Level reviews

"What I liked about the level: 1) I liked the very nice and informative flyby scoping out the area and the interesting tasks ahead. 2) I am enjoying this maze-like area with opening and closing doors to make it more interesting. 3) I like how the builder created the purple stone curved corridors using corners instead of flat surfaces to make them less boxy looking. 4) I enjoyed navigating the fireblocks across a deadly pool. 5) I had a lot of fun navigating the underwater semi-closed door maze that made the maze more interesting. There were also ample places to breathe making the maze more enjoyable. 6) I liked the nice flyby showing a gorgeous area with exquisite textures and impeccable lighting. 7) I enjoyed the push boulder run and trigger puzzle very much. 8) Few enemies and providing explosive ammo is always appreciated. 9) I enjoyed the puzzle involving different moves and tasks to raise and lower different pushable pieces to raise a cage for a Vraeus piece. 10) I appreciate that the builder made the timed run to shoot the vase possible from the far side of the pool. 11) I just love puzzles where you can push objects off ledges. It's fun to do and opens up lots of puzzle opportunities. 12) I loved figuring out the pushable pieces pathways via the coloured clues on the walls which changed from red to green when the red one was placed correctly. Very brilliant clue. What I didn’t like or thought could be improved: 1) Timed wall switches should ideally have an on screen timer to let the player know these are timed and helps to know when a switch is not timed as well. 2) The timed runs are very tough but doable with a lot of practice and patience. 3) I didn't notice that the floor lever in the upper area created trigger tiles in the lower area that were not there before. Perhaps extending the camera shot to show the transition before and after would have helped a lot. 4) I don’t mind above water circular blades but wasn't fond of the underwater ones mainly because they feel “hit and miss” rather than skill or technique oriented. 5) I love torch puzzles but the one tossing the torch through the small crawlspace was confusing with the door in the same room and the possibility to trap all the torches in the crawlspace. 6) I had a hard time finding the right spot to grab the monkey swing across the chasm. Perhaps a tad lower or a raised corner higher would have helped the player know this was the right way to go. Conclusion: I enjoyed this level very much. It held my interest the entire time in a very nice environment with not too many enemies and a good amount of puzzle solving. I hope Mytly considers continuing the saga as it left me wanting more. Due to the tough timed runs and “super swing” on the rope, not suitable for beginners." - Lizard Queen

"Wow, just... wow! This is the debut level of one of the kindest members in our community and I have to say I'm positively surprised with pretty much everything that's on offer here. The author chose to use only original textures and objects (with the exception of minor but most welcome changes, such as the outfit and Lara's faster animations) and still has provided us a thoroughly entertaining level with a lot of tasks to be done until you eventually prove yourself worthy of the title. The addition of Sands of Time trilogy soundtracks also makes this shine even brighter me. I'd usually complain about length, but I guess this just hit the right spots on the right day. 85 minutes, 9 secrets. 07/25" - Treeble

"It's been a while since I've seen a level packed with so many puzzles, and I am a sucker for those. In particular I liked solving the final chamber with the two pushables. Don't get me wrong though, there's still a good amount of combat and plenty of traps to spice things up, as Lara embarks on a trial of wits and physical prowess. Throw in some rather tight timed runs and this level holds an enjoyable amount of challenge. I have a few minor criticisms to get out of the way: Some switches are missing camera cues (for example the switch to make water no longer deadly), the open-air rooms meet the sky in a bit of a boxy fashion, and the boulder runs with teleporters can cause some backtracking if Lara exits without interacting with the boulder. Overall this level was a huge treat for me. 1 hour 51 minutes." - JesseG

"One of the best standalone Egyptian levels in the list , and even more liked by players who love a bit of challenge , for the gameplay is somewhat intense ; there is some relaxing moments , even if most of the time you are quite busy with puzzles , actions , and enemies. The gameplay is a treat in which many ideas of puzzles , traps , and jumps were appreciated coz they seem new or fresh, the timed actions are a bit challenging but after a few tries all ends well , and some of the puzzles require a bit of thinking too. Yet , the game is very fluent. I especially enjoyed the jumps ans stunts and the great puzzles. The setting is good looking , some of the areas are very beautiful like the large one with the big broken pillars recalling a hypostyle hall ; only the white texture for some low walls at the beginning does not fit well with the rest and the movable boxes texture also does not fit , for the rest we have here quite an harmonious work. The enemies are well used , but having many times scorpions or fire wraiths in breakable vases is a bit embarassing after a while, but that's a minor point. Good use of objects and we have a storyline on the screen. Overall , a great level with many good ideas and a riveting gameplay. I also like very much the audios. Too bad there has not been a part 2. My stats : 2h11 and 5/9 secrets." - eRIC

"This is indeed a most accomplished debut and one I very much enjoyed playing. It somehow manages to strike the balance between being challenging and being extremely frustrating. This is how enjoyable gameplay is done. No pixel perfect jumps (some jumps and timed runs are tricky, but easily doable), puzzles that were fun to figure out without being too tedious or obscure. The settings are masterfully done, with the classic Karnak assets very well used, aided by good audio usage. Kudos for your first effort, Mytly." - Ryan

"Built with tr4 textures and objects and the new NG settings, this game was amasing. Since the beginning to the end, I have spent a wonderful moment with Lara in this Egyptian temple. Like I introduce, The author use a lot NG puzzles like the teleporters, the pushables rollingballs and the many texts to understand the story. Nice choise of puzzles for an original gameplay. We are a very nice TR4 atmosphere with a few objetcs and textures from the original game and officials wads by eidos. Not really enemies but sometimes there are very well hidden ... to add a few terrors moments^^. I think the level is not really hard and can be played by everyone even by the beginners and of course by people who have the nostaly of TR4. Not really dark too, the lighting is very well use, perfect with the stormy sky. So to conclude, a wonderful first level by Mytly ... I hope we can play the sequel nearly. Very recommended." - BigFoot

"This is a great debut and although it is beta tested there are still some things that didn't work as they should. Because some of the camera hints wouldn't do their job properly there can be some very stuck moments and the only way out is going back by reloading. The puzzles overall were done very well. In the earth, water and fire puzzle, my"earth" pawn was on fire the whole time when I started to push it, that was a bit funny to see. Personally I do like the textures that are used in here and they were applied quite well. What I didn't like that death tile looked quite normal as well as some deadly water. Will keep an eye on this builder and looking forward for the next one." - Gerty

"I really admire the step Mythly has taken here, going from reviewer to highly accomplished builder with their first level. The Chosen Part 1 is definitive proof that you don't need to throw high-resolution textures at a level to get something that looks and plays outstanding. It's built mostly from parts in the Standard Tomb Raider 4 Wad Test and looks very strong and consistent for it. From beginning to end each space is superbly crafted, textured and lit. There's a good feeling of real progression as you make your way through, receiving messages from an unknown and ancient power. The chosen music fits well too. At one point you need to collect 3 puzzle pieces to proceed, and entering each of those rooms triggers a particular piece of 'theme music' for that room. This kind of micro-scoring gives the level a very professional feel and as a result will make it a sequence that will remember. The gameplay is well balanced. There's nothing here that should cause you too many problems with the possible exception of the lava-pit room with it's many slopes, ladders and monkey swings. That said if you keep calm and save regularly you should get through there relatively un-singed! I usually hate the un-killable mummies but Mythly kindly provides some explosive ammo for the cross-bow to dispatch them quite quickly. There's plenty of puzzle elements to keep you busy too. While most are simple push and pull exercises (with clearly marked floor tiles), there were a few tricker ones. The room with the three falling boulders had me foxed until I realized I need to do a quick shot on a vase to stop the room triggering a flame death!. All in all I netted 2 hours 20 minutes from the Chosen Part 1. It's a great start from Mythly that totally exceeded my expectations. I guess the highest compliment I can pay here is that if I ever release a level myself, I hope I can come some way to meeting the excellent standard Mythly has set here. Definitely one for your play-list & highly recommended!!!! Well done and I cant wait for part 2. Stiggy :)" - TheStig

"Wow, that was a brilliant and a very long level. It was fantastic for a debut. I loved every second of it. I was also very challenging at some parts. The texturing was flawless and just excellent. It was very very long and the rooms were all different in their own way. Who know people would make great levels like this using only textures and objects from TR4? Brilliant! Mytly definately has talent and should make more levels. Enemies were Demigods, Wraiths, scorpions, mummies and harpies. There could've been more but I forgot. The object placement was fantastic and so was the lighting. I have to admit I didn't really like this level in the beginning but straight after I fell in love with it and thought this was a fantastic level and had no idea why I thought it was boring. An absolutely brilliant level that no one should miss. Highly recommended." - afzalmiah

"This was a commendable and competently done debut that just proves again what a huge asset taking your time to learn the basics, and later on - taking your time to construct well thought through tasks and areas is. Despite having fallen into that trap as a builder myself, these days I'm not that much into storylines that involve direct divine intervention where Lara conveniently happens to be the device for that divine being's wishes. While I very much liked the author's chosen format - just barely explaining why Lara was there before starting the game and then unfolding a new piece of information one by one as you actually play the game - I was not necessarily convinced by the content itself, namely, that it felt more distracting than enriching to your experience here. Maybe it was just the presentation (paragraphs of text appearing - we have chosen you, Lara Croft! etc. - where voice-overs and cutscenes would've been more effective), maybe some aspects will appear more relevant in hindsight when new levels in the series will be released, but be that as it may, video games always have the advantage that their narrative is carried more by tasks, looks and atmosphere than by the story itself necessarily, and Mytly's level certainly delivers enough in those to make me forget any predispositions I might have to the story itself. The Temple of Karnak/ The Great Hypostyle Hall/ Tomb of Semerkhet settings make for a nice backdrop for the author's ideas to play out. The mix of action, puzzles and platforming was just right and I think the author has calibrated the difficulty level very well by sparing some of the more exciting, involved and puzzling moments for later parts of the 90 minute game. You can essentially divide the entire experience into the search for the 2 canopic jars and 2 golden vraeuses and there is enough going on in either quest for me to be unable to single out a single favourite task. I did like the 3 rollingball & teleporter puzzle, the jumps for the blue game piece were a lot of fun, and though I did not pick up on the logic of the final pushable object puzzle immediately, it was a great a aha! moment when I finally did. And even if there are other tasks that don't make sense immediately, the author has done her best to make them feel as intuitive as possible. If I had any gripes - then I think that some elements (like the circular blade traps or ghosts in containers) ended up being too repetitive, I was a bit stumbled after the first rollingball, since I had no clue that the trapdoor had risen where it did and I was not always convinced by the author's use of textures and lighting for gamplay purposes (one water room looked completely normal, but killed Lara if she fell into water before completing the task in that particular room; some textures were used as death tiles in some sections of the game, whereas elsewhere they could be normal tiles indicating at most where a pushable object is to be placed). The looks are competently done and faithful to its source of inspiration, but I don't think lighting was always used in the most interesting manner possible (I would've loved more contrast, more use of opposite and/or complementary colours, a little bit more intensity for the 'drama'), because I believe that might have done a huge favour to the level's atmosphere too. It is already well enhanced by use of audio tracks, but if anything was lacking - then the above. All that said - this was a great debut level that gets both of my thumbs up and will surely provide a rich raiding experience for any player out there! Found 7 secrets." - eTux

"2 hours and 19 minutes (not even counting the times with loads) of pure tomb raiding. It's amazing how so many years after the release of the first Level Editor, in a time where most builders use new"next gen" editors there are still some who can bring the Tomb Raider experience with the simplest tools! All of the different puzzles throughout the game were simple enough for the most newbie raider to do without getting frustrated yet smart enough to leave more experienced raiders with a sense of wonder! The overall ambience was great, music, textures, enemies locations... I hope to see some more levels from Mytly and hopefully a continuation from this one." - Just Croft

"And is this a... debut? Wow! What a first creation! If this is the first release from this author I can't imagine what can we find in nexts levels. Old textures, old objects, old scenarios... but fresh ideas. Gameplay is quite good with a good variety of original tasks in outside and inside areas. I think only the pushable ball which did burn Lara was very tight; also perhaps repeats a bit the underwater circular blades or enemies inside the vases, but the level itself is fantastic. Perhaps a bit long. Well applied textures, a very good use of cameras and appropriate musics in appropriate places. I've enjoyed a lot. Looking forward for the next chapter. Congratulations Mytly!" - Jose

"This is a very well-balanced level with a nice variety of gameplay. The puzzles are very clever and there's just the right amount of combat in just the right places to add excitement and surprise in between the platforming and puzzle sections. The level design is very nice and complex, with central hub rooms that the player has to revisit in between completing tasks in the various areas. This makes those rooms feel familiar and really adds that sense of accomplishment upon reaching an area that has been visible the entire time but was previously inaccessible. The timed runs are very close (I had to retry them quite a lot as the doors kept slamming in poor Lara's face :P) and the traps require a fair amount of skill and good timing to get past. Visually the level looks very good despite using the original low-res Egypt textures. There's a fantastic attention to detail in how the rooms are textured and where the objects are placed which makes the level look very appealing. There's also a nice use of music at key places to add to the atmosphere, and on-screen text is effectively used throughout the level to add to the story and build interest in the planned sequels for this excellent level." - Ward Dragon

"This is an astounding debut, exhibiting a degree of forethought and attention to detail normally reserved for the output of hardened veterans. It's also an eerie combination of the old and the new. Enemies and artifacts are what you would see in one of the old-school Egyptian levels, but some of Lara's new animations are present as well. This is what I would call an extremely "busy" level, where the player is at all times engrossed in the task of resolving the issues at hand in order to progress to the next set of issues. And that's a good thing, as I used DJ Full's exhaustive walkthrough to milk every vestige of gameplay - including the nine secrets - from this stand-alone level. Took me nearly three hours to boot, as I was in no hurry at all to conclude this magical raiding experience. I found some of the sequences to be of hair-pulling difficulty, notably the boulder runs in tight quarters and the timed run for the revolver ammo with that damn plant placed directly in your way. I would never have solved some of the puzzles without the walkthrough, including the boulder placement sequence and that pushpiece exercise near the very end. This builder is like another of our distaff members, articulate and mature in her posted contributions in the forums. We don't know what she looks like, or even her name. But we now know that she can build levels with the best of them, as witness this maiden voyage that shows Hall of Fame quality. However, I hope the similarities end there, and that Mytly doesn't emulate Lizard Queen and drop abruptly out of sight without ever having followed up on her outstanding first release. High recommendations." - Phil

"And so it happens Mytly's first level was chosen to review by me. It was also chosen by me to do a final beta-test for it, so I am aware I would've underrated this game if I didn't keep in mind I once used to report its every single flaw. So now I am watching the game from a different point of view, a player's one, not a beta-tester's. Simply - I'm gonna ignore any flaw I reported playing the game for the 2nd and 3rd time, because a player has to be REALLY careful to spot them (BTW, I noticed Mytly has fixed some of them in final version, and I am glad she did it).
The game starts in a sandy temple exterior. Even though it is made only of original objects, it looks very realistic - it resembles Karnak due to texturing, but a little bit reddish ambience and some juicy-green plants make the whole area look definitely warmer, comfy and friendly - I think this is the reason why one can feel more relaxed here than it felt in original Karnak. This feeling lasts throughout the whole game, making You forget about karntext.tga and karnak.wad, and making You sure You are in a completely different place. And making me think using original texturing and objects but with a different atmosphere is one of the simpliest and one of the most efficient way of making a level unique.
The most characterestic thing of the game are underwater stargates. Sometimes there is too many of them, but this is what most players will remember the game from. Also, apart from blades, one can meet lots of different traps or enemies that can keep a player vigilant - not all the time, and such moments are rather easy, so one can relax again - but all in all, some agility is necessary. You need to use different weapons, what is ignored by many other builders in many games. Honestly, I think it's hard to place opponents better, and difficulty balance in enemies field is well maintained...
...unlike the exploration difficulty balance, which is a little bit disappointing. When we remind ourselves Mytly has been building this game for two years, we can understand why it feels like it feels - some places were untouched from the very first day of the project, when the author wasn't experienced yet. Now they are mixed with other areas where we can find more advanced and complex setups. I still find the initial pushable awful, while the Fire, Water and Earth ones are very nicely designed, and the Axes cubes are innovative thinking. Rope swinging can't be done by a player unaware of Super Swing, and such challenge is followed by one of many sets of shatters, all repetative in the same way (one of a pair contains a threat, another one hides a reward), what becomes more and more tedious every time You see vases again. Torch puzzle - rather entertaining, versus flame emitter secret - rather obvious. Such mixture of gameplay and no gameplay feels like a binary code, which is sometimes filled with signal, and sometimes not (1000111101010100011). Fortunately for this game, just like in case of binary code, all those rooms where something happens and all those zones where nothing occurs form a smooth and well-flowing unity, and this is one of things which are the most important for any game to remain entertaining regardless from any mistakes commited by a builder. Even me, the more I was playing, the more I was forgetting about lack of some difficulty transitions - simply, because the environment is so immersive that if I cared about flaws all the time, it would have meant I am pretty soulless, and it would be my problem, definitely not the game's or its author's. And the soundtrack only makes the unity perception better.
For last, but not least: I'm really glad Mytly decided to leave those pillars untouched. Some of You guys treat them like an architectural mistake. I find their placement an advantage - because, if You read the storyline appearing on the screen during the game, You will understand the place was NOT BUILT BY EGYPTIANS - so the architecture SHOULD differ.
SUMMARY: A remarkable game. Well taken time for a job well done. Something easy and difficult in the same time. Something unique made of something original - and it's very hard to achieve this, so that's why I give 10 for atmosphere. Something relaxing - even the hostile demigod seems friendly. Hardcore gamers may find it all disappointing and too easy, but this is an absolute must play for anyone else, and all of You can find a personal, unique reason to enjoy it. I'm quite sure if only the sequel contains more balanced gameplay and keeps the whole rest in the same quality as it is in the first part, it can become one of the most immersive games ever made. Waiting forward." - DJ Full

"This is one of those levels where it is hard to believe that we are looking at a debut release. The level had a nice story line and the game play was a good mixture of exploration, agility tests and lots of nicely done puzzles, which were mainly color based. At times I found the game play quite challenging as there were also some precise jumping sequences, monkey swinging in combination with timed burners and a variety of other not always easy tasks to perform. The level had a very well laid out map and although there was a bit of backtracking and multiple times revisiting the same areas, the game play never seemed tedious or boring. The builder added a lot of helpful camera hints, but I still missed an important hint to a raised trapdoor/platform in a large multi story room and got stuck there for a while as this was something I overlooked many times. Talking about overlooking - I only found 4 of the 9 secrets, so I assume that had to be somewhat well hidden. Lara did encounter a good selection of enemies that ranged from mummies, dogs, crocs, and scorpions to harpies and demigods. None were overly hard and there were plenty of pickups, unfortunately I failed to find the revolver and UZI after I had already collected all that ammo for them. The pistols did a fine job, it just took a lot longer and Lara needed a few Medipacks. Just in time before mummies overran me I found the crossbow with explosive ammo - what a treat. Considering that this level was built mainly with TR4 Karnak textures I found the atmosphere and the whole look and feel of this level amazing. Great use of textures and objects and more than adequate lighting made this a classic looking, beautiful visual experience and gave me the feeling that this was the work of a seasoned master instead of a debut level. All in all it was a very enjoyable adventure and I can only highly recommend it to everyone. (2 hours, 4/9 secrets found)" - Blue43

"First level of Mytly and already a master stroke. I Have really enjoyed the variety of tasks in this level. The lighting is good and the puzzles are very inventive (kill the god to mount the block, finding the right location poussable ...). This level is very addictive and one is caught in its resolution, with the will to always go further to find the end of this excellent level. I hope Mytly will offer other levels that I think will be of very high quality. Recommended strongly." - Minox

"I am astounded that this is Mytly's first level, it is so good! The atmosphere is very nicely done and the puzzles are topnotch. These are the kind of puzzles that I enjoy. There are some traps that are a wee bit brutal to get through, but completely doable within a few tries, but you do need to think a bit about how to proceed without potentially frying or slicing dear Lara. I really enjoyed the music, which fit beautifully. I did notice in the beginning that perhaps the first area is a bit bright considering that the sky is brownish not sunny. The lighting gets much better throughout. I didn't have any trouble with the pushable boulders and the timed runs, though challenging, were very fun to achieve. Each area brought with it new puzzles to solve and I was quite saddened when the level ended. Please do us all a favor and keep building, Mytly!!" - Shandroid

"Since I saw the previews I eagerly anticipated Mytly's debut level, and I'm pretty happy that it doesn't disappoint. Chosen takes the player through a grand Karnak-style temple complex brimming with classic Tomb Raider gameplay, sporting some new tricks to boot. There's a good deal of platforming going around, mixed up with some lever puzzles, timed runs, boulders, slides, swimming, fire, monkey-swings, and pushing puzzles. It comes together well thanks to its steady pacing, amping up the difficulty bit by bit without frustrating or confusing parts. Each part of the level makes sense and doesn't leave the player running left-and-right looking for that hidden switch or crawlspace somewhere, keeping the level's flow consistent. The rooms are constructed diversely and make great use of the classic LE textures, showcasing visually-pleasing courtyards, foyers, chambers, and puzzle rooms. The audio tracks can make or break the atmosphere, and despite the, in my opinion, overused and rather repetitive background track, Chosen contains a very immersive atmosphere. A few things became predictable, mostly that every couple vases a scorpion or fire wraith is encountered. At the end of the day though, the two years of slow-but-steady effort and patience building this level certainly pays off in an entertaining adventure. Hope to see more." - Relic Hunter

"ok i dont want to repeat my folow reviewers ... to detailate the game again ..... i only what to highlight a bit the game good parts and the bad ones ........ ok lets start with the GOOD PARTS - ....this is a fairy long game wich will keep u busy a while ....have builded in egyptian karnak style wich contain well builded areas as well indoor locations moust off the action take place indoor .... the game is not for begginers i must say from the start .... contain some tough parts ... moustly the burner traps and some fairy short timeruns now the - Bad Parts -..is a part on it when u need to push down a cube pedestral wich is at a small up narrow place and too close to the wall and Lara hardly find his position behind to can push it down ........ another part wich was very frustrating was at last stage off the game when u go up at a ramp .. 2 boulders start to roll down at sides off the ramp....... noo woryes cos u go up at the middle ...... but now start the insane frustrating part .. the 3'rd boulder is located in the middle .... u need to push it to make it roll down and to turn quick shot a vase behind u and sprint through the corridor through the door wich SHOULD open IN TIME activate the JS and fall down at the bellow room .... problem is that when the boulder reach the marked pedestral down at the end off the slope u get in flame .... and THE MAJOR PROBLEM IS THAT THE DOOR WICH SUPPOSED TO OPEN AFTER U SHOT THE VASE OPEN TOO LATE EVEN IFF UR IN FRONT OFF IT AND U CANNOT GET THROUGH IN SAFE PLACE UNTILL THE BOULDER REACH THE TRIGGER SPOT AND U GET IN FLAMES ... WELL AFTER 10-15 TRYES -MORE WITH LUCK than anything else i managed to get through without be cooked ..... other anoying thing is THE MUSIC . same all the game and boring after a while ........ the graphics are very good also the cameras too ....... all in all could be a top game without that anoying parts wich i write it up ...... worthy game ... and drink a beer before the boulder last part is my advice .... good game .cheers ." - Jack&

"From the opening flyby with underlying Prince of Persia ambience music you know you will be in for a treat with this stunning debut adventure. I have always been a fan of the Karnak setting and surprisingly few custom levels actually use it, but every now and then a gem emerges, such as Nadine's Heirs of the Medjai or indeed such as this one. What Mytly has achieved here very nicely is a great flow of the gameplay. Almost never are you running around wondering what to do next. There is always an intuitive logic to the things you need to do and these things leverage the full variety of TR gameplay right from the beginning. There are clever block push puzzles, switch puzzles, torch action, timed runs, sneaky jumps and the list goes on and on. As a very minor gripe I did find those slicers under water a bit overused and the killing of that high up demigod seemed a bit hit and miss, as you can shoot at it forever if you have a bad angle, because you then do not actually hit him but have no indication that this is the case. Maybe the 'shoot vase - get either a goodie, a scorpion or a fire wraith did get a little too repetitive over time as well. The settings, while good old classic Egypt style, are very solidly done, well lit and smartly use effects like fog or poison air in places. The whole adventure would fit in smoothly with for example Pascal Ducey's Rescue series. I really enjoyed the hunt for the 9 secrets and it gave a great sense of accomplishment to get all of them. The whole transporter area was a great highlight with the boulders to escape from and the push, even though that one camera did also not work for me, so some searching was required here. Maybe that push/torch puzzle near the end felt a bit too lengthy and could even have been skipped (and used in a sequel instead) and the final 'battle' seemed a bit too easy to be an ending on a high note, but the whole concept of the storyline is brilliant and really raises our anticipation for more to come in Part 2+. As said, overall this is 2 hours of pur joy in Tomb Raider heaven, despite its seemingly 'worn-out' classic Egypt theme and you simply have to play it to believe it. Let's hope we do not have to wait another 2 years for the sequel... ;)" - MichaelP

"In the past I have said how surprised I am by the quality of debut levels. This time I'm beyond surprised, I'm gobsmacked! If this is the first of the series I can't wait for the rest. A good, solid feel to the areas start you off realising that this builder has got the programme by the throat and won't let go until they have from it what they want. Great looking areas, nicely tight timed runs, baddies in the right places and well hidden secrets (I always like the sense of satisfaction in finding a properly hidden secret). Perhaps lacking in much agility, but that's objective and not everyone would agree. This is definitely a builder to watch, I'm hoping for more great things." - Diz

"Another debut? Another Egypt-level? No, the autor has produced a piece of art, nearly perfect. Gameplay is brilliant, every puzzle can be solved by logic. There is no running to and fro and finding things by acciddent, everything is logically clear. Some timed runs are demanding, but doable. Every room is built perfectly, with sound and lightning is created an unique atmosphere. I can't await the release of part two!" - Christian

"Excellent throughout. The mild opening seems typical for a debut, but soon the level opens up into a large and intricate Karnak-type adventure, though this is better than the official game. I was absorbed in play, with many places giving me the feeling of exploring a classic TR4 Egyptian level. Really, it felt like this was all the good stuff that hooked us on Tomb Raider in the first place, but after finishing I looked back to spot the Next Generation elements, things like the smooth teleports from place to place, dropping pushables from a height, or pushing a rolling boulder around. The lowering fire pots near the end make a nice effect. Everything feels integrated and natural within game, so that we can be with Lara in the involving play. There were a couple of tricky spots with flame emitters: one where Lara has to jump to a monkeyswing next to a wall, and quickly shimmy outward before timed flames get her; and a couple of places where Lara slides down into burners. But this is so things don't get dull. The puzzles, secrets, and jump sequences have all been cleverly designed for fun. This is a rather long single level, but every bit of it has something to offer. Onscreen text from mysterious Ancients explains that Lara has passed their tests, and been chosen for further challenges, so we can eagerly anticipate a continuation. A must play (and replay)." - dmdibl

"And once again a newcomer enters the level building scene. I knew Mytly up to now only as a level player. It is interesting how many pure level players lately venture on the level building. And the level starts very good. The Flyby looks very good and the music fits perfectly. But quite immediately at the level beginning one has a very nice look at the big building. I had to think there quite spontaneously at the level beginning of Courels Sand of AngelR. The small area at the level beginning could have been expanded a little bit , thus this could have originated the illusion that is there even more. In any case, thus it is too evident that is here the end of the Map. This should not go unmentioned, but it is only just a little thing. After I left the level beginning behind myself, I have played one of the best level which were published lately. And all textures and objects should be from the Original-Wads and/or from TR-The Last Revelation? Really? I can not believe it. In my opinion at least the textures looked substantially better. But in any case, this level has properly given fun. Above all I must mention the Flybys and the music. I like it when a Flyby will accompanied by music and here the music fitted very well. I like it also if a Flyby makes a round flight about the area in which Lara becomes equally active. Thus I know about what is to be done. Then, however, there are some level builders who place the cameras in such a way that the Flyby is far too hectic. But Mytly has done a very good job. The lighting was good, but could have been a little bit better. Many great riddles always provided for "What is behind the next corner"-effect. If this effect appears, I can hardly leave the keyboard alone. Though the time runs were partly a little bit scarce, but after a few attempts they should be no problem.
Result: Excellent debut with only little weaknesses with the lighting. And now I look forward to part 2." - Scottie

"This is an incredibly assured level for a debut and impresses in every respect. The gameplay in particular is extremely well planned and flows perfectly, managing to avoid just about everything that most players would deem frustrating, notably excessive backtracking - nope, none of that here; it's very player friendly and provides routes that return Lara to exactly where she needs to be once having performed all necessary actions in a given area. There are some clever puzzles, especially involving the use of boulders and anti-triggers, and the enemies feel appropriate and not over used. Timed elements are also present and correct (and quite challenging), plus some slightly tricky jumps here and there. The traditional Egypt settings are solidly made and most attractive and I also enjoyed the choice of music. The nine secrets are well hidden (I found 8) and all in all it's hard to fault this level. So I won't. AND the best thing about it is that it's going to continue. Yippee." - Jay

"A classic Egyptian level that has a great storyline - Lara is chosen by higher souls to be the intermediate between them and the humans. Very cleverly placed text messages supported them, with a great raising of suspense throughout the level. The level is filled with a great and even for a classic level innovative tasks, as the torch that has to be thrown through a little hole in the wall. The puzzles were ingeniously fun; mostly the ideas how to raise/lower some pushables in the second half of the level really made fun, but the 3D puzzle room near the end was the clear highlight, with some very logic hints. I also enjoyed the (pretty logic) boulder puzzle that I have never seen before (push a boulders in certain holes) and the change-place triggers to implement the idea. Not to forget there were also real "classic" elements in this level like good timed runs, doors that close when not stepping on certain tiles, long swim mazes, but with a little shortcut to help the player. All in all a very varied and fun gameplay here, with good puzzles. The only critisism point here are the too long actual time to push the statues, but it can be seen that this has to be to create such a nice overall puzzle (transporting three statues from completely different rooms into the hub room). The fights were well planned; Lara never had too much or few ammo to kill the enemies (e.g. you can enter the mummy room after getting the crossbow). I have to mark another room - the room with the lowering menhirs to get some firepots lighted which was really good. But this one was not only a well made game in terms of gameplay and fights, no, the other two categories didn't come too short here. The level had a good atmosphere, from a really bright level Lara gets darker and darker in the temple, with some gardens of course, but the players get more and more absorbed in this fascinating game. Lighting was really well done and the atmosphere got better and better with it, however, at some points texturing had some minor lacks here. Camera work is notable too - the cutscenes were really helpful to find in three large areas, the builder has thoughtfully made a little break on important bits of the area. At only one or two places I wished one more camera hint, but it never got too annoying because of that - soon you can see what the switch has just done when you explore the area, only at the place with the vases that had to be shot I was a bit confused as there was a timed door that can be opened with a switch quite far away, and I didn't realize the "timed-ness" and ran around few minutes. Now when talking about secrets - I only found 5 of the 9 (I think I will go on search for them soon), but I had some complaints about their placement. The first area is a nearly impossible to reach block in the first area, only accessible with a hard curved jump, but the Ammo was not counted as a secret here - the players could have been awarded for such a hard jump (lasted 15 minutes to finally jump perfectly). Then, some were really well hidden, with e.g. a well hidden ladder in the dark, but then I found a secret "on the way", nearly not to miss, on the monkeyswing with the burners. I would have been more pleased if this secret would be changed to the aforementioned pillar.
All in all a very professional debut level (to be honest, I didn't think of anything else about Mytly) and I am really hungry on the second part. The best TR 4 original wad pieces are used well - here and there I would change a thing, mostly in secrets, or some minor gameplay things (gameplay gets a 9, but the intelligent puzzles simply make the first category close to perfect), and few texturing things, but I rather find this to be one of the best classic Egypt levels, although - honestly - I have not played many of this class. Maybe this game makes me more interested in them, as I was a bit bored of the environment before. Well done!" - manarch2

"This is Karnak themed level. With the prevalence of new(er) themes nowadays new levels based on older sets can feel a bit dated by default, but this level manages to make it work, with interesting and grand areas along with a lot of variety within the basic settings. Lighting and object use is great throughout as well.
The level starts with a interesting twist on a block puzzle, and the basic idea continues throughout, with familiar actions twisted in ways that make them feel fresh, and there's quite a variety of them too. There's also a decent amount of use of NG features like pushing blocks off ledges. There's a good flow and while frequently challenging there's always enough clues to stop tasks being frustrating (without being too obvious). I had minor issues like a couple of somewhat long block puzzles (there's at least a good reason for them though), but they didn't stop me being engaged throughout almost the entirely of the level; which is saying something given that this is an almost two-hour long level mostly based on the old Karnak theme. There's a storyline, but this is just the first of a series so not too much is given so far; hopefully the continuation is on the way." - Mman