Level reviews

"Very pleasant set of levels which sometimes plays on the player's senses, especially the first level on its unique building and progression, which was very fun to explore and discover. To which we can add a brilliantly created atmosphere. Second level was more classic in its progression and the last pretty uncanny too. I recommend it, a game out of the ordinary. Found 4 secrets out of 6" - Nick21

"The nightmare copycat idea is superb, but I'd remove lesser entertaining copies since some gameplay drags. THAT secret in the first level triggers my anxiety a lot but isn't enough to harm the secret rating. Overall a highly recommended stroll down many memories. A definition of a custom level, totally turning the question of "what" into "how"." - DJ Full

"This level shows something that occasionally happens to any of us: to dream of past memories, mixed or altered. That and the recognisable places from classic games make the player easily feel involved in Lara's journey. We don't see such good writing like this every day." - Bruno-Oyaji

"Really good levels with Lara exploring different old locations, with some well-know rooms from TR official games, but most game is all from scratch. The gameplay is not hard, except in the rooms with many enemies, but also not very interesting, most based about pure exploration with few puzzles; maybe the last level was enough, with excessive enemies. All in all a good adventure worth to play, but for me not the best of this contest." - Jose

"Now this is certainly something completely different, and for the concept and execution alone it deserves to be experienced. Who knew Lara's mansion could hold so many surprises? Having the main hall as a sort of hub area for the remainder of the gameplay is a neat idea and it's integrated very well here. Aside from a few long climbing sections and a couple of trap sequences that are possibly on the slightly too tricky side, the gameplay throughout is absorbing and creative. The undoubted highlights for me were the floating islands area that housed various familiar Tomb Raider vignettes (and it was a refreshing change of pace to explore these locations under a darker, more apocalyptic atmosphere), the engaging enemy battles (you get just the right amount of weaponry and supplies) and the various jumping sequences, but everyone should find something to entertain them here. Lighting could have been made a bit brighter in spots, although scads of flares are provided. A must-play in the TR2 department and a wonderfully unique experience." - Ryan

"This has a completely unique theme as a three level set where Lara is stuck in a nightmare world amalgam of various settings from the first couple of games, starting with the mansion as a sort of hub before moving onto stranger centre-pieces in the later levels. The themes mean that technically a lot of the design is areas taken from the games themselves, however the set does a good job adding new elements to them and making them a bit different, there's also a lot of new texture work to smoothly meld the wild theme shifts together. The lighting is also generally good and helps gives a consistent atmosphere; it's quite dark but there's plenty of flares, and seeing places that were bright in the actual games with corners cloaked in darkness gives an unnerving feel to familiar locations. There also a bunch of original objects and modified enemies that support the nightmare theme. This is one of the most ambitious Tomb Raider 2 engine takes I've seen visually.
For the most part gameplay is consistently interesting and leverages the theme to do things like play on your memories and create surreal spacial puzzles. There's quite a bit of variety for most of the set, and, fitting for TR2, quite a bit of combat as well. I did feel the "room keeps repeating" concept was a little overused towards the end, and it becomes bit of a linear shooter in the end level, but that's still only a minor part of the set overall. A great and original TR2-based take that has set-pieces best experienced by playing it." - Mman

"Absolutely amazing level by Leoc! I've seen levels with similar concepts but never anything this interesting. I think my favorite part of the game is where 4 split paths leading to different areas inspired by classic levels from TR1/TR2 that you can tackle in any order. Simply one of the best TR2 TRLE's there is. I'm very excited for whatever Leoc does next." - Lorax

"Loved tr2 as anyone so i loved this one also..visiting same sceneries but with different routes or plots were so lovely..never going bored, never lost , following the rhythm of the game and enjoying it all the way..cant say it was so challenging though..good diverting gameplay with unique flow and sometimes creepy atmosphere..totally recommended..easy secrets also" - Petaludas

"Wow, Leoc1995 does not disappoint! This level was about as difficult as I expected it to be, while being modest at the same time! The themes of his levels are always interesting and the difficulty is actually decent for all skill levels except beginners. One thing I enjoyed is how the rooms were indeed simulated from official TR titles and yet, you were still surprised at the challenges to be faced! The secrets were surprisingly easy to find but I believe they were well hidden for the most part. After playing so many different levels, you learn what to look for after a while. The only thing I would recommend fixing is lighting around lava pits. I felt that they were too dark and even pitch black at some points, lava has a glow to it. I absolutely enjoyed playing this level and look very much forward to the next installment of the Folklorist Diary! Thank you, and great work Leoc1995! Cheers!" - g12STL

"I'm gonna say one word: Perfection! This level set to me is definition of perfection along with Blackwolf's CEC both of these levels have great quality.
Starting from gameplay-wise I have no words how well this is made. From the every beginning we can already say that everything here is consistent and the author leads the player where to go exactly, also thanks to the good amount of hints. Basically everything in terms of gameplay is constructed perfectly fine, without issues to my eyes.
Balanced amount of enemies along with good amount of ammo and med-kits. Nicely hidden secrets with a good reward.
Texturing is done perfectly fine without any major mistakes, only like minor ones that does not affect the quality of design at all. Lighting is done so well. Perfect contrast between dark-pitched rooms and bright light points to give the feeling of creepiness.
As I mentioned it's a perfect level to my eyes. There should be more levels in style like this. Unique idea and flawless execution. Well done Leoc! :D" - Mahetus

"A epic game consisting of 3 levels where we take a a nostalgic trip through lara's memories while shes sleeping, its classed as a home level and while you do get to play through some "home looking rooms" the memories and therefore the gameplay are mostly from her previous adventures in TR1 and TR2 but things are mostly fresh and different this time with lots of new areas and well as new twists on familiar areas. its grand, its intriguing, exciting and lots of fun to visit all these settings but with new challenges, puzzles, traps and timed runs that are just to die for. some parts are quite tricky and challenging but you know what it never gets tedious, boring or predictable because there is so much variety here with some fantastic surprises and new ideas all in nostalgic environments the only thing i think was missing here was maybe a vehicle section, that would of been the cherry on a very delicious cake" - John

"I quite enjoyed this TR2 level set, which looked quite well built throughout its duration (according to TR2 standards, obviously), using the Tomb Editor. I found it very original in how varied and balanced it was, and my only main complaint is it gets too dark most of the time, with quite a few pitch black spots (fortunately, plenty of flares are provided). Good atmosphere nonetheless. As one could expect from TR2, it's packed with enemies (sometimes in armies, but there's more than enough weaponry and ammo to deal with them) and traps or difficult situations of sorts almost around each corner. But it's all doable with no profuse sweating. I just didn't really understand the paper instructions on the second level... Some scenes are memorable, namely when Lara sees herself crucified at the distant end of a room, or even how she's sometimes chased after by her own clones. The ending seemed somewhat rushed, didn't it? Still, I loved the idea, the experience, and didn't find any faults while playing, so I'm saying this one is clearly recommended." - Jorge22

"This is really extremely creative level and it's full of moments in which the builder successfully manages to trick players with unusual triggers, flip maps and object usages. A really unique experience. If you're aware of the classic TR 2 game you'll find many great allusions and it's another great thing how the builder combined so many styles into just three levels with almost perfect 'transitions'. The gameplay is quite linear even if it doesn't always seen so, and sometimes it wasn't most creative but I think that's mainly due to other aspects like storyline and effects being more prominent in this game. It is still enjoyable most of the time and platforming is rather engaging, while not so many puzzles can be found here. Enemy and object design is top notch and remarkable as for a TR 2 level. I thought the secrets were a little on the easy side, but they were a welcome addition. Visually, there's little to complain. Texturing is quite good with few smaller mistakes; the lighting, even if quite effective at times, felt a bit bland at times and lacking contrast. All in all this was a brave attempt at a level and it was a success. It took me 1:30 hours to finish this level that literally deserves the attribute memorable..." - manarch2

"Here is my last stop for the Create a Cla... I mean Classic Engine Competition, what a similar name! I am genuinely editing this after I wrote this! I wrote Create a Classic instead of Classic Engine competition LOOOL ^w^
Onto the actual game, perhaps the most enjoyable out of the entire competition, a worthy opponent to BlackWolfTR Excellent level, There are three levels I will review each of them individually :3
Shattered Memories (9 10 10 10) 52min: We start the game with a flyby cutscene! Is it not lovely that Tomb Editor allows now those? Pretty sure TR2 level will be atmospheric on a whole new level now! So we wake up in Lara's home, which looks like it got nightmarized just like it was in JMN excellent The Nightmare, we open up to some exploring based gameplay with some good combating here and there and some very enjoyable trap sequences, there is a quirk I am not exactly fond of though and it is the over usage of the secret lever, which honestly would have worked the first time around, but seeing it overdone really threw off my sense of mystery the level had going for, I am not going to point that as a point detractor, I am instead going to judge the repeating rooms with little to no difference which work wonderfully when it comes to atmosphere but it feels like a walking simulator at some point. Big lost chance also at that point in which we get into a corridor only for a trapdoor to be waiting a key to be inserted and as we backtrack the door opens, brilliant. So much more brilliant if the level had many more moments like those. Overall the gameplay is fairly solid, I am still gonna rate it 9. Object usage was very good to convey the wonderfully corrupted nature of this custom level, enemies have been reskinned and they looks so goofy! Which is not said to detract point to the level, not at all! It reminds the player what is being played is happening in Lara's mind and likely because of that things mix up with fairly creative results! I also liked a lot one secret in particular, the one with the keys (players will understand), I am gonna rate this fully. Atmosphere? Perfect blend of mysterious and horror with wonderfully placed sound cues to help the player blend into the game, best work of the author yet for sure, rating this full. Rating full is also lighting and texturing, praising especially the latter, with all the different level tackled inside of the level, truly remarkable!
Copycat Land (10 9 10 10) 75min: We get another brilliantly built level which has a hub and 4 different themed up older adventures I am indeed going to rate individually! Because my review on TR95's Biohazard custom was not enough long, was it? ;3 Venice (8 10 10 10): A very interesting twist on the original map, with areas including all the three levels we get to endure in the original TR2, the gameplay goes from being quite good, to extremely good to rather flat, it will be a common trait of these little adventures, some of them are not really balanced in some way or another. On some ways I feel like the timed run is done excellently but that the overall short exploring time and the under development of the last area before the chip make me gravitate more towards an 8 for gameplay. Object usage is still great and the secret it is possible to be found here is rather inventive as it is in a place we usually go into in the original game but here it is not that immediate its reaching! Enemies throughout the entire level are quite inventive too, so expect from here on now a praise on them, object usage to decorate was also good. Have not found a flaw, so I will go for full mark. Atmosphere is hauntingly good, it feels very wrong to be in the bright and colorful Venice with a dark bloody sky ... and the golden waters? While I am not entirely sure over why it is there over the blood water, I do find it for sure some interesting choice for the style, full mark. Texturing and lighting is quite good as well, so I do not really have a reason to go below 10. Atlantis (10 8 9 8): I feel mixed towards this part, on one had we get some interesting gameplay, with a homage to the original room in the Hive level, will not say which ;3, and a great simple solution to a typical and seen over the top challenge, on the other hand we get combating in extremely tight places, a secret placement which feels like a complete shame considering the Peru part misses it and would have had the perfect place for it, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. In a more organized manner, the gameplay is mostly good with an interesting twist on what looked like a normal timed run, a quite fun timed run and as I stated before a homage to TR1 Gold perhaps best level, so as far as I go for this section it is a 10. As far as it goes for combating instead, so enemy placement, we get some combating on tight places which do not amp up the tension or so, they are just flat out annoying, the same happens in another room later on, I am not really a fan of that, the secret as well, is rather disappointing compared to where the Venice and the Tibet are, giving this section an 8. Atmosphere works fine for the most part, except for some little instances, like the first room we drop in an a room later on that unexplainably becomes entirely DARK. Giving a 9. Texturing is the least impressive of the entire level, we get patterning and honestly probably the least enjoyable lighting of the entire level. Giving this an 8. Tibet (10 9 10 10): Here lies the part of the game that started off rather blandly and get more and more brilliant the more it is played. The gameplay starts off slow as a crawl, but the more we ramp up the better it gets. The bell timed run! Best section of the entire level when it comes to gameplay. No lower than a 10. The secret of this area as well! It is such a clever twist on the original's secret placement, I have to say though that the combating felt a bit overwhelming near the end of the section, which does lower my way of viewing the level and pose me with a 9. Atmosphere wise, it also starts slow and rather blandly but near the end of the level there is this room in which you can get onto a higher ledge and see how wrong it feels for that horizon to be laying over the catacombs of Tailion, I am gonna give this section a 10. The texturing and lighting is good, there is some strong darkness but luckily not in the place where you play, usually outside your reach, hiding a dead corpse... full mark on this too. Peru (10 10 10 10): what is perhaps my favorite throwback of the level, we are given to explore some familiar places in Vicabamba and The Lost valley alike, and it all looks very brilliant, the platforming is flashed out and there is a timed run which does work really well and feels very smooth to pull off, overall I am posing this with a 10. Object wise it uses the original objects from Tomb Raider 1 to give that special vibes the game had, we even get to fight an actual T-Rex! What is better than that? There is a big missed secret opportunity, but I am not going to count it up in this occasion as the section does not feel empty without, full mark alike. The atmosphere... here you will find the best usage of the soundtrack in the entire game, when you enter the huge cave remake of the Vicabamba one, it feels exciting and rather epic ^w^ The lost valley got a new look and it does work quite fine :3 Full mark :3 the texturing and the lighting does work, albeit the lighting can be a little bit too dark at times, but nothing too exaggerate, so full mark :3
The Repentance (6 8 10 9) 17min: Entering what is perhaps my least favorite level in the game. We start off with some repeating room where the gimmick is following a certain number but ... it does not really feel risky to choose the wrong number, because you are just punished by being looped in the same room. This is a far wider version of the similar version in TR3 Rx-Tech mines, I did not liked it there I do not like it here either. The rest of the level is a dungeon of combating that really starts to feel boring and non refreshing, the level gets interesting in the end but otherwise this level's gameplay is absurdly weak, 6 at best. Enemies are far too many, why did Leoc feel like these many encounter made the game fun?? It does not quite frankly, but I am very fond of the object modifications, the last boss looks spectacular and the headless dual revolver guy? Super charming. Gonna give it an 8. The level never fails in giving a wonderful atmosphere and this level is no exception, the bloody water, the crucifix with someone on it, that spooky jumpscare somewhere I am not gonna say ;3 and the overall place the level takes place is just as inspired as the rest of the game, I am still giving that 10, followed by the texturing and lighting that were always treated with the best care, except some overly dark room, in which you even throw in combating, eeeeh not the best idea, 9
Conclusions:(8 9 10 10): Just as wonderful as BlackWolfTR entry, just as imperfect, in different ways, while the previous entry got harder, this one gets less inspired after the second level, I would have been more prone to see Leoc1995 just warping the player to the final boss, but considering the level takes more than 10 minutes to beat for me, I count it as a level and you can totally count how it damaged the gameplay and the enemy placement. Another extremely recommended custom though, which does its best at what it is great. I am bashing quite a bit the last level, but the rest of the game is brilliant and does deserve your attention. In the Competition, I am placing this at first place because of how unique this is, but this would be otherwise on the same level as BlackWolfTR's level. Make yourself a favor and play this :3. Wolfy Regards ^w^" - Wolf7

"The author managed to give us a memorable TR2 experience. We are trapped in (presumably) Lara's unconciousness and travel around in an abstract series of environments that resemble Lara's adventures. There are some genius twists and traps I'd like to see more in the future. Considering how often we see the Croft Manor's Pool room, I wonder how much Lara spends in there in her free time :D The level is mostly properly lit and textures. I encountered two or three misaligned textures. The first level is a masterstroke, while the second one drags a bit, since it's basically just a fetch quest. The author could have been a bit more ambitious in the overall level idea imo, since it just feels like a big filler. I had no difficulty with the enemies, as you are equipped with lots of medipacks and ammunition throughout the level. In some areas, the lighting was either on or off, there was sometimes a pitch black area. That could have been made better. Overall a very good TR2 experience." - Raildex

"Gameplay & Puzzles: 8 The adventure starts calmly as the heroine Lara wakes up in what seems to be her room, soon discovering that she's trapped in some sort of distorted nightmare... the mere concept and the masterful execution of this TRLE are to praise! The story kept you on the edge of your seat, lingering with hints as to what's going on and never fully giving you time to rest or feel at ease, not until the end. The puzzles and tricks were witty and creative and never felt too frustrating or boring. Except for the main lever puzzle in the last level. Enemies, Objects & Secrets: 9 One could have thought that adding the various TR2 goons from each sections of the level series would be already a great and immersive feat. But adding the details of different faces like winston flamethrower, lara as the venice goon and pierre's face on the snow mercs... simply fantastic. The secrets were also pretty nice to find although I wouldn't consider it the best part of the TRLE. One of the most creative I've seen. Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: 9 The thing that is mostly nailed in this spooky, halloween-eque TRLE is the mood and atmosphere. Absolutely a masterpiece, using textures, lighting, camera angles and the shattered trap rooms from different levels to convey this sense of nightmare! I loved seeing all the best (worst) moments that Lara had to face in her quests all mixed together, posing a new threat. One of the best I've played so far. Lightning & Textures: 9 The shattered and mixed rooms from different level sets were perfectly blended together and it never felt too much of a jump between rooms. It was always so clean and smooth. You turn around or slide down a slope and you are catapulted into a new threat and a new area! The disorientating effect that gives it's all thanks to the great design. Lights were dim and often rooms were left in the dark, forcing you to light a flare, thread carefully... you never know what to expect next so I walked each corner with my pistols out! One of the most immersive TRLE adventures I've ever played. Who knows, may we will get a following chapter that take place in TR3 or TR4 or even TRC shattered memories. Looking forward to that, hahah!" - ViridionSama

"Very creative level! Sometimes you just don't know what to expect in the next room. The level manages to be interesting throughout all 5 hours of gameplay. Sometimes there are really difficult battles and acrobatic riddles. In one battle I wanted to enable cheats. But the difficulty doesn't piss you off. I highly recommend it!" - ddaring_dash

"Gameplay & Puzzles:
10: I don't even know where I should start on this. To summarize it in 1 word is not even possible for me, it is amazing! You really put a heck of a lot of effort in your game and that shows in all parts with the gameplay and puzzles I noticed it is really do able, not really that you need to be a hard/expert player to get through it all. Clang- Clang doors and a boulder scared me at first that I did not have enough time, that I was rushing through it all while it was possible to get around if you just take your time. I was to haste lol, but yeah in conclusion, it was very nice to do, nice and linear and cool to play, I especially liked the second level, Copycat Land, there is a perfect example of Classics, get some parts of TR1 and TR2, I liked every second I spend in it. I really liked the idea.
Enemies, Objects & Secrets:
10: Here you can see some of the colors of where the name of the level came from, Enemies that have Lara's face, Winston's throwing teacups. First, I was like what is this, then I took a closer look, and I was amazed by what Leo has done in this, Making custom enemies, like Whaaat! Regarding objects, man… I was speechless, it looked so good, I really have no words for it. Secrets are fair enough to find, not to hard, not to easy, right in a middle way to find them, but! You will have to look closely here and there.
Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras:
10: I am getting quite dull with the 10s huh? But it is true! The atmosphere this set was put in, is truly amazing, It kept me at the edge of my seat every second I was playing the levels. From the first moment till the end, I was stunned. Along with the sound it really kept me on point and alert all the time even at moments you could let your guard down, but I made mistakes here and there with doing that. Getting caught off-guard when you think nothing will happen, something happens. I did notice some minor camera bugs, but I forced then to come up, so I won't take points off for that. Again, Copycat Land that is where most of the magic is regarding it in my opinion, going though all old places hearing soothing sounds. Along with the heartbeat at the background. The heartbeat leaves me thinking that it truly is a nightmare Lara was in.
Lightning & Textures:
10: Yep I know, I know. It is getting dull. The lightning was set in a dark place that you really need your flares, that is not an problem since you get more then enough to get through it all, but playing some parts in the dark really kept me thinking especially with some puzzles. Textures are good, no issues found there, you even went the mile to make enemies custom textures that looked amazing!
Closure notes:
Ok I know I gave a lot of praise for this level, but it is worth it! It truly is an amazing set with lots of memories and things to explore. This set left me speechless and wanting more! I was sad the set was over in roughly 2 hours. I have also played some of this authors other level sets, and this is the same or higher caliber of what he can do, Amazing work Keep it up and I really hope to see more like this (or a follow up of this set) in the future!" - Akirakina

"Very creative and original idea for levelset in TR2 engine. Theme of levelset is surreal and we visit here some good known for us locations like for example Venice or Peru. Gameplay is great with much platforming, it's action-packed and contains some plot twists. There's much illusions and trolls in this level which is rare for TR2 engine. The idea of second level was amazing; there are four different "worlds" from original games in which we need to retrieve four artifacts. Each "world" is opened by combination of switches like in TR1 Palace Midas. I really loved the customization of enemies, they were totally fresh with changed textures and meshes. Usage of sounds and soundtracks was very good, I don't have any remarks to this. About level design... It was phenomenal with great diversity of textures. There were few bugs with them but it isn't that relevant. Every room is nicely decorated. Lighting is very good and red skybox increases atmosphere of this level. Overally, it's very creative levelset on TR2 engine in surreal vibes with old good known locations. I definetly recommend it." - BlackWolfTR

"Tomb Raider lovers will feel the Silver Anniversary even more through this amazing levelset!

Leoc1995 provides many original and very creative moments that are based on the first official Tomb Raider releases. Some times there are too many enemies, but just as long as you make Lara pick up everything she can, you'll be fine.

The game took me almost 2 hours and 30 minutes, and it was very hard. In truth, the game is linear and explores the concept incredibly well, so it is easy except for the enemies.

This is a levelset of Lara's dream, and it is a dream of a levelset! Congratulations, Leonardo. Thank you for sharing your creativity in such a wonderful moment, 25 years in the making!" - MigMarado