Level reviews

"Look, when I played it for the first time I didn't like it very much and also because on my old PC it lagged and was unplayable, after I switched I totally forgot about the existence of this custom level so I decided to play and I paid for it with my own tongue. At first I thought the gameplay would be a bit more complex, but the obelisk puzzle has a very sneaky hint on the map and I managed to progress very well, the ball puzzle was a bitch :P but very creative, I like how the author made us climb and with very tricky jumps and although I hate diagonal walls at certain times here it matched very well, I couldn't find all the secrets but apparently they are easy to find. One negative point I must mention is the lighting which is almost non-existent and there are spots with random colors, I missed a fog which always makes the atmosphere more lively, shadows in the corners which are almost non-existent etc... apart from that the gameplay is perfect and pleasing to my eyes. combat: one point I found lacking was the lack of music to fight the demigods in the room where you have to lower a pushblock, music is always important to make the game atmospheric, I also missed them as a sense of progress, we found a puzzle item to put down there a song now would be nice, it indicates to the player that he is progressing. Other than that, the game is very enjoyable to play and worth investing your time in... 1 hour 20 minutes and 7 secrets." - PedroCroft_

"As the name suggests, this is mostly a Back to Basics Persia themed level. It looks great throughout, with various giant and detailed rooms (most notably the massive main room), a couple of the side rooms are a little flatly lit, but not enough to offset how great most of it looks. Object use is also convincing, although I felt the bigger enemies could have bled when shot to show that they aren't bulletproof.
The sheer size of the setting looks a little intimidating at first, but you go through it in relatively linear fashion, as you work your way up the main tower room, and pass through some areas around the sides along the way. The general challenges aren't too tough, but a couple of new interactions took me a little to work out, and the keys are frequently quite blended in, especially in one part towards the end where it took a little for me to see it even with the walkthrough. Outside of those issues there's plenty of good traps and platforming, with the main climbing challenge varying up the tasks along the way. In following Prince of Persia there's also a twist on health where instead of medikits you can heal at periodic fountains, which varies the normal dynamic in a nice way as you have technically infinite healing but can only heal at fixed points. The very vertical design reminded me somewhat of the Tower of Babel in the Underworld: Unfinished Business series (and a few things suggest this is also supposed to be the Tower of the Babel), although it still plays quite differently overall. Hopefully we get the sequel to this soon enough." - Mman

"If, like me, a large part of your enjoyment of a level comes from how it looks, here you are in for a real treat. The first sight of the huge - hub' room is utterly breathtaking, albeit rather daunting in its complexity. However, as you progress through the game, all the platforming is broken up into quite palatable, bite-size pieces and is nothing like as hard as it first appears. It's really, incredibly good fun and most inventive. There are no medipacks provided so you have to make best use of the magic, health-giving water fountains dotted round the place. Wonderful stuff." - Jay

"The big, towering, multifaceted platforming room is one of Tomb Raider's archetypes, dating all the way back to St. Francis' Folly (SFF), featured in the original game. Back then SFF left me awestruck when I first saw it. I wonder what I would have thought back then if I'd been presented with the glorious sight of this level's behemoth central room. I would have been struck dumb. Anyway, today I'm made of sterner stuff, so I just got on with it. In truth, big platforming rooms can be traversed more quickly than seems likely at the start, and it was no different here, so it is testament to this level's mega-scale that it still took over two hours net-gaming to complete. Sure, there were some side rooms to provide a break from pure platforming and introduce fresh gameplay - puzzles etc. The only timed action that I recall was near the beginning - and it wasn't difficult. The level overall was moderate and most players should be able to complete it without using the walkthrough at all...Unless you go for all of the secrets: most were quite easy to find and I ended up with eleven - one short of the twelve needed to get the scimitar prize (and last secret). I used the walkthrough to find that, and, surprise, surprise, it was a stinker involving arbitrarily checking out an old area for no good reason. That was somewhat vexing but nothing compared to the palaver of finding the secret room where I could collect the scimitar. Even with the walkthrough I was bamboozled so I used Doggett's video walkthrough.
Despite the quibbles over secrets, I'd say this is Drakan's best work so far and it bodes well for the future Princess Lara Of Persia series." - Dick

"There's less point in making platforming levels after this one, because it includes almost every possible combination - though when we start to platform in actually organic environment which doesn't feel like made by a random generator, the level just ends. Bug info: Don't shoot the ball too early or you will softlock yourself. Recommended for a correct day." - DJ Full

"One of the best levels I've played lately; a masterpiece from Drakan. With a lot of diagonal walls, the architecture is not very complex but effective; the texturization is great and there are variety of tasks to keep you busy more than two hours with some special effects. Fluid gameplay, I only got stucked in the room with the magic blue ray 'cause the trapdoor was up and I couldn't cross with the long jump to the other side. The ammo for the shotgun was enough, I couldn't find all the secrets and the cameras and musics are well placed too. Really a level to enjoy. Recommended. Thank you, Drakan." - Jose

"Phew, this is a very tall tower! When I encounter this kind of vertical setup I get nervous about spending the day backtracking up and down on crazy ledges sticking out every which way. And while the bit about the ledges is sometimes true in this level, the backtracking is not. This is because the trek up the tower is linear, and Lara is prevented from progressing further until she picks up the required item in the current area - perfect game design approach! Speaking of perfect, the texturing and lighting certainly fit the bill as well. Lara will spend her time here solving a few block puzzles, rotating obelisks, and overcoming some timed runs, cryptic mirrors, blades, spikes, and a nice variety of enemies. The boulder pushing area was a bit long-winded but otherwise a nice idea. And here's a twist on the raiding formula: instead of healthpacks, Lara heals herself at fountains scattered across the level. Luckily she can use them as many times as she wishes, and the fountains are positioned well, so I did not find this frustrating. I only wish there was more to that pretty garden area at the end, but maybe we'll see more in the next adventure. 1 hour 34 minutes." - JesseG

"A very nicely constructed level and beautifully rendered. Not too difficult with fairly easy secrets...apart of course from the 13th, which was almost unfairly hidden compared to the rest of them. BTW I found a route probably closer to the builder's intended one to get to the Secret Room which did not incur any health loss and no harder than Dutchy's walkthough path which was quite draining - and when there are no immediate health packs to treat Lara, that might be important. Anyway the layout, platforming, puzzles and objects of level itself were a delight, congratulations and looking forward to the sequel." - Adrian

"This elaborate adventure of a little more than two hours is really an extended puzzle, requiring the player to negotiate a huge room from bottom to top while performing numerous tasks along the way. For some reason the builder made a point of taking away all flares at the very beginning, but this made no difference because the level is so well lighted that the need for a flare never arises. I could quibble over the fact that the secrets provided only a cartoonish, kewpie-like doll, but plenty of weaponry and ammo is provided elsewhere so that tangible secret rewards are not really necessary. In sum, this is the kind of level that really appeals to me, with the lighting, gorgeous scenery and player-friendly gameplay, and I wish we had more like this. There's also much variety in the tasks, so that you never get that been-there-done-that feeling, including poles, ledge jumps, springboards and anti- gravity fields. Dutchy's walkthrough was indispensable, since a single misstep from the upper areas would lead to Lara's instant demise. The spike mirror room near the end was a nail-biting distraction, and I heeded Dutchy's advice to save often there. A near-perfect level in all respects." - Phil

"Here's a level that may seem easier than it actually is. The obstacles one finds along the way aren't so much the well placed, and varied enough enemies, but more so the overly complicated, not at all always very clear, juggler-like orientation ordeal as Lara goes up and down the main room in search of four stars and the secrets that will let her get into a secret room (I admit I didn't have the patience to go and look for all of the secrets). I thought the spike and mirror room near the end was a bit too tough on Lara. The health system was interesting and carefully planned. I thought the general atmosphere was fitting, albeit not one of those cases that leave one in awe (I guess perhaps that was not the game's main point). Recommended for hardcore explorers." - Jorge22

"An adventure in a Persian environment, with good architecture, nicely textured and beautifully lit. After a couple of areas you get to the main impressive area where you have to climb up and up and up before you reach your final goal which is down on the ground where you started! It sounds boring, but it isn't because of the side areas with different gameplay in the various levels of this room. Few enemies and healing fountains instead of medipacks, which are very strategically placed. I found all 12 secrets which were not so difficult to find. Most of them are visible and the way to them is not harder than the main gameplay. But the bonus secret room was ridiculously well hidden. As I am not a secret hunter, being able to find all secrets but not the secret room just made me laugh. I really wonder if anyone actually found it without a walkthrough or Fexinspect. Difficulty-wise I would place it in the medium range. At the moment it's higher rated than "Barkhang's Nostalgy" which in my opinion still distinctively remains Drakan's best offer. Recommended." - billie2001

"Great level with Persian vibes. Visuals were great, especially main area which was just stunning. Gameplay is heavily focused on platforming, exploring and solving puzzles. There are little enemies. I really enjoyed that. I loved idea of the healing fountains instead medipacks which was new and fresh idea. I loved textures of this level which were very diverse and with much details according to persian culture. Secrets were good and clever hidden. I found 7 of 13 secrets. Overally, it's great adventure in persian vibes with much exploring, platforming and beautiful visuals. Can't wait for the continuation! Great job Drakan!" - BlackWolfTR

"This is one of the most visually stunning releases I've experienced in a long time. I may have played the demo version of this a few years ago, but nothing about this new one seemed at all familiar and it's all the better for that. The scenery is marvellous throughout (the main hall with the various levels being the undisputed centrepiece), lighting and texturing is spot on. Despite the platforming-oriented nature of the gameplay, it never gets boring because the way Drakan has set up the various routes in and around the main tower area and its surrounding rooms will make you think about how best to undertake your next task. I also loved the mirror room sequences, the various acrobatic manoeuvres and the way that the secret system was put together. A surefire Hall of Fame entry." - Ryan

"Beautiful...beautiful...quite enjoying from beginning to end. I liked in special the looks and the fountains where Lara can recover her health. Great enemies, great music (I enjoyed particularly the music of the big high hall presentation, when Lara arrives there), great gameplay. Congratulations and thank you very much, I am anxious to see the continuation!" - Josey

"This level is the latest from this builder and since I enjoyed their BTB2020 level, I decided to give this one a try. What I liked about the level: 1) The gameplay is great fun where you have to climb higher and higher with jumps, ropes, poles, platforms, etc. 2) Very few enemies! 3) The mirror wall to see the hidden spiked tiles in the reflection. 4) The fountains of health in lieu of medipacks were well placed exactly where you need them the most. 5) The surroundings are beautifully textured and well lit. What I didn't like or needs improvement: 1) One of the "lightning bolt" bosses got bored of fighting, decided to jump over the railing and landed on the ground floor which then prevented me obtaining the 4th piece. 2) After placing the SCIMITAR, I tried to jump over to the other side but could not because I left the trap door UP (ie. horizontal) at the bottom of the room. I guess the trap door blocks the "mist" preventing enough "lift" to get to the other side. 3) I would have preferred being prevented from progressing through the tricky spiked mirror room until having the required key in hand. Conclusion: If you enjoy jumping, swinging, climbing and floating through beautiful architecture and a scenic environment, then you will enjoy this level as much as I did. Good for average players with good working knowledge of both classic and newer TR moves." - Lizard Queen

"I finished this super level.I think we'll see early in the Hall of Fame. It's not particularly difficult. Jumps of precision and some intuition to go up the floor when you find yourself without a way to continue the ascent of the floors. the secrets are seen in the form of golden dragons, some even in the distance. It is really rewarding to take all 12 of them because then an ascribed appears telling you that you have unlocked the SECRET ROOM. Getting there requires some keyboard skill. The objects are also very beautiful textures and demigods also. Great construction technique and the use of columns cut at 45 ° and with cracks on the walls give the player the feeling of being able to climb the impossible. The whole TRLE technique and beyond has been exploited. It deserves the best.Congratulations to Drakan.We look forward to the next masterpiece." - Roberto