Levels listed...
TR5 - 33
TR4 - 3187
TR3 - 182
TR2 - 139
TR1 - 67
73816 reviews (20.4/level)
3595 (99.6%) walkthroughs
456 Hall of Fame levels
1259 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
01-Feb-2022 |
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# of downloads: |
275 |
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average rating: |
8.63 |
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review count: |
20 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
249.00 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Xmas |
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author profile(s): |
email(s): |
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n/a |
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Reviewer's comments |
"A most excellent debut level. It was good enough to have me hooked for four days, real
time. The beginning was a bit slow paced and I became frustrated with typical noob
mistakes like identical windows with different properties - shootable/crowbar or
decoration. That was only really an issue in the opening level, once I entered the zoo the
gameplay picked up and from this moment on I only needed the walkthrough once - because I
forgot I had the "pump access card" in my inventory. I think I got lucky there, because
the second half of the game became very complicated. Sure, there was backtracking, but -
so what; there is too much bleating about that these days. Levels can either be linear or
non-linear, and non-linear does inevitably involve some backtracking, and frankly, non-
linear games are more fun, and more of a challenge.
Lighting and texturing was a strong-point throughout. Atmosphere was also good, but I
could have done with a bit less of the mood music, especially as loops, like in the
opening sewer section. Ambient sounds on the other hand were very effective at conveying
the chilly vibe.
Got 13/14 teddies leaving me curious about the one I missed.
Overall: a great level, and a remarkable debut. No enemies and not much platforming but
the intricate exploration meant that for me at least, this was certainly no "walk in the
park"." - Dick (06-Apr-2023) |
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"This level shows a majestic environment, but continuously butchered by level design flaws. Still, for being a debut level, it doesn't bring a lot of common unrefinements and this level definitely doesn't scream "debut" in a lot of departments.
The adventure brings a lot of creativity, funny moments and a big variety of circumstances and moods, all of them really very well crafted, with proper asset consistency (I'd say this shows a 2008-2012 graphic style), very good color composition in any scenery, areas that "tell something" visually, atmospheric lighting with not too high regard for the realism yet not too cartoonish either, and never too dark. It really delivers what you want to feel and see during a cozy winter holiday (other than fitting as a peaceful level, non-violent, very rarely deadly, totally relaxed).
The builder also proven how using classic assets can still feel fresh if set in a proper and coherent mood and circumstance.
The main problem with the adventure is the whole level design in general, including a lot of annoying flaws which I'm going to list more like a reminder than an actual review description: there are several cases of very long backtracking, both required and potential, even when there was totally the option to avoid that, such as the basement where the snowball launcher is found, that literally shows you "hey, a shortcut here!" but it's actually closed. That shows the backtracking was often an actually intentional choice but that is really not a welcomed one, surely for most players. Backtracking kills the feeling of reward after completing an area because it adds a "tax" to it instead. The maze hides potential double backtracking if the player didn't take the torch there the first time, as well as the final task with the skippable underwater timed trapdoor.
Another problem is the confusion given by the "solution before puzzle" mechanic, which means the player finds the key elements before seeing what they are for or where they go. This is not only confusing, because the player will start wondering what he missed so far to use it (and will keep in mind this feeling of having messed up during all the level), but it also misses a chance to create an actual "aha" moment, that rewards the collection of the item. If the player is looking for a canister, then finds it, that gives the reward to fuel the motivation to continue. Canceling the puzzle in its own design means: filler task.
The most frustrating part of the game is the lack of consistency in what is interactive and what isn't. Windows that look the same but some are not shatterable, some are, some need a crowbar. Similarly, other items were not intuitive such as the apple to put on a completely random "decoration" in the park (why?), underwater door is not intuitive as well. This is just wrong as it forces (teaches) the player to try interacting with every single item in different ways, always expecting there is this kind of unintuitive usage of them and that is (I hope) not the intended planning of the adventure.
Some more roaming around is granted by camouflaged/hidden progression elements, such as a very unfair and skippable crowbar lying on a floor line, that is double skippable because if the player picks the canister first the door even opens behind, to suggest the room is actually finished and to not look further, taking off one more chance to see it. Skippable yellow fuse in the grass (more like a secret-alike difficulty), invisible jump switches (secret-alike difficulty too), misleading hints and design (Lara looks at clouds that look like platforms rather than noticing the jump switch and given the player is prevented from climbing on ledges all around it really looks like the goal is jumping on clouds), unmarked ladders with foliage only, and to not mention the Pump Card machine which is just in a so forgettable area and requires so much insane backtracking in an already "finished" area that I would bet most players had to check the walkthrough at that point.
Small unrefinements are given by "tapefixed" unaccessible geometry instead of modifying it and magically opening doors after picking a pickup, that makes the adventure less free and reminds the player over and over that "this is a game".
In front of these problems I'd normally give a 6 in Gameplay but I'm giving it a 7 because of the overall enjoyment in so many pleasant areas and variety of situations that prevent a lot of boredom and roaming around in this environment can be partially pleasant in this way.
I wouldn't recommend this level as a player, but the atmosphere is cool and worth feeling so what I recommend is watching a video walkthrough of it, or start watching it when stuck / too annoyed.
If the builder learns from these mistakes, a great potential will be unleashed." - dinne (04-Jan-2023) |
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"very nice and sometimes even intricate cute the fact how it is made holiday style
consequently no enemies." - Bangkok (02-Nov-2022) |
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"Excellent to play during those summer heat waves, aaaahhh, I already feel cooled down. It has some random gameplay moments but is otherwise very good and sometimes masterful, so keep a walkthrough relatively close and take a stroll." - DJ Full (11-Jul-2022) |
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"A solid hour long raid that does not have all too much on offer gameplaywise, but lives from the story and exploration of the picturesque setting, but not much that will test your skills or brain. There are many, many boxes to the used here, never excessively long but it is a bit boring after a while. The secrets are nicely hidden if mostly easy to find, while the object design is accurate, spiced up with a few nice interactions with animals and Winston.. Perhaps the lighting is a bit dull at times but the texturing is very clean and together with sounds and cameras atmosphere is really convincing overall. A good debut that, like so many, could've had some more gameplay ideas to make this raid a memorable one." - manarch2 (20-Mar-2022) |
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"A sweet, festive release that would fitted
perfectly within the Advent Calendar
season. This is also, rather
encouragingly, another high-quality debut
effort. There's nothing too difficult to
accomplish (although the exploration side
of things is rather spread out) and it's
probably not the ideal choice for those
looking for a more challenging raid, but
it does what it sets out to do really
well. The construction is exemplary,
textures are used very well and the music
usage throughout is wonderful, utilising a
mixture of audio from various Back to
Basics packages and original TRs without
seeming incongruous. Maybe a couple of
extra puzzles wouldn't have gone amiss,
but I did enjoy the torch sequences, the
reindeer jaunt and the jumps across the
rooftops. A very enjoyable experience." - Ryan (04-Mar-2022) |
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"This level is such a nice level to play.
Taking a lovely stroll in the city, to an adventure in the zoo.
To the safe return to Winston.
It was a well designed level, with a personality clear shown to be sweet and loving.
I cant believe the creator has only made this TRLE and nothing else so far, clearly the
creator wanted to make a great first impression, and I can tell this maker will continue to
make great things in future too.
The only trouble I had was mounting on the reindeer sometimes, and I cant believe it took
me so long to find a torch.
Other than that, this level is wonderful, a must play, especially in winter months,
remember to get a hot cup of cocoa while you play it, it really keeps you warm and cosy." - JimmyBeon (01-Mar-2022) |
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"I really enjoyed playing this custom level, peaceful, just you and right jumps and
pickups... The aquarium is awesome! Recommended." - Lioness_86 (27-Feb-2022) |
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"This one is at the same time a fairly easy and a fairly complex game, spread out as it is
over five interlocking levels that flow together quite nicely. The sound effects are
convincing and the music selections bring back memories of the early commercial games.
Although I can't remember any particularly difficult moments, and although everything is so
well lighted that I used a flare maybe once, I never got the impression while I was playing
that this was destined to become a classic raid. Others have mentioned the backtracking, but
it's presented here in such a way that it didn't become an annoyance to me. Since I was
writing a walkthrough while playing, my total of five hours may seem a bit excessive, but it
goes to show that you get a tremendous amount of gameplay out of a single-themed production.
One thing I never figured out was the purpose of that snowball gun, since there are no
enemies (other than that bear/bull that you can't kill anyway) and since you get the pistols
fairly early on. I never had the occasion to use it, and in fact never even bothered to try
it out to see how it worked. Anyway, this is a pleasant outing in the Christmas spirit that
should provide loads of fun for everyone." - Phil (23-Feb-2022) |
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"A nice Christmas treat that came in February. It's a Christmas classic in terms of gameplay
and the visuals are very pretty in a retro way, like those early Christmas levels from so
many good builders. The fact that it is a debut level makes it even more impressive. It's a
peaceful level with no enemies and based on exploration, mostly keys at first but then it
becomes more interesting. The atmosphere is great (loved the fog), so are the music choices.
Lighting and texturing are also great. A good Christmas level which I wholeheartedly
recommend." - billie2001 (18-Feb-2022) |
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"This level is visually simple, and the game play is mostly about running around and collecting keys. It's pretty OK for what it is, but it's not amazing or anything, and with some problems. What lowers my rating further is that I got badly stuck occasionally, and which made time I spent on this level much longer than it were if I had known some of the harder bits. There are some logical inconsistencies, like I could open some windows with the crowbar equivalents, but not others. Or how one window was breakable with the snowgun, which was a big exception. (To be fair, it's not as bad as breakable windows vs. bullet-proof windows in some other levels.) The bear scene at the end was funny, but has been done better before (and how did he get through the closed gate?) On the other hand, and to say something positive, the way how to unfreeze the butler was also a funny idea, obvious, but in a sense rewarding. The final level was the first revisited, but it obviously was a new level, for example a door I opened before was closed again. In general, the level title suggests an easy-going level, which it mostly was, but not quite. In the other reviews I've read that this was the author's first level - for that I think it's quite decent and I'd be happy to play more levels from the author." - tuxraider (16-Feb-2022) |
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"A good first level from the builder , it is obvious that a lot of care has been put into it
, there is a lot of objects and i did not spot any texturing mistakes. Enemy free except two
that you can't shoot , so you can concentrate on your progression. It was fine for me until
the point when you return to the zoo after the greenhouse. It is at this point that the
level became to be a bit tiresome as the zoo areas open up more and the areas look a bit the
same. There is a reeinder ride and an encouter with a bear to break the monotony
of exploring back and forth. At the very end frozen Winston would not budge , Lara made the
pushing animation and then nothing , from every side impossible to push or drag the butler.
Generally textures and musics are well chosen , it was cool to recognize stuff from the
various BTB and despite the various textures used the setting is harmonious." - eRIC (13-Feb-2022) |
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"You have to respect the author's choice of going simple (yet not simplistic) on the general
architecture... It's a nice, peaceful Christmas multi-level that seems rather well done, and
is actually varied in task terms - so much so, that I found it a tad disorienting at times.
There are plenty of great ideas throughout, namely the leopard and the bear parts, as well
as driving the reindeer across the icy, snowy mountains. Secrets, loads of them, are teddy
bears. Perhaps there are too many tasks at hand? I don't know, but I didn't have 100% fun,
and that may be the reason. Still, it's rather good for a first level. Thanks." - Jorge22 (10-Feb-2022) |
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"For winter days an incredibly beautiful game to play. Snowy streets, buildings, some cars, birds, flowers, snow-white. Lara's janitor froze and she needs to warm him up through various adventures in the city, the sewers, the zoo. The aquariums are beautiful and I think this is the main point and great talent that the author of these beautiful levels can show even deeper and stronger, I hope, through the next tomb raider levels. Aquariums are my favorite in my life and through tomb raider levels for playing.
Helping the animals in the zoo is beautiful and they are quite spacious on several floors. It is either up in the garden or down and then again in the part with aquariums. Very nice work done by the author. All recommendations!" - Ivan (07-Feb-2022) |
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"A fun and enjoyable custom level! It took me a while to finish. I enjoyed the city scene and the idea of Lara in a zoo." - Vicky (06-Feb-2022) |
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"I can't complaints about anything in this game, it's all perfect. It fits perfectly the snowy theme. I really like how it is strucured, I even like the plot story. It's so funny to chase from vary ambient the Winston's Key. You have to do a lot of backtracking and puzzles, which are typical from classic TR. All the osts I really appreciate how they where used, especially the one from TR3 and the one into the aquarium which was really suited. The Aquarium was my favourite location because it was really well textured and had super beautiful lightning. I also like the dolphins inside it. I felt I sense of peace playing that part. I really like even the Secrets and how well was hidden but since I'm a veteran of the saga and I like a lot to explor I was able to discover everyone of them. They are a litlle cute plushie bear. The atmosphere of the Greenhouse, the Zoo, the City, every level fit the snowy theme. The duration of this custom is medium but really enjoyable. The deer mount was so cute, even the sound he makes if you make mistakes while guiding him. I really like even how the bear was used. Everything is perfect! Looking forward to playing next custom level from the builder! Thanks so much for creating such a masterpiece. I've also done the complete video walkthrough with all items and secrets collected on my YT channel! 🙂" - Saki Croft (05-Feb-2022) |
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"Wow what an adventure! i wasnt expecting almost 4 hours of gameplay here but i certainly
enjoyed it, what i liked most about this set of levels was the setting! from the snowy
city to the colourful zoo, gorgeous greenhouse and then the fun snowy wilderness it was
just lovely to look around and do some exploring all in the search of winston's missing
key that was stolen by a bird. So much detail and care have been put into this level when
it comes to the visuals like textures and weather, lighting and cameras and the music was
fabulous as well with some good nostalgic tunes from previous TR's. Now as for the
gameplay despite a lot of tasks involving searching, finding and using items it wasnt
insanely tedious or boring because just exploring around the beautiful areas at the
beginning was such a treat and there was also a lot of other fun tasks now and again as
well like, moveable blocks puzzles, lifting platform puzzles, rope swinging, reindeer
riding, quick thinking and timed tasks with platforming puzzles, a bear you have to lure
to a wall switch and a leopard saving task, the list goes on! i really enjoyed the
reindeer riding and seeing all the animals in the zoo like the camels, small dinosaurs and
swimming with dolphins etc and there was some good puzzles in some of the underground
industrial areas as well. The only downside was all the backtracking to be honest which
was fine in the first half but started to wear thin in the second half of the level and i
found there was a bit too much focus on finding items at times with a lack of much danger
or traps around but i'm nitpicking really as i found the variety in the game to be very
enjoyable and it was very well made. definitely one id replay" - John (04-Feb-2022) |
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"This game is very near to be a masterpiece. It's a madhouse setting in a snowy environment and it's absolutely stunning. This builder is really an elegant designer. I agree with with previous reviewer who says this game gives vibes of builders like Agnes or Miss Kroft. The gameplay is clever and various. I enjoyed it in every part. I didn't have dull moments. Maybe the only thing I didn't like was the wind background noise in the outside areas, which is a little obsessive while you are trying to understand what to do. Apart from that, I really recommend to play it and I look forward to see more from this builder." - Teone (03-Feb-2022) |
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"This is a very successful first work, with beautifully designed landscapes, great tasks and
a zoo area that is very lovingly designed. I especially liked the aquariums.
Overall quite easy to play without any particular difficulties. The strengths of the game
lie in the different areas, which are designed very varied. In the five parts you have to
play, there are different and partly interesting tasks to do, like the one with the leopard
that needs medicine. A ride with the reindeer and a bear that turns out to be a bull round
everything off.
The goal of the game is to find the key to the house where Winston is waiting and the game
has begun.
Unfortunately, I took too long, because Winston was frozen and Lara had to thaw him again
;-)
Highly recommended." - nad (02-Feb-2022) |
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"What a beautiful adventure! A snowy Walk in the Park - that's the name of the debut level that Leeloo is presenting us here. Doesn't sound that extensive and special at first but far from it... There are 5 levels to explore and the park is expanded by the city and a whole zoo. Great! What I immediately noticed is the great atmosphere, really every area looks different and stands out from the previous one, be it the city, the greenhouse or the aquarium. In general, this level made me a little nostalgic, I don't know if it's the textures, objects or the outfit, but right at the beginning the level reminded me of the early Advent levels of MissKroft, Agnes and Masha. A feeling that I really missed in the recent calendar levels... The various classic textures and objects create a harmonious picture, additional fog effects and the pleasant lighting do the rest. I also liked the fact that Lara doesn't kill the resident animals during this visit to the zoo (*cough, cough* Madhouse *cough*) but interacts peacefully with them. Whether it's the snow leopard that needs its medicine, the reindeer that needs its run or the bear that... well also helps out somehow ;). Unfortunately, the interesting tasks only take place towards the end of the level, especially at the beginning you often run from switch to switch and backtracking is more common than you want it to be. I would have liked a few more shortcuts, like the one at the end of the reindeer course. The greenhouse, one of the most beautiful locations, was far too short in my opinion. A bigger puzzle would have been nice there. Visually, there's not much to complain about, a few objects are a bit too high definition and don't really fit into the classic setting, but considering that this is a debut level, that's okay. The camera work and the choice of music is very nice, especially the end with the twist made me smile. All in all a very nice adventure that I can recommend to everyone. Congratulations on your debut and good luck for the next level, Leeloo, I'm sure you'll come up with great things!" - Mr XY (01-Feb-2022) |
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