Level reviews

"Another incredible level from this author. If I felt that The Last Plague 2 lacked more puzzles, the author took note and delivered an adventure filled with them. I particularly enjoyed the first one, where you had to guess the numeric code. However, the clues for the domino puzzle seemed a bit obscure; I only managed to figure out the sequence for one of the pieces, and the rest was a matter of trial and error. The design and atmosphere once again reminded me of Dark Souls. The inspiration is clear: the multi-leveled environments, the poisonous or fog-covered areas... Everything you see is within reach, except for the church submerged in water. I would have loved to explore it! The enemies, as usual, are extremely tough and nearly impossible to dodge due to their speed. Basically, the strategy is to shoot first and ask questions later. I find it amazing that the author composed the music themselves. It’s beautiful and enhances the immersion. The ending is sad due to the death of Lara’s friend (or so I hope), though I didn’t fully understand the cult-like group that appears at the end... I guess we’ll find out in this author’s future works." - requiemsoul

"Diogo is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best designers (creator/builder) of levels in the Custom TR universe (if not even the best) such is the level of imagination and creativity invested in his adventures. With a narrative that is almost always innovative and non-linear, filled with intricate solutions and a unique and unmistakable perspective that only he can offer. This time the level of difficulty lies in choosing the path and the options that are taken throughout the adventure. I spent more than 8 hours (in terms of load/saves) over these 3 levels and what I can say is that I loved everything: The experience, the atmosphere, the environments and, above all, the music, which as authentic masterpieces. This game is unmissable and highly recommended!!!" - CalrOsario

"Not a Christmas game, this. Definitely not: after all, the point of Christmas is a birth, while death encompasses all this game. It is tragic, sinister, solemn, with astoundingly good music (I loved the piano performance by Lara) and a very competent video construction. Santa makes his appearance, certainly: but offering weapons as gifts. Nevertheless, here we find creativity and novelties: I enjoyed in special the poisoned little mushrooms - they spice up the game; and the little Santas, the secrets, were also very good. Some of the puzzles are difficult to devise; I didn't find a clue for the solution of the Lions' one, and at another place, when Lara had to open a door inserting code numbers in a keypad, the panel that should give the clues had only three symbols instead of four, and for two of the three symbols there were question marks on the solution board. Without the walkthrough,I would be at that place until now. The optional part of the game is mightily difficult - and I do not recommend to play it if you don't want to see a heartbreakingly sad scene, and a possible suicide of Lara (for what means that scream, after she runs away and vanishes amid sinister hooded beings?) It is much better to refrain from playing it, and receive a hug and consoling words from Santa after the tragic news, before running by the snow to the ending portal." - Josey

"This is an involving adventure that is somewhat festive in appearance (at least in the first level) and is not without its fair share of challenges. Thankfully, these are somewhat toned down in comparison to this builder's previous efforts, making for a more well-rounded and thoroughly satisfying experience. The three main levels don't bear any similarity to each other (apart from the rather sombre storyline), but they do provide refreshing changes of scenery as you make your way through. The visuals are top- notch throughout, the architecture is stunning and the dark places are easily overcome by Lara's hefty supply of flares. The fog in the garden area could have been toned down a bit though, as it was a bit overbearing. Plenty of puzzles will keep you on your toes, some of them requiring a bit of lateral thinking, although they were a bit obscure in places. Enemies can be quite fearsome, but there's plenty of weaponry available as a reward for finding the Secret Santa objects (although the Hydra in the ending I got was irritating). Strongly recommended." - Ryan

"I've taken this builder to task in past reviews for what I've considered the player- unfriendliness of his levels, but I had a jolly good time in this game (with the exception of the last level, which I'll get to in a minute). There are three separate and distinct levels which bear little resemblance to one another--one takes place inside a mansion, one in an underground cavern and one in a sprawling fogbound garden. There are 20 secrets to be found, and if you collect them all you're entitled to a full array of weaponry that can be acquired at Santa's arsenal (which hardly serves to promote the Christmas spirit). It gets dark in places, but enough flares are provided to keep darkness from ever becoming an issue. Gameplay can also become rather difficult on occasion, but I was able to manage with some effort during the first three levels. The solutions to the various puzzles, as others have noted, can be somewhat obscure, and in the written walk I've prepared I've simply stated what needs to be done instead of trying to figure out and explain them. At the end of the third level the player has the option of either ending the game by running back along the road leading to Lara's mansion, or playing what has charitably been called a "bonus" level. Here is where the builder has reverted to true form, throwing at the player a half dozen or more winged fairies, a trio of Lara look-alikes and a hydra that spits out fireballs at an alarming rate. This can be played glitch-free in about ten minutes, but it took me more than two hours to get through this section while trying to write everything down in coherent fashion and at the same time saving in multiple slots. There's also an undocumented fifth level that I stumbled across quite by accident, but it provides only a couple of extra ammo pickups, a brief battle with assorted enemies and a gallery of well-known video producers. In sum, all the fun to me was squeezed into the main three levels." - Phil

"A relaxing... oh wait it's Diogo... a huge, epic and action-packed adventure where you collect Santas to free another Santa. Prepare for dark tone in a bright level as this is not a typical Christmas experience. The best is cinematography, cutscenes are top-notch. I found a very easy skip which disables the most of the fog and makes the game look much better, so maybe it is a tip for the builder to make it intended. Recommended." - DJ Full

"This is a very poignant, but more than welcome addition to the Christmas TRLE collection. A stark reminder its not all sunshine and rainbows at Christmas for everybody. But that doesn't mean this level isn't any fun to play, quite the contrary! Was a joy to play with throughly engaging gameplay and some pretty clever puzzles... The Lion Puzzle was probably a little too clever for me, as I'm pretty sure without the help of a walkthrough I'd still be there trying to figure it out! Player direction was there for all the other puzzles except that one, it felt to me anyways... All the locations in the level set looked stunning with some nice use of music throughout to add to the atmosphere and ambiance. Would definitely recommend you play this level set anyways!" - Feats

"Disliked

• The way Lara interacts with water is strange: jumping in or going waist deep will kill her immediately, so it's easy to conclude that the water is deadly to the touch and should be avoided. Except, that is not the case, there is no effect if Lara just has her feet in the water. This inconsistency may prevent players from being able to intuit explorable paths, and it had me stuck until I looked at a walkthrough.
• Using multiple of the same keylock can confuse players, and have them scrambling for a second key that doesn't exist. This is the case in the garden, which has two of the same lock next to each other at a gate, but it turns out only one needs to be used.

Liked

• There is clearly a lot of heart put into the narrative here. The player even gets to choose between two endings (although one of them is essentially a finish trigger). I didn't understand the ending cliffhanger scene though, with reference to a scripture that hasn't been mentioned before, and the introduction of hooded figures that I assume will be part of a future story.
• Quite a few puzzles to enjoy in this adventure, and as usual I am biased toward those. Several of these puzzles are pretty difficult, and involve things like numerical patterns, so it may not be an approachable adventure for some players.
• Everything in the visual department is very strong, from texturing to architecture. The one minor complaint I have is that the fog in the garden is a little too thick. Sure it's atmospheric, but it makes it hard to navigate when Lara can only see a couple of tiles ahead of her.

Time: 2 hours 32 minutes | Difficulty: Hard | Rating: 9.25/10" - JesseG

"Feeling Forgotten is close to a full-on retail game in its production value; it's incredible. It looks great, with a smorgasbord of impressive new models. The cutscenes boast full voice acting, and the environments are well done. It also sports an endgame that is so technically impressive and emotionally resonant that it rivals the official Tomb Raider games. A pity, then, that sometimes it tends to be too clever by half. A couple of the puzzles and challenges were altogether too obtuse to be solved 'honestly,' at least for me. A lot of the Feeling Forgotten's middle portion is undermined by the lack of cohesive sound design - the musical tracks, while impressive in a vacuum and no doubt created by a very talented composer, were so overbearing they undermined the gameplay - it might sound quite odd, but there was simply too much music, and far too little of the silent, hypnotic exploration one finds in the classic Tomb Raider games. This does not apply to the opening sequence and the final boss, which make stellar use of choir vocals overlaid on electronica. The story is also a strange affair: to some it will be poignant enough to drive them to tears, and to others it may not be grounded enough to enjoy, or far too dreary. Yet despite all these criticisms and love-or-hate factors, I cannot possibly overstate how impressive Feeling Forgotten is in technique and spectacle. Even if one doesn't enjoy this level too much, and I'm not sure I really did, it's a testament to what a skilled level designer can achieve with the Tomb Raider engine. If the author hasn't gone pro in the video game industry yet, he should. This is a great showcase." - Spinnerweb

"Relatively challenging small set of levels, with interesting puzzles and tough enemies.

• I found it pretty hard to make progress. I often looked at a play through youtube video when I got stuck. I can't make an objective judgment, but it's probably rather challenging.
• The puzzles were interesting and not too hard. One of them had incomprehensible hints and I still don't understand the logic behind it (door to the lion room).
• The enemies get tougher later on. It's recommended to collect most of the santas so it doesn't get too hard alter.
• I also encountered that softlock bug where I couldn't return from the room with the rotating lion statue puzzle. I had to resume from an older savegame and do the puzzle again. I don't know what triggered the bug and how I didn't trigger it the second time.
• Especially the garden sub-level had an interesting and wide architecture.
• The atmosphere was good. It's Christmas-themed, but not extremely so. It had something serious to it, with a tragic ending. It's not often that things want to kill you in a Christmas level. I play with sound disabled so I didn't understand much of the story.

" - tuxraider

"1. i had a bug when i solved the 4 rotating flashy lions , couldnt exit through the opened door back to the 2 stories tile puzzle, it was like it blocked with an enemy 2. in the garden i could actually bypass a part of it by jumping from the santa area to the column below and find myself to the lever 3.why i found the 'gear' key twice in the game and the room was easter egg for the next project? 4.grandmasterkey in the garden can use it in 2 lockpads , what does the 2nd one does , never found 5.what was about the hooded men ? i noticed two of them in the garden , couldnt shoot them 6.tip:the santa babies are the secrets and you trade them with weapons , you dont need to trade them for weapons cumulatively , although it doesnt show in the inventory how much u have gathered , found 17/20 7.Felt somehow weird-emotional when i could escape the mansion and i was running back to the beginning Overall Diogo is a top class creative builder , i quite enjoyed the puzzles.. the atmosphere , exploration and themes were top-notch.. The people you refer-dedicate this release to the end would be proud for you" - Petaludas