Level reviews

"In this little game of under 1h gameplay, your task is to collect 4 crystals hidden away in floating islands. The atmosphere is unique! Floating islands are not a very common theme in trle, and while this one is clearly inspired by the TRII original, it has its own style and a fresh range of tasks to complete. Lara has to make her way through trapped areas, do a timed run, light some torches, push a couple blocks, and hop/climb from one island to the next. It's all in good fun. There are some enemies, but with the secrets hidden in the game, Lara gets enough supplies to fight them off, or otherwise just avoid them." - Sponge

"Sole offering from this builder, you'd imagine Lara's lawyer is a rather busy person all things considered after all. I found some of the platforming sections in this Floating Islands style level rather unorthodox, nothing particularly impossible (especially not after recently finishing CIL) but not intuitive enough. You have a banana jump near the beginning, then a lenghty timed run which requires a few unusual jumps, and twice you need to glide drop into an opening you can't reach any other way. The draw distance worked against the level as sometimes you're hopping ledges towards a ladder or something you can't just see yet and then it suddenly materializes in front of you, but as a whole I quite liked the grey tones here. As possibly the person who's watched Cradle of Life the most times on the whole planet I loved the track at the beginning but even I thought it was cut too short, so the constat looping made it somewhat annoying, but fortunately it's replaced by some other audio piece shortly later. 30 minutes, 3 secrets. 11/22" - Treeble

"Nice, challenging debut here from Laraslawyer. A devious timed run is included but everything should be achievable by everyone. Hope to see more from this builder. Hardly any enemies." - Ryan

"This is a rather pleasant 40-minute "floating icebergs" level that has some challenging twists. There's an elaborate timed run that would be difficult to figure out, much less execute, given the abbreviated flyby at the beginning, were it not for the verbal map provided by Soul and adapted by Manarch2 for use in his walkthrough. Enemies are relatively few, a baddy, a scorpion and a leopard here and there. There's a pointless timed excercise near the end of the level that neither rewards nor penalizes you if you simply ignore the timer at the top of your screen (which is what I did). It appears to be a competent "one shot" that is definitely worth the download." - Phil

"Not a bad little floating islands level here and a debut for Lara's Lawyer. As a debut level it avoids the majority of the pitfalls you often see from 'first levels'. Most of the texturing is good and the author has put some time and effort into lighting in the cavern and indoor spaces. Structurally it's quite hard to judge floating island levels, but I quite liked playing through this, however I wasn't keen on the fact that I managed to take the timed-root once and then didn't seem to be able to find a root back (to pull the lever actually needed to open the door). In terms of gameplay it does feature a rather nasty timed run which will probably require a few passes (even for a seasoned player). I'm afraid that I wasn't too keen on the music choice (I actually replaced one of the music loop tracks because it started to jar me after a while). All in all I got just over 47 minutes from February Freeze. While not without it's flaws it's a good debut level. Stiggy." - TheStig

"If you are a big fan of the"Floating Islands" levels you are playing the right game. It isn't my cup of tea, still having problems with the height in this sort of setting. Overall this is quite a nice debut of this builder apart from the nasty timed run over a long stretch and.... it is pretty tight. In hind side it felt a bit if things were thrown together." - Gerty

"I really enjoyed this one, as it meets my interest as a player so well - platform jumps around floating islands and a killer of a timed run as the centerpiece of the level. It really works well as a rather accomplished debut with many well thought out moments, despite its architectural simplicity. Some of the loop audios were a bit odd and annoying, but generally audio is used to great effect, the foggy, snowy atmosphere works pretty well and the game flows nicely with the challenge never being 'where to go', but more 'how do I get there now'. While there are a few curved jumps and the mentioned timed run to master, none of the tasks are actually excruciatingly difficult with a bit of patience. I found it odd that the actual timed run had no timer on screen and then the sequence afterwards had, even though it was not actually timed? Maybe a script error on behalf of the author? Enemies seem only thrown in here and there as an afterthought and the three secrets are rather easy to pick up. Towards the end you get a quick push block and torch puzzle, so clearly the author has tried out a lot of things and succeeded well. We can all look forward to what he may come up with next." - MichaelP

"I'm a fan of 'floating island' levels and this is rather a good one. I'm also a fan of complex jumps and long timed runs so this level suited me very well. Not for the faint-hearted this one, the timed run needs to be smooth and flowing to make it in time but definitely 'do-able' for experienced players. Well made and very three-dimensional, the level has a good solid feel to it. My one criticism would be that other icy levels have used the lighting and sound files to create a realistic cold atmosphere that lends an added dimension, this one failed to do that for me, which I missed. Overall a very enjoyable level that I must recommend." - Diz

"We all have a recognize a good debut. Perhaps the author thought about a level for expert players but I don't know if it's a good idea to begin. The timed run is excessively long; usually timed runs are designed to do it in one shot, but in this case I had to save my game a lot of times when playing and doing the gymnastics correctly (reloading another lot of times, of course) and that was not funny for many players (take a look at the kind of people who posts in the "stuck" section and the number of reviews after more than three weeks). In the pit with the panther after the small pools I couldn't find a way to reach the high open door so I had to reload and do the trick "drop-pass the edge-grab" to land into the opening below. Also I had to do the same at the very end to reach the final door below and this is not very usual in "normal" custom levels. Some places are too dark, and the shadows create strange effects in the textures. All the same, not a bad level to start, but a bit ambitious with some tricky tasks. I really missed some puzzles to solve instead to pull too switches. The best, the teleportings." - Jose

"Having heard of a recent floating islands type of release, I couldn't help but give it a peak and was not disappointed. It's more of a freezing islands' variation of the theme, and given that the surroundings are fairly simple and rough-looking (the geometry is somewhat blocky, I stumbled upon an end-of-the-world spot or two, the attempts to create the non-gameplay areas (i.e. the places just for looks) were a bit feeble and the illusion of heights issue has been solved more effectively in other (similar) levels before this one IMHO), they're surprisingly effective, with the fog and horizon being a great contributor. The gameplay is entertaining throughout - with a number of jumps ranging from simple to moderate difficulty constituting a lot of gameplay here. The long timed run was probably the highlight for me - I don't really recall one this lenghty ever since Psiko's Center of the World and couldn't help wondering if that had been the inspiration for this one. Thankfully it isn't actually that difficult once you plan some of your actions along the way - the length just gives more opportunities to mess up. There were however moments that I found a bit bewildering and random - the timer (ala the assault course one from Lara's Home levels) popping up somewhere in the midpoint of this 30 minute adventure didn't make a lot of sense, and the random teleporting around had a feeling of the author experimenting what can be done with it rather than organically fitting in. I certainly welcomed the overall surreal feel of the level, but there has to be a method to madness or some elements will end up harming the impressions the level can leave. As it is - this one's unpolished but showing off great potential for things to come from the author, so I hope we see more in the future. Found 2 of the 3 secrets." - eTux

"This level basically consists of two parts. The first part are the floating islands. I must confess that I am not necessarily a fan of such floating islands. One falls too often and a right flow to play also does not originate. But this is my quite personal problem and has nothing to do with the quality of the first part. It is beyond question that this first part is of high quality. A bit annoying was the background music. The piece was relatively short and was repeated constantly. However, the time run was excellent. He had a good length and if one stay in constant motion, one has enough time. Though it was a good idea of the level builder that he has shown with a camera sequence the route, but this camera sequence ran too fast. There it would have been better if the level builder had inserted a few cameras more, so that the tracking shot is slower. The second part begins with a mystery. Why is a stopwatch suddenly faded in? At this point thanks to Soul which has found out what it has with this stopwatch on itself. A nice Easteregg, but also very bewilderingly. The second part was well built, just as the first part. Indeed, the sound was absent now and again. The few opponents in the whole level were no problem, because one could find the shotgun and the revolver. There was in the second part though also an area with floating islands, but this area was luckily relatively small. All together a good level, above all if one thinks that this is a beginner's level, with a few sound problems and sometimes irritating background music." - Scottie

"Starting this game, I thought I am into some kind of nothing serious. Constant, grey lighting and so minimal texturing that I felt uneasy. Surprisingly, it appeared I'm wrong. Texturing and lighting is an assumption execution here, not a mistake. Introduction is all about jumps - a banana jump, a running jump, a standing jump, a curved jump, a jumps with a midroll, a jump with bouncing off a slope, a jump with grabbing a ladder... I name all of them because they are located and related in such way it seems every single one differs from the others. Inspiring, as for adebut level. With a concluding timed run initiated with a flyby so fast and so smooth I was sure this author is going to show me something really good. When I made it behind the door, I wondered why the timer stopped to counting down and started to count up. Then, I realized I am about to solve a copy of assault course from Lara's mansion - for some hilarious reason, located up here in the floating islands. After the cave part, filled with teleport, rollingball, alcove trigger and safety drop and adding these features to what I've already seen in this game so far - spikes, a pushblock, a killer door and some cactuses growing on thick ice, I was impressed with the gameplay elements variety. Then, it was a downhill. After a simple, but still quite entertaining quest for the Orbs, the last part was the worst one - a typical torch puzzle. Also, only one of total three secrets can be called a real secret - but the overall gameplay is still very promising. The only major flaws are: overlapping sounds - a problem which seems to be common to TRNG users - and a place one isn't supposed to get to before opening the timed door (if one does so, he/she needs to backtrack). SUMMARY: What next? Whatever Lara's Lawyer has in his mind, he's simply doing it - not caring if separate elements fit each other or not, but putting them together in one purpose - to create a level of everything possible. That makes me assume we can deal with another fantasy/surreal builder in our world, what I'm really glad of. This level makes no sense. So what? You can give it a try." - DJ Full

"After jumping around halfheartedly between some winterly floating-islands-like blocks I stopped playing this one a few days ago. Having read about an interesting timed run my ambition to do this challenge made me reload the game. And it was absolutly worth doing so. The high potential of this intersting debut-level can't be seen in the 1st sequences of the game. After some jumping to and fro it becomes more and more evident, that there is some sophisticated and straight forward leading gameplay in this level. The mentioned timed run is a special one. It's quite a long run through the first part of the level and there is enough time given to perform it - but only if you have some exercise in raiding. After this extraordinary run the level changes. Thde author seems to have made some improvement concerning the creating of environment while building this debut level. This level offers quite more than it promises during the first sequences. It's quite a minimalistic environment, but supported by well chosen sound-effects, fly-bys and camera-settings an unique atmosphere is created. There is high potential! Not recommended for beginners...." - Christian

"The merit of this level consists in being able to recreate the legendary atmosphere of the episode 16 of TR 1. Built in a structurally simple requires the use of techniques of moviment to overcome certain obstacles.And I 'really liked the time run of 1 minute and 20 seconds in which a number of signature moves reduced the time needed to pass the final door.See Lara suspended dozens of meters and is' always a nice feeling.Traduzione da Italiano verso Inglese Enjoy the second part of the level, more 'in keeping with standard levels of Tomb Raider.Probably not completed the second part timer that in fact don't end in an award. Author must improve access to the floor raimbow color because Lara can not return there. To the author recommends that he continue the series and create for the next landscape below and lateral view with hills in the distance, in order to recreate a world hung in a fantasy level with Lara reaching an enchanted castle." - Roberto

"This level was a great fun to play, mainly because of the floating island, where Lara had to jump over at the start and the end. Task is to find four gems. There was good gameplay, climbing, doing some tough curved jumps, finding few levers, one of them is timed, and do an interesting timed run that is not so hard if you try to save often and always keep moving. After that run there is a parcours that has to be solved fast as possible, SECRET SPOILER although there was a secret to find in this course, which was not very good because it killed the time,END SECRET SPOILER a nice idea were the transportation so that some nasty climbing was not part of the parcours. The following area is back outside, with some jumplevers, then some silver orbs to find. Very interesting exploration gameplay here, I think, but nothing too hard. After an interesting push block puzzle that has four appearances (one to get into the next room, one to climb up for torch, after lighting one climbing up again with torch and finally pulling the block away to exit again) and a nice exploration use of the torch. The end was a bit rushed I think with two gems very near each other, and the last jump, I did it with a sprint, into the final doors was very hard for the average player. The voice at the start pointed out the task in this level nicely, however you don't do all of that because you don't get to the voice after finding the last gem, but exit this level. There also were few enemies, baddies and wild animals, at one place scorpions (in the snow? I remember Curse of Winter level!, not real a hard task to kill them - you can also run away from them, and three more or less hard secrets to find. The snowy atmosphere was quite good, I thought, and lighting was also OK. Camera work was good for a debut, as the starting flyby and one (or two?) more little cutscenes. For me, the only real flaw in this level was the saving, it appeared to me it sometimes didn't work, but I can't tell if that's because of my computer or the game. All in all a good debut, not much to critizise here. The builder certainly did a good job." - manarch2

"This is quite an interesting idea - floating islands with added snow basically. Most of the running, jumping and climbing is readily achievable, but don't attempt the timed run unless you have a certain familiarity with raiding - it's definitely not one for beginners. There's a torch puzzle and block puzzle, two silver balls to find, a couple of baddies, some snow leopards and scorpions to shoot (scorpions? in the snow? oh well, OK then), plus a type of 'assault course' towards the end where you can have a go at seeing how fast you can make it (or not, as you wish). I really liked the flip map effect when picking up one of the artefacts and appreciated the occasional splashes of bright colour that contrasted so well with the general ice and snow textures. The ultimate goal is finding four 'element' gems, but you don't get to place them. It's certainly an assured debut level and well worth taking a look at." - Jay

"This level is mostly set around a Floating Islands type theme, with some interior areas here and there. The lighting initially seems a bit flat, but the snow and fog makes it quite an original take on the theme, and there's some nice looking areas at times, including a nice homage to the TR assault course. Enemies are pretty random, although the premise explains that somewhat.
The author is an experienced speedrunner, and their knowledge is used at certain parts; for instance, the starting area is full of "can I make this?" jumps, and a curve jump or two. Despite that however the gameplay is actually quite sedate and linear, the only really tough part is a long timed run near the start (one of the longest I've seen). The rest lets you take your time to do the various jumps, and there's variety with a couple of puzzles later on, but it's primarily a platform challenge. The ending felt really anti-climatic though; just as I was ready for some sort of final task it just ends. It's a good debut and with a little more variety to the gameplay style the author has a lot of potential for the future." - Mman

"The author has constructed play on the floating islands concept; in this case much is done with a Spartan environment of floating ledges and pillars. The texturing is of an ice wilderness, and snowfall and winter haze limit visibility. This is not a bad idea for a debut level, as the construction can be simple, but the play can be challenging. Lara collects a water gem, then has to make a tight timed run that has several tricky spots. Soul provides detailed advice on the forum on handling this--and detailed analysis is indeed needed in order to tackle this timed run. This may be a miscalculation on the part of the author, discouraging players from continuing with the level. First, if Lara collects the water gem, then goes north, her exploration leads to a dead end. Second, if players reload, and have Lara go south after the artifact and high switch, it is not certain that they will realize the south switch is timed. Last, it may take several tries before players even figure out how extremely tight this long run is. The statistics time for this level will be misleading, depending on how many times players have to repeat this timed run. For those who persevere, the remaining play is better. There is a tribute to the training area in Lara's backyard, and more pillar and ledge jumping. I often felt it was a bit hard to see. One area has a torch puzzle, where Lara lights four wall torches. I could figure that out, but couldn't see the last upper wall torch, even though Lara was directly facing it across the room. Some of this feels haphazard, and the ending was abrupt, just when I thought Lara was going to use the four artifacts. I enjoyed playing this, it is a worthy and solid debut, but the appeal may mainly be to those who enjoy jump challenges." - dmdibl

"This level starts with a classic platform jump and run configuration in a surreal cold/snowy environment with floating islands surrounded by grayness and distant fog. The game play is a bit on the challenging side because of one rather tight (and very long) timed run, which includes drop-climbing and a few difficult jumps, a blade trap, a boulder to avoid and an unfriendly opponent with 2 handguns. I finally made the run, but only after many frustrating attempts trying to find out which corners to cut and where to run/jump and stand/jump. Other than this particular run the level is not overly hard, but does require some precise jumping. I liked the use of the interesting looking zip line and didn't even mind the fact that several areas had to be visited multiple times. This level is a good example of something that starts looking a bit dull and boring in the beginning but gets better and better the longer you go. On the enemy side there was not much except for 2 or 3 gunmen and a leopard. The level did have an interesting atmosphere with a good choice of sound track. Texturing and lighting was nicely done and of course there was a unique look with all those floating platforms. There was some decoration in form of trees, grassy plants and bushes. The dominating colors were mainly white and gray, which was a nice contrast to Lara's orange winter jacket. I thought this was an interesting and fun debut level and I spent quite a few hours until I was finished, but because of many re-loads the actual game time appears quite a bit shorter. I definitely recommend this one! (35-40min, 3 secrets)." - Blue43