Level reviews

"One of the best levels I've ever played. I didn't know it was this good. New objects, a setting that's half castle, half dungeon—I can't explain it—clever puzzles, and incredible exploration. It's more focused on combat, platforming, and collecting important items. The idea of the chests reminds me a lot of God of War (apparently it was the biggest inspiration) and it's also a very lava-heavy level. It reminds me of some castle sections in RE4. The boss is something I've never seen in my life, and having to press all the buttons four times in a row was unbearable, but I thought the idea was clever but poorly executed because it was repetitive. However, my experience was good, and there's a lot of backtracking if you don't mind. I thought this project would be longer looking at the photos, but you can finish it in less than two hours if you're smart about the objectives. Secrets are well hidden and plentiful, and it's generous of you to make us think. Recommended only for experienced players...."" - PedroCroft_

"This was the first game I came across when learning that TRLEs existed. It was such a unique style to see TR in and I had not yet played Darksiders at that point, once I had played Darksiders and also many more TRLEs I had even more appreciation for this levelset. I love the environments and diverse layouts throughout. The gameplay is well thought out, although the ambiance can sometimes seem a bit plain and silent. However, some of the use of additional sound effects are immersive. I love the idea to be able to backtrack once the game is complete to be able to search for secrets and such that have been missed. I will always love this levelset. Highly recommend. Took about 4 and a half hours to play." - izzynoodles

"This is one the most polished and professional custom TR games that I have ever played. The game is full of unique puzzles, jumping tasks involving various kinds of traps, and several cool custom enemies (the final boss battle is one of the best battles that I have seen in custom levels). The only part of the game that felt slightly tedious was the battle involving four switches that you have to activate four times to kill the enemy, which took quite a lot of back tracking. Apart from this, there are no dull moments in this game, since author has created a perfect mixture of all kinds of tasks that were highly entertaining. In terms of environment design, there is not much to say other than everything looks amazing. Texturing and architecture are great, and the use of custom objects helps to spice up the game visually. Despite the fact that the game looks beautiful, I still think that the environment could be even more interesting to explore if the areas looked more different from each other and if a larger variety of colors had been used (greyish wall textures combined with red lava is quite prominent color palette throughout the game). This is, however, minor critique and barely detracts anything from the experience. All in all, this is among the best custom TR levels that I have played allowing me to recommend it very highly to everybody who have not played it yet." - Samu

"When this track came out, I was really looking forward to launching it. I was not disappointed. Beautifully crafted graphics, new object structure, excellent gameplay. In the game, you have to battle your way around a large map. The map consists of 2 parts. The fortress and the basement system underneath. During the game we don't have any ever-firing weapons, so we have to be careful with ammunition. Our life force is also increased by the life crystals we find and hide. Of course, we can use the life-enhancing energy hidden in the magic chests to absorb ourselves. However, they are only charged up to the proportion of the crystals acquired. You need to find 12 of them. There are also special secrets. It's not a bad idea to find these either, because you get extra weapons. There are 13 hidden on the map. Find 5 and you get ammo. Find 10 and you get Uzi + ammo. Finding all 13 + Uzi ammo. Sometimes they are not very hidden, sometimes they are. In fact, in the heat of the game, it's easy to forget 1 to 1. During the game you get a crossbow and a shotgun, plus UZI as a bonus. The shotgun is mainly used to overcome obstacles. During the game you have to fight several main enemies, but not all of them with a weapon. Our skill is our main trump card. At the end of the game, after killing the main enemy, we can leave the temple, but with the help of the "magic stick" all doors will open, so we can go back to find the "secrets", life crystals, which we forgot there. All in all, a very good adventure. You can't get stuck. You can, however, enjoy the masterfully crafted path. For my part, I found only 5 secers and 7 life crystals on my first try :( Have fun everyone. Hungaian videowalkthrough, and savegames, pictures: https://treditor.hu/trle/treditor/14/redemption.htm" - Obig

"The best and the most innovative TRLE adventure ever built in TRLE history. A person who hasn't played this adventure to the very end is simply not considered as a part of this community... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Now about the review itself and why this score. So, in general, enemies were absolutely perfect, object placement, secrets, everything. The atmosphere was jaw-dropping due to its sophisticated details which ultimately succeeded in delivering the real essence of a TRLE experience to the kind players. Lighting and textures were very precise and on-point, no flaws detected. However, -1 score for the gameplay, because you just had to go back and forth between the fortress, which sometimes, it got boring. But no worries, the details of this different TRLE will never allow you to put down the controller. THANK YOU SO MUCH." - Mehrbod

"This is one of those (many) cases in which I regret not being more present in the TRLE scene. I am a massive Darksiders fan and as soon as I started playing this and spotted the first Chaoseater, I was then hit by a few more nods that immediately drove the point home: this is a reconstruction of Twilight Cathedral. And boy, what a magnificent piece of work it is. Add to that the maneuverability of Legend movements and that stroke of genius only someone in the ranks of Magplus could provide and you have a timeless masterpiece here. There are a great many changes to the engine itself, so you have limited ammo and a creative health system that rewards exploration, health bars for enemies and two separate journals in progress. There are also two boss fights (spoiler alert: neither is Tiamat), both of which are very nicely done and are more than mere bullet sponges. As many mechanics from Darksiders simply cannot be rebuilt in Tomb Raider, the author found nice ways to compromise, but all in all the essence remained intact in my opinion - I half expected the Shadowflight wings to show up when I was about to jump into the blue levitation sphere for the first time! Thank you, MagPlus. 3h10min, 7 secrets. 09/19" - Treeble

"This must be the single best custom Tomb Raider level ever made ! Just brilliant ! It feels like playing a whole new game, not something made by the TR level editor. Astonishing. So many new and innovative ideas in one game. The architecture and design must be, again, one of the best I have seen. So many new objects, traps, enemies ... it's just unbelievable. The object use and placement is just incredibly. The author did a really good job in combining them and making the whole areas look like from a PS2 game. The atmosphere following the player though the game is great. I think it reminds me of Devil May Cry or something similar to this. I enjoyed it playing very much. The only negative points I can pick are some gameplay elements. Sometimes it was hard to follow or figure out exactly where to go or what I'm supposed to do. Sometimes things were just too good hidden to be discovered without a walkthrough. The limited ammo didn't bothered me, but I had some problems with keeping Lara alive. Also, sometimes too hard gameplay tasks. Other than that, I can't say anything bad. Highly recommended, actually, a must play for all TR custom level players !" - Gorty

"This is a masterpiece, although admittedly not for the fainthearted. It is primarily involved around platforming, with few thinking puzzles as such, but enjoyable for all that. I initially thought that the limited ammo and health options would handicap my progression, but I made it. I just had to be more conservative. I loved the added details such as the sunlight streaming in through the windows and the rich, strong texturing. Not to be missed." - Ryan

"The best thing that could happen to you when you'd have to wait for a new adventure of Lara Croft is to encounter a custom-made game so original in style, so illuminating in visuals and so breathtakingly awesome in atmosphere that you are left to ponder why this game isn't regarded as an official game (for me personally, this game serves as a runner-up for Tomb Raider: Underworld). The creatures you encounter are death-defyingly crazy-original! The visuals are amongst the very best EVER created in a Tomb Raider-game! The world is so beautiful you wish you could back, once you've finished it! This is a top 5-custom made Tomb Raider-game, as sure as English football is the best to watch and Audrey Hepburn is the prettiest girl ever to grace the silver screen! Now go ... and delve into a world of darkness. WHUAHAHAHA!!" - Belgianfilmfreak

"One of the Best TRLE's on trle.net! All set within a huge Medieval Fortress You will have to discover the different enemies by picking up different pages of the Codex Demonicus,Find the Swords of Raziel and place them to open Doors. Fight the Different Bosses to advance in the game and Obtain Watchers keys to open Gates. Oh yeah and find all the Skull Bashers. The puzzles are great, the game play is fluent and the atmosphere of the game is stunning. Finding the 3 Swords of Azazel proves to be a challenge as the game builds to the final Arena where the Boss resides. Unravel the mystery that is Tomb Raider Redemption and release the curse of the Astaroth from the fortress to end the game!!! KG" - Killer Gameplayz

"Can you imagine Tomb Raider adventure which contains little RPG elements? Well, I myself couldn`t really imagine it, but now playing this game I realized that mostly it doesn`t really matter what you implement but how you implement it. And MagPlus has done it absolutely masterfully and all implementations worked ingeniously well! So what are those RPG touches in here? Well, one of those is health system, Lara`s overall health bar is not full at the beginning but increases after each 4 health crystal pieces you collect throughout the game and there are several healing tresure chests which top up Lara`s health placed in strategic gameplay design, speaking about strategy that`s another RPG element used here and really in very true sense which also worked in this game perfectly like appearence of enemies, and in addition there are several codex pages to be found which contain useful information as well as history about enemies. There are even more RPG touches here but it wouldn`t be Tomb Raider which we love if we couldn`t explore or solve puzzles and tasks. Atmosphere in this game is breathtaking and gameplay design is very well thought out so that I fully enjoyed every step Lara made and admired perfectly builded fortress which has its mystic touch as well as very realistic effects like lavafalls and lavas themselves and closer you are to them better you can hear the melting sound effects... This is one of the very best masterpieces of our trle world and definitely shouldn`t be missed out by anyone, really!... My statistics: playtime 3:42, secrets 13/13, Vitality Crystals 12/12, Codex Pages 7/7, medipacks used 1 (actually I didn`t use any but due to gameplay design we must open the first healing treasure chest which triggers the door to open and opening healing chests add +1 medipacks used to the statistics). 10/10/10/10" - OverRaider

"Well firstly Top points for being Unique I mean there's a lot of stuff in this TRLE that is not in any other which is why you stand out. I mean it is obvious that this is going to be in levels that will never be forgotten" - JoeTheCrazyGamer

"Tomb Raider: Redemption didn't get the first place on the top custom levels chart for nothing. While playing it, I almost felt like I was playing a completely different game than Tomb Raider 4. The idea of finding crystals in order to increase health bar and finding Skull Bashers to get more power really takes the elements of recent video games where we can improve our stats, which is cool. The new moves are cool and helpful as the environmental exploring really requires them. We've got to find boxes in order to get more ammo or heals our health, and I found this creative. The atmosphere is very Warcraft-ish and Darksider-ish and it really offers the perfect feels of a fantasy themed game. The enemies take up the name of the devils mentioned in the Christian Bible, and they are well-presented. The Darksider's musics just fit the atmosphere. The camera angles are standard and the flybys are helpful. Lighting feels just right, especially those around the lava. There's actually one annoying sound where Lara screams when she falls to the lava, I literally jumped out of my chair when this happened to me for the first time. Overall, if you want to play a really cool TRLE that feels like a completely fresh new game, then Tomb Raider: Redemption is highly recommended for you." - Nephilim

"Gameplay&Puzzles: I found the gameplay to be a bit hard sometimes particulary during the fights, with the ammo limits, as an old tomb raider player I enjoy to jump everywhere shooting like a blind man, but this time I had to be carefull, but the game is well made then no problem about ammo, even in "normal" mode I was able to deal with all the enemies, I really like to kill anything, from first enemy to the last one. I was surpised to kill the two bosses in a easier way than the two "bat" up to a lava room, because I could not jump everywhere to avoid them. Whatever this is quite easy when you play carefully. I enjoyed the puzzles, like turn a statue in a correct way, I hope Magplus will teach me how to do it with NGLE and some script, I guess it was a lot of work. The jump sequences,fights and exploration were smartly done and well balanced. Enemies, Objects & Secrets : The enemies where nicely done, the more impressive for me was the last boss, Astaroth a kind of mix of demigods. I was really bluffed to see how he choose his attacks according to lara's distance from him, here again a lot of script I suppose.I guess some UV mapping could have improve a bit the texture of all the enemies, but they are pretty even without it. Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras : The musics fit perfectly with ambiance of the game, this is what I could expect from a monastery fell to the devil power. Cameras always help you, this is never to show you "look I'm so strong in architecture building", the flyby and cameras were placed to help you to go ahead. Lighting & Textures: I found only one small error in texturing but I choose not to down the rate, make a level like this one took more than one year of Magplus time, as a builder I'm, I can't just put a 9/10 because this is insulting for such a great level like this. Lighting was perfect, with (I think) one sun in every room, and some spots to improve lara's skin render ingame. To conclude this level is a must to play, every player could finish it, in training or normal mode, I know I did. The level was beautiful, and well done, I hope Pascal will make us another great level like this, even if it could take him time and health. Good job !" - Lara_Fox_Croft

"After all those straight-10s and glowing reviews, my review will probably come off as extreme nit-picking if not downright mean. Don't get me wrong - I do think that this is an incredibly accomplished level, and a technical marvel. But I just didn't really enjoy it as much as most people seem to have.
One of my main problems is with the non-linear nature of the levels: you go back and forth between Raziel's Fortress and Underneath the Fortress several times. And since it's possible to miss several pickups easily, I was continually confused about what I had missed and unable to tell where I had missed it, or how to get back to it. Another major problem is the sheer repetitiveness of certain elements. For example, the boss fight against Kamael: I like that it isn't a shootout fight ... but I hate that it involves pressing a minimum of 16 switches (4 switches 4 times) in order to make Kamael vulnerable to gunfire - and many more if you don't manage to make it to the central globe in time every time.
The builder has overhauled the secret and health system, and disabled infinite ammo - a classic case of ignoring the adage 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. The health and ammo system in the Classic TRs/TRLE works pretty well, so a builder better have something really great up their sleeve if they want to replace it - which is unfortunately not the case here. Limited ammo is annoying enough in itself, but coupled with a thoroughly unintuitive health system, it makes all fights a nightmare. The health system involves picking up crystal parts, and when you pick up 4 of these (out of 12 in total in the game), Lara's health increases fractionally (she starts off with a half full health-bar). You can't pick up medipacks, just restore your health at health chests scattered across the level - and only restore it up to the maximum health-bar length you've achieved so far. The crystal pieces are particularly distracting, as they form a HUD overlay over the screen. I really don't see the point of this, as the crystal pieces have no effect on Lara's moment-by-moment health, so there is no reason for them to be visible at all times. Finding the crystals is a challenge in itself, and would have been something akin to a secret quest - if there hadn't been an even more complicated secret quest already in place. The secrets are artefacts called 'skullbashers', which apparently have some use if you find some number of them (according to the walkthrough), but I have no clue what this was, as I hardly found any. Part of the reason for this is the builder's fondness for hiding secrets in pitch dark crawlspaces - and then not providing enough flares to enable you to explore them. In the 200+ levels I've played, I've hardly, if ever, run out of flares, but I kept running out at nearly every turn in this level.
But enough of the negativity. There are some aspects of the gameplay I enjoyed: the 'levitation souls' that enable Lara to fly up to a higher ledge; the puzzle in which you have to raise/lower nine platforms in different combinations to access different areas; the platforming sequence in which huge hands push Lara off the ledge; a swamp where demonic hands pull Lara down into the mud; even the final boss fight with Astaroth, which is pleasantly adrenaline filled. I do appreciate the fact that all the enemies have health bars.
The plethora of eye candy doesn't hurt either - even in the height of frustration with the gameplay, I could soothe myself by admiring the gorgeous rooms or custom objects. Or just let Lara wait around, in which case she would sit down and relax - a most adorable animation! The only negative point about the looks of this level is the occasional bland greyish lighting. But, still, there's plenty of colour and magnificent textures in the level as a whole to balance it out. I particularly loved the spectacular cathedral-like room in Raziel's Fortress, and the room with the rising floor in Underneath the Fortress.
Overall: An ambitious and an awe-inspiring game. But I personally admired the effort behind it more than I enjoyed actually playing it - and my scores reflect the former than the latter." - Mytly

"For his return, Pascal has put together a masterful adventure in two interconnected levels. Taking for goal the demons from hell headed by Ashtaroth, Lara will get rid of all the obstacles to reach the lair of Ashtaroth. Very beautiful and a great gameplay, this level is one of the best I have ever played. Congratulations." - Drakan

"What a game this is! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and was sad when It finally came to an end. The puzzles are very solvable - eventually. I also love the way the big battles were puzzles rather than just a big shoot out. Very stressful but very exciting. A great idea. There's a great atmosphere throughout the whole game and the lighting and textures is/are brilliantly done. This is a game not to miss, a must play game! Congrats to the builder." - Moonliteshadow

"Personally, this adventure is certainly a game better than the originals ones. When the adventure start, it's the end of the world because demons raised from hell and evolute on Earth. The goal of Lara is to defeated Astaroth and the others demons. I really enjoying the story of each demons like Lilith, Astaroth and the orthers ones. The gameplay is not very hard and very well done. There are a lot of news customs TRNG tasks. The enemies are characters of the games and not just animals or baddies to kill. They give a real soul to the adventure, specially the 2 boss of the game. There are a lot of news objects and some of them are just fabulous. The game is also not very dark and that is a good things because it's not torch we use but something different even for the medipacks. The textures is one of the highest point of the game, very well use for a fortress. The only hard thing is the secrets. Some of them are very well hidden but add a nice touch for understand the story of each demons and for the Carrier of Light. So to conclude: A perfect game to keep (for me) on our computer and to play and re play. Perfect for everyone even for the beginners. If you only play a few levels in your gaming experience, make sure REDEMPTION is on that list. RECOMMENDED." - BigFoot

"Oh my gosh... this level... was just... AMAZING! I just loved every second of this level. This level looks sooooo real! These textures were perfect. I loved the atmosphere! It's so great! The two strongest parts of this level. I enjoyed the new features in the game. (It's always fun to learn new things :) ) I enjoyed reading the books and diaries in this game, very useful information. The enemies were well placed and were perfect for the setting of this game. The puzzles were also challenging. A great level. Recommended. On to the Knights of Terafosia!" - MegaGamer

"This long double level takes you in a big fortress to save the world against demons. You might get lost a bit after the beginning as many doors lead to many different paths you can follow. Finding the crossbow will obviously help progressing in the level as you'll be able to crush distant crystal switch sometimes protected by shield you'll have to raise. This is only an exemple of clever puzzles for a medium difficulty level that manage to keep you interested all the way. Finding all the secret might be a bit tedious though given the huge size of the place. New animations and objects are really interesting even if somewhat imperfect (some tremor on Lara or weird moves between animations). I would also have liked to see a bit more diversity in the environments for this levelset. Recommanded to everyone. Well done." - TimJ

"A magnificent completely customized level that offers players a new version of the classic Tomb Raider. The script is complete, secrets, weapons, puzzles are well integrated in the game." - SlyRaider

"One of the most amazing custom levels I've ever played. The citadel is perfectly built with all these rooms, passages and crowded with enemies whose models are really outstanding. I loved these non-classic moves of Lara and smoothness of gameplay. Though sometimes that gameplay got me stucked a bit, especially boss fights were stressful. I liked idea of limited pistol ammo and spirits, really nice idea. Playing this level I had similar feeling when I was playing Devil May Cry - somehow atmosphere of gothic citadel filled with fire and demons reminded me of Dante adventures ;) Anyway, this level would be recommended for more experienced players as at times it can be tough even on easy mode. But anyone should have take a look at this level because it's extremely beautiful!" - Casual Raider

"Those who've played it will soon recognise that this is actually a "port" of the first main dungeon from Darksiders. Tomb Raider's gameplay makes it fundamentally different, and this is no hollow clone, but the basic layout and general idea behind the tasks is very similar, although there are additions and changes here and there. This is one of the most technically and visually impressive TR levels sets ever made, and there's massive amounts of detail and new animations that all do a great job recreating things made on a much more advanced modern engine, and all aspects of the presentation are near-flawless.
The Darksiders section being recreated is arguably the strongest part of the game it's part of, and it has a layout that fits right into Tomb Raider, including a lot of interlinking (made a bit more complex due to TR's lack of a map) and foreshadowing. The gameplay is quite varied and is full of original ideas and objects that have never been done before. There's also some pseudo-RPG elements like getting a longer health-bar as you find certain items. It's quite difficult, but mostly fair and logical, although I get the feeling I'd have had more issues without memories of the place in Darksiders to reference. The only issue I had is one that's an issue with the game it's based around (and many modern games); there's far too much shimmying, which, despite the new movements, is still a pretty one-dimensional (almost literally!) mechanic compared to other forms of platforming. Limited ammo also seemed a bit questionable, but I always had enough, flares also felt a bit stingy despite dark areas being rare. This set transcends it's base status of being a port and is one of the ambitious TR mods of all time, as well as having some of the most impressive visuals in a TR custom level ever." - Mman

"Lara travels to the underworld to show some demons where their place is. While the concept has been explored before in the TR custom level universe, this is the most unique and remarkable iteration of it that I have come across. I do have a bit of a problem with the limited ammo for pistols idea, not because of the extra challenge but because there are no alternatives available should you run out. I would be OK with this if you could just run away from every enemy (which I did do in this adventure at times), but some enemies have to be killed in order to progress, leaving the player stuck if they run out, and any chance of making the player stuck is a no-no in my book. The health has a similar concept but doesn't get the player stuck, so that was fine with me. I liked the idea of gathering crystals to increase maximum health, it is a nice way to encourage exploration. The other aspects of gameplay were much fun, including timed rock-hopping runs while shooting crystals with the bow, dodging rotating flames, and the boss fights which were puzzles in themselves. The visual aspects of the game were, in my eyes, perfect - the dramatic, heated lighting, the desolate textures, and of course those impressively hideous demons that actually made me jump in my seat once or twice. Definitely recommended, just be sure to put a lot of thought into which difficulty you select. 3 hours, 16 minutes." - SSJ6Wolf

"Pascal Ducey established his credentials as master of the level editor with his marvelous Rescue series back in the early years. Not one to rest on his laurels, he has now demonstrated his mastery of the latest building tools with Redemption. The special effects here are nothing short of stunning, and I stretched out my playing time of four and a half hours over several weeks so I could savor every nuance of this wonderful release. Dutchy has provided a thorough walkthrough that covers all the bases, so I was able to get all the way through without ever having to resort to a savegame. A number of sequences took several tries, however, notably that gauntlet through revolving flame spewers. I liked the idea of limited pickups in treasure chests, and even though flares are limited in quantity, and even though there are a number of dark areas in the game, I never found myself in danger of running out of necessary equipment. The boss fights were invigorating, although the one where you have to go through a four-button sequence several times got a little tiring for me. Here's a tour de force that should not be missed by any serious raider." - Phil

"Here we have a level from somewhere between spacious locations of Egypt and Beyond Full and detailed surfaces of Mists of Avalon, therefore making possibly the greatest balance of frame rate and beauty I've ever seen. Frequent yet simple 3D elements transit seamlessly to surrounding flat textures, so You never lose depth impression even if You stare at a plain wall just with a rectangular beam sticking out of it. This level of devotion occurs everywhere ingame, and is also accompanied by a number of tracks which is not that many however perfectly divided to serve as separate themes well supporting each kind of situation a player might be put in. Those last are only several as well, and I think this is the reason why this game only needed 50MB of music - we mostly do just five things: activate switches, open chests, negotiate traps, fight enemies and do combined puzzles. All just like normal TR, but each of the mentioned elements is applied in its unique way, so we never feel like if the variety wasn't wide enough, with a special higlight granted to epic artifact puzzles designed so their powers can be felt, and to very original life/ammo chest system aiding us all the time as we progress. There is also an experimental secret hunt divided into three independent layers, each one giving a different reward, and a second chance is even provided to return for skipped items - however this last thing only becomes available after the game already ends and as long as no bonus area follows having found everything, I presume only few maniacs like me will struggle through the fortress once again just to collect several missing pickups. Apart from that, several secrets just lure in mean dark corners and crawlspaces I found not quite a worthy place to contain a powerful demonic hammer. I wished for some secret pickup the way to which I would need to figure out using my brain instead of pure luck. And finally, the major, almost demonic flaw lurks in gameplay: while local puzzles are often executed in genious way - hail skull ceiling flipmap and hail final battle, the best NG one I've seen so far! - I think the author got really lost when trying to put the enormous map layout together. As a result of a single mistake, we run to the first level for a sword, then retreat to the second one WITH a sword, and shortly return to the first level with a skull we got for the sword. Not to mention the skull is one of two we need, and I skipped the other one several hours behind me, because that critical timespot lacks a camera reminder. Seriously, I even wondered if not to give 8 to the first category, but the play in the rest of its bulk is so admirable, inspiring and entertaining that I shouldn't and won't treat it this way. SUMMARY: A game mostly solvable with a bit of thinking, however confusion is disproportionately strong in its certain points and some extra things are really obscure. Nevertheless, extremely immersive atmosphere and stunning yet lagless graphics strenghten our patience, allowing us to withstand all weak spots of the infernal fortress, what renders a play through it a total must and, for me, one of three best TR adventures of the year 2013, next to Dracula and Aqua Sahrym... so far of course, but there's a little chance anyone could throw it off the podium during the upcoming final weeks of December." - DJ Full

"Well, this one is classic yet faultless. Lara explores an inner world ruled by demons and, of course, in the end everything is restored to normality and even a dead tree in a yard has come back to life if you decide to check it before you leave on your bike. The architecture is perfect, the tasks are creative, the health and ammo system are rather interesting, the sceneries varied although with a lot of lava(it's hell, ok, what should we expect?), new moves well put to use, good music that adds up to the adventure and a good lighting albeit not in the least surreal as I sometimes like it. Among so many situations, I rather liked the battle in the room with several buttons and a sphere, the mud room part and the final battle against whatever that devilish demon was called. Oh, and you can destroy (and must) the rather original skeletons too! Even if I'm not usually a fan of classic Tomb Raider, I must say this one clearly deserves all four tens." - Jorge22

"Throughout the whole level, professionalism shines through every window and every courtyard. In hindsight, I may even say this is one of the most professional games built out there, because everything that has been inserted in this game is placed where it belongs to. It's unnecessary to say that this level is an absolute masterpiece in any regard, may it be the countless new objects, the highly accomplished graphics or the impressive atmosphere making this one of the most immersive raids out there. In one or two areas the lighting could've had a bit more contrast, but this is really not a relevant issue. I reckon the builder's idea to make some passages non-lit (the only parts where flares are needed) as it's highly realistic on the one hand, but also increases the challenge, and believe me those parts are not very long. The way the fights are designed are very imaginative (especially a superb final boss fight I couldn't praise higher), and the codex pages giving additional info on the enemies are giving it the rest. While the new kind of a health system might have been a daring choice, I think it just adds to the unique experience of the game and it's never frustrating at all. In general, the guidance by the builder is very high, I can't remember a game having two different diaries with multiple pages. Care for detail is something a good game divides from a masterpiece, and when I saw the starting cutscene, I knew I won't have anything to fault in that regard. You really have to play in order to believe this game, I know it's a worn-out sentence but it's so true here. I decided to leave my notes for the gameplay to the end of this review: All the ingredients for a great play are in this level, and they are used to their potential. There are many good puzzles in this level, often coupled with the new objects (like the bridges and the platforms puzzles) and there's a good dose of everything in the level. Platforming is quite prominent in this level, and while I enjoyed all the various jumps one has to do and made even better with the usage of the new moves, I think those platforming parts are a tad too prominent in this level. A little bit less of those and more puzzles where you have to think a bit (as the puzzles provided often have a rather linear solution without many possibilities) and I would have probably given a ten all along the way. That said, it's pretty much the only gripe I could mention and the last thing I can say is that playing this fantastic game is an absolute must and there's no excuse if you don't. It's a totally new experience and great fun from start to finish. 3:30 hours at first, 2:15 hours on the second beta test, all (extremely nicely hidden) secrets found. Download it now if you haven't already!" - manarch2

"It has been quite some time since Pascal has given us another level, and this one simply does not disappoint at all. At first I was a bit nervous about the limited pistol ammo and no medipaks, but in the end, it all worked out fine. It just meant I needed to be more strategic during enemy battles. Not many levels are this beautiful as well as masterfully done. Everything is great, and it was fun to count the many Darksiders references. Another great game series. I really can't complain about much, except for a couple things. I am not a huge fan of the windowed mode, and I am really not a fan of being forced to use it. I have a big 24" monitor and it is quite a crime to play such a gorgeous game in a small window. I never tried to play it in any other mode besides what the author said. I am also not a fan of the multiple screens that the player has to go through in order to save a game. I am a chronic saver, and I really hate having to hit save, then go to another screen. It is tedious and touchy with my gamepad. I seriously wish authors would stop using that save screen. I really don't care about the screenshot of the last save. I would like to end on a high note. I was absolutely thrilled by the boss fights. They were what boss fights are supposed to be..tough, thrilling, and thought-provoking. This terrific level should not and must not be missed, it is simply a masterpiece." - Shandroid

"This game screams quality in every respect. The architecture is magnificent, the objects and animations innovative and stunning, the gameplay is varied and fascinating and kept me riveted to my monitor for hours on end. Various TR enemies have been re-textured to represent demonic entities to brilliant effect and they can be quite tough. Lara has limited resources and health and ammo can be found in chests in various parts of the game. There is sufficient of everything if you take care not to waste any resources and if you find enough crystals and secrets you gain extra goodies. In addition the cinematic quality of the cutscenes at the start and end of the game are really astounding. MagPlus has really excelled himself with the creation of this amazing world." - Jay

"From the very beggining of this remarkable game until the end, I simply LIVED the game. I had all imaginable joy feelings in this game. Congratulations MagPlus for this amazing masterpiece. It really deserves to be in the highest of lists! The gameplay is just wow, all that incredible story, all those breath taking jumps (I never, ever ever had so much fun in jumping in custom games, ever ever ever), all the cry for more enemies and the fact that all of this happens inside and under a demonical castle? OUTRAGEOUS I am in love with your games! And the cameras! the sounds!... they were very well positioned, and really were necessary in all the game. Specially after the three statues that must hold 3 bluish swords. The camera for a very old "eye-door" behind was very important! I gave a 9 for the lightning and textures purelly because there were some tiny things that should have been perfected, such as the overuse of textures (thats what I felt) and unecessary use of darkness in areas that weren't necessary (like passing from a room to another with diagonal stairs and suddendly all dark in the mid of this joining room). I had a lot of fun. Congratulations and thank you for this outrageous game!!!" - LOTRKingluis

"When I begun to play this game I had feeling that it's one of classic Tomb Raider games. In a good meaning, of course. There was no walkthrough yet, but I did not get stuck anywhere. Author provided us with good hints such as a specially marked tiles, cameras, diary and codex entries. I seem to be a casual player and installed this game in easy mode, I should say it's a great idea to make a game pleasant to almost all players. The combats with bosses were really difficult to me, but anyway, I managed to beat them myself thanks to provided clues. For some reason there were lags in a few locations, but they did not bother me too much. All the puzzles are very creative, that moving eye guarding a door is just perfect! But to be honest, I expected some special Lara's animation when she used the keys on eye locks. The only thing appeared almost impossible is the jump sequence in a room with claws pushing Lara away from pillars, there would be enough only one claw IMO. Very much liked that bridge objects and related puzzle. There are lovely chests with colored skulls, which provide players with health and ammo. However they rather can serve as checkpoints in a TR Legend or such. Besides I was very surprised when realized that the green"vitality soul" from inventory cannot be used manually, such a shame! The statues opening the doors must be having a lot of polygons, so great they are looking. Didn't get though why there are additional rotating buttons nearby. Music themes were amazing and served as a nice final touch. The light and textures used very wisely, so as all objects, whole game looks breathtaking. Sometimes it reminds an atmosphere of the Atlantis levels from TR1, but I like Redemption much more. There's a lot of backtracking but never boring. Another strong side of this game is that there are no tough enemies attacking you during jumping over lava or such. Found 8 secrets of 13, the way to the end of level is already open, but I'm going to explore castle for the rest of secrets. It's definitely one of the best TR custom games I ever played. This is a highly recommended game for both players and builders, many thanks to author for this gift." - A_De

"This is one of the outstanding games that can't be compared to others. MagPlus has created a world of Ist own in this fortress. Although the Player has go long distances gameplay is straight forward, some ways perhaps a bit too obvious. Challenges are not that hard, timed tasks can quite easily be done. The final fights are spectacular. Everything here is perfectly created. There was this 'wow'-effect when I entered new Areas with stunning light effects. The best game I played for a Long time. Hall of fame stuff!!" - Christian

"I would like to dispense a full round of 10's to this magnificent and beautiful game, so particularly well built. Nevertheless, I can't, due to the following: (a) the presence of excessively large areas, without tasks or items that justify the fact of having to go through so many stairs, passages, and such; (b) I missed very much the old medipacks, ammunitions, and (specially) flares. As a matter of fact, I admired and considered attractive and creative the substitutes for flares and medipacks devised by the author; but in former games we could choose when we were going to use flares and medipacks previously found, while in this game we are forced to save and memorize places of health healing, and pray devoutly to find flares - which, by the way, always come in batches of 3, and such batches are grossly insufficient for the number of dark crannies that Lara has to traverse. As to weapons... Oh, how I missed that little pistol of unlimited bullets... (c) due to the quantity and similarity of rooms, Lara easily loses herself - and the problem is all the more crucial considering that she always has to go back to some former place, in order to use a newly found item. I lost a lot of time roaming through already known areas, searching vainly - and without flares to help me - for a dark passage that could take Lara to the place she needed to arrive; (d) some battles (without adequate weapons) were extremely boring; why do we have, for example, to repeat for 3 times a sequence of pressing 4 buttons and then performing a timed run to a sphere, in order to kill a tough enemy that continuously attacks Lara? One time would be quite enough. And why that ordeal of swarms of killing scarabs at the end of game, while Lara looks for 3 swords, and puts them in their adequate places, and then has to press 3 buttons, and then has to wait for the falling of some swords, constantly attacked by another tough enemy? This big boss would be quite enough. And I have to confess that I didn't understand very well the mechanism for the necessary falling of that swords; I only presumed that the enemy had to step in some appointed places. But the game has its strong points... and so many of them! Graphically, it is of unparalleled beauty, and all its places are of an admirable realism. There are mandatory sequences - as that of the moving ledges, for example, or that where we have to play with 3 switches in order to raise and lower blocks inside a lava pool, or that of the fire passage where Lara has to watch carefully every step, or be swallowed... such creativity! And still: the mastering of the building tools is absolute; objects (I will mention specially the Diary and the Codex Demonicus) and enemies are wonderful; and the cleverness and creativity of the builder would be enough per se to make of this game a MUST." - Josey

"A great game that no one should miss, a very entertaining gamepaly with excellent architecture and atmosphere .. the gameplay is fluid and very entertaining where the author takes us through different areas with action, good puzzles and battles with different enemies. Thank you MagPlus for this great level and the best gift to the TR community would be another great adventure!" - McRaider

"The geometry, lighting and textures are perfect. The enemies are great, especially the bosses. I loved the mix between Tomb Raider and Darksiders. Collectibles are many and some hard to find, I've played twice and I still have things to find. Congratulations on this impressive level." - IvanTRFan

"I put 9,5/10 in this level. First of all because I adored making this adventure which is epic and sensational. Then because objectively, it deserves it. The puzzles are thought well, the level is varied and long, we do not still do the same thing and we return several times on our steps, what I like very much. The story is imagined well, the diary of Lara captivates and the idea of souls is remarkable. The secrets are hard to find. Objects are magnificent. The enemies are realized well. Be careful however, I almost was lacking life to be able to finish the level. The atmosphere is delicious. The realization is accurate. Be careful on the shouts of Lara which overlap too. The lights are perfectly mastered. Textures are beautiful. The game captivates till the end and wonderful elements of gameplay were developed. Bravo and thank you. All the best! (Sorry for my english, I'm a french fan)" - Lynus

"I'm not going to use all the adjectives I can apply to this game. Sure that later another reviewers will post their comments here and this page will be full of all kind of good adjectives. Only comment that is a pleasure to see how a good builder who created good adventures in the past, can evolve and use all the new tools to create better and better games. The only things I didn't like were the health system (I almost had to abandone the game in certain rooms) and also the limited ammo for the weapons (there were very few ammo for the shotgun too). Only say MANY THANKS! and please don't stop building! PD: A remake of the "Dark Tower" could be the cherry on the cake!" - Jose

"I love Tomb Raider. I love Darksiders!. Tomb Raider + Twilight Cathedral= Epic Win. Fantastic Crossover. Very enjoyabe, fluid gamelay, beautiful environments, Awesome Bosses! A masterpiece. Congratulations!" - requiemsoul