Level reviews

"A highly entertaining level, divided into three distinct zones. The first focuses on exploration, climbing, and discovering secrets. The second features a visually spectacular puzzle, with a room that rotates in a fascinating manner, and a third area that pays homage to Paradise from The Last Plague. The combat carries the unmistakable signature of the author, featuring two types of bosses: those with attacks that are extremely difficult to dodge, forcing you to rely on special healing elements integrated into the environment, and those battles where you face two powerful enemies simultaneously. The settings are majestic and have a mystical touch, although I found them a bit dark and missed the unlimited flashlight present in the author's other works. The good ending is indescribable. I didn’t fully understand it. Was it trying to simulate the feeling of being abducted by a spaceship? If that was the goal, it succeeded admirably, as the scene becomes disorienting and dizzying due to the visual effect of the previous zone collapsing. Additionally, I personally would have added a small sub-level in the tower before the final timed sequence. Overall, I found it to be an outstanding level, crafted by one of the most original designers in recent years." - requiemsoul

"This is the first BtB2024 level I play, so first of all thanks a lot to the BtB2024 team for coming up with the package, it looks absolutely amazing ! The only note I would have (I'm not sure if it's linked to the level or to the package though) is that the sand texture sound sounds really strange, but that's it really. For the level-set in itself, it was absolutely amazing ! The main area was gigantic and gorgeous, and the two side levels were absolutely beautiful and with really cool gameplay and puzzles. The PDA clues were cleverly and conveniently put and helped a lot to understand the context and the story. I also loved the two different endings, especially the one you get if you use the Atlas (I'm not sure if I interpreted it right but it was pretty cool nonetheless !). The level was a bit challenging but with really interesting gameplay. The only thing I didn't figure out is what was the target at the entrance to the main cave used for, because I got the revolver but never found the lasersight haha. If I had notes to give : maybe make the areas a bit less dark, and make the puzzles a bit harder, because most of them were quite easy (aside from the puzzles the rest of the gameplay was hard enough !). In a nutshell, a brilliant level-set and highly recommended ! :) Played in Dec '24, about 3 hours, all secret & atlas pieces found, both endings found." - Revenge

"If you hunt for secrets, you will get the most sour moment of the contest when you end up with 19/20 secrets, realize the very first one was lost in the beginning and now you need to replay everything (booo, what is this?). Otherwise it's a grand map with challenging bulk and hardcore ending, yet possible to do with agility and/or a method and satisfying when you finally get out. Depending on who you are you will either enjoy the colors or get a Luddick reflex ("Eh wat?")." - DJ Full

"This is an utterly ingenious level set, but clearly not aimed at the casual raiders out there. I needed a pointer by the builder a few times to find the starting points of the respective path to take, but from there it usually flowed quite well. And gameplay is all about finding your way up and around huge and massive areas in the main hub level and equally the two separate levels where you pick up the two puzzle pieces you need to escape in the end. Both of these separate levels really play as a somewhat single puzzle room and took me about 25 minutes each to get through, but wandering around the hub cave added another hour plus to my game time as I tried to find the 20 Atlas items as well (and still failed, getting only 15 of them). The overall atmosphere, the textures, the lighting and the creative use of objects is absolutely breathtaking in this one. There is also some thought put into story as you can find tablet notes along the way. Anything not to like then? Well - it is a bit on the darker side, although ample amount of flares is provided and I never ran out. And while the enemy battles, including the one double boss fight are cleverly designed, I found them maybe almost a bit too over the top. Plus, of course, the final escape run... I loved the challenge and managed that timed sequence with comparably few attempts and saves along the way, but as said at the beginning, for the more casual raiders out there, this may be a huge source of frustration. Guess you need to find out for yourself which group you belong to... (130 min, 0/1 secrets found)" - MichaelP

"My memory for entertainment media is terrible. As much as I love video games, the moment I finish one, it begins to fade from my memory. A few moments will imprint themselves on my memory, while the rest are lost to time. This is no different with custom levels, but if, years later, I reread one of my reviews, I can usually see one moment in my mind. “Oh, the level with the pretty courtyard” or “oh, the level with that one boss fight” or “oh, the level with that switch hidden in a dark corner” (that last one could be a lot of levels). For this level, the part that will immediately come to mind is collecting twenty MacGuffins scattered throughout a large cave. It’s reminiscent of Super Mario, although it’s more Super Mario Odyssey than Super Mario 64. Nintendo fans will understand that comparison immediately, but my point is that the MacGuffins are pretty much just sprinkled around the cave, almost randomly. Some of them are places more deliberately, but then it’s like the author ran out of space and just placed the rest wherever. And sure, collecting them is actually completely optional (leading to an alternate ending), but most players probably are going to collect them and doing so is like a third of the level. So why not go nuts with this concept? You could have had unique challenges for all of them. That could have been the whole level right there. Instead it feels more like they’re mostly there because the author needed some sort of gameplay to fill out the area. Anyway, rant over. It’s not like the rest of the level is bad, anyway. The central cave has two giant statues, and underneath each is a door leading to a key, and the goal is to get both of them and open up the exit. For some reason you have to get the keys in order, which is weird because letting the player choose would have made the level seem less linear (although it’s not like you could have made an informed choice anyway). The door underneath the first statue leads to a rotating room – an idea I found more fun in theory than in practice. I really struggled to visualize how the room would change when rotated, so it mostly just became a matter of “well, I can’t reach that door now so I guess I have to rotate the room”. The second door leads to tower you have to climb, which was more fun if only because it was more straightforward. Both paths eventually lead to boss fights. At two points during the level, you have to do timed runs during earthquakes, all the while doing platforming and being attacked by a ton of enemies. And while I understand what the author’s going for… no. *bonk* Off to level builder jail with you. When the screen isn’t shaking, it’s a pretty nice-looking level. I like the central cave, which is helped a lot by having the two large statues anchor the space. The areas underneath the statues both have a somewhat otherworldly feel to them. I don’t know if they’re meant to be extraterrestrial or magical, but they make a nice change of pace from the caves. They also tie into the pretty minimal story, which sees Lara find notes that talk about the strange phenomena she comes across. I finished the level after around eighty minutes, which were split pretty evenly between MacGuffins, rotating rooms and climbing towers." - Magnus

"A very grand and well executed level-set. Technically advanced, but with a few issues: 1/ Timed runs with earthquakes and multiple harpy attacks? No thanks. No fun when you also have lag issues. 2/ The main hub was impressive in terms of atmosphere but a pain in the neck in terms of gameplay - too dark and too samey texture-wise. I could barely see around, never mind locate 20 atlas bits. The side levels were bright and spectacular and the hub should have been likewise. Overall: despite the flaws, kind of brilliant." - Dick

"It's hard for me to rate this levelset. There are things/levels I liked and things I didn't but the latter are partly personal preferrences related. The first huge and impressive cave didn't provide enough light to easily find my next step towards the bottom or the atlas items. Many flares were provided but I don't consider them a worthy substitute. They also revealed some wallpapering in the cave. So, finding the atlas items and my way to the exit wasn't much fun. And then comes the 2nd level. Just wow! One of the most impressive/beautiful areas of this competition. I also liked the gameplay and the rotating room puzzle. They way out of this though... Timed, under an earthquake, bolts from the numerous Harpies, debris on a treacherous terrain. Phew, made it after several tries. The 3rd level is a complete change of scenery, very alien influenced. Challenging platforming but you can clearly see where you're going. Liked that. After getting out of this area we go back to the cave and we have two options: Another timed run under a prolonged earthquake with all kinds of enemies in the way, or find all atlas items and end the game rather abruptly. Did them both. A note to the builder: Having watched other people playing it, it seems that even if they like a challenge, earthquake is not one of them. LOL IN SUMMARY, this is a good and competently built level but not one of my favourites from this competition. Recommended to experienced players as it is quite challenging, bordering the very challenging at times." - billie2001

"What I liked about the level: 1) The room after the ahmet & slide is stunning with light streaming from above and hazy mist in the cavern. 2) I liked the footstep sound in the sand and echo in the cavern. 3) The Anubis cavern is also stunning with beautiful lighting. 4) I enjoyed the creative navigating to the top and down to the door of the “Horus” statue. 5) The gentle waterfalls under the Horus is simply gorgeous. 6) Loved how the rooms rotate to expose further paths of progression. 7) Really enjoyed the dismount from the ladder to a slope to jump to the upper floor. Super fun and clever. 8) I laughed when the game called me “curious” but would have preferred that the effort to reach the end made something happen. 9) I like when pickups are bright in an otherwise dark area. 10) Thank you to the builder for putting “solid” platforms in the 2nd half of the Anubis platform sequence. What I didn’t like or thought could be improved: 1) I know builders were limited to the package provided but still thought the pistol sound and Lara’s death scream were a bit on the loud side. 2) Got stuck and died underwater after using a jumpswitch into water under a waterfall. 3) Timed exit after picking up the Horus item was very challenging and collapsing tiles sequence in Anubis too difficult (got it eventually but took many, many tries). 4) Hit an “end of the world” spot and had to reload to a previous savegame. Conclusion: It’s a very strange dilemma. In some instances, I absolutely loved playing this level. The routes to obtain the two pillar items were very challenging but kept my interest the entire time. I considered this the best part of the level with intriguing gameplay and stunning visuals. However, the ending when placing the items was too difficult and extremely frustrating. Collecting the 20 atlas items was at first fun, but then became frustrating when having to go back and forth, up and down the cavern trying to find them. Now the oddest part is that if you collect all 20 atlas items, you can skip the best part of the level and head straight to placing the atlas items only. I find that a very strange option. I think the level would have been better to make the atlas items optional as secrets and the pillar items mandatory. If you want to have a calm, exploratory experience, then going for the atlas items only but miss the majority of the level. I suggest going for the two pillar items but don’t place them and instead find all 20 atlas ones and go for that ending instead." - Lizard Queen

"First of all, thank you to this builder for these three huge levels! Congratulations on being in this wonderful competition. Overall, I enjoyed the concept and the visuals of this game. Traversal is a pain, and sometimes gets frustrating. The puzzles sometimes feel random in their solution. Lighting is too dark. There were moments with too many enemies and trembling... The textures weren't perfect either. So, maybe the project was just a little bit too big for the scope. Still, this was enjoyable with mostly minor hiccups." - MigMarado

"Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a medium difficulty adventure that has some engaging platforming from start to finish, however is lacking in memorable puzzles. For the most part, I enjoyed it, particularly the platforming in the Anubis section. However, there were definitely a few "???" moments in the gameplay flow that left a negative impression. First of all, the Horus water section. When the player rotates the room for the first time, they don't see the key anymore. It is logical for the player to think that the key may have fallen into the water below, however searching for the key in the water was very frustrating for me, due to awkward current areas (some of which you can get stuck on), and also due to poor visibility, even with flares. I think it would have been much better if, in the rotated state, the builder had included a key object dangling from the block. It wouldn't even have needed to touch the block exactly. Even if it was floating awkwardly near the block, the player would know that the key did not fall into the water, and thus have a clearer idea of the next progression steps. There is also a trapdoor in this area that no longer functions after you use the reach-in switch; after that point, you will fall through the trapdoor. If the builder doesn't want the trapdoor used after that point, retract the trapdoor. Don't just have the player falling through it. Next, when the player picks up the Isis Knot, a separate key is also added to their inventory, but this is unclear. So the player may return to level 1 feeling confused about the next steps. It would have been clearer for progression if the player picked up a key separately from the knot. Is the builder trolling the player with that ridiculously long passageway? Also, the shaking camera in the 2 timed runs made my eyes very uncomfortable, particularly in the 2nd timed run, as it is more lengthy and complex. Enemies, Objects & Secrets: This category is well done, although I think a couple of the enemy engagements could have been removed/refined; i.e. exiting Horus and 3 monsters are triggered, however Horus's paws are right there to stand on, nullifying their threat. Also, the harpies in the endgame timed run are just super annoying. The builder does include some traps, however, I think more could have been done here in terms of some memorable trap setups. The use of collapsible tile objects is excellent. Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: The builder did an amazing job with creating an eerie, convincing atmosphere, with interesting, organic geometry. I loved that they added their own unique personality and unique flair to TR4 Burial Chamber's rotating room. Further enhancing the atmosphere and sense of immersion are the various notes that the player can read. Sounds and flyby cameras are excellent. As mentioned, the shaking camera in the timed runs was rage-inducing. Lighting & Textures: The visuals are very good. The builder's use of contrasting colors in the Horus vs. Anubis areas was superbly done and memorable. Minor notes: wallpapering in large cavern areas, and poor visibility (even with flares) in some areas does negatively affect gameplay. 7/9/9/9" - nerdfury

"This is split into two parts, the first of which involves a heck of a lot of clambering around a huge cavern, collecting atlas orbs and finding levers to open the two huge Horus statues. It took quite a bit of doing! There are some interesting things to accomplish inside the first Horus and an imaginative use of switches to flip the area. There are two choices of ending offered and it’s worth taking a look at both as they are so different. In one scenario, the previously rather gloomy and largely enemy free outside area has morphed into a fantastical, vividly lit and otherworldly area, absolutely heaving with enemies. It also has collapsing tile runs, of which I am extremely fond. The alternative is much less frenzied, but consequently not quite as interesting. There is one secret to find, but needless to say I didn’t! Quite a roller coaster of a level." - Jay

"Another entry that tries to do something different with Tomb Raiding, and succeeds very well. It's undoubtedly one of the more challenging levels, although nothing frustrating (still with enough of a challenge quotient though, which is a balance in itself). The only real gripes I have are that the darkness is a bit overbearing in places, which made exploration and ledge jumping a bit artificially difficult, and that enemies do tend to spawn in quite annoying places (during a timed run in treacherous circumstances particularly, I would have preferred them to appear earlier). Apart from those little niggles, this is a great effort. The gameplay is meticulously laid out and the tasks inside each of the statues is ingenious, with special mention going to the rotating room puzzle and the harrowing ascent up a trapped tower (which seemed familiar somehow...). This concludes the penultimate level in my BtB run-through, so onwards to the last..." - Ryan

"I'll have to admit that this one didn't push my hot button at first. Too dark and too cramped in that featureless cave area. I manufactured unlimited flares in the early going out of sheer self-defense, and the accompanying weaponry with ammo to waste certainly helped as the game progressed. Things improved considerably in that huge open area, and the side quests within the bowels of the Anubis and Horus were a sheer delight. The level of difficulty increased as well, and there were several sequences that I felt were downright sadistic. I refer especially to (1)the short but exhilarating timed run in Underneath the Horus, (2) the run along breaktiles in The Depths of Anubis and (3) the timed Ending A that finishes the game. So far, nearly all the BtB levels I've played evidence builders having truly professional skills, and I marvel at the overall quality of the submissions. Still many left for me to play, however, so I consider myself a lucky guy indeed. Highly recommended for players who are not overly faint of heart." - Phil

"I have to be honest here, it took forever until this level clicked with me, but when it did... At first going down into this massive underground cave was quite a sight to behold yes, but I thought it was incredibly annoying to figure out my way around the place and it's rather open so you're never sure if you took the right path, as new choices keep presenting themselves every other second. When you finally make it into the chambers underneath Horus you can't help but realize the whole epic factor keeps ramping up at every corner, that rotating chamber would have made a magnificent standalone level on its own. And there's more: when there's a battle, it is indeed a battle. At least in two occasions you're not even supposed to stand your ground, it's just wild trying to focus on the precarious path while dozens of harpies give chase. I got ending A and couldn't believe as I had 19/20 gold dust at that point, and I looked around for a fair bit before conceding defeat. 100 minutes. 07/24" - Treeble

"A really original release compared to other entries I've played so far leaning more into the ancient aliens angle of the resources. Not complaining though as I had a lot of fun with this level! Some quite astounding views to be had in the 2 side areas. Both side areas were the main attraction for this release in my opinion. I particularly liked the rotating water room, it was really cleverly executed by the builder. Managed to see both endings. Some of the collectibles required for one were well hidden but not ridiculously so. The long timed run towards the end was a bit stressful but managed to get it done hahaha! Couldn't recommend this level enough! Another solid entry to this competition. I have been really impressed with the standard of quality and this one is up there for me" - Feats

"This is set across three levels that all take the Egypt theme in somewhat different directions (presumably a bonus of the looser content rules of this BTB), but they each look great in their own ways and work as part of a whole. The start was actually the part I found weakest, as the initial caves are somewhat bland and not too interesting, however, when you enter the main hub-type area it picks up and never really dips after that. There's also some very heavy animated object use that likely wouldn't work normally and is presumably a result of the engine updates. When using DGVoodoo to get TR4 looking correct on a larger monitor, one map has a bug that makes it unplayable, but I managed to work around that by playing without it for that level, although it's unfortunate (but presumably unavoidable for this). Since I don't know the specifics this isn't a mark-down and just a warning for those who also like to use it.
Despite comprising of three levels, they are relatively short individually and add together into the length of an above-average BTB map. As well as varying the visuals each level also has quite different gameplay, with the first hub map mainly being a large platforming challenge in a cave full of structures, the second involving a nicely-done rotating room and a boss encounter, and the third being a much more intense platforming sequence up a large tower, with some puzzles and combat encounters along the way. There's also plenty of use of non-standard features like a dragon boss fight providing some healing points that make getting set alight less frustrating, as well as some escape sequences that use a ton of effects and enemies that likely isn't possible normally. There's also a bonus ending that actually lets you skip the later levels, and provides a nice sequence when accessed, as well as adding a bonus challenge to the main platforming room that provides pickups in an interesting collectathon-type way. In general the challenge gets quite high as you progress, with some pretty intense action sequences and tricky jumps. The final escape also seemed very tight, but I guess I took a very slow route and missed an easier one. I don't know how far other maps go with the concept yet but this is a great set that does a lot of interesting things without compromising gameplay." - Mman

"Even if a competition has a clear theme - BtB 2024 Egypt in this case -, there are always some builders who want to do their own thing. Set in a cave system that branches out into increasingly techno-ancient looking temples and towers, this level set diddn’t try hard to feel distinctly „egyptian“. And it diddn’t need to, as the objects and enemies were very well fitted in the builder’s individual style, which is characterised by huge, picturesque rooms that ideally serve as an imposing setting for boss fights or timed runs in an almost soulsborne-esque horror-fantasy atmosphere. The gameplay is rather platforming-heavy with a predominantly vertical exploration that tries to integrate story bits and also a side mission of collecting some items that ultimately leads to an alternative ending. The latter was eventually much easier to reach for me than the main progress. The stunts performed for the atlas pieces (the counter somehow disappeared so I had to memorize how many I had collected) made the exploration of the rather gray and monotonous looking cave more engaging, but could not entirely overrule the feeling of emptiness. Same goes for the pieces of lore that were somehow casually hidden INSIDE skeletons (morbid, but funny). They felt a bit arbitrary in the end, since the storyline was not brought to a proper conclusion – even less so in the A) ending, I feel. (How did all this get here? What happened to this place? And where is Trinity?) Once you reach the hall underneath („the“) Horus the gamplepay gets more engaging, yes, it litteraly flips on it’s head with the first real puzzle. This kind of move is still hard to pull off without problems: Not being able to spot the key in the upside down room, I’m sure I wasn’t the only fool, who searched for it in the water forever. So if it was apparently glued to the block all along, maybe it should have been visible in it’s destined location (just saying). Casual players should be warned that this level set is rather on the challenging side, aiming at more experienced players, as you will notice early on at some complicated jumps and at the latest at a extended timed run that ungratefully assumes that you already memorized almost the entire map. There’s also this one very, VERY long ramp (without a boulder, are you trolling me?!), which I haven’t figured out, but I’m sure it has driven at least some avid beta testers mad! All in all, this level set was a devilish fun to me irrespective of it’s imperfections. The object placement for instance was a rather odd at times with i. e. a random cupboard in the rocks or pick-ups lying around randomly on some dark patch without any trace of human activity. As especially the Anubis area shows the builder emphasized scale over optimized aesthetiscs, which suits the style of gameplay nonetheless. Lastly the camera was one aspect the builder put extra work in – mostly with good results, but the cinematic camera was too obstructive to movement in some cases. This level set could be expanded on (the ending felt abrupt and everybody loves egyptian UFOs). Would have been cool, if I got the B) ending second, but it was bad ass (plus you have to love that a whole area was built just for the cutscene)!! * Duration: medium (~2 h) Difficulty: mildly challenging Rating: 8 / 8 / 8 / 7" - evinaru_2

"This entry excels in its combination of horror and alien atmosphere which is very well done and the two endings, especially the 'bad' (?) one, is very cinematic, as well as many of the other cutscenes earlier on. The looks are gorgeous but the lighting is too constantly dark that makes exploration sometimes a bit tedious, even if enough flares are provided. Texturing is very solid with only a few squeezed textures, nothing too serious. I liked the gameplay for the two endings which involved either finding 20 globes by careful exploration of the giant cave in the hub level, and the other going on a rampage mission in the underworld, but the level would lack something if you don't go for both routes IMO; the rotating room is a very nice puzzle and shooting those dragons was also a fun affair. There is only one secret to find which was rather oddly hidden, but it is very rewarding for the rest of the game. Overall a rather stressful but quite enjoyable raid but the constant darkness makes it somewhat a bit enjoyable than it should've been. 55 minutes." - manarch2

"This level contains everything a level can offer. Lots of climbing, lots of exploring, lots of breakable tiles, lots of fights, lots of puzzles and time tasks with falling boulders and earthquakes. If the rooms are also as well designed as in this level, then the player has made a good choice. I particularly liked the search for the Atlas stones and the water room that you had to turn. But the rest was also very impressively built. The actions were very well thought out and the music was always right choosen. What more could you want. Highly recommended." - nad

"A really good BtB entry. There are 3 levels, basically one hub level and two side challenges. The hub level (with a little prologue) is a huge and quite spectacular location. We don't do much there except jumping around the big area. There is an alternative ending which requires 20 atlas items which are scattered around this level. The side challenges are more interesting in terms of the gameplay. One of them is a cool puzzle with rotating the rooms and the other is a cool climbing sequence around the tower with additional tasks. There are a few bosses and some enemies. There is a story included in the levels and we collect various "notes" that we can read in our PDA - something that increases the immersion and adds some mysteriousness to the game. The design is very good. All of the areas look spot-on. The look of the side challenge levels is very unique and even magical I would say. I really liked how they looked. The level overall has a mysterious atmosphere. All in all, a very well-done game that I highly recommend to everyone." - BlackWolfTR

"Notes

• This entry has two different endings, and which one the player chooses to pursue greatly changes the adventure. This is spelled out early on in a PDA entry. The options are called True Ending and Alternate Ending, and the experiences are so different from each other that I am writing a review for each one. Even though I did the Alternate Ending first, I will plug my ratings for the True Ending into the review system.

True Ending
Liked

• There are some fun puzzles to solve, from floor tiles to using switches to create a set of steps. The Horus chamber is kind of a big puzzle too, as Lara must rotate the area upside down and back again to progress.
• Several timed runs, traps, and collapsing floors add excitement and challenge to the platforming.
• There are also several boss fights, and tons of enemies swarm Lara even during the timed runs, so she will need to be quick on her feet as she escapes this place.
• The large cavern and towering structures have impressive architecture with nice otherworldly vibes in different areas. The lighting is good, if a little dark in some places (plenty of flares are provided).

Time: 1 hour 19 minutes | Difficulty: Hard | Rating: 8.75/10 - Very Good Alternate Ending
Neutral

• If you are in a collectathon mood, then the gameplay may hold you over as you explore the cavern for an hour or so. However, aside from a single blade trap to dodge and a few bats to shoot (plus one beast at the beginning), the gameplay boils down to platforming back and forth between different levels of the cave in the search for 20 atlases. There are other pickups scattered around, but they are irrelevant to this ending since there isn't much combat.
• The alternate ending has some intrigue, but because of the bleakness I'm not sure it gives enough sense of satisfaction to reward the time spent toward unlocking it.

Liked

• The majority of the game only takes place in a single cavern, but this area does have impressive architecture and the lighting is good, if a little dark in some places (plenty of flares are provided).

Time: 57 minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Rating: 6.25/10 - Ok" - JesseG

"Great level including beautifully crafted environments and lots of action-packed platforming. The game start with fairly easy jumps to get the player warmed up, but later, you will be challenged by two epic timed runs and trickier tasks involving great use of collapsible tiles (I found overall difficulty somewhere between medium and challenging). To spice things up, few interesting puzzles and a really cool rotating water room have been included. Environments are also excellently designed, featuring large vistas with great architecture, colors, lighting, and ethereal atmosphere. All in all, this level is a very strong entry for this year's competition." - Samu