Level reviews

"If you can forgive the dull, repetitive and overused TR1 greek and Egypt textures in this level then gameplay wise this is quite a solid and enjoyable little raid, just don't miss the key pickup right at the start otherwise you'll be stuck later on like I was lol. The level has a good mix of simple but enjoyable tasks such platforming challenges, timed runs and traps involving swinging axes, swords, lava, spikes and of course the twin hammers themselves with those of course needing to be triggered to progress into new areas as we hunt for more keys and levers. Enemies consisted of lions, gorillas, bats, Pierre pops up regularly actually and then crocodiles for the swimming in water areas. The negatives for me apart from the visuals was the backtracking! Having to repeat the platforming or running in more than one area more than twice becomes annoying! but overall i do have to say I definitely had fun in this level." - John

"Finally i managed to play tr1 twin hammer with my ps4 controller . joytokey program worked fine for me. What i learned is you cant roll while jumping and also the running jump is kinda delaying in tr1 engine . its impressive that this trle is 20 years old . still holds a great atmosphere and a nice challenging pace . i have quite an experience in challenging levels so i was able to find all 3 secrets and progress also . the timerun for the secret along with the twin hammers are the highlights here. Vinci you beast , hope you are still part of the community , even unactive" - Petaludas

"A delightfully challenging yet fun level that has you exploring a greek style temple. There a choice few enemy encounters, but the main draw are the puzzle and trap rooms which all pose a decent challenge for an advanced TR player. I am not ashamed to admit that I did require the walkthrough a few times for explanations on the required jumps needed to complete certain segments. I feel as though this level has helped me to understand some of Lara's advanced movements along with a few engine specific tricks, which feels pretty good. The level is decently textured and the most visually impressive area is...of course...the twin hammer room which creatively uses the Thor hammer from the original game as a nice setpiece. I highly suggest you try and get all the secrets in this level as they provide the greatest treasure of all: a shortcut. With the aforementioned difficulty that the level poses having them is a godsend as they prevent unneeded backtracking though previously explored trap rooms. That being said; it is very easy to miss switches or key items in this level and it's not made obvious what you're supposed to be doing at most times. This is especially annoying since the level does have a problem with backtracking, the lava pit room being the biggest culprit. You will be traversing it a minimum of two times if you play optimally; three if you don't get one of the shortcut secrets. And this number only increases if you miss key items. Regardless, the level is fun enough to challenge a seasoned player or a player trying to dip their toes into more difficult missions. Recommended." - LuxQSD

"This is one of the hardest TR1 levels I have played. It was hard but honestly, enjoyable(Normal from this author), the only thing I didn't liked was to repeat the lava section around three times but overall was good. And by the way, if you miss something you'll have to backtrack a lot. The enemies on this level are well placed but the first ones seemed pretty random. This level has no music but this doesn't really affect the atmosphere, cameras are well placed. Towards with gameplay, texturing was the strongest point of the level, but parts like the cistern and the lava zone look a bit wallpapered and also out of place. I can recommend this level to the players that like challenging levels and also if you don't mind about the annoying TR1 jump delay." - Neltharion

"Christ, what a tough challenge this level posed! Gameplay consists of some incredibly tight platforming sequences and enemy encounters which will take many retries on your part, before you eventually succeed and a fair bit of backtracking is involved as well, which starts to feel quite tedious and repetitive after a while(especially after jumping across the rocky columns in a lava room for the third time). In spite of the gradually increasing tedium however, I don't feel like my time was wasted playing this and I especially liked how the builder creatively used the 'Thor' hammers from St. Francis Folly to trigger doors open midway through(taking me by surprise the first time when I climbed onto a platform, only to immediately get crushed after the camerashot was over, requiring you to hold your finger down on the backwards key as soon as Lara climbs onto it if you aren't interested in dying or a few optional supplies). Enemies and textures are mostly used from the TR1 Greece assets(although textures from the Egypt and Atlantis levels are also used in random rooms, to give them some semblance of distinct identity), doing their job well enough alongside the lighting. So in conclusion, give this one a go if you're wanting something to test your skills on." - Ceamonks890

"This is a solid example of the capabilities of the TR1 engine. The Glide graphics looked great and I had no issues with joystick integration, which is a big deal for me as I can't play with the keyboard... Lots of tricky platforming and trapped rooms. I know there are three secrets, and I see where I missed two of them. Not sure where the last one is. I'll be honest, the level gets extremely repetitive after a certain point and I just wanted to get through it. The thought of reloading and replaying to get the secret by the hammers was just too much! Heaven help the player who misses keys or the odd lever. You'll be backtracking and combing through these rooms like a mad person, searching for the necessary item. I spent almost an hour with this one and overall it was enjoyable and gave me some challenging traps and jumps to overcome. Texturing had a few errors here and there but nothing too horrid. Everything else is pretty spot on for what the game engine is capable of doing." - Chel

"This level certainly poses quite a bit of a challenge. Every gameplay aspect is seemingly thrown at you here, and it will take quite a few tries before you figure out the correct method to successfully get through many of the jump sequences and timed runs. None of them are too difficult (at least, not as difficult as this builder's other levels) and I found the gameplay to be invigorating and well paced, despite some too extensive backtracking in some areas for my liking. A couple of shortcuts open up if you find the secrets, but I still got a bit tired of retracing my route up that tall lava room another time. I also found the texturing a bit repetitive and crude in some areas, although not too bad. But the secrets and enemies are well placed (right up to the final tense battle) and I'd say give it a go if you're up for it." - Ryan

"This is a contender for the Hall of Fame in my opinion. Brilliant level. An hour of raiding where you will come across some tough jumps and negotiate some deadly traps but nothing that the seasoned raider cannot manage. Even the most difficult of jumps are conquered by the simple expedient of lining the jump up correctly in the first instance. Graphics using the tombati.exe were fantastic. I managed to locate all three secrets which was not the case when I first tried this level some 15 years ago and I remember being stuck on one particular jump forever. Not the case this time round though. Great, brilliant, fantastic example of Tomb Raider at it's best." - Torry

"One of the longer TR1-levels with some nicely designed rooms and puzzles. Some secrets are also present. Worth to play!" - Nuri

"The level has TR1's essence. Gameplay is good but in my opinion the puzzles are a bit boring and some jumps are difficult to someone that doesn't play TR usually. The enemies were placed correctly and in good situations. Maybe He could've place some objects static to decorate a bit the level, some rooms looks empty without objects. Atmosphere is fine but sounds are missing to delve into the atmosphere of the level. (I understand that with the TR1 engine he can't do many things). Lighting is good, textures are ok but i found some errors on texturize some rooms. In conclusion it's a good level for have a good time and remember with nostalgy the TR1 essence." - Zynkel

"I love levels which require precision and perceptivity, and "Twin Hammer" is definitely one of them. The architecture is nice and it's fairly close to the original game, so I could easily see this as an actual part of the 1996 Tomb Raider. However, I think that the rocky pillars in the lava pit looked unnatural and the texturing was too repetitive there. As for backtracking, I had to repeat the sequences in the water room (I missed the underwater key) and in the lava pit (I didn't manage to open the shortcut), but I didn't bother me much: these sequences were rather easy for me. I wouldn't be so happy if I had to repeat the two sequences with swinging axes. According to the walkthrough, Pierre was supposed to spawn at the end of the level, but, strangely, it never happened. All in all, I found the level challenging yet rewarding. I would recommend it to anyone who likes some platforming challenge and enjoys the atmosphere of the first Tomb Raider." - Mortensmor

"I disagree with the other (only two?) reviewers in the gameplay section. The game is entertaining enough, and even when I found some tricky tasks in the final areas with the spikes and the swinging blades, I think there are some serious errors in the design here. In the cistern there is an underwater lever you must pull to open the exit door further on, in another corridor; if you miss it you'll need to repeat all the same movements once you find it. Talking about this, I had to repeat all the same movements jumping around the lava room three times; in this case I think I missed a secret (in fact, I've missed all the secrets, lol!), 'cause I saw a closed doors with a large medipack in an underwater passage leading to the beginning of the level (shortcut?). The keys are not in pedestals or well visible places so if you miss a key, you can continue playing and get stucked forever when you need it. So, I advice to follow the walkthrough or explore carefully all corners before you abandone an area if you don't like the tedious rework or the nasty backtracking." - Jose

"I think if Vinci and The Vagrant would join together a Hall of Fame level would be possible even in the TR 1 engine. While the latter designes the most atmospheric settings, Vinci - like shown in this one - has a grasp on gameplay. The gameplay is just how I like it - almost never a dull moment, many good challenges with inspired and sometimes quite difficult platforming (less experienced players might leave this one for later), timed tasks and a few minor puzzles with little (but occasionally existant and mildly annoying) backtracking involved. The whole level is quite compact but it might not seem so for you and actually it's creating the impression of a huge complex level while there are only 40 rooms in it. Although the architecture is never blocky or simplistic, it's still not most elaborate and the texturing is occasionally monotonous and there are a few visible mistakes here and there. So lookwise there's certainly some more room for improvement, although there are quite atmospheric rooms, mostly the titular twin hammer room, of course. Enemies are very well placed, especially Pierre who shows up from time to time, and the three secrets are excellently hidden and quite challenging to claim. Trap objects are perfectly placed and add a lot to the gameplay. Overall, I can say with certainty that it's a shame that Vinci has stopped building twelve years ago, as who knows what he could be able to with more modern tools (or even with the old ones, whatever) - this is really great stuff, at least gameplaywise. 25 minutes." - manarch2

"This used to be my favorite custom TR1 level back in the Lara's Home days, and upon replaying it for a trle.net review purpose I still hold myself to that thought. There's such a wide variety of environments here and I think it's quite ingenious the way the whole level is connected. Secrets are very hard to come across (if Vinci hadn't revealed their locations at the time, I don't think I'd ever have found them in the first place) but open up shortcuts that allow you faster navigation through the level. Without them, there might be more backtracking than the average player may handle but in all fairness, there are a lot (and I mean it) of tricky, pixel precise jumping sequences, so it's likely the average player would have ditched this level long before getting the two bronze keys. If you're a seasoned raider, you might get some enjoyment out of this gem, so give it a try! 40 minutes, 3 secrets. 12/15" - Treeble