Level reviews

"It's always fun to have the opportunity to play as someone other than Lara; even though Kurtis isn't that mechanically different from her barring his reduced lung capacity and smoother dodge roll, the level design was mostly linear without many sizeable areas for you to explore, there were a handful of compelling puzzles and platforming sections that were challenging but not overwhelming, the tone fits Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness with the less colorful set of textures accompanied by a gloomy atmosphere, I don't mind it only being part one of a greater whole as I don't know if I can handle another mammoth like Tomb Raider: War of the Worlds right now, the last point I want to mention is that I enjoyed Kurtis' voice acting quite a bit since it was pretty campy, and the cheesy lines felt very deliberate." - Lud

"Interesting Kurtis level with room for improvement, please forgive me if I'm not quite as euphoric as the other reviewers so far. The room design starts average and then becomes typical AOD-like towards the end. Unfortunately, many rooms are overly dark, which is why I took several breaks from this TRLE because it is unnecessarily tiring in the long run. The (colored) lighting is okay and gets better towards the end, especially the lava room and the templar tomb catch your eye, but the rest is rather blandly lit, AOD is actually a very colorful game and I missed that here in the first 2/3 of the game painfully. The gameplay works surprisingly well though and is fun too, there are also cool puzzles, getting the statue to fall and the lion puzzle in the lava room definitely stick in my mind. Why Kurtis runs out of air faster than Lara in the water is not really clear to me, he is a French legionnaire, isn't he? A little more variety in the enemies would have been welcome. It would be nice if my criticisms would be taken into account in the next adventure. Am I looking forward to the sequel? Hell, YES! And thanks for giving Lara, as much as we love playing with her, a break and letting Kurtis step out of her shadow! ;)" - vandit

"Dont know why but Curtis levels are very interesting and well made games..nothing to complain , just a solid a friendly-gamer trle ..straight gameplay , secrets and good atmosphere ..if u want something relaxing without getting bored , try it" - Petaludas

"An amazing adventure with Kurtis Trent as the main protagonist! The gameplay ideas were innovative and there were a lot of unique puzzles, which were implemented well and supporting the great and sometimes eerie atmosphere. There were areas which were a little bit big and maze-like, also there was a lot of backtracking sometimes. Besides that little negative thing the builder crafted a solid experience, which felt like a whole original game on its own and not like a typical custom level which was "only" inspired by the original games. The lighting and texture work was very high standard, but especially in bigger rooms it felt like the texturing could have been less wallpaper-like (maybe some geometry could have been advanced for that purpose also, but this is really nitpicking for a levelset which has to be viewed as a whole experience). It took me about 2 and a half hours of net play time and I would definitely replay it in the future. Highly recommended!" - MarlenaCrystal

"This Levelset including a lot of Tomb Raider AoD stuff and what can i say? Its really damn good! :) I really enjoyed playing through this levelset, even when i was a bit lost here and there it was definitely kind of addictive! And playing as Kurtis was what i always liked about AoD (*hides under the bed* XD ), so when i saw this it was like a "must have" :D What can i say? It was definitely worth it!" - Lilly Jericho

"As the name suggests this is a set fully starring Kurtis. While the dark dilapitated style is obviously invoking Angel Of Darkness, it has quite a variety of themes as you go from a mine to London and decend to ruins deep underneath. Architecture is consistently good, and while it generally focuses more on minimalistic realism than hyper-detail in the man-made areas, it still has some major visual set-pieces and large scale areas at times. Lighting and texturing is nice, although it is a little monotone occasionally, and a few more moments of lighting variety would have really brought it together. Object use is also good, with some new features and unexpected object uses too, the Kurtis model is also well-done.
There are several levels, but they're relatively short and the individual tasks usually aren't too difficult, it has a wide variety of things to do though, and some of the object interactions are a bit different to the usual. There's also a nicely done bike segment that's probably one of the better uses of the vehicle I've seen; it's got just the right mix of challenge and freer moments to have fun running stuff over. The secrets following Lost Artifact in having mini-areas is nice too, although the later levels didn't do it quite as well as the first one does, finding them all seemingly giving clues to something in the final part is nice though. One puzzle with enemy luring near the end could have had more of a clue; there is a visual one if you look around, but, elsewhere, look clues and camera hints are used to suggest non-standard interactions, so it's weirdly absent there. There's also a little bit of forced damage. With all the new elements and moments of voice acting, I do wonder if something like a diary could have been added to bring the story together, but there's a nice progression through the levels and the boss in the latter half has a nice twist to it too. A great set, and hopefully the continuation isn't too far off." - Mman

"I completed this a few weeks ago now. But from what I remember of it, it was really nice to play, almost addictive as the atmosphere is awesome. Would definitely recommend" - TRaider1996

"I would give a 10 for gameplay if it wasn't again a game to cut by 1/3. I was also close to taking one point for the visuals but I realized it's also about their duration not style, so I shouldn't downrate the same thing twice. I also wish the storytelling was more in the face, because the rapid environment transitions aren't explained despite of Kurtis being voiced, and some cutscenes are so silent they feel like if his voice actor fell asleep. Also some things just aren't shown, the train cutscene being the most striking - there isn't even a proper sound effect, so if you don't get the context from the previous level, you won't even know what happened. Everything else is just okay - we get all kinds of puzzles: realistic, mechanic, natural and magical, and all of them where they belong. Nicely used is meta2tr, it improves the scenery instead of working against it. And we get a lot of nice custom touches, more or less noticeable but always present to improve the mood. I would recommend this game to everybody." - DJ Full

"I thought this was an excellent level set (especially for an apparently first effort) with some nice touches. Good variation in platforming and some challenges that weren't trivial. Especially liked the innnovative play such as the falling Templar statue leaning against another. Gameplay was overall logical and linear and only in a couple of places was I held up wondering how to advance. Found all the secrets which were well placed but not that difficult to find. Only quibbles were I had to raise the gamma quite high on my monitor due to the pervasive gloominess and the quadbike as a non-reversing vehicle could get too easily stuck. Overall great and looking forward to Chapter 2." - Adrian

"I spent untold hours playing and writing a walkthrough for this outstanding series and then totally forgot about reviewing it. By this time many of the details have seeped through my memory, but I vividly recall the grand time I had making my way through the five varied levels, topped off with an invigorating boss level at the end. My enjoyment was somewhat dulled by the consistently dark surroundings, and I hope that the builder will bless us with more ambient lighting in Chapter 2. Still, this is a noteworthy raid deserving of Hall of Fame honors." - Phil

"What an incredibly accomplished debut level and what fun to play as Kurtis again. This six parter sizzles with highly enjoyable gameplay that takes our hero from mines in Wales, to London's docks and underground (particularly liked this section), and on to the Templars' tomb via a fiery realm. The gameplay is at times really inventive and held my attention all the way through. The author has found a wonderful voice for Kurtis which makes for some amusing moments and the - boss' ending is laugh out loud wonderful. We're promised a continuation and I very much look forward to it. Highly recommended." - Jay

"Yes, I enjoyed playing as Kurtis for a change, but that's not the main point at all - the main point is this game or levelset is by all means simply excelent and not at all the work of a newbie. I enjoyed it enormously. Is there an annoying earthquake in the first level? Check. Can it be a little too dark at times? Check. Are some of the solutions maybe a tad far fetched? Check, I suppose. Still, the entire (and varied) settings are absolutely eye candy, it is player friendly as well as quite challenging, it has great, enticing atmosphere throughout and a fine balance between all the different things a raid can offer. I really don't know what else I could add. I found it to be quite professionally designed. So, thank you for the pleasure it brought me and of course I'll be looking forward to its continuation. Extremely well done." - Jorge22

"For a debut offering (and a six-parter, no less), this is surprisingly accomplished indeed. My overall impressions are definitely on the positive side, so I shall deal with the very minor downsides here at the beginning of this review. The overall ambience is on the sombre and gloomy side, but there were a few tunnels and passages towards the latter half of the game that were a bit too dark for my likings (although judging by the general aesthetic of these levels, that was probably an intended stylistic choice), the guards in the first couple of levels seemed to take ages to take down (maybe Kurtis wasn't positioned properly) and Secrets of the Underground had a little too much backtracking between the train platforms for my taste. Aside from those, everything else here is absolutely spot on. The atmosphere is unsettlingly on point, the surroundings are constructed with great care, object placement is great and the gameplay keeps you on your toes, mixing in a few neat puzzles, enemy encounters, vehicle rides, traps and exploration. It tends to throw quite a bit at you, but never to the extent that it gets overwhelming or frustrating. I had no trouble with the quad bike sequences either, so obviously I was doing something right. Having Kurtis as the main character was also a neat touch. Brilliant enjoyment and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Well done!" - Ryan

"This adventure is a very nice welcome in our trle community. To the beginning to the end, it was impossible to stop the game because I always wanted to know what happened next. I also very liked having Kurtis in main character. About the difficulty, the levels are not very hard so even a beginner can start his trle experience with this game easily. I also very loved the design of all levels. The caves, city, sewers, castle ... everything is very well build and textured. I really liked the mix between tr4 rocks and sand textures with london or tr6 textures. I can just congratulate the author for this fabulous adventure. I spend a very good moment with Kurtis and I'm very exiting about futures games by the builder. Thanks a lot for this adventure :-D !!" - Bigfoot

"These six levels starring Kurtis overall have a nice balance of exploration, combat, traps and some puzzles too. Kurtis explores the streets of London as well as an underground tunnel, and will have all sorts of bullets, flames, and blades thrown at him. The quad bike was enjoyable except for the part where you have to drive it on a narrow walkway - TR4 vehicles just aren't built to be used on paths that are only a width of one tile. The beast from Citadel Gate appears a few times, a nice setup for an antagonist, although the constant locusts can be annoying after a while. It was not clear where to have the knights attack in order to proceed in the fifth level. The visual aspects are well done and cutscenes are used effectively to help set the narrative. Overall I would recommend this to any raider out there. 2 hours 23 minutes." - JesseG

"Oh, how sweet it is to be able to play as Kurtis Trent from Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in a TRLE levelset that can easily be connected to the main series of events at some point in time! The first chapter of the Kurtis Trent Chronicles was fun to play! The atmosphere and sound effects incorporated into this portion complimented each other throughout all five levels and the final boss room. All the audio played throughout this levelset are absolutely seamless, none of the sounds and musical stings interrupting one another whatsoever. Instead, the audio tracks merge together to create one whole piece that further amplifies the experience, never losing its cohesion. The puzzles, however, are a bit more on the simplistic side. Some puzzles in this levelset can be compared to a medium-rare meat dish. You begin a puzzle, and then suddenly, the solution immediately presents itself. But this doesn't mean that all of the puzzles are bad or too easy. Although some of the puzzles weren't exactly anything too special or crazy, the overall end results of each one were satisfying enough to make up for their shortcomings. One puzzle that struck my fancy was the quad bike puzzle, as it took a certain degree of caution and precision to safely ride the quad bike from one section to the next. The storyline so far feels like a good headcanon series of events that could eventually lead to the official timeline within the world of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness despite no mention of Gundersen, the man who directed Trent's freelancing jobs between mercenary and semi-legal agencies. But the story doesn't really need Gundersen to make it compelling or comprehensible. The story and levelset are further complimented by the clever incorporation of animated objects from preceding and succeeding games into the TR4 engine - one example being the welding laser from Tomb Raider Chronicles. The textures and gloomy lighting convey a purposeful dark atmosphere as well. Overall, despite a couple shortcomings here and there, the first chapter was well-paced, and I'd definitely play through these levels again while waiting for the next two parts!" - Jose

"A group of short levels that form a good adventure. In total they took me more than a couple of hours, but they were nice and fun as the progress is easy and each zone is defined by different styles. The gameplay also provides some plot moments and suspense that enhace the experience. The environment uses Core textures and sometimes may result in very simple style (a lot of big empty flat walls) but generally, the levels have a very good visuals supported by ambient lights. There are not many enemies, but the ones that are there, are good (works fine, good visuals, good presentation, good challenge). I have not found any secret, but the puzzle pieces also were fine (right with the level theme and correct presentation). Unfortunately I had to search in Youtube how to beat the final boss, but in general, I have had a nice time playing this adventure with Kurtis (glad to see him around after so much time). I recomend it." - Adngel