Level reviews

"I loved the setting, the audio selection, the textures and general design. However, and this was quite a mood killer for me, the challenge restrictions means you get lots of narrow corridors and the constant back and forth didn't do it for me. There are some quite elaborate puzzles and a storyline told through text prompts on screen, but those didn't mitigate the aggravation of that pushblock at the start for instance. I had issues with the bike on the tile as well, not sure what happened there but when I turned it around, as instructed by G&D's walkthrough, the block lowered and I had no idea. So that means an extra round going over that pushblock and the moment I just touched the bike, the block raised again, so it was in the proper place all along but for some reason the trigger didn't go off. Full disclosure: I have played this on a very, very bad day, so that doesn't really help matters. Sorry. 30 minutes, 3 secrets. 10/26" - Treeble

"A small map that is not too quickly mastered as you spend some time to figure out things from an essential pushable block coupled with the use of a torch and some very original puzzles with Chinese symbols or a Clock puzzle, that Clock puzzle is very well made but somehow it was hard to solve by myself. There is some good swimming to be done as well and an escape at the end (not very hard). For me the technical expertise required to make such a level is high. An original level , i particularly enjoyed the different background atmosphere here." - eRIC

"A level that is relatively simple in structure, but also packed to the brim with world building, so it is still a pretty immersive experience. In a similar fashion the gameplay is relatively straightforward, and yet is packed with enjoyable puzzles. The clock puzzle was particularly fun once I figured out the controls. A lot of attention to detail is shown here. Definitely recommended for raiders who enjoy puzzle solving. 38 minutes." - JesseG

"Wow, absolutely stunning level with an interesting storyline. Although the gameplay is reduced to exploring and puzzling (no enemies at all), playing this was still fun. And I like how Lara's Notepad has been brought in to the gameplay. Besides the pushblock, swimming and motorcycle action, there are some really brilliant puzzles and one of the three secrets of the level is somehow connected with one of those puzzles - nice idea! Level design, texturing and lighting are absolutely flawless as well.Camera angles fade in and give clues every time it is necessary. Finally entering the room with the treasures, the greek fire and the dragon egg triggers a deadly timed run. After ending the level by escaping with the motorcycle, there is still one question left in my mind: What was the special "BONUS" for finding all 3 secrets?" - Nuri

"Only one room? Incredible the gameplay this builder got with only a couple of rooms (I think with the extra water room too). Not very agree with the gameplay with serious backtracking and the clock puzzle which could be very difficult for many players. Even more, the darkness doesn't help (at least we have the book to guide us) and there are not biconulars or flares to light the way. No guns, no enemies, the best of the level was the story, the atmosphere and the good architecture and texturization. Indeed an interesting and solid level to take a try but only by night in a dark room if you want to see anything. Extraordinary." - Jose

"Few pieces but many riddles to discover throughout this charming little level, puzzle with torches, swimming and return to the computer of Lara that I forgot. Lara does not need torches as she has her pls. Excellent." - Drakan

"This is the first ORC level here that isn't really based on an existing theme; it's a Mine with Asian elements, instead of a "classic" theme. The visuals are well executed, with a persistently gloomy and run down atmosphere to fit a shut-down Mine and an infinite light is provided so the dark isn't an issue. Even the large areas like the water room have unique details and atmosphere. The gameplay starts a bit spotty with a hidden jumpswitch, monkey swing that has to be traversed multiple times, and a related block that can potentially need quite a bit of pushing if you do things out of order. Lara default run being slightly slower and having a camera bounce also feels a little irritating. After the start it picks up though and from then on there's a nice mix of exploration and puzzles, with one or two bits of action. There's also nice integration of the story. A very strong entry, although the start lets it down a bit." - Mman

"This is a complex and difficult level, and it covers an amazing amount of territory (particularly underwater) given the limitations imposed by the ORC competition. It's a little on the drab side, but you get a crisp raid of about 50 minutes and are never bored. Some of the jumps required precision and took me a number of tries to conquer. I liked the use of the motorbike to raise and lower a block, and the pushblock at the beginning got quite a workout as the level progressed. The gameplay shows an imaginative spark and is worthy of high honors. Definitely recommended." - Phil

"Well, the slow motion sort of animations did put me off right at the start. It was a good thing that I decided to move on anyway because this is actually a very interesting entry, with variety and a few original puzzles thrown in too. I thought the dialogues in the final part, just before the earthquake and the timed run, went on for quite too long... Still, the general atmosphere and the action (once you pass the first "push preparation" part) are commendable and I did enjoy this level." - Jorge22

"And clearly, I did save the best for last. My favorite of the ORC18 Levels by a long shot, as it is quite amazing what amount of challenging and creative gameplay has been squeezed into such little space here. It starts a bit slowly with all that pushing of that one early block and there is a lot of back and forth, but all the runs are short and not a big hassle. Loved the torch puzzle, symbol puzzle and clock puzzle, as they take a bit of figuring out, but are not too cryptic for their own good. Would have been nice to have voice overs instead of the text dialogue and that Lara running animation is just awful, but those are very minor gripes in a level which adds a cool timed escape to round it all up. Absolutely a must play!" - MichaelP

"This is another entry in the challenge that makes good use of its size restrictions (which were hardly apparent to me) to provide a highly entertaining adventure. The textures are very pleasing to the eye, although the lighting was a bit too dark in places, but I've seen worse in that department. Music was also used nicely to set the scene. The puzzles are wonderfully set up and get the balance right by making you think a bit, but providing just enough hints to nudge you in the right direction (without explicitly revealing the solution). It kept me occupied for a wonderful 42 minutes." - Ryan

"G&P: Well for a ORC the game is pretty amazing, even if the ORC forces the builder to make some backtracking I saw some very well made things, for instance the two main puzzles, the one with Chinese signs, and the other with the clock. I enjoyed the pretty tense underwater passage, and the use of a lot of custom objects for gameplay needs, Like the prayer mill. Ps: please limit the pushblock use, I had to move it too many times E,O&S: no enemies, well the builder choose to make a "peaceful" level, no enemies, well that a choice. Objects were very well used, maybe some objects were not perfectly used, like some nice doors (the one after the clockpuzzle), I enjoyed the secrets, except the last one, that was pretty hard to get, I mean playing the clock puzzle with no mistakes to finish it, finishing it without a fail was pretty hard,I had to try several times, the worse for this secret was the design of the clock puzzle room, it was hard to look the clock from the ground, and we can't stop the camera that shows what levers do when we want to, we have to wait 2secs. sometimes these 2 secs were too much, sometomes not enough. A,S&C: Nothing to say, maybe the atmosphere was pretty empty, but hard to rate it, I felt it this way, but I could not explain why. I enjoyed some re-use of classic sounds, like the one for the senet game. Cameras were sometimes too close to the target, so it can hard to understand what we see. L&T: Not the kind of texture that I like, but they were used without a mistake, I saw no problems in the lighting. To sumup: a pretty nice level, not too short when you take your time." - Lara_Fox_Croft

"I expected something much different based on the reviews the level currently has. Itstarts in a small dark wooden area. I immediately got the ˝oh no˝ reaction seeing a pushable one click away from Lara's start position. I explored a little bit I assumed I have to do something with the pushable, so I pushed around I found a sneaky hidden upper floor that was for a secret. Something is not right if I find a secret before the main path ( and is a minus for the second category ). Latter I Found a keyhole after using the pushable, and at the third try the monkey swing pushing the box a little bit more. After I got the key I had to use again the pushable. A nightmare start of a level for me that concentrated around a pushable. The next frustrating part was finding the second monkey swing outside that was just unfair and inhumanly hard to find. The bike switch was another thing that was confusing because I couldn't figure put if I'm supposed to initially lower or rise the pillar that was shown in a dark unrecognizable room. All those things in the first third of the level were just unplayable facts for me. The gameplay keeps being in this too cryptic tasks that requires using a walkthrough. The gameplay task were often a bit too hard. The overall design of the rooms was too dark and, I dare to say, too monotone looking for me with not much light variety. Bigfoot is a top level builder, but this time I'm disappointed. It reminds me of ˝pearl of kojada˝, but much less interesting and less attractive than the level of Max. Object use was good. I even dare to say that the level gets boring because of the room design near the end of the game. A plus for seeing credits at the end. Gives a little boost for the atmosphere. Also, for the atmosphere I liked the little noise effects a texts coming up when Lara would hear a dragon scream. Adds also a lot to the atmosphere. I see that other people had some complaints in their reviews, but it didn't reflect, for some reason, on their rating. I didn't enjoyed the level, but I still would recommend it, maybe for some experienced players." - Gorty

"Aaaargh, more swimming - not my forte, but I get through eventually. There's quite a lot of backtracking in this level, but it's worth it. Lara has no weapons so there are no enemies to deal with, but there are interesting puzzles, including some nice torch work, and the aforementioned underwater sections (challenging for me). The oriental setting is lovely and Lara has her PLS so the gloomier areas aren't a problem. Highly entertaining." - Jay

"Bigfoot probably wanted to rebel against himself because after a set of balanced, seamless, bright-to-toned down levels, he gives us several choices I don't understand, some of them straight from hell. At least this is how the first part of this game is. Multiple pushing, vague ledges and a repeated monkey swing even though the raising block could contain a fast ladder back to the top instead. It's unknown why Lara put her bed in the mine instead of putting up a tent outside. It's unknown why we suddenly get a bike from a totally different, unrelated package which seriously differs in level of detail. It's unknown why we get casual plants next to dedicated, customized objects. Nonetheless I appreciate the change, even if experimental. For instance, the clock puzzle caused me a loss of 700000000 neurons but I don't regret any, nor the fact that I finally gave up, because the riddle is simply brilliant. The zodiac puzzle is simple but told with a lot of effort which didn't have to be there, but is. We also get the traditional "memory" box ticked, as we discover places in order to remember them and figure out how they work together. This is where you start to recognize it's really a work of one of the most esteemed authors, as well as you can tell from the looks of the final concluding room which rewards you well after a bit of initial struggle, also with help of unexpected convo. I really need to congratulate the author for not playing it safe and being brave enough to release something different, especially today when reviewers are almost never pleased with anything other than classic. Good work." - DJ Full

"A level that begins with a promising (and amusing) humdrum day for Lara in what looks like just about the worst accommodations in Bhutan, the action and puzzle difficulty (and creativity) increase as the level goes on and culminates in an action packed (and still amusing) escape! While the textures were often brown and gray, leading me to wonder why Laura would go on vacation in such a drab environment, they offset the occasional bursts of many colors, usually centering in the dragon motif. The dragon also makes an appearance throughout, both through clever and creepy growling and through ongoing dialogue appearing on the screen from Lara herself. I found the middle part of the level to have quite a bit of backtracking both above and below the water, and wished that the visuals had been more lush or exciting. However, two of the best puzzles I've encountered in a long time showed up toward the end,heavily relying on context as well as some actual cultural and historical information from examine objects and Lara's journal. These puzzles and the logic required to solve them leave the lasting impression of a truly great level. The ending dialogue also seeks to answer an "old" question about Lara, which I enjoyed very much. I took the time to find the three secrets, and glad that I did. Highly recommended." - Cbl

"This last remaining level was in my opinion the best of the bunch. The gameplay is innovative and varied, not extremely demanding but the (most unique) puzzles require some research and thought, the torch is well used and progression is generally clever and interesting, with a nice climax at the end. If I had one thing to fault it might be that the pushable box was somewhat overused and shortcuts might've been given earlier. There aren't any real enemies to fight, but they weren't utterly needed here and the rest provides enough spice. I only didn't like the slow start of the running movement, but it didn't really affect any jump sequence as there were few in here. The looks are quite gorgeous with lots of highly atmospheric areas, if a little grim and dark overall I liked the lighting too and the texturing is faultless. Sounds, cameras and the like are used to their full potential as well. All in all a highly competent effort and one of very few where the size constraints didn't really matter much. Found three nice secrets in 16 minutes." - manarch2

"A stunning entry in the ORC competition.If enemies had been included,I would have awarded higher;but objects and secrets were used brilliantly,and the textures were absolutely top notch.The lighting was a little on the dark side for me,and occasionally made progression a little aggravating (that high-up jump switch,for example).It's the gameplay,though,that absolutely makes this level.The challenges were entertaining;the storyline was fun;and there were PROPER puzzles (as opposed to the usual pushable block sequences) which were really intelligent,and needed considerable thought.If there had only been an opponent or two,my happiness would have been complete. Nonetheless,I ran around for ages on several occasions while wondering what to do next(and ended up pushing a crate back-and-forth too often for my liking)which no doubt accounted for my overall playing time of 106 (count them!) minutes. As close to an epic experience as a One Room Challenge level can possibly be,this is perhaps not for the faint-hearted;but everything is presented so professionally that it simply has to be experienced." - Orbit Dream

"What a wonderful level that took me way too long to figure out. The Chinese symbol puzzle and the clock puzzle were most vexing. You always know what you need to do or find but the execution of these tasks is sometimes shrouded in mist so put your thinking caps on for this one folks. I did not get the last secret (although I could see it quite plainly) as there was no way I could solve that clock puzzle in under six turns. Textures are absolutely gorgeous. Lara's animations appeared somewhat slow as if she was moving through molasses. At the end sequence the first time I tried the timed escape run Lara died and then the text screen made me laugh out load for real. Nice to see a sense of humour in the level. My second attempt had me jumping over the escape route on the Honda so not a difficult run by any means. Thanks Bigfoot. Loved it mate." - Torry

"Fabulous!!! Another great ORC game. This game reminded me of Floating Islands level, the original TR2 level. Thank you very much for keeping TRLE and TRNG alive!!!" - Mehrbod

"Incredible puzzles, and lovely atmosphere. Unfortunately was one of the shorter of the ORCs I played - but that doesn't take away from the inventive gameplay and beautiful visuals. My only negative is how similar to Tomb Raider 2 it was, and that's my least favourite of the series (:P)." - Baratheon

"Entertaining and challenging. Bigfoot is one of those builders who, when you see his name next to a level, you know it's going to be something special. There were lots of custom touches here, from the outfit to the bike and the dragon and lots of other stuff in-between. I will admit I got stuck at the first wall/pull-down switch at the beginning, and the clock puzzle had me beat for a hot minute, but after giving it a moment's thought it did finally click. The text conversations near the end were a nice touch, very tongue in cheek and I wish that more builders would include scenes like this. Maybe many feel like they need decent actors or they shouldn't bother? The text is enough! Loved the escape sequence at the end. I managed to nail it on my first go, and it got my pulse rate up for sure! My ONLY complaint is Lara's run animation. I didn't mind the bouncy camera, it's just that half second right when she begins to move that was jarring. What can I say, I'm old school! Very well done." - Chel