Level reviews

"Nothing spectacular here, the level is quite short and straightforward with very few enemies after all, but still, I really enjoyed playing it. The setting doesn't really look anything like the actual Waverly Hills Sanatorium but the atmosphere is spooky enough to have an exciting raid, with all these closed doors to open, and this upward progression... It's a simple architecture but it works well. The ambient sound is nice (maybe the loop could have been longer) and the additional sounds add up to the little surprises that Lara finds on her way... (I liked the apparition of the wheelchair !) As I see, it was the author's first level, and it was indeed promising, I will definitely look up the most recent ones ! There still needs an actual Waverly Hills Sanatorium level to be done though !" - OrFractal

"As basic as it gets, it provides some suspense if you're in the mood for it. Recommended." - DJ Full

"As a mood piece and in terms of a spooky atmosphere, this actually works quite well. The darkness is definitely overdone in some places (it's particularly plastered on in the maze near the end), but the spooky sounds are executed slightly better and help to raise the spookiness quotient slightly. The gameplay is simplistic and nothing much to write home about, with a lot of doors to open, a bit of easy box pushing and trap avoidance, plus a couple of items to find, and the out of sync animations and wrongly named items were a bit annoying, but this is a solid little level otherwise and not too bad for a first effort." - Ryan

"Very impressive level despite its shortcomings. The external area gets a pass from me, despite the constant horizon breaking through in the distance, because it actually somehow adds to the experience that this is a desolate and forsaken place. Inside there are a number of small rooms with usually one per floor with something of interest to gain access to the next floor. Eventually you open up the door to the underground maze which felt a bit unnecessary IMO, and then the Obscura Painting just before you make your leave. The cupboard animation was wrong and a number of sound effects were missing, but I still found this place very eerie so props for the builder all the same. 25 minutes. 09/14" - Treeble

"This is a pretty good debut level. The entire level was creepy and I became very paranoid in some spots of the level. The textures made this sanatorium very realistic. The objects added some creepiness to this level. The gameplay was good, but there were a couple of boring parts, like the maze at the end. Besides that, a good level and hopefully the author can make some more horror levels. :)" - MegaGamer

"A level that does not pretend to impress for the looks or for the gameplay , the emphasis is more on the creepy weird storyline. Doors to open is what Lara will do the most often here, actions are not numerous , basically there is a monkey swing room with easy fire emitters, a room with safe/deadly tiles, a room full of boxes to move , a dark maze where useless medipacks can be found. The monkey swing textures and the ones in the room with safe/deadly tiles are unrealistic, but you know what must be done. Some realistic and/or creepy touches with the object are well done. 24 minutes." - eRIC

"A spooky level with way overmeasured darkness and several beginner errors, like the end of the world, missing sounds, thin walls, item names in the inventory including the goal of the mission, the painting in the end, the trash bin appeared out of nowhere, wrong locker opening anim, couple of wrong triggers towards the end, the pickups that meant to be in the lockers are just lying on the floor before them. By the way, this revealed a funny engine bug that was new to me, that you can multiply such pickups, when you open a locker you'll get every "fallen out of the locker" pickups in the room each time. Too few enemies. There are nice touches like the self propelled wheelchair, inscribes, nicely applied sounds like Lara's comments, architecture is okay too. Unfortunately a level is way too dark, I would have spent literally the entire time with flare in hand, even in rooms where the lamps were on, so I rather turned up the gamma which washed the colors a bit. Spooky atmosphere can be achieved by other means than frustrating everpresent darkness. The storyline wasn't fully worked out, the base story then the notepad promised much more mysteries to reveal than what we can find out. All in all a promising debut since there were creative touches, especially in the sounds department, but the static objects were also selected and placed fine. More spiced gameplay, less darkness and a thorough beta test, these were missing for a hit level." - Akcy

"Funny enough I liked this level, it was spooky and I expected something horrible around every corner. Glad there were many flares as with spookiness comes darkness. In hindsight it is quite linear but that is fine with me. The atmosphere was very well captured so I hope we will see more of this builder." - Gerty

"Well, I guess some people like this sort of spooky level a lot more than others. To be effective, a spooky level has to have a higher degree of realism--or at least attention to detail--than other levels. But here the rooms are at best surreal, or maybe just sloppy, with paper-thin walls separating stairways. There are a few good audios to enhance atmosphere. Other than that play is mostly mundane, ending in a maze letdown. The builder has really bet everything on atmosphere, and whether you appreciate that is a matter of personal taste. A quick play, and not bad for a debut." - dmdibl

"Well this level was indeed spooky! The music, the sombre atmosphere, the foggy outdoor area, the heartless maniac in one of the rooms, the camera effects, the frightening patient rooms and the maze containing a demon truly made the sanatorium a dark sinister place. As far as gameplay is concerned, distinguishing real platforms from illusory platforms was mainly possible through trial and error. At the same time though, in the passage leading to the third floor security pass, the flames to avoid were a bit too obvious to really pose a challenge to the player. The passage with the splotches to jump over to get a key card was appropriate because it was obvious where to jump, but it wasn't quite obvious how to go about it. Other than that, there were a few classics such as a pushable block maze to get a revolver and a short maze to reach the end. I liked the appearance of the lion statues with shootable gems from Tomb Raider Chronicles, and the "breast plate" looked like some kind of Middle Age engraving. The good news is that Lara had enough ammo and medipacks to go through the level. Unfortunately, the end was really strange because it's as if Lara ended up in an invisible walkway with her health bar unchanged..." - Sakusha

"Not bad to be a first level. There are some defects like paper walls or the animations when Lara opens a cabinet, but the most really important (the gameplay) is not so good. The ambience is according with the story, and there are some likeable details like the wheelchair, but I only found the crates puzzle, some dangerous places and few more. Look for cards to open doors is not very funny for me, but from my side I only can encourage to this new builder to experiment with the editor and try to get better." - Jose

"Not a bad level, not a horror masterpiece either, but I must say I was really puzzled by the sudden ending where Lara finds herself inside a dark invisible cage of some sort with the subtitle "somewhere in Louisville, Kentucky" or so... Where to go from there? To the readme? Nothing there about it. To the walkthrough. Yay, that's it, the level ends where it doesn't seem to end, perhaps it was meant to be continued but the author suddenly got tired of the idea and left it at that? If it's some bug, what a weird bug. Other than that, it's on the easy side, hence for each and everyone, opening doors and finding things, namely cards, one of those easy- to-defeat-in- your-sleep devils, an already seen chair, a small maze, fires and jumps, it looks as if this level was supposed to feed on its atmosphere, still the atmosphere must be improved, the background "creepy" sound and the darkness aren't enough to make a creepy level totally worth it. The lions' gems can thankfully be shot with just the pistols because I never found the revolver and I didn't really understand what exactly I used that switch on the top floor for. The design is mostly ok, safe for a stairway with several breaks in between that I suppose could have been improved. All in all, it may sound like I hated the level and want to bash it, but in fact I had a nice time and am just pointing directions. Good try." - Jorge22

"This is a fairly spooky level set in an old abandoned sanitorium. The level uses old style TR textures and low ceilings. This is pretty much a fetch quest with a box puzzle nestled in the middle. There is no reason at all to have so many pickups for just two enemies. Perhaps the level would be scarier if there were very limited pickups? For those raiders who hate dark levels, you won't like this one. Almost every room requires constant flare usage. I think this adds to the drama, but very low lighting is affective as well as pitch blackness. The level does end with it starting up again in a place that Lara is totally stuck, but this is an error. Not a bad little scary level." - Shandroid

"The entire level is good. But the outside area of the sanatorium right at the beginning of the level is very strange. Just because of the end of the ground that dissapears with a invisible wall that shows the horizon. The author should made a wall around the area to delete this effect. Also, a closed gate that represents the entrance of the sanatorium front gardens would be very good. Like me, other players probably missed the world far view. The atmosphere is very good, very scary. The author should put the first enemy in this level a bit far from Lara, then, the player would be incapable to see the enemy being activated. One of the cards is named as "Load", probably "911" forgot to put the name on the script. Its a shame, a beta tester would, certainly, mention this error. Issues always happens, they bother me and other players too, but the level is good, and I think its too short too, unfortunately. I hope the author learned with his mistakes and make better levels from now, and with more duration, of course!" - chromatic

"G&puzzle: not really perfect but interesting I played this level without any idea of what gonna happen, find card, to continue, open doors, find ammo etc etc. E,O&Secret: One enemie and a rolling chair, which suprised me. But the devil was not so horrible.Objects were really good used. Just the "pushing block room" was borring. Amosphere, sound&Cameras: Amazing! I really loved this atmosphere, this idea, I'm loonking on youtube story about this sanatorium, it's really cool! You've done a nice work, the story line is cool, a true story into a level, nice idea!I've seen a problem with a camera, maybe because of a "camera target". Lighting and texture: a bit too dark, but it's ok, it's a "haunted level" so it's logical. Texture were not so good, and it's verry dispointing, a lot of stretched and misplaced textures. Keep working!" - Lara_Fox_Croft

"A minimalist tipicaly begginer work .... all gameplay to resume is to run from a room at another . moustly empty ones . and search for the next keycard needed to open new floors off the sanatorium .... u get ammo and even a revolver . but for what ?? a zombie and a demigod .... ?? and this one ends abrupt with any logic on it .... poor game .... my opinion -dont waste ur time with ......" - Jack&

"Here's a debut level that's perfectly suited for beginning raiders. When I can go through an entire level without breaking a sweat, you know it's an easy one. That doesn't mean it's a bad level, however. Even though I was playing for the purpose of writing a walkthrough, and therefore taking my time to examine every nook and cranny, I still had an enjoyable time here. Although the surroundings are dark, as befits an asylum for the seriously ill and worse, you get many more flares than you need right off the bat, so visibility is never a problem. The revolver is under one of those crates in the pushblock room, so there's a purpose for the laser sight, even if the gems in the lion head statutes at the end can reportedly be shattered with the pistols. I found no secrets, and one part of the level remained a puzzle when I finished. When you enter that lower room with the anomalous dead tree, Lara approaches some closed doors and thinks out loud that she can't open them yet (implying that they can be opened later). However, they never did open for me, so it's possible I missed out on some of the gameplay. Anyway, this level is a promising debut, and I hope the builder keeps working on his craft." - Phil

"With the creative use of ominous sounds,voices and camera angles this adventure succeeds in being considerably more immersive than its gameplay deserves.For the most part,exploring the dark corridors and bedrooms of the Sanatorium was a genuinely creepy experience;until the final section of the adventure subsided into a tedious and lazy pitch-black maze,at which point it become clear that the level itself was style over substance.Two re-textured and generally harmless enemies,and a couple of straightforward key hunts are all that constitute gameplay.Lighting is effectively dark,but the constant usage of flares in the maze became an annoyance;while textures were creatively used. The opening outside area would have worked more effectively had a fence been incorporated to encompass the perimeter of the playing area,rather than simply having Lara encounter the end-of-the-world;but the level was otherwise capably built and exhibited a decent storyline.Not a bad debut overall,but hopefully the gameplay will be improved for the builders next offering." - Orbit Dream

"While this builder is showing glances of talent in this level, I rather didn't have so much fun here. There are two main reasons for it: The lacking gameplay and the too dark ambience. The latter is actually creating a very spooky and thrilling atmosphere that is perfectly supported by audio usage - the "fake" sound of humans was pretty well thought-out in particular -, speach of Lara in-game and three really shocking enemy attacks (of which only two proof to actually kill Lara), but it often rather confuses players and makes them overlook important doors or key items. The outside area seems to be quite impressing at first sight but the untextured walls and the texture mistakes at the outside walls of the building were real atmosphere killers. In general the texturing left a lot to be desired and the only thing that camouflaged these was the ever-present darkness. The gameplay concept is generally interesting - working your way up the different stages of the sanitarium to open the way into the cellar - but it is not well executed in my opinion, as on your way you are opening a whole lot of doors, most of them only containing pickups you possibly don't need, and only few of them hide the path to progress. There actually were a few puzzles behind those doors but I mostly thought they could be improved like the deathly platforms area where I still don't see a sense (maybe a verbal hint saying "the darkness is your friend" would be better here). But the (of course dark) maze in the cellar was really annoying me to say it playing things down. At the start it felt quite linear but then it soon opens up and I was rather lucky to reach the exit after few minutes. The end was rather abrupt and odd as I rather expected to get back up outside but the finish trigger was placed in a dead-end passage and so I wonder if Lara ever made it out of the cellar... Finished in 20 minutes and found no secrets." - manarch2

"This 30 minute debut level shows a definite potential. It's not without its faults and gameplay is simplistic, consisting as it mainly does of running round a gloomy sanitorium, opening doors, picking up provisions and finding key cards, plus fighting a couple of somewhat bizarre enemies, but the spooky atmosphere is undeniably effective and the creepy soundtrack well chosen. There are also a couple of fire trap rooms and a lot of labyrinthine corridors at the end, but everything is easily accomplished. I found loads of medipacks, which I didn't need, and lots of ammo, but not the relevant weaponry, apart from the lasersight. There were four lion heads to shoot, but pistols were quite sufficient for the purpose. If you like spooky style levels you might just enjoy this. It's definitely a decent first attempt and I hope to see more from this new builder." - Jay

"Here we have a debut level that tries to convey a bit of a Silent Hill atmosphere and actually does succeed in doing so, at least in parts of the level. It suffers from a few minor technical glitches (none of which hamper gameplay though) and the fairly excessive darkness (although an ample amount of flares is provided). And while it has a mazelike feel to it, it is actually a fairly linear romp of just under 30 minutes. You encounter only two enemies, but they are well placed and you kind of expect one behind every corner anyway. Gameplay as such is a bit simplistic and relies on opening many doors with the occasional simple task thrown in to master a few of the rooms.I liked the touch of adding some verbal hints spoken by Lara. A solid level and looking forward to seeing more from this new builder." - MichaelP

"Veyr enjoyable and short adventure. The tasks were the same - find a card to proceed, but the ways to get them were quite different. I really liked the part with the floating platforms and the one with the deadly floor. The enemies can really suprise you. The maze was confusing, I'm not a big fan of mazes so this part was boring for me. Objects were placed perfectly, especially the beds. I didn't find any secrets. The atmosphere was scary, the sound was good I guess, but actually a silent audio with some whispers would've been better. There are some fixed cameras from cool angles but there isn't when you pull the switch. Textures could've been better, some textures to show you where you can monkey swing should've been placed too. The outside area was not very good. Some fog could make it look so much better. This level is very entertaining and if you're a fan of horror level you should check this out. I hope we will see more from this builder. Recommended!" - misho98