Level reviews

"This was quite elaborate and heavy on lore, more so than most custom levels, but the over reliance on long walls of text didn't get me particularly engaged with it. Perhaps I'm old, but most likely I'm just too lazy to get myself invested — no one to blame but myself and the only person missing out is myself. Beyond that it's a fun adventure with a couple of neat puzzles, one pushblock puzzle which manarch doesn't provide you with the actual solution so I took out a piece of paper to sort out that little sudoku, and another one involving ladders leading to the same room except it's not the same room. Throwing the torch through the crawlspace seemed to be a bit more luck based than anything else, the first time around the rats completely sucked Lara dry before she finished throwing the torch, upon a reload there were just a handful of rats that hardly made an impression on her (still cost me a small medipack, but there's plenty of those around so no worries there). 45 minutes, 5 secrets. 02/26" - Treeble

"The weakest point of this author is the music choice (not only in this game). I mean, those blues songs are beautiful but they really have nothing to do with the legend of St Galgano nor with the general atmosphere of the game. This is why I give 5 in a category where I could give much more. I'm sorry but there's a big difference between a soundtrack and a playlist of favourites songs. Anyway, music apart, the game is quite challenging and interesting. The outdoor area is very pleasantly designed. Too bad most of the gameplay take place in the catacombs." - Teone

"This level really has a lot going for it: creative puzzles, a unique twist on a mirror room, a variety of attractive locations to explore, great object usage, a unicorn ride and generally wonderful texture usage. But in fairness, it also contained quite a few irritating sections which somewhat let the experience down: excessive darkness in the underground areas, a buggy pushable block puzzle which only worked correctly after a reload, a nasty tightrope walk back and forth trying to avoid being torched by flame emitters and extremely agile rats that followed me practically everywhere. But curiously enough that tower puzzle worked first time. Nonetheless, it is a unique level very much in this builder's style, and is definitely worth giving a go." - Ryan

"I was enjoying this level; the four movable blocks puzzle was great, the dangerous cross in the room with the pole rope and fires finally was not so hard, but when I reached the room with the tower and four ladders, even when I pulled all four levers at the top after climb all four ladders, I suffered a bug and the block in the other corridor never lowered so unfortunately I had to abandon the level. But take a try 'cause perhaps you are lucky and can finish; here it notices the good progress of this builder in several aspects like architecture, texturization, use of objects, etc." - Jose

"Having played On the Paths of Forest by Greywolf I decided to give his other levels another try since I enjoyed the previous so much. This one did not disappoint either. It amazes me what some builders can do with the level editor, I was so pleased with the Cistercian architecture, the old ruins of a former abbey and its surroundings. Even the landscape was amazing! Regarding to the catacombs below the abbey I can only give high praises for ingenuity. A minus would be block puzzle, which did not function right from the start but that's just a minor complaint. Also had to mention the fun unicorn ride, that made up for the cons I had to encounter before, it was a nice touch added to the end of the level. Highly recommended!" - young Lara Croft

"Again the jury is out on this level, I did like it but I was also irritated. It started with the push puzzle I had to do it 4 times before it worked and the bug report about this puzzle was not helping at all. Also don't understand why in the walkthrough Manarch didn't write down the solution about this puzzle. Then I had a very buggy ropewalk. Then the nasty fixed camera's that made me feel a bit sick and then the darkness. OK plenty of flares but why the blue colour, not helping... OK this is out of my system then the level has a nice story and the look of the outside world is great. Great unique mirror room and great ideas all around. Do give it a go, as I said, nice story." - Gerty

"A level that I wished I could rate higher for its uniqueness and general concept. This hour long adventure has a lot going for it. It tells a story and ties it to history very nicely. It has very impressive use of objects to create and shape a believable outside landscape and architecture. It has a variety of interesting tasks to accomplish, like the clever push block puzzle and I think this was the first time I got to ride on a unicorn. At the same time, a few things rather let it down for me: The rather substantial darkness in the undergound areas that you spend most of your time in. Cannot remember a level in a while where I used that many flares. The Blues soundtrack was an interesting choice, but I did not think it suited the atmosphere real well. I simply hate tightrope walks and was struggling with that one for a while. The torch action is cleverly designed but does get a bit tedious to execute. The Tower puzzle is a bit of a repeat from a previous Greywolf level and is no less confusing this time, albeit only for a secret. And the choice of enemies that you have to avoid vs being able to kill was not really my favourite element either. The mirror room with a twist was a great and unique design idea though, so all in all I would classify this as a special level with a difference that you should certainly try out for yourself." - MichaelP

"A nice Easter level, combining raiding with an interesting history lesson. I had a very definite love/hate relationship with this one however. Loved the block puzzle, hated the tightrope walking. Loved the quirkiness, hated the dark parts and the fact that Lara couldn't help losing life at times (carnivorous mice, anyone). Liked some of the music but had to question its suitability in context. I had to love the ending when Lara discovers the book though - that really was entirely unexpected. Overall, enjoyable but not always player-friendly." - Jay

"I found this a fun level to play, and it occupied my full attention for 75 minutes of net gaming time. There are a number of nice touches here, not including the tightrope drama that must be executed twice, once forward and then back, all in one go without saving, while pausing at strategic points to let flame blowers subside. Manarch2 has contributed his typically competent walkthrough, which helped me greatly. I had a couple of unique experiences near the end. Never before had I been able to ride a unicorn in reverse. And I found that unicorns have a strange hydrophobia that makes them explode upon contact with water. Not to mention the strange noises that issue from their rear end when you coax them forward. Solving the numbered block puzzle was too much for my poor overworked brain, so I jotted down Jay's solution in the stuck thread and still found it a struggle to get the blocks maneuvered into their proper position. The torch puzzle also presented a somewhat unique challenge. This time you have to throw the lighted torch through a crawl space so that it skips over a pool beyond and lands safely on a dry surface. Not the easiest of tasks. Ditto for working near a pair of hydras with no available weapons. Anyway, my overall impression of this level was most favorable, so I can recommend it highly." - Phil

"Although perhaps not quite perfect overall,I gave top marks in the fourth category due entirely to the quite superb recreation of an actual Tuscan church at the beginning of this adventure.It's such a brilliant piece of work,and such an interesting set-up,that it quite fooled me into believing that I was about to play a level considerably different from the one I ultimately experienced.Once you slide into the dark underground beneath the church,the level takes on a quite different tone - and not for the better.A sudoku- inspired challenge which triggered a raising block,despite the fact that I never actually completed the puzzle;a trial- and-error Torch sequence;a stupidly hard to spot crawlspace containing a vital pick-up;and a ridiculously difficult tightrope walk,which needed razor-sharp reactions and (if this were not irritating enough)was made even harder by jets of flame.Rats which you couldn't get rid of,and omniscient darkness also added to the general annoyance.I remember when Custom levels used to be fun,don't you?(I was also somewhat irritated with the use of wholly inappropriate music for the interior of the church,which did a lot to destroy the atmosphere.)Despite one charming puzzle involving a mirror room,a funny sequence with a Unicorn,and a decent punch-line - this was one of those levels which I was delighted to see the back of.One hour of net gameplay;but,in reality,a whole day was needed to get through this - with many tea breaks to allow my blood pressure to lower." - Orbit Dream

"A kind of a mixed experience for me. My opinion differs from DJ Full's review - I found the inside activities to be much better than the outside areas, since the gameplay in the exterior is minimal - finding a sneakily hidden jumpswitch in one area and exploring the two main buildings, then entering and exiting the second chapel in the second outside area. Though, I confess the bright outside areas qualify much more for the season and it was a joy to explore them. I wished the builder took more time for the end of the maps here - no end of the world, but still very unrealistic textures were used and those looked kind of silly. I found more than one invisible wall and the fixed cameras also weren't nice all the time. Please look at other valley levels (e.g. Easter Monday) and how they solved the problem in a much better way. The gameplay inside was what I'd easily describe as "classical Greywolf style" with the usual cryptic puzzles and ways of progression - a magic square puzzle, a revival of the four-lever puzzle from The Keeper of the Seven Keys (but you only have to use all levers if you want a secret this time, so it's more player-friendly), a torch sequence with two different solutions, a (rather buggy) tightrope, a button chase in a hydra room, more cryptic secrets and as an highlight a very special mirror room. Ends nicely with Lara riding an unicorn and the final chapel sequence, the end was not really what I expected (what about letting some friends of Lara sitting at the table?) but funny in a way. Texturing was competently done but lighting was a bit of too dark for me, not that one can't see anything but in a way that makes the rooms feel unrealistic. Like I said, you have to be an observant if you go for all secrets which were a nice addition. All in all a fun 45 minute level and recommended not only for the Easter time." - manarch2

"A little advice for builders - flames and tightropes are never a good combination, I'll say no more. On to the level, and this level felt like no other I've ever played before, in some ways. The lighting outside is incredibly rich, and dark. The action takes place in some sort of religious building, which the author has created themselves, as an object, rather than mere blocks. This makes it very realistic, although some bitts have no collision, but this is a minor issue. There is very little gameplay in the outside area, other than searching for a key and an entrance to the underworld. I'm confused, is the underground area part of a dream? It sounds like it judging by one of the many text messages which appear on screen. There's plenty to do down here, but one or two parts will leave you wanting to quit. Thank goodness for the load option! The main gameplay elements are a soduko puzzle, tightrope with flames, finding a sword, and placing later on, moving a torch through various rooms, including g one with rats, which are an annoyance, finding a way to rotate a room, a mirror room with spikes to avoid, and a ride on a horse, but this needs an apple to get it going, and could do without bike sounds. According to stats, it took 1 hour 30, but actually took all day. Ending was too sudden, could have done with a bit of music playing or credits perhaps." - sonnyd83

"A very nicely ruined chapel of shape entirely made of author's objects, with unusual companion of powdered brick dust road, fills the scenery above the ground. The place exists in real world and is very accurately reproduced with fresques, pictures and chapel stuff captured from its material version. It's a shame after watching these beautiful sights Lara descends into the caves for most of the game, where there's no such new things until she newly takes breath just for the very ending. Of course the nice torch trick and the sudoku pushable both deserve mentioning, but the difference in entertainment between that underground part and the initial/ending landscape sections is so significant that it doesn't allow me to give much for gameplay, though I fully appreciate the efforts put in customization and I think the result is awesome. SUMMARY: Mostly optional and usual, but the beginning and little ending are of a must-play kind. Thus I advise to launch the game and see them. I like when someone creates his/her own architecture, so for me this Easter season has a grand opening despite of its middle-part uncomfiness." - DJ Full