TEMPLE OF DARKNESS

Level by Tim Panienski

Walkthrough written by Kris and provided by her daughter, Bex

The level begins in a dark room with black walls. Look up for a high crawlspace on the North wall, pull up and crawl through an eerie passageway. Drop down and kill the jackal, then pick up shotgun shells. Push the floor lever to open the roller door. At the end of the passageway, watch a flyby of the huge lava area ahead of you. Run down the steps and do a running jump over the lava channel to the left and enter the South door.

Follow the path to a T junction, turn left, then left again, and arrive at a room with an exit to Lara's left, and patterned spike traps on the floor. To Lara's right is an illuminated hieroglyph tile on the wall. Navigate the spiked floor and run through the tile to a room with a lava pool, a rope, and a ledge to the right. Jump up to the ledge, and with a diagonal running jump, grab the rope. Rotate the rope until you are facing the same side as the ledge, swing and land on the higher platform.. Facing the higher central structure, do a standing jump with grab, pull up and pick up THE TIMELESS SANDS, which will also open the rolling door in front of you.

Enter the new doorway, and kill the bat. At the T junction, and keeping left, follow the passageway to a switch. Push it, roll, turn left and run straight down to the end of the corridor. Turn right at the T junction, right at the next T junction and pick up flares. Roll, run straight down the corridor (south) to another switch and push it. Roll, follow the corridor and take the first right, then next left and keep left all the way to a third floor switch. Push it, roll, and return the way you came turning right at the T junction, then left to arrive at the now open roller doors. Kill two jackals.

Once inside the lava room, pull the floor switch in the West corner, and slide back down into the room with the spike patterned floor. Carefully crossing the spiked floor, enter the new door in the East for SECRET #1...shotgun and ammo. Go back into the spike room, and exit via the North door.

Follow the passageway to a room with a Statue on the far side of a large pit. On the right wall is a shimmy crack, jump up and grab, and shimmy all the way left to land on the side with the statue. Stand infront of the statue, press action and place the Timeless Sands. This will cause an earthquake, which will open a new entrance in the north wall in the pit, so quickly return via the shimmy crack back to the entrance. Safety drop over the edge to a ladder into the pit, and head for the new entrance.

Across the lava trench is a pedestal with a piece of the Eye on it. Using the rope, swing to the other side, shoot the jackal and pick up half of the EYE. Behind the pedestal is a light coloured hieroglyph wall, it's climbable. Climb up, dropping off to the right at the top. Follow the path to a T junction, shoot the jackal. Keep turning left until you reach a small slope with a patterned hieroglyph tile halfway down the ramp. Run over the tile through the open door, and keep turning left until you arrive back in the lava room at the start. Cross over the lava, past the stairs and over the next lava channel, entering the South door.

As before, there is a patterned hieroglyph tile in the middle of the sloped floor, but this time, once you start running, a spiked boulder will be in pursuit. Sprint down the hallway through the door turning sharply to the left, allowing the boulder to fall in the pit. The roller door will open, run through, taking the first left. In the room is a floor switch, receptacles for two cartouche, and double closed grated doors infront of the switch. Push the floorswitch, roll and exit the room, turning left. To the right of the new room entrance, pick up crossbow ammo.

Using the side of the room, sprint up to the top, avoiding the poisonous darts, through the coloured tile at the end turning immediately right to avoid more poisonous darts, arriving in what appears to be a large empty room. Light a flare and locate wall holes on the north, south and east walls, plus a wall hole in an alcove on the west wall. Standing infront of the holes, press action until Lara has reached inside each one twice. Blocks have been raised in the room. Climb onto the smallest block and with a running jump with grab progress to the second and then onto the third block. Turn around and face the east wall to see a crawlspace. Jump with grab, and crawl through the passage. Push the floorswitch, exit crawlspace and safety drop to the floor.

Repeat the block climb to the last one. Turn to face the west wall, and jump with grab into the crawlspace. this will lead you out high above the block room. With a running jump, grab the rope and swing across the the opposite ledge and pick up clips. Jump back to the rope, then rotate to face the East ledge, land and climb up into a room with two spiked rolling cylinders. Save your game. Infront of the pedestal is a patterned spike trap floor, so time your run to miss the spiked rolling cylinders and also navigate the spiked floor. Pick up the CARTOUCHE. Carefully retrace your steps and exit the room, climb down to the platform, and swing to the ledge on the west wall via the rope. Climb up and enter the new room.

Dont run up the stairs, there are lethal slicing blades on every step, instead immediately turn sharp right, stand infront of the wall hole and press action twice to disable the blades. Run up the stairs.

Ahead is a brightly lit room with hieroglyph tiles on the floor, and a pedestal on the far side of the room. As you approach the door, a spike ball falls giving you some indication of what's in store. Save your game. After a few attempts, I found the easiest way to get to the other side was to speed dash straight across, ignoring the sound of spike balls falling all around. Once safely across, pick up the half CARTOUCHE. A camera shot shows where to locate the other half. Turning back to face the room, it looks as though there has been a boulderfest, since most of the floor is now covered with them. Facing the entrance and avoiding the boulders run down the left side of the room to the hole in the floor and slide down to an underground lava river.

Follow the path all the way round to the next room, and push the floor lever. Roll, and ignoring the roller door which has opened infront of you, return to the first room and through the east entrance. Jump from side to side (jumps with grab seem to work best) until you reach the floorswitch. Roll, and retrace your steps to the previous room, picking up a medpack on the way. Go through the east entrance and carefully crossing the lava, you'll find yourself looking at a closed roller door. Look across the lava to the alcove and see a hole in the floor.

Jump down into the hole and immediately turn round. There is a wall hole, press action once. there is also a medipack here, but for some reason Lara refuses to pick it up. As you approach the new doorway, spikes will trigger, but it's safe to run over them. Once in the room, turn right and carefully jump over the lava channels and pick up the other half CARTOUCHE. Retrace your steps, but this time go all the way to the other side of the lava channels and go through the entrance at the end. Run down the slopes, and drop back into the labyrinth.

Facing east, take the first entrance left, returning to the cartouche room. Combine the two halves of the cartouche, then place a cartouche either side of the grated door. Kill two jackals. The two grated doors have now opened, enter the new room. There seems to be no way out of this room, the roller door is still shut. Facing North run straight forward from the entrance through the wall, and discover the second piece of the EYE on a pedestal. Pick it up, exit the same way and kill the jackal. The roller door is now open. Run through it.

Up the stairs and at the end of the room is a corridor with ceiling spikes. Making sure you have full health, start your run as the first set appears. Don't stop, sprint through the obstacle course, down the ramp and through the exit door. Turning right, then right again, head back up the ramp to see the lava room ahead of you. Jump over the lava channel to the bottom of the stairs. Combine the two pieces of the EYE and place it.

Enter the eerie cave, and make your way to the end killing the jackals. Watch an impressive flyby as you approach the bridge. On either side of the bridge are hieroglyph pillars. Look carefully at the third pillar on the left. Jump to the climbable pillar, and make your way to the top to pick up SECRET #2. As you approach the floor switch, a spike boulder will fall, but you aren't in any danger. Push the switch. At the side of the switch is a hole where you can safety drop back onto the bridge. Continue to the end of the bridge, go through the entrance on the right and pick up crossbow ammo.

Exit the room, and pick up the GUARDIAN KEY from the pedestal (I never did find anywhere to place this). Picking up the key opens the other roller door and releases three jackals. Kill them. Inside the new room is a slightly raised floor plinth run over this to retract the spikes in the main part of the room. Exit the room and go to the back of the room up the small flight of steps. Below is a hole where the spikes should now be retracted, drop down, follow the path to a new room with black hieroglyph walls and a deep pit. The door closes behind you as you enter.

There is nowhere to go except into the pit of lava, and this is how Lara finishes her adventure.