Level reviews

"This felt too long for its own good in my opinion; I had to call it a night when I had clocked the first hour of net playing time because by then it had already outstayed its welcome, and it was just about the halfway point. I can't quite pinpoint the causes though, because as far as setting goes it's pretty in tune with what you would expect out of BtB-Steampunk, but something about the gameplay simply didn't click with me. There's a lot of running to and from (which would make this a nightmare to play blindly, but thanks to manarch2 you won't have to), lots of keys to find, and when I finally had the mechanical key for the train I just took my leave instead of chasing down that extra bit of gameplay documented in the walkthrough. 95 minutes, 5 secrets. 05/25" - Treeble

"God, what a long level. Even though this isn't as long as Moonlight Legacies, it still had me going for a while. The lagging got on my nerves, but I got through it. Many areas to explore and things to do. Another fantastic entry, even if the backtracking got a bit annoying." - Ryan

"On one hand a very nice plot and sound/camera usage, lots of transparency I always liked, cleverly hidden weapons, challenging enemies, nice pseudo-museal touch and the ending worth to struggle for... on the other one lots of lags, not enough shading, seriously overdosed metal tiles in some places and monotonous lighting ruining great texturing in other ones so the game feels overwhelming and tiring. I read previous reviews and I neither agree with cryptic gameplay nor with too great length. For the first: we really get more camera hints than in other two games of this author I've played before, and they appear even in moments when I knew what to do. For the second: only the pushable felt too long for me (could be at least 2 times shorter) and the mutant fight (could be at least 2 less dragons). I like the fact the same-ID keys repeat but we're clearly prompted not to use them twice in the same hole. Secrets... separating them from weapons wasn't a good idea, and getting the final book is not that satisfying either. SUMMARY: A really weird vision I'm not sure what to think about. I'm getting convinced it happens people are mostly afraid to use happy colors with this package, so these resources remain underused. Industry doesn't have to equal polluted sky and lots of metal here... remember this is an alternative technology fantasy world anything should be able to happen in - even blue sky forged with pipes and fire. With this taken in consideration, I think we should... REPEAT THE COMPETITION!!" - DJ Full

"You know there's a great deal to like about Memories of SteamPunk Fashion. It's a really strong level, well textured and constructed. Lighting is excellent and it really indulges the steam-punk theme nicely. There's even a tough battle with some fire blowing Dragons to deal with too! Unfortunately where it falls down is the last third of the level where the gameplay just starts to get too cryptic. Don't put the path to the secrets in direct line of the player and have them dig around for the route they 'actually' need to take through the level. For me it stopped making sense after I accessed the upper layers near where the Han-glider is. This spoils the experience a little which is a real shame when you consider how well everything flows up to this point. All in all I netted 2 hours 46 minutes from Memories of Steam Punk Fashion. Recommended, but be ready to glance at the walkthrough for the last third of the level. Stiggy" - TheStig

"Some interseting to and fro to get a fuse, a nice intor before Lara reaches a garden area. She enters a large building with several floors and there various, well thought out tasks to do. Very interesting gameplay showing the creativity of this auther already seen in another work by him. Demanding timed runs, some jumps that have do be performed very precisly (e.g.: a jump to a chandelier), a hard dragon fight make gameplay very interesting. So why my relativly low ratings in this category? In the 2nd part of the level gameplay becomes more and more cryptic, some ways the author intended are hardly comprehensible. More important is: This level is simply too long. I like long adventures consisting of several sub-levels. Bu mostly these sublevels differ in style, environment, atmosphere etc. But here we have only the limitations of the theme given by the competion-rules. The quality of a well made movie is lost, when it's a third to long, the author finds no end of his story. It's solidly built as we could expect from this author. It's not a level for beginners." - Christian

"This level is certainly the MOST STEAMPUNK level of the competition and one of my favorite. Like Moonlight Legacy, I test this level before the release and it was very good ... but now, with the new ideas, it was exellent. Lara is in a fantasy world and she want to find the key to come back to Abbingdon. We visist a beautiful city, a factory, a train station, a big cistern and a fantasy fliyng world ... and a special area for the secrets hunters. Not to hard and not too easy (exept maybe for the secrets), this level is good for the beginner and for discoverd a steampunk world. Felicitation à Jo pour ce super niveau. BigFoot" - BigFoot

"Gameplay: This is another convoluted level submitted for BTB that is a bit longer than it should have been. However it is not as bad as some of the others. The player may be forced to backtrack great lengths if they miss a puzzle item somewhere. Thankfully the author provides alternate routes in some places to reduce further backtracking. After that it is a matter of having to memorize where all the different areas are. The timed run over the pools of water was fun, and there are some simple but interesting pushblock puzzles. There is also extra content if you manage to find the secret disks.
Objects: The secret areas have a lot of effort in them, but I only found 4 disks so I did not see it all the way through. The looping music is the same as that used in Moonlight Legacy, so I had to turn off the audio immediately. There are some points where hanging plants impede your running jumps, pushing Lara to the side. I like that you had to work your way to some of the weapons, such as the revolver.
Textures: There are some paperthin walls...they are supposed to be open windows, sure, but it still looks weird. Some of the underwater rooms get a bit wallpapered as well, but other than that things look nice.
Atmosphere/Cameras: The helpful intro flyby identifies goals for the player, and the nice looking outro gives one a sense of accomplishment at helping Lara escape. The atmosphere of the level was its strongest point.
Overall: A bit more complicated than it had to be, but it is still a great level to check out. Finished in 2:14:20." - SSJ6Wolf

"What a level so loooooooong! Architecture is quite good, with a lot of connections between rooms, and it notices a real steampunk inspiration and atmosphere. Gameplay is really complex, good puzzles with new and original ideas, but sometimes you'll have to backtrack a lot if you miss something, returning many times to the same places (I can't remember how many times I climbed the stairs in the gazebo courtyard) and explore huge areas to find well hidden things or doing very tricky tasks you'll need to try many times (the timed run through all that water areas was very tight) so I think this is a level for expert players. The best for me were the very well placed cameras and flybies to give hints and the melodies. Recommended, but not for beginners." - Jose

"I'm playing this year's Back to Basics levels in random order, and this level had the fortune of being my first random pick. And it's a little bit of a mixed bag, but not too much so. The level actually starts out well with a fairly clever door puzzle that's just complicated enough that it makes you feel smart when you figure it out. There are some really neat ideas like that throughout the level, but there are also parts where it drags on and nothing interesting happens. There are times when you'll spend ten minutes just running around collecting keys and it's kind of boring, but then you'll come across a really cool idea and forget all about it. And then it's right back to collecting keys again. Overall it's good, though. The low point for me was probably the fight against four dragons, where you're given explosive arrows but Lara is so bad at aiming that there's a good chance they won't be enough to actually kill the dragons. There's more ammunition in the are before the dragons, but you're not allowed to return there until they're dead. Trying to take them down with just the pistols is an effort in frustration. But other than that it's a very well-built level, with some really nice-looking areas, with overall very good texturing and lighting. The main hub of the level also seems to have been planned out really well, and is fun to explore as you're able to reach more and more parts of it. None of it feels very steampunk, though, but it remains to be seen how the other levels handled the theme. In the end, it doesn't really matter much as long as the level is good. What does matter, though, is the constant background music (save for a few blissful areas). It's absolutely maddening and starts to grate after only a few minutes. Not the best choice. But if you can ignore the background music (or turn it off - you'll thank me), this is a good level overall. It's a bit uneven, but never bad and at over 80 minutes it's very sizable for a Back to Basics level." - Magnus

"What a strange title for a level. I see no Fashion, I see no clothes. Perhaps it is a misnomer and the builder meant to call the level"Memories of *a* Steampunk fashion", as in,"Memories-along-the-lines-of-Steampunk-things" ??? Instead, we have"Memories-of-different-forms-of-clothing"... well what a hilarious accident indeed. The silly title aside, this level is in itself just plain silly. Room structures make no sense, texture decisions make no sense, and gameplay makes no sense. I found myself trekking around almost aimlessly for an exceptionally long time, getting stuck again and again simply because it was not made clear as to how one should progress. When the answer did however make itself clear (usually thanks to forum help) it usually involved an inane jump over some sort of cumbersome ledge or obstacle. The game opens up with a very sloppy and wonky flyby camera, showing us the very end of the level which we as players will have already forgotten about completely as we trek along, only to painfully remember it again as a new ending loads. What I mean here is that, when the end of the level finally loads, it just reloads you to a different part of the level. And so, the tedium is still not over. Then when that end loads, you are back in the level once again, only to have to finally trigger the train ride out of Lara's Steampunk nightmare. I am aware this is meant to be happening in Lara's head as she is dreaming, however that is no excuse for some of the terrible randomness the author chose. Frozen dinosaur"statues" oddly placed on two pedestals? Are these perhaps the two outfits showcasing some"Steampunk Fashion"? Also, peacock patterned textures used all over the place for ceilings and floors in areas that I believe are meant to be"Base-like"? Peacock textures are found in the bottom of deadly lava pools as well. Deadly peacock feathers perhaps? Underwater switches and land switches placed so oddly and hidden so"cleverly" you can't tell where anything is. Also, the 'TR3-sewage-music-on-constant-loop' makes its return once again... for some more constant loopy-Madhouse-looping fun. It is thankfully replaced later on for a brief while by the 'Atlantean-heartbeat', which brought some sanity back into my mindset. But oh, the loopy fun of the sewage theme comes back as I explore more sewages later on connected to 'beautiful' Steampunk-y rooms with peacock feathers. No, it's not a bad level, but it's not very good either. All it seems to show is that the author kept building and building, connecting random room and area after random room and area. I guess in this regard the level really is"Memories of *a* Steampunk Fashion" that Lara *randomly* remembers and dreams about, from room to room, and moment to moment. Oh Nostalgia!" - Sethian

"The most challenging level so far (I've been playing them in order), in fact a bit too challenging at times. I say that because, despite some tomb raiding experience that I may possess, I still ended up using a couple of saves - meaning I "cheated" and hated myself for that - after trying very hard for very long: in the dragon heads' part and then in the very tight timed run somewhere in the middle of the level. Challenges are a good thing and the game is also pleasantly challenging in many other ways, from start to finish, but I believe a builder should know where to draw a line between fun and torture. Hence my (naturally arguable) 9 in gameplay and puzzles in an otherwise very "clean" level. Oh, and the almost unreacheable thin chandelier in the middle of the main room, one shouldn't have to try such a maneouvre a hundred times, a couple of times, before finally coping. Other than that, the game looks hugely good and is quite clever and highly varied. I loved it mostly, despite the fact that it did consume me. And in the end I never managed to get that book that needed four more disks or entered the door by the side of the train or entered the door to a pool or found the crowbar (I suppose there was one?) or even got a trapdoor up near the start even though I had the exhausting feeling I'd done so much. The train just seems to have started backwards, killing hordes of raptors along the way and that was that. The end. It is recommended, a work of art in its own way, but certainly not for the most tense among us." - Jorge22

"Maybe it's fortunate that the number of entrants in this year's BtB competition is down a bit, because I fear I'm fast approaching my Steampunk saturation point. I'm saving the hardest (Madness) and the longest (Moonlight) levels for last, so the chances are that I won't be able to play and review them all before the competition officially ends next week. No matter. I could tell from the very start that Steampunk Fashion was a well-designed and painstakingly crafted level, but by the time I was searching for the finish trigger (more on that in a moment) while my game clock was approaching three hours, I was more than ready to get it over with. This is one of those levels that makes me glad that I normally wait for a walkthrough to become available before I download and play a new release. It's so horribly complex that my head began spinning well before the halfway point. Manarch2 has provided a very helpful verbal map that I simply could not have done without. There's a nice touch in the new areas that are opened when you find at least two secrets, and a special bonus awaits those who find all six. Although I located them all as documented in the walkthrough, I was lacking one at the very end for some reason, forcing me to eschew that glassed-in room (as I was not about to backtrack to the extent necessary to find the missing secret). And then I found that I was unable to get from one end of the train to the other to turn the wheel and finish the level (unless I missed something really obvious), so I backtracked all the way through the floating islands section so I could be tranported to the proper area. And you can bet that I flew all the way there, too. Not to be a wet blanket, because this is really a remarkable level, but can we keep these raids a little bit simpler for us handicapped and challenged folks?" - Phil

"Where do I even begin to comment on this extensive adventure? Maybe by saying that it is my clear personal favourite so far with 5 levels left to play. For me it is the most cherent and consistent level of the batch, maybe with the exception of the rather odd floating islands sequence near the end. The level kind of takes you by the hand through a series of nice puzzles, none of which is particularly obscure, but most of which require you to think a little bit and combine a series of activities to resolve it. And you get the whole range here - push puzzles, torch puzzles, traps, jump sequences, breaktile runs, mirror room - you name it, it is all there. And it is all very well set in scene too with mostly great texturing and lighting (except for a few areas that seemed a little bland and repetitive) and really excellent use of ambience audio and flybys and camera hints when you needed them. The four-headed dragon was a bit of a nuisance and only via switching to manual targeting I eventually managed to kill it with the explosive arrows. There is creative use of the turning wheels, a clever and not too tedious timed push puzzle with burners involved, a fun swan dive into a water hole and much more. I loved how the 6 secrets are mostly quite easy to see but then you need to figure out how to get them - and at the very end you get a short but fun flyby as well to top it all off. Fabulous raiding from start to finish! Do not miss out on this one! [2:58, 6/6 secrets]" - MichaelP

"This is, in my opinion, the best BtB2011 level, where, first of all, we have a real steampunk atmosphere, a very elaborated gameplay, and a builder who used the given .wad to its full potential. Compared to all other top rated BtB2011 levels, this one has the most fluent gameplay, never boring, sometimes rather hard, but nevertheless dynamic and interesting. And it has the best timed run I've seen in BtB2011 competition. Puzzles are involving and logical, enemies are few but placed with a certain sense, and definitely the best moments of the level were secrets hunts, and I recommend to all the players not to be lazy and to involve themselves in finding them all, despite the backtracking they would need to do. The audio tracks in this level are used very nicely together with sounds and camera hints and flybys to give us the atmosphere that is in accordance to the storyline. Lighting is maybe a little flat from time to time, but textures, on the other hand, are very rich, correctly used and I think this builder used more texture tiles than any other in the competition. This level is an obvious work of an experienced builder, and a definite must play long after the BtB2011 competition is finished. I spent many hours playing this jewel of the level and I must say that the time I spent was a real holiday for me. It started rather normal, and I definitely did not expect to see everything I saw as the level progressed. Slowly, but surely, the beauty and the gameplay become better and better as you progress in the play. The perfect balance is achieved here with enemies, supplies, traps, timed runs, hard jumps, and backtracking. My favourite, and hopefully, the winner." - Nina Croft

"This was a very long but entertaining level. I found it very fun and the enemies weren't too hard. Even the four headed drsgon (only because of the forum and walkthrough)! I think the only problem of the level was the lagging. There wasn't too much lagging but sometimes it gets in the way but that's not why I rated the gameplay 9. The whole city-like place was very big and complicated and it is sometimes hard to know where to go but thanks to the walkthrough you know where to go. The floating islands in the end was brilliant! I loved it! It was ending the level in a high note. I never got any secrets but I didn't want to. I used the timed lever for a secret (but I didn't know it was for a secret) because I thought you were supposed to use it but the walkthrough mentioned that it was for a secret so I skipped it. I really enjoyed this level and might play it again. Recommended." - afzalmiah

"Good looking city setting, lots of interesting various tasks, challenging timed runs, not by the allotted time though which could have been a little less, but by their setup. Finally a builder who dared to put a really decent timed run in a B2B level, thanks. Enemies didn't play much part, except for the dragon. The floating islands area was a nice interlude. Effective use of objects, especially liked as the train went into motion at the end, well sort of, the builder made a convincing effect. Nice idea with the secrets for an extra prize. Another superb level, even though I slightly prefer Moonlight for its sheer size and higher exploratory aspect, this one also deserves top scores from me." - Akcy

"Every time I started enjoying myself in this level, the gameplay seemed to grind to a halt. I didn't have much trouble with what seems to be other players' main problem, i.e. the four-headed dragon - I managed to kill it quite easily with explosive arrows. But I did have a problem with certain other aspects of the level - for example, the ultra-long timed run. But the main culprit was the push-block puzzle which involves turning off fires and creating an even floor for the block to move. It's a great idea in itself, but having to run to the timed switch after every couple of pushes gets very annoying. There are other things that made no sense to me, like the glider, which is needed mainly for a secret, yet is placed so prominently that I spent a huge amount of time trying to get to use it. The transporters too are mostly superfluous - why put in a transporter when a very short ladder would suffice?
Of course, there are plenty of things that I do like about this level: the whole floating islands section; the slope jumps over deadly water; diving into a tiny square of water far below; closing a door to access a passage it's blocking; the puzzle in the secret area that you can unlock with 2 secrets; and Lara's final departure in the train.
The texturing is fine, technically speaking, as is the lighting. But from an aesthetic viewpoint, it simply did not appeal to me - the textures especially seem to clash badly with each other, for example, in the interior of the central building. The background music is highly annoying, and I shut it off about halfway through the level.
Overall: This level felt like it could have been great, yet it left me feeling underwhelmed." - Mytly

"I understand where people may have their doubts when taking into account how I've consistently given lower marks than most other reviewers to the top 3 longest games in this year's back to basics competition, but I really have no intrinsic dislike for long and involved games. What annoys me is that a lot of players seem to think that long levels (or level series) automatically deserve high scores and I disagree for a number of reasons, but one more relevant here could be - that longer games involve more content that is up to the scrutiny of the player, so there are actually more chances to go wrong for the builder. As for this level, while it did take me 2 hours and 5 minutes of net gaming to finish it, I have to admit I was not that bothered by the duration aspect in itself this time. Maybe it's because this is already the 12th level of the competition for me, but more likely because, other than the case for For a Handful of Red Sand and Moonlight Legacies, Memories of Steampunk Fashion offers more variety as far as main gameplay is concerned and doesn't fall victim to needlessly dragging encounters on (except once or twice, maybe) and repetitive gameplay. You get to hunt for items in various settings, traverse rooftops, jump over floating islands, master some excellent timed runs, battle with 4 dragons at the same time (yikes!), solve puzzles with pushable objects that don't drag on and outstay their welcome, observe nice use of doors both in their 'closed' and 'open' states and head on a nicely elaborate side-quest for the 6 secrets and the 'Steampunk storybook,' though the main gameplay and the secret one did blend in together a bit too much for my liking (for example, how is it even possible to miss the secret you pass with the hang-glider if you need those ledges it is placed on to make it to the timed trapdoor? If the hang-glider was only needed for the secret and the timed run - then it being freely accessible at all times just proves my point). This would have the makings of a top contender in my book if all of the above mentioned did not come across as so random and unconnected when experienced first-hand. As I've repeatedly stated - I'm not actually opposed to the philosophy of 'play for the sake of playing' - hence the gameplay score, but somehow I could not see the motivation behind quite a lot of it and I feel when all was said and done, the game's elements did not all fit together as they should. For one thing - I'm the last person to shun the inclusion of TR2's Floating islands inspired settings, but they felt rather out of place in context of how relatively 'realistic' the rest of the level was. I suppose you can refer to the half-imaginary, half-real world mentioned in the story - but considering that there really is no reason for us to believe that's the property of this level's world apart from that particular area - it feels more like a cop-out than a justification. From the difficulty perspective, I would've thought that the whole venture into the sewers where you encounter some of the level's trickiest gameplay in form of the 4 dragon battle, traps and timed runs, would've suited it much better as the final quest for the train's missing part than the said departure to otherworldly realms. However, all of it is entertaining enough to let it slide, even if more coherence would've worked wonders in the level's favour. The weakest link for me in the level were the looks - and I suppose most other reviewers will be as surprised about my 7 as I was about their 9's and 10's in the respective category. I suppose the lagging that accompanied me throughout the main area or whenever I reloaded the game might be a system-to-system issue, so I tried not to think too much into it. In comparison (and maybe those are the key words here, but, alas, it *is* a competition) to many other of the Steampunk games - some texture combinations and use seemed rather odd and unappealing, even if the texture appliance itself was clean. There isn't really that much creativity present in room geometry or settings from a visual point of view so they feel a bit boxy and unsophisticated, maybe apart from the central area. Lights, shadows and sun-bulbs are not always used as effectively as they could've been, and lighting for the water rooms was misleading in that I seldom could be free of suspicion whether water would kill Lara instead of merely taking her for a swim. While it is far from an overwhelmingly dark level - it does have its fair share of dark corners where I would've loved to have an extra flare pickup or two. I'm not saying all of this makes it a visually unappealing experience - just that I was not compelled to give it high scores for the categories by inertia alone. If all this sounds negative - then it's not to say I did not love the level - far from it. It's precisely because my scores are so different from those of others that I felt the burden to point out how they depicted my experience and impressions most adequately was on my side rather than on the majority of reviewers' so far. That said - while I enjoyed it a great deal, I can't jump on the bandwagon of praise it has received so far." - eTux

"Very lovely and fun level in this super great BtB contest! I also was a bit bored in the beginning with the tedious roof tasks, but the subsequent roof tasks were quite a bit better, so stick with it! I thought the atmosphere was topnotch, but with that awesomeness, comes the awful lag that just drives my nerves to the fraying point. Blessedly, not all of the level suffers from this lag, only when Lara is traipsing around the gorgeous big parts. I didn't find all the secrets, dang it, but I worked very hard just to finish the level. I became so very frustrated with that four headed dragon. It is just too enclosed in there for poor Lara to fight such a monstrosity. That was way too tough. But, as Jay said, there is a FUN timed run, say what? It could have been not so fun, but it isn't all that tight, so it was fun. I really liked the closing of one door to make access to another area. There are some tough spots in the level, but it isn't impossible, just prepare to put a bit of time in to accomplish some of the harder spots. Nice job!" - Shandroid

"This is clearly another gem in the series. The excellent layout and complexity of the game play is mainly what makes this one such a high quality level. It is not an easy one either, as there are several timed runs that range from fairly easy to long and hard. Besides those runs, there is also a fight against the fire-breathing dragon, which turned out to be a memorable and painful experience for Lara. There are also plenty of buttons to push, levers to pull, some challenging jumps and plenty of items to find. Some things were a bit unfairly hidden like a lever behind a bush in an area that didn't even appear to be accessible at first and looked it was there for decoration. The texturing and lighting throughout the level was nearly perfect and the level had a pleasant atmosphere. One of my favorites from the series - mainly because of the good variety in game play! (2h 27min, 6 secrets found)" - Blue43

"A very complex and long level that lasted nearly three hours (because of writing the walkthrough) for me. The start was maybe a bit boring with searching for a few levers, and the passage at the very start wasn't that well lightened, but after some intitial boredom the roof jumps were quite a task, the door that had to be closed again to access a new room was a nice idea. After getting to the main courtyard the gameplay got very non-linear and you easily can get lost in this huge city. Most of the tasks here were solid but maybe a bit uninspired, even if the looks are fantastic. Luckily there were many nice side tasks you have to do that were more fun, e.g. the crumbling platform sequence in the cellar, the mirror room (maybe doing a bit more in it would have been nice), the descent into the pit with the dragon and the following tasks in the sewers, but I disliked the wraith that really was chasing Lara too long before she could get rid of him. Later in this level, what I also liked was the using of a lever to open a trapdoor to a pool deep in a room to jump into it, jumping anywhere else leads to death) and the big puzzle room with the block that has to go around a long course and many tasks have to be done to get it there, but the highlights were a bit too few in regard of the incredible lenght of this level. However finding the six sneakily hidden secrets is very rewarding; just like in "For a Handful of Red Sand" you get to see a new area and do some tasks to get your prize at the end. The end cutscene after starting the train was impressing. What I can tell the builder is that less is certainly more. A level of one hour lenght with such great ideas like you proved to have would certainly be more attractive." - manarch2

"The puzzle is well designed and from the main area, you have access to various places where you will find several good puzzles (box, doors, switchs), a long timed-run and some rooms with traps. Like "Vanilla Sky", there is a serious lag in the main area, I looked for a chainsaw to cut some trees, but I have not found... Nevertheless the bad surprise of this level, it's a battle vs 4 dragoons, due the small size of this room and the pillars, the player is blind because the camera shows Lara only from the side. Mwaaargh !!... Otherwise I had a good time with this level and for my part it deserves a place in the top 3." - Jerrod

"An excellent level, full of clever puzzles and a great variety of environments. Another perspective winner, in my opinion. But I certainly hated that blasted dragon, and a few more camera hints, in certain places, would not be amiss. Nice work, highly recommended!" - Josey

"This entry centres around a large building with various offshoot areas around it (and inside it), everything looks great and there's a lot of variety too, including a train station and a strange floating islands climax area. The central building itself also has an interesting design. This is another level that I had some major framerate issues on in the main area, although the level is already segmented enough that I don't think much could be done about it. There was also a music track playing all the time in the main area, which got repetitive after a while despite fitting somewhat.
The gameplay is interesting and varied, with a nice flow (outside of one overly hidden dark passage) and a lot of interlinked design in the main area. There's also a bonus for finding all six secrets (although the main extra can be accessed by finding two), and they are mostly quite enjoyable to hunt. The challenge level is also nice, with some difficult sections without being outright frustrating, there is one extremely nasty timed run though. The climax section also felt slightly anti-climatic, as it's mostly some pretty easy platforming, the ending itself makes up for that though. This is another two hour+ map, and this BTB seems to have brought in multiple epic levels." - Mman

"My favorite. A level who notices a very good steampunk atmosphere and with very different challenges, clevery builded and never frustrating anytime." - requiemsoul

"Most of the time I was really happy about this level. The level is well built, in the timeruns has the inclined players enough time and there are enough camera hints. However, this C64-Sound at the timerun in the water rooms is a torture for the ears. The level builder could have built the area of the flying islands a little bigger, with more riddles and tasks. There is a situation in this level which was absolutely superfluous in this form. I have nothing against it if I must fight against a dragon. It also does not disturb me if I must fight though against several dragons, however, can shoot them individually. However, it bothers me that I must fight against 4 dragons at the same time and have only the pistols as well as the Crossbow with 10 shots explosive ammunition at disposal. With such a thing I can go up the wall, this is an absolute play fun killer. I don't feel like it to jump 10 long minutes to and fro and shoot the dragons, while they fire their fireballs on Lara. Unfortunately, one must kill the dragons because one does not come, otherwise, to the important Wheel. Apart from this was it an interesting level which has absolutely given pleasure." - Scottie

"Most excellent levelset and surely one of the contenders for the top of the list.The floating island part seemed totally out of place in a Steampunk level. Good work !" - Ruben

"Another very long level in this contest and this one is nevertheless enjoyable in every part of it. Soon after the start of the level you see, that this level is top notch in all categories. I couldn't find a fault in the high quality texturing and lighting. The gameplay doesn't have a wow-moment for me, but it`s very well balanced and entertaining. One very enjoyable part of the level is the secret hunt and if you get all six, you`ll get a nice reward. The main eye catcher for me is this mysterious central building, which holds all parts of the level together archtectural and gameplaywise, except for the floating island part, which doesn't fit for me into this level (although it's still well executed), even as this level should be half real, half imagary according to the story. I would have developed the story around the central building and the dinos. So also the end sequence would have made more sense to me. But this is the only minor complaint, which I have. This level is certainly among the top entries of the contest." - Raymond

"Oh, this level was fun! From the nice little puzzles to the timed runs (timed runs with added agility are always a favourite) to the four-headed dragon and the timed block puzzle (I kid you not!), everything was highly enjoyable. Well lit and well made, the areas were a visual joy. The whole level is very three dimensional with lots of leaping about on roofs and balconies. Not many baddies but they are well placed and, anyway, there's always the dragon and I kept waiting for the two raptor statues to come alive (you'll have to play it to see if they do). The part near the end with the floating islands didn't seem to fit into the rest of the level but it was enjoyable anyway. A very good level with two hour forty-five minutes of gameplay." - Diz

"Initially, I thought this was going to be quite a straightforward and linear level, but it became more complicated as it progressed and by the time I encountered the four-headed dragon I had long since disabused myself of any notions of a 'rest cure'. This is well devised gameplay with some extremely interesting tasks to achieve and a lovely timed run (did I really just say that?). Well, there are more than one timed run actually, but the one I really liked is quite long and involves running across a series of platforms - you'll know it when you see it. There's also an interesting 'floating islands' sequence towards the end. Having completed this particular level puts me half way through this year's crop and I must say the standard has been splendid." - Jay

"One of the most complex levels I have ever played. Brilliant, sometimes gorgeous (sometimes ugly), a work of genius--I just wish that the author had remembered to take the player along for all of this exhilarating ride. I guess the definition of Steampunk means to make the most involved level possible, abandoning all restraint. Plenty of tricky puzzles and timed runs. In particular, those going for all six secrets may find themselves driven to distraction (find six secrets and get a rare book). If Lara perseveres, fights three-headed dragons, finds the insane exit from this room, connects far-flung clues, then after many long demanding hours she will finally reach the halfway point. This is always invigorating. I really enjoyed the first hours, and was amazed that anyone could have created this in the short time allotted to make contest entries. There is one clever idea after another, and the opening areas have a wonderful and beautiful design. There is good use of both the static and animating steampunk objects. Enemies don't amount to much, which is just as well as there is too much else going on, and they only get in the way. But at a certain point one does begin to feel ever so slightly put upon. Such as when Lara has to find her way back up from the dragon room. Such as the zip line where Lara has to make a trapdoor jump with tree branches in her face. Or there is the protracted dragging of a push block over fire tiles. The odd thing with the push block is that Lara can't stand on it, unlike all other similar push blocks. Is the floating island sequence even remotely integral with the rest of the level? After waiting most of the game, Lara finally discovers the crowbar--eureka!--but in my game she never actually got to use it. Similarly, Lara was left holding a fuse at the end. So clearly things never really came together. The last one sees of Lara is her riding off in a locomotive cab with a large pack of raptors in pursuit. Don't expect to finish this in an evening. I'm looking forward to playing this again, but not until there is some help on the forum, or a walkthrough to point out features that were missed. If other contest entries are anything like this, then Back to Basics Steampunk is going to be memorable indeed!" - dmdibl