Level reviews

"I wish this builder didn't vanish, this level had a ton of potential. I would only fix lighting and not loop O, Fortuna till the block puzzle is done. For some reason, if you want to finish it legit with all secrets, you are required to go back from near the end back to the beginning, and then from the beginning again to the end (what the hell). But that's optional so I won't count it. A level to consider checking, though not for everyone." - DJ Full

"Another one-hit wonder. I have mixed feelings towards this one: I absolutely loved the dark ominous theme, the great audio selection (plus O Fortuna, which I hadn't listened to in decades now?), the enemies and the Bloodrayne styled outfit. On the other hand, I have to say it was way too dark, even with all the colored spots sprayed throughout the level for the most part it's just too dark, and you're out of flares so you make do with the pistol muzzle flash. Some minor changes include the firing speed of pistols and the look key moving the camera into an actual first person POV. The "secret" ending has you backtracking all the way to the beginning, which turns out to be quite a journey and I'm not sure it's possible if you've used the only medikit you're given, and in there you get a couple of concept arts for the author's next project which, turns out, never came to be, which is a pity. 35 minutes, 3 secrets. 10/22" - Treeble

"Aside from the somewhat persistent darkness (compounded by a complete absence of any flares), I found this to be a satisfying, enjoyable and well-rounded debut effort. The settings and textures are pleasingly brooding (somewhat of an oxymoron), atmosphere is well up to standard, and the gameplay is gripping, despite it having a very linear flow. I also found use of the custom objects very neat touches. If you choose to backtrack for the secret area at the end, you end up with a full 50 minutes or so duration. Whether or not that is worthwhile is up to you, as then you have to backtrack to where you left off. Nonetheless, a very well accomplished first effort." - Ryan

"Now this is certainly an atmospheric level! From the beginning on it's obvious that the builder's main attention was drawn into creating a moody and convincing environment and he certainly succeeded in that. Very nice flybys, sounds, good use of colours and shadows... the builder is really gifted in those regards. Yes there are a few texturing mistakes here and there and yes the lighting is too dark at times (while atmospheric) without any available flares, but overall the audio and visual aspects of the level are quite achieved. Unfortunately, the gameplay design at several points I felt I was playing a demo. The progression is built up in a way that you seem to be missing large portions of the level (although that's not true in fact), the very few enemies are compressed into a single room and are easily killed with much ammo left unused, the true function of the rotating globes is still a mystery for me and the level ends abruptly using a simple floor lever, without any worthy conclusion or anything like that. Oh and you can return through the whole level for the last (non-registering) secret if you like, but I just restarted the game and shamelessly used a cheat to see it. In the 20 minutes before, there's aa decent amount of platforming with good usage of new moves and bad usage of almost unmarked ladders, an mediocre pushable puzzle (that has got almost nothing to do with chess, by the way) and a quite tight timed run that will keep you engaged for the time spent in here, it's far from an outstanding experience but it's okay for a while. Recommended as a break between other levels, but don't be disappointed by the finale." - manarch2

"Putting aside the comparatively major gripes that having no flares and loads of darkness is not a combination likely to please many players,this is actually a pretty accomplished adventure.The textures have been immaculately placed;object usage is novel and creative;atmosphere is potent;and the gameplay is ingenious enough to disguise the fact that progression is a very linear affair.The chess board is well thought out;the timed run is devious;and the rotating globes are spectacular.Nonetheless,the ending is extraordinarily sudden and unexpected (or deflating and drawn out if you persevere with the epic backtrack to the Secret area at the start - an ultimately unrewarding exercise,as there is no way to end the level short of retracing your steps all over again!). The dearth of enemies is a problem (surely a climactic battle was in the offing?),but this still remains a highly accomplished and skilful debut. Recommended." - Orbit Dream

"This is a surprisingly nice debut level of the unusual kind. Lara who is dressed as a Dominatrix (no whip though) has to work her way through a series of well-designed, spooky and dark rooms and activate a big spinning mechanism. The game-play in this very atmospheric level was fun and there was an interesting but lengthy push puzzle on a chessboard, which I thought was nicely done and I hadn't seen anything like this before. There were a couple of new moves in order to use the monkey swing and it is important that the player reads the readme or walkthrough in order to use them correctly. The timed run toward the end was a bit of a pain until I figured out it wasn't really that hard after all. In general the game play was easy to moderate. I was also pleased to see Lara being able to WALK through spikes like she used to be able in the early games. The level ended very sudden and there is an alternative ending with one more secret if the player backtracks all the way to the start. I finished with 3 out of 4 secrets. Enemies only showed up at then end of the level and Lara had lots of fun shooting them with her 2 barreled oversized shotgun. There were many interesting objects throughout the level. It's a bit of a shame the builder did not include any flares of binoculars, which made some areas really hard to see unless played in a really dark room with a fairly bright screen. On the other hand this added to the spooky atmosphere, which was spiced up with some good sounds and background music. The texturing looked correctly applied and the parts that were well lit sure looked beautiful and gave the level a very solid look without any real obvious flaws. I though this level was a great debut and I really hope the builder will release another one in the future. Definitely recommended! (45 minutes without 4th secret)" - Blue43

"Methinks someone must have had a perverse sense of humor to release this level during Advent season, but it's not really that bad if you overlook some of the more horrific images. Everything's neat and linear, and although the environs were a bit too dark for my taste, I could see everything all right. There's a nice pushpiece puzzle about halfway through, and Lara has opportunity to show off her new moves to good advantage. The effects with the spinning gold balls in the final room were nice. For some reason the timed run didn't stump me. I got there too late as the door was about to close, there wasn't enough room for me to roll underneath, but I jumped toward the narrow opening and to my amazement I landed inside the room with the torch. Don't know how that happened, but I'm not complaining. I didn't see much point in backtracking all the way back to the beginning of the level just so I could say that I did everything, so I pushed the lever after getting the second crystal and logged out after playing for about 45 minutes. Not bad at all." - Phil

"First time I tried this level, I got stuck with the timed run (almost at the end). Started this up again and I made it in one go. Talking about a fluke. I played this with a savedgame with all the flares you want in it (because it is very dark) and that saved me for a major headache. As for game-play, I liked this one. Lots of new objects and a novel chess puzzle. Of course I used the lever at the end and reading through the walkthrough I see that I had to find my way back to the start. On my way there I even found more goodies but never the start. It has been too long ago to remember LOL. For a first I was impressed, even if I have some gripes, but hey, exploring this Medieval Hell was great to do." - Gerty

"Too bad this is a dark type of game, so you cannot enjoy the beauty of the architecture and custom objects to the full. The gameplay is great, you have a lot to explore, there's not too much backtracking for my taste, and the game is quite well balanced. You'll be pleasantly surprised by this debut level and excellent ideas such as chess pushblock puzzle, or a quite tough timed run with the cog switch. Although Lara is more "Gothic" than I prefer, she quite fits in the whole atmosphere. The technical features are done extraordinary well, except for the lighting which is annoyingly dark at times. Besides of that, the game is still very, very worthy of playing, and I am glad that another great builder has appeared on the scene." - Nina Croft

"A short level (45 minutes of gameplay) with an odd ending, I had to check that the game hadn't crashed. Good moody lighting but a little on the dark side, just up a couple of notches and it would have been great! Well-hidden secrets, which weren't necessary for the gameplay - just as it should be. Few enemies but some nice jumping about and a timed run that seems impossible (but isn't) rounds off this debut level. Good imaginative flair throughout, I especially liked the block puzzle disguised as a chess game!" - Diz

"It is odd sometimes how a level can seem underrated to individual players, as is the case with this one for me. All the gripes mentioned by my fellow reviewers are factually true of course, so I won't repeat them, but they simply did not have a big negative impact on my own entertainment when playing the level. I found it to be very accomplished with nice custom objects that have been well used, some good lighting effects, even though indeed overall a little too dark and I enjoyed the run/jump/climb through the lava room, the use of the new moves and even the cleverly designed and only slightly tedious chess field push puzzle a lot. The timed run is a bit of a killer but once you realize that can literally roll through the door even when it only has a tiny crack still open, it is actually not that hard to master. I had to check the walkthrough to realize that I needed to go all the way back to the very beginning of the level for a secret room (which then did not register as a secret) and that adds another 10 minutes to the gameplay bringing it up to almost an hour. A nice debut indeed with a lot of creativtity thrown in and I hope to see more from this builder in the future." - MichaelP

"I am impressed once again what gifted level builder can do with the Leveleditor. Is this really a first work? Very good textures and objects. A wonderful atmosphere and this suitable sound. Now there one can fancy really hard that one plays a first work. On the other hand there are already a few annoying things. Where were the Flares?. And at some places it could have been a little bit brighter. And the binoculars would have also been quite helpful. A chapter for itself is the change in the first person view if one chooses the all-round look. In principle it looks very good, indeed, the clear view is thereby a little bit limited. The riddles completely felt well, above all the chess board looked very good. By the time run one had enough time, indeed, it would have been better if the level builder had inserted a small camera hint at the rotary wheel, thus the inclined player knows what happens if he turn the wheel. All together an successful debut, indeed with a few negative aspects." - Scottie

"This is pretty good for a debut level and makes use of some really nice custom objects. The whole thing has a very cohesive stylised look which I really liked. It seems however that this may be a demo or a technical exercise as it does seem to end quite abrubtly by pulling a lever. Texturing, lighting (where I could see), and architecture are all nice and solid, with pleanty of space to run around. All in all though the environments are pretty solid, and there's a good amount of explore. My biggest critism (as with others who have reviewed this level), is that it really is just too dark. I the end I found myself navagiating large sections of the level using the muzzle flash from the guns (and old Tomb Raider II flare conserving trick!). Took me and hour and 5 minutes to complete." - TheStig

"Another very competently made debut level, I'm pleased to say. The standards really have been very good just lately. This isn't very long - it took me just under 45 minutes - but there's plenty going on in the way of puzzles and general exploration. There's nothing difficult to achieve apart from one rather tight timed run at the end of the level, whereupon it ended somewhat abruptly which almost made me wonder if there might be a continuation. The lighting is lovely, but somewhat moody so you'll probably do best playing in a darkened room if you can. One niggle - fond though I am of Carmina Burana, I felt I'd somewhat overdosed on it by the end of the push puzzle room." - Jay

"Looks like a demo level, many features not fully worked out. Get it properly tested by people who know their job and you will find there's still a lot of work to do. The timed run is impossible so far even if Lara is able to make it through the closing door by 'simply running through' getting stuck in the next room. Why so many wolves or creatures had to be killed before, I do not know.Two objects 'cristallo' I have found but what did it avail?" - Ruben

"Brilliant touches in a problematic level. The level is exceedingly dark, but the author doesn't want players to use flares or binoculars. One has to have her grade of equipment, or forget it. [Not a problem. I borrowed a Nova Starburst monitor and actually found this level rather bright, though I did develop mild sunburn from sitting too close to the monitor.] In a platform room, I was stuck for half an hour before discovering unmarked climbing textures. I'm not sure the author feels the need for courtesy to players. There is blood and crucified women, which makes one wonder why this was released during the Christmas season, but there is no further unpleasantness. A final dark room has colorful shadows, and a high central fantastic machine of gears and revolving spheres. The ceiling has paintings, and there is a rotating floor wheel at one end, and a timed door at the other. This looks like something Taras might do. The timed run seems impossible, but once Lara was sprinting so hard that she couldn't stop and ran right into the timed door--it only had a small gap at the bottom--and somehow she ran through the door and into the center of the room. Lara lights wall sconces and the high machine comes alive with spinning gears. Now as Lara stands on the high platform, the revolving spheres pass through her while she sets up for the next jump. The game can end here, or Lara can return to the beginning to place two secret objects. Getting back brings up the problems that plague this level. Lara has to drop down from a high place. There is one spot, if you can find it, where Lara can do a jump to an alcove (where she originally climbed up), and survive with a sliver of health. Then she crawls out into spikes. This isn't TR3, Lara takes lots of damage from spikes. There is a second field of spikes, before Lara reaches an unmarked climbing wall and returns to the beginning for the final secret. It was difficult getting Lara through those spikes the first time, going forward in the game, and on the return trip she may not have the medipacks. For seasoned players." - dmdibl

"Not a bad debut, but as usual in novices there are several things to comment (I'm ready for the rain of criticism when players review my level in january). Firstly, the darkness; the author wanted to create a creepy ambience, but the soul of TR is exploring and discovering, and it's very difficult to discover something with no flares and no binoculars. I don't know how the climbable walls are not marked in the lava room; yes, there's a different stone texture, but it's only that: a stone, and many players will not consider it as a ladder, getting stucked easily. The timed run for the torch is very very tight, and you can only get it if rolling under the door; but when you think you've got it, closed the door finishes, and if you are not fast and jump back quickly, you'll get stucked inside the invisible block behind the door and you'll have to reload and try again. Also, once inside, Lara will hit with the invisible blocks in front of the doors. The very long backtracking to open the doors in the church was not a good idea too, even for a secret or so (in my game it was not a secret), although I know it's not necessary to finish the level, of course, but players who have seen the receptacles in the beginning and later get the crystals, want to go back there to know what's behind that door. The tasks are not something from another world too, some jumps, a couple of new movements, using some keys and moving some objects... From the other side, I liked the new objects and the textures; the short background music repeating itself continuosly in the moveables area was not very appropriate. Not a bad debut regardless." - Jose