ONE ROOM CHALLENGE 2021 - RETURN TO THE GREAT WALL

Level by Mordyga

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth, assisted by Doggett TV's video walk

Lara slides down into a valley and is greeted immediately by a tiger. Note that you already have the shotgun and the harpoon gun in your inventory, as well as an artifact named TALION (that you won't use until the very end). As you roam about this confined area you soon discover that you're surrounded by a myriad of damnable slopes, and there's seemingly no way up or out. However, if you climb onto the triangular rock slab standing by itself, you can take a curved running jump SW to grab the vertex of the higher slope. Shimmy left as far as you can, pull up and take a rolling back flip to grab the gray slope behind you. Hang left, pull up and slide before jumping off to land inside an opening that takes you down into some water.

You can't turn around and surface for air, the S gate is closed, and if you try to swim N you're impeded by a strong current. However, there's a small triangular opening next to the gate that you can squeeze into. Follow around until you emerge on the other side of the closed gate. At the end of this passage is another gate that you can open. Do so and save your game. As you swim forward expecting to pick up the medipack that you can see ahead, you're grabbed by a current and dragged to your left into the next room where a spike wall has been activated. Quickly swim left and up into an air hole while the spike wall goes by.

This particular spike wall goes continuously back and forth, so look down, wait for it to pass by to your right, swim down and left to find an underwater lever in the S wall that lowers a gate behind you in the W wall. The spikes won't reach you here, so turn around, follow closely behind the spike wall along the W wall as it starts moving away from you, and be prepared to make an immediate left turn when you reach the opened gate. Follow the passage up and N until you can surface. Grab that large medipack in the E passage that you couldn't reach earlier due to the current.

You're being fired upon, so pull out immediately and do battle with two goons and two dogs. Also, a machine gun-wielding baddy is shooting at you from a higher perch. When all enemies are dead, pick up the small medipack dropped by one of the goons, note the vehicle parked in the SE alcove and find a short pushblock against the W rock wall. Pull it two times, use it to get onto the higher crate and find a larger pushblock to your right. Pull it once, then get down and push the shorter pushblock two times N, use it to get on the other side of the second pushblock and push it one time S. Climb up on it, stand left and take a running jump S with a right curve so that you land on the slope sliding backwards.

Shimmy left until you can pull up onto a rare stable surface. Walk S, turn left, save your game and take a pixel-perfect running jump slightly SE (keeping the up arrow key depressed) onto the next stable ledge. Stand left, walk E and take a running jump E with a right curve to land on the ledge ahead sliding backward. Grab the edge, shimmy left around the corner and drop down onto a crate. Walk to the SE corner, turn left and take a running jump N onto a slanted block. Hop around the hole, vault up to the baddy's corpse and face a tree limb that's really a swingpole. Save your game, take a running jump to grab it, swing around and jump off to land on the waterfall. Slide a bit and jump off with a right curve to land near a triangular block.

Hop up onto the block (grab doesn't work for some reason), face SW and take a running jump to another swingpole limb. Swing around, jump toward a low spot in the Great Wall and slide down to the upper surface. Immediately run across to the other side and pull up onto the ramparts to avoid the triggered boulders. Shoot the nearby baddy, note the closed door requiring a key and, now that the boulders have stopped moving, go toward the N end to engage two more baddies. Pick up the shotgun ammo dropped by one of them and go back to the S end.

Step onto the lower rampart near the keyhole and take a running jump SW to land on the higher part of a slope. Jump off with a left curve to land on the facing S slope. Slide, grab and shimmy right to the apex of the slope where you can pull up safely. Run forward to the wall to escape the fire of the enemies below and take a running jump W into a fixed camera. Hit the look key to restore camera control, jump up to grab the sloped ledge. Shimmy right to the corner, drop down and from here you can target at least one of the two baddies, plus a dog, down below.

Go around the corner, hop over the obstruction, climb on the crate and use the ladder to get up to a cave opening. Go on in to a fixed camera and take the CAR KEYS from the corpse. As soon as you do, a tiger will appear. Climb back down and drop to the valley floor. Dispose of any remaining enemies and jump into the water. Open the N gate and follow the passage to a room with harpoons, flares and a gate you can't open as you did the other one. However, you can open it by turning around and shooting the chain in the triangular W opening with the harpoon gun.

Swim into the next room, look up at the ceiling to see a similar chain and shoot it to open another gate. My, isn't this fun? Don't go through the E opening yet, but exit W, turn left and follow the passage back to the valley for air. Swim into the lower E gap (partially obscured by greenery) and enter a room with an apparent crowbar switch (a clue, actually) on the floor. Get out your harpoon gun and shoot the SW chain to lower the N gate. Swim in past the skeleton and look up to shoot yet another chain, lowering yet another gate.

Return to the previous room, exit through the SW opening back to the valley (nasty collision here) and get some air. Swim through the N opening and follow the passage to the room with the skeleton. Turn right and go through two E openings into the room with the spikes. Turn right into the S passage and swim past blades that are dormant at present. In the next room turn left and swim up the shaft for air. Go back down and continue N into the next room. Turn right into an alcove  where the gate lowered and pick up the POLE.

Return to the shaft for air if necessary, swim W into the next room and place the Pole on the S wall to create an ingenious underwater lever. Pull it to retract the spikes you saw earlier, and also to activate those blade traps in the N passage behind you. What's more, these blades move along their tracks, making the task of getting past them that much more difficult. When you reach the next room alive, take the GUARDHOUSE KEY from the reclining skeleton and note the golden artifact beyond the E gate. Swim W through two openings and turn left in the room with the skeleton to return to the valley.

Pull out and go to the S end. Face W, back flip onto the slope and jump off to grab the ledge. Shimmy right, pull up and take a rolling back flip to grab the sloped block. Shimmy left around the corner and take another rolling back flip to grab the stacked crates. Pull up and take a running jump with a right curve to land on the sloped ledge sliding backwards. Grab the edge and shimmy left until you can pull up safely. Walk a bit N and take a running jump to the next flat spot. Face the NW block near the waterfall but don't attempt to jump directly onto it. Save your game and take a running jump onto the lower slope ahead and jump off immediately to land on the block.

Take a running jump over the waterfall to grab the next block, pull up and jump back over NE onto the third block. Stand jump to grab the E slope, pull up and go up to the Great Wall. Stand at the NE gap, turn around to face SW and back flip onto the slope. Slide and grab, shimmy right a bit and drop down onto the waterfall. Slide and grab, then drop once more into a water hole where you'll find the GOLDEN DRAGON for the only SECRET in this level. As a bonus, you're rewarded with the UZIS and 3 x uzi ammo.

Exit E and allow the current to carry you along until you reach the area covered in the second paragraph of this walkthrough. Squeeze through the narrow triangular opening and follow the passage to where you encountered that irresistibly strong current earlier. When you reach the room with the spike wall, wait for the wall to start going away from you and swim into the W opening on your right. Follow to the valley for air and pull out. Run across SE to where the vehicle is parked and use the Car Keys to open the trunk. Take out the DETONATION KIT, together with a large medipack and shotgun ammo.

Use the NW crates, the ledges and the tree limb swingpoles to get back up to the Great Wall in the same manner as described earlier in this walkthrough. Go up S and use the Guardhouse Key to open the door. Go on in, stand at the center of the room and press the action key to deposit the Detonation Kit and replace it with the DETONATOR KEY. You're also transported back to the Great Wall, so take a step toward the SE corner and use the key to cause a terrific explosion.

Stand at the entrance, turn around, safety drop onto a slope, slide and grab, pull up and take a rolling back flip to another slope, slide and grab, then ready a powerful weapon and drop down the rest of the way to a cave floor where assorted enemies are waiting. Do battle with five baddies and a dog, claim your spoils of shotgun ammo and a small medipack and go to the E wall. Place the Talion on the door to end the level.