is great! Oh, I loved the whole story.
Amazing. What a beautiful ending too.
Cons: I'm not a fan of Lara's missing back and side flips' animations when she's jumping,
but I understand that this was made thinking about gameplay (and also combat, I think). I
also missed the iconic dual pistols and sometimes TRLE couldn't handle so much detail and
objects that started to frame drop constantly (specially in "The Base"), also some enemies
ended up running against walls and being stuck, but I have knowledge that this is the
engine's fault due to its limitations so there's nothing to do about it, unfortunately.
After all, the game is so good and fun that this cons didn't bother me that much, so it's
still a 10/10 for me.
Well done." - Gabriel Oliveira (21-Dec-2021) |
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| "Well. Well. WELL. Let's review this level, shall we? First and foremost, spoilers might be in order here, so you might want to finish the game before reading this. War of the Worlds, what a journey, both after following the development of this game for years, but also for what this level had to offer to us, avid Tomb Raider players. But boy, this level right here was worth the years of wait. To put it straight forward, MD released what we'd call a complete masterpiece. Everything about this game is absolutely incredible. Gameplay wise, Maati completely pushed the limits of the TR engine to grant us an experience system, a new set of moves and interactions, new healing methods and an immersive exploration throughout the entirety of the game. Exploring an apocalyptic world, victim of a pandemic for years, cruising in a world where humanity has collapsed and what remains are survivors, lunatics and militaries, has never felt so incredible. Everything feels real and alive in this level, like we ARE Lara, trying to discover the truth after so long and after her "Family" was decimated by those soldiers. First, because we are actually meant to look for answers as we're exploring, looking for letters to know more about how people are surviving the pandemic or how what happened to them after a while, or even Lara sharing her thoughts in her journal entries. But also, it's because of how stunning and incredibly beautiful this game looks: absolutely everything is SPOT ON when it comes to the graphics, nature is beautiful, wild, claiming back what society constructed until the pandemic hit, the effects on the water, the wind, the plants... I was in absolutely AWE. The amount of combat was exactly as it should be, in my opinion, not too hard, not too easy. The final boss design was incredible and the fight nerve-wrecking. And this finale, oh my god this finale, (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN) exploring the ship is absolutely insane, it reminded me a lot of the technology used in Horizon Zero Dawn. Then Lara reuniting with the two remaining survivors of the family, only to be transported together in a new world, what Lara called their "rescue". To put it short, I felt like I was playing an official Tomb Raider game this whole time. I am still emotionnal typing this review because we've waited for so long to be able to play this level, and it proved to be 10 times better than anything I had imagined for it. Easily in my top 3 favourite levels I have ever played and the best one I've played in 2021 and in years. You've earned some rest, Maati, and this 10/10 grade. Bravo, and thank you so much for making such an outstanding level that will no doubt make it to the hall of fame and be remembered for years to come!" - Hedteur (17-Dec-2021) |
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| "This is certainly a level that is hard to beat in terms of attention to detail, gameplay
and well thought-out storyline.
Yes, a level with a continuous and perfectly staged storyline. Through the many cutscenes
you are always well informed about what just happened and how it continues.
Through the various hints you get, you always know what to do and where to use the torch
or one of the weapons. You are virtually guided through the level.
In my opinion, the level builder has thought of all players. Even for players who love
fights more than puzzles and platforming, the level builder has built in enough scenes
where you get your money's worth. You have to skillfully take out the enemies one by one,
sometimes even very quickly, otherwise Lara will have an unsolvable problem.
The sounds you constantly hear fit very well with the environment you are in. Sometimes
you hear the wooden floor cracking and think it's about to collapse.
There weren't too many puzzles, but these were new and very interesting to solve.
The last part is breathtakingly designed. You could almost think it is from a science
fiction blockbuster. I haven't played anything like that before. There were some
shortcuts, but they are not worth mentioning, because you have to play through the
intended plot anyway, otherwise the further actions will not be triggered.
All in all, this level is the absolute highlight I've been able to play so far.
I recommend it wholeheartedly." - nad (16-Dec-2021) |
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| "The most ambitious level series to date.
The author delivers with beautifully handcrafted sceneries and an atmosphere I haven't seen in a custom level before.
In my opinion it has some issues with balancing due to the new healing mechanicsbut that's all that can be complained about. Prepare to dive into the most atmospheric level ever." - Raildex (15-Dec-2021) |
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| "Like all video games, creating a TRLE game takes a great deal of time, effort, love, and
care to bring a world, its setting, its levels, and its story to life. And within the past
decade, MD has delivered solid justice by doing just that!
Tomb Raider: War of the Worlds is a TRLE that pushes the Tomb Raider IV game engine past
its limits to create a post-apocalyptic dystopian modern-day experience that knows no
bounds! Every single detail, platform, texture, item pickup, cutscene, and animation is as
beautifully smooth as the trailers and gameplay demos made them out to be. Perhaps even
more so! Deep within War of the Worlds' gruesome and suspense-filled environment lies a
story which I believe is heavily inspired by H.G. Wells' novel of the same name. The story
is quite understandable at a glance. Lara and several others find themselves trapped in a
pandemic that has infected and wiped out humanity, and as such, our heroine searches high
and low through the vast forests, caves, hideouts, abandoned suburbs, and military bases
to find a cure. The game itself is very hard - almost as hard as Dark Souls - and enemies
lurk around every corner to chip away at your health and induce heart-throbbing anxiety as
you explore this unforgiving dystopian world. Through the meandering forests, plague-
infested sewers, and military bases, the cameras, cutscenes, soundtracks, and sound
effects made the game and its story so believable that I'd go so far as to say that this
game deserves to be a standalone Tomb Raider installment!
Despite a couple bugs here and there, MD manages to capture the essence of this carefully
well-thought-out TRLE by not only painting his canvas with unlimited strokes of detail,
but also by making the game and its mechanics his own. One apparent example of this is by
sacrificing the iconic moves made by Core Design that allow Lara to side-jump and
backflip, replacing them with new moves such as the sprinting jump and the ability to grab
monkey bars while hanging onto ladders - both of which were well-known moves from Tomb
Raider: The Angel of Darkness. Additionally, you can utilize Lara's "Visions," a mechanic
originally introduced in the PS3 and PS4's 2013 Tomb Raider game that allows you to
enhance her senses to detect important game elements and nearby pickups that may not
appear apparent to you at first.
Another thing that sets this TRLE apart from other custom Tomb Raider levels is its
Experience Point system, which was also introduced in the 2013 Tomb Raider game. You earn
EXP by advancing through the story, killing enemies, completing miscellaneous tasks, and
finding secrets. There was one such task that classified as optional in the Dead Calm
level, but the way I saw it, it was actually mandatory, as I needed more than 16 pistol
shots to complete the first boss. By accumulating EXP and reaching certain thresholds, you
can gain access to new moves and bonuses that'll surely make exploration easier for you.
One such bonus includes the ability to collect bonus ammo and health pickups at random
intervals. MD does a great job emphasizing the importance of gaining EXP throughout the
game, as there are some moves locked by the EXP system which are imperative for your
survival. One example includes the ability to dodge roll from enemy attacks to lessen the
damage you take. Furthermore, War of the Worlds encourages you to backtrack to gather
secrets and farm EXP points to reach new EXP thresholds, as enemies will also respawn upon
re-entering levels you've completed previously. I honestly never expected a TRLE to
include RPG elements, but this new mechanic is actually pretty cool!
While there weren't exactly as many puzzles as one would expect in a Tomb Raider game,
they were still an interesting experience anyway. Most of the puzzles found in War of the
Worlds included safe codes, timed runs, and mechanical piston puzzles. The piston puzzles
caught me off-guard at first, but I immediately understood what I had to do to complete
them. All it took was to press the Action button at the right time to lock them into
place. If you pressed the Action button too early or too late, Lara would receive an
electric shock, chipping away at her health whenever you made a mistake. Another puzzle
included the treetop jumps in the swamps to get to the chimney. If I wasn't careful, the
strong winds would blow me off course and leave me to plunge to my death! Again, while the
amount of puzzles in the game were lackluster, they were still challenging enough for me
to forget that there weren't that many anyway. And the dread I felt while exploring the
environment and backtracking for secrets also made up for the lack of puzzles.
Overall, Tomb Raider: War of the Worlds was absolutely worth the wait! Watching the game
grow over the course of the past decade to the point where I could finally play it filled
me with infinite amounts of joy, and I can happily say that I'm definitely going to play
this TRLE over and over again! I found all the secrets, but missed one letter. The secrets
and letters were so well-hidden, but I managed to find the majority of them all on my own
without the need for any walkthrough hints. The boss battles were a really nice touch too.
They gave me Dark Souls vibes and were a thrill to play through. My playthrough of Tomb
Raider: War of the Worlds lasted around 9 hours, a typical playthrough length through most
Tomb Raider games, but that was probably because I got lost while trying to find all the
secrets. I'm pretty sure my next playthrough will probably be a bit shorter, but still
long enough for me to enjoy the scenery, story, and gameplay elements over and over and
over again! If you're looking for a highly-detailed, challenging adventure through a vast
dystopian world, then War of the Worlds is the game for you! Thank you so much, MD for
sharing your creation with all of us! Your top-notch editing and attention to every
possible detail knows no bounds! I can't wait to play this game again!" - DecimaDragonoid (15-Dec-2021) |
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"First of all, I would like to say that if you haven't finished playing this level fully,
then please don't look at this review as you will find spoilers. Second, this might be my
longest review ever, because I just have to explain why this level is a perfection (yes,
you’ve read it right – perfection) and also the unforgettable, and remarkable adventure
AND!! experience that you will get whilst playing this level.
To start off, I was waiting for this level to be released since 2015, when I first heard
about this project I knew already that this is my “must” play level and I was so hyped for
the release. When I heard that this level was to be released 12/12/21, I was mega hyped
and here we are, after 10 years of development and waiting almost 6 years of waiting (for
me) I had the chance to play this amazing and extraordinary level.
Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a medium difficulty level and I finished it in almost 7 hours.
The gameplay focuses on very heavily on exploration, you must look at every corner to find
ammo, medpacks and key items. There are a variety of medpacks that will allow you to heal
you (such as water, canned food, bandages, Medi-kits etc) In fact, it is very important
that you pick up everything as fighting enemies is not easy – they will shred your health
in less than 5 seconds, and you also have to move a lot to avoid excessive damage. The
gameplay in general is incredible. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough puzzles, though I
loved the puzzles where you had to stop the cylinders at the correct time or Lara will
hurt herself, this was great and I loved it.
Maati’s interaction with the player is excellent, he provides you with the journal where
you can check your current goal, remarks (basically tips about stuff in the game) and
letters. Letters are great, because it engages you in the back-story of what’s been
happening during the pandemic.
In my opinion, Maati did absolutely well with gameplay and interactions. Massive congrats
to him
Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Enemies are very tough, you must move a lot to avoid damage. I
loved the part with the timed fight with the wild dogs, I thought that it was a great
gameplay element that I haven’t seen before, and also the boss fight with the robot was
really cool and innovative as it was not just simply shooting it. Secrets are very well
hidden and will reward you a lot.
Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: Atmosphere, Atmosphere, Atmosphere, what do I have to say?
It’s just great and amazing you know. Every inch of design of the level is great, Maati
has used 3D modeling program a lot to construct the levels, this barely feels as if it was
built on the editor, the last level (The gate) shocked me a lot massively, the alienish
design looked amazing. Also, details such as rocks/debris falling off the roof or objects
floating in the water or even when the characters are moving their lips are also amazing –
those are a very nice touches to the environment and it proves that Maati took great
attention to make it perfect. I am stunned basically.
The sounds are amazing, the soundtracks used in this level are amazing and will hook you
in the action, the sound cues are also good and helps the player to know what has
happened. Cameras are also nicely used as they show you what happened.
Voice acting and cutscenes in this game are perfect, Jenni made an excellent job voicing
Lara and Jenni does sound like a real Lara. Maati did a great job with scripting the voice
lines and cutscenes. Honestly, it felt very cinematic and I enjoyed it a lot.
Lighting & Textures: Lighting, is another amazing detail I have seen on any custom level,
there is a different colour palette used throughout this game from green to aqua blue to
pink. Honestly, it was amazing and I love it, there is virtually nothing to point out any
errors as Maati did a perfect job in this, same with the textures on the objects and the
environment – very atmospheric. Stunning!
Summary: In Summary, this was worth of a wait I am incredibly glad that I have waited for
6 years for this game to come out, I have been following any news and announcements since
2015 and earlier in 2021 (at the time of writing) when I heard that Wotw is to be released
this December I was very hyped. I absolutely recommend this game to every for this amazing
and unforgettable experience and adventure you will 100% not regret this, trust me. (pro
tip: remember to take screenshots of your favourite areas : D )" - Kubsy (13-Dec-2021) |
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