Levels listed...
TR5 - 33
TR4 - 3186
TR3 - 182
TR2 - 139
TR1 - 66
73793 reviews (20.4/level)
3593 (99.6%) walkthroughs
456 Hall of Fame levels
1259 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
01-Jul-2024 |
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# of downloads: |
269 |
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average rating: |
9.66 |
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review count: |
19 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
456.00 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Egypt |
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| Reviewer's comments |
"A peak level. Splendid, with beauty and creativity working hand in hand. Teaching you things
then staying consistent about them so you can feel smart and accomplished - and if that's so
as a player, then what kind of brain does the builder have? One of those levels worth
replaying for missed content, should I say more?" - DJ Full (01-Sep-2024) |
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| "And now for something that is completely out there. This adventure will challenge your
intellect, your dexterity and there will be countless moments where you just sit there and
stare and wonder about what is all happening. Highly innovative, but because of that you
need to forget about your usual raiding routines and learn a few new things. Like, how to
deal with the three different kinds of torches you will encounter. Or what the right
sequence of events is, as you suddenly have the power to change the wheather and the
entire architecture of the area around you. Once you get the idea of how all this works,
it is really a lot of fun, but despite the hints, that may take some getting used to.
Around all this you get presented with a truly awesome cincematic introduction, ending and
many intermediate scenes that carry the story along, plus you get a mother of a boss
ending, where thankfully you do have the option/choice of battling it out while being
immune to any damage. And as a cherry on the cake 3 of the 4 secrets require lateral
thinking and are small adventures of their own, so I have yet to go back and work on those
and work even some more for an alternative ending involving a key. This is, all in all, a
truly amazing experience - even if it is quite a challenge and may not be for everyone
because of this. But not checking this one out, you don't know what you are missing, so I
suggest you take the risk now if you have not already... (155 min, 4/4 secrets)" - MichaelP (01-Sep-2024) |
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| "As I’m nearing the end of BtB 2024, I wasn’t expecting to stumble upon another contender for the top spot. Which doesn’t really make any sense when I think about, because really the odds of the next level you play being great are always the same. Besides, the clue is in the name – this is peak pyramid gameplay. I may as well not even bother with the last four levels. Another fitting name for this level may have been Towers & Torches, as the level mainly revolves around travelling through three areas with towers in them where the goal is to light a brazier with a torch. Of course, that’s a bit of a simplification. The towers can be used to change the state of the area – by, say, making it rain to fill up a lake – leading to some pretty creative puzzles as you try to create a path for the torch. They get increasingly more complicated, with the last area honestly being a bit much with its numerous waterfalls and complicated level design. The level does have a hint system, and while the hints have been all over the place in this competition (sometimes too vague and sometimes too obvious), these hints are basically mini walkthroughs. That almost makes me think that the author just really hates Phil and wants to put him out of a job (if you haven’t submitted your guesses yet, maybe look for someone who bears a grudge against him?). It also made me not want to use the hints, so I got stuck in a prison of my own making of not knowing what to do and also not wanting to just be told the solution. At least I figured it out eventually (actually, I ended up bypassing the intended solution through an impressive feat of acrobatics and only figured out the actual solution afterwards). Anyway, to make matters even more complicated, the torches you have to carry are magic and change Lara’s movement: one makes it so she can never stop running, one switches the controls for right and left, and the final one gives her moon jumps. The first two don’t really amount to much in the main areas, with only the moon jumps actually adding something interesting to the gameplay. In order to get some more use out of the different torches, the author also added a side area where you have to do some fun platforming challenges, with each focusing on a different type of torch (or at least that’s what I assume – the second hatch never opened for me, despite pulling the switch to turn off the water [don’t worry, I found a workaround again]). It’s a very impressive-looking level with some great environments. Even though they look a bit similar visually, I was always excited to reach a new area to see what the author had come up with. It starts out well with a hotel room with a really nice view of the pyramids, and it only gets more impressive from there. I do wish there weren’t so many invisible walls, but I guess it was either that or build walls and slopes everywhere and this looks better visually. It can also be excused by most of this level being a dream and thus it doesn’t have to play by the rules of the real world. The story is about Lara searching for Jonah, who’s gone missing. I’m not sure why – so far in this competition, he’s killed a couple of panthers for me and opened like two doors – he’s not exactly useful. Surely there’s another artifact we could be hunting for instead? It does make for some dramatic moments, though. After traveling to a small village, Lara goes through a ritual to enter a dream world, where she has to reach the peak of a pyramid to find out where Jonah is. There are some cool moments along the way, where Lara finds Jonah but can’t quite reach him. I guess those moments would have had less impact if we were looking for a canopic jar. There’s also a very talkative god who guides you, which is less interesting. One minor story-related thing that I appreciated was how each of the three main areas has a backstory that ties into the change in the area. Near the end of the level, there’s a boss fight where you fight several waves of enemies (pretty much the only enemies in the whole level) while Lara’s affected by the three torch effects. Tense, but also kind of annoying – especially once the dragon starts shooting fire. The level ends after around 90 minutes, with a cool cutscene of Lara reaching the peak of the pyramid and… finding Jonah? Maybe a better name for this level would have been Inception." - Magnus (31-Aug-2024) |
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| "(10) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a challenging puzzle-based adventure that took me
over 2 hours. It is remarkably creative, unique and memorable, however, it is not for
everyone. It is not difficult in terms of dexterity-based tasks, but if you choose to play
without guidance, you will need patience and persistence with solving the puzzles. After I
finished the game, I looked over the walkthrough, and noticed that my paths to getting the
torches lit in the King and Queen areas were totally different to the walkthrough. For
example, I didn't even touch the escalator in the King's area. I didn't use any glitches.
I thought this was strange, but I didn't want to subtract a point for this. (9)
Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Fantastic use of object decor as well as objects for
puzzles. I wanted to talk a bit about the only thing I really disliked about this level --
the end boss fight. The "reverse navigation" and "constantly running" gameplay mechanics
certainly work well in a calmer environment. However, that doesn't mean that they are a
good fit in a hectic boss fight environment, with fireballs and locusts all over me. It
was just too much. Thankfully, the builder does provide an Orb of Immunity to get through
this fight, but still, I'm not a fan of its design. (10) Atmosphere, Sound &
Cameras: Truly mesmerizing architecture and geometry... well done to the builder. I
appreciate the soft ticking sound for the timed runs. In fact, there are so many little
attention-to-detail moments that I appreciate, but I don't want to ramble on about all of
them. I did want to mention something about storytelling. A stand out aspect of this level
is the builder's ability to tell an engaging (and sometimes eerie) story, through
cinematic camerawork. (10) Lighting & Textures: Peak perfection. 10/9/10/10" - nerdfury (30-Aug-2024) |
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| "Phew, what a ride! Definitely the prettier and most creative of this competition. Extremely
good music choices too, something I rarely notice. It proved quite challenging both to my
mind and my fingers but with the help of the WT here and there I managed to finish it,
although the new mechanics during the boss fight made it too difficult for me, despite the
orb of immunity. I wasn't able to play it on my PC because, as other players mentioned, I
could load a save only once. A second reload would crash the game but it could be loaded
after restarting it, again just once. Worth investigating and fix if possible. Anyway,
congratulations to the builder for this unique level." - billie2001 (30-Aug-2024) |
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"A masterclass of TRLE-cinematography framing a tour de force of dream-like sequences with time travel, superpowers, conversations with a giant cat, maps densely packed with some of the most original gameplay ideas since … and an alliteration in the title? – Of course, I have nooo clue who could have built this and almost lotus-squatted down before the hypermodern pyramid architecture wonder and started to meditate like your notorious backpack tourist… You might even belong to those who got stuck or where too OCD to enjoy this level set, but the fact remains that you probably can’t build something like this (me: not on steroids). The cinematic quality not only of the cutscenes but the game’s whole direction is undoubtedly uncovering new heights. - A direction that I always loved and wanted to see expanded in TRLE, but that often clashes with classic gameplay expectations, as we experience right at the start with one of a few forced walking sections. The transition into the more open portal areas, where gameplay can get stagnant due to the sheer difficulty of orientation, might limit enjoyment as well. However, aesthetically this level is top tier with impeccable music selection and maybe the overall most balanced lighting in the competition. While the pyramid itself is sure to win the architecture prize, the geo of the levels is not the most ingenious and beautiful; rooms can seem crammed and convoluted. The (nonetheless effective) impression of openness gives way to defined routes with the main task being to figure them out, while there is actually not that much to explore and few pickups.
All this works excellently imo, because it’s all in the service of gameplay. But Peak Pyramid is still not peak gameplay. It’s core concept is the setting up runs through the portals central to of each, which can take some trial and error even if you read all the additional texts and optional hints (which is btw not necessary, if you have fun figuring it out yourself the hard way). The runs can become frustrating if you’re low on patience. Especially because of the sometimes very narrow pathways and the big collision of objects crammed into them without the biggest consideration for smooth traversal. Still, combined with the secrets - of which most require a special trick, taking you through multiple portals -, this makes for the coolest, most satisfying puzzles in the competition imo. Also: Setting up the trapdoors for the hotel room key run is not actually random, because there is a visual hint that you’re gonna love once you find out (TRLE rule #3: “look up!”).
Conclusion: The level in BtB24 that steals “Wadi El-Rayan” the show and is still probably not gonna win, cuz people be anal. - Not an everyday level, not the most fluid experience, but hall of fame for sure.
Duration: long, unless walkthrough (ca. 3 h) | Difficulty: first time hard, but reward | Rating: 9.5 / 10 / 10 / 10" - evinaru_2 (26-Aug-2024) |
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| "What I liked about the level: 1) Gorgeous vistas everywhere. One could totally enjoy getting lost in this level. 2) Loved the dust at Lara’s footsteps. 3) The waterfall moving Lara is a cool detail. 4) Good clues given by the priestess. 5) I love torch puzzles to begin with but these ones were next level fantastic. 6) Timed lights… so cool. 7) Thank you to the builder for the roll twice to extinguish Lara on fire. 8) Loved the use of the waterskin to replenish health. 9) To design a landscape that works in different environments like flooded or drained requires clever level building. 10) Stairways created out of rock (instead of objects) so as to be totally legit to walk on and not requiring any climbing is a building detail I appreciate. 11) The design of the “environment changing” domes is brilliant. 12) Fly jumping the golden sloped blocks with the torch was super fun! 13) I’m not fond of boss fights but this one I thoroughly enjoyed.
What I didn’t like or thought could be improved: 1) Missed having the binoculars (spyglass). 2) Only a small gripe… using the “olive branch” caused the stats to show 1 medipack used. 3) Had to be careful at the black obelisks not to press “ACTION” at first but walk away then reapproach to avoid getting locked up. 4) I got stuck in a sloped wall (1st mini game) but wouldn’t count as a negative because it’s a freebee area and anything extra is such a gift.
Conclusion: I thoroughly enjoyed this complex level with lots of exploring in beautiful environments. Don’t worry, there are plenty of clues (if you want) to help you along the way. I found this level most befitting of the “Beyond” the Basics concept. Suitable for average players." - Lizard Queen (25-Aug-2024) |
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| "Congratulations to the builder. Thank you for your game! I found it excellent and fun, while a bit confusing at times. After pondering a lot, I feel like the only thing lacking, even if only very slightly, was the atmosphere on some of the areas. I love it. More, please!" - MigMarado (21-Aug-2024) |
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| "What a ride! This extremely creative, heavily puzzle-driven adventure is almost perfect in telling a complete story with massive scripting and it really shows off in a unique and professional way. The alternated movements provide for a lot of fun, especially since they are not overdone - still, I found it extremely hard to turn back to normal games after this one, mixing up left and right where it was a walk in the park before! There are probably a few shortcuts the builder has failed to avoid, but the challenges are complex enough that it's not much of a problem. Sound usage, camera guidance, lighting and textures are close to perfect in this one, and care for even smallest details is obvious. The sole point I deduct is because in the end it all didn't feel like the most enjoyable game out there due to the rather obscure order of tasks in the challenge rooms, which can be either guessed or following the in-game walkthroughs which are at least fair to the player, but not overly friendly to those who want to find out things by themselves. That said, the whole storyline and how it is presented here is just terrific and this is a piece of art being one the top contenders of this year's competition, with two more to go for me - we'll see soon... Finished in 1:25 hours (many more brutto, though) with all excellent secrets and also both endings found." - manarch2 (17-Aug-2024) |
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| "What a spectacular and incredibly innovative level this is. There are a lot of sequences
involving torches which give Lara special powers, some of which can be tricky – I had quite
a time trying to master the reversal of Lara’s usual controls. Other powers include the
inability to stop running and the power to jump long distances. It makes for some
extremely interesting and entertaining timed runs, some of which I felt quite proud of
myself for having achieved (eventually). Enormously good fun in gorgeous surroundings –
what more could anyone want?" - Jay (16-Aug-2024) |
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| "The visuals here are excellent, with tons of details everywhere, lots of variety and very creative object use. The setting is divided across multiple small semi-isolated areas and each one has a different style that fits the whole. There's also a heavy story aspect with a lot of interactions with NPC's as well as backstory for each area. The gameplay is quite creative here with a focus on shifting the environment through multiple states (another impressive technical aspect) and special torches that apply various control properties to Lara that the main puzzles involve working around.
While all three of the main gameplay areas have the same basic premise they apply those fundamentals in such different ways that it works out. There are also some overlaps between them for secret hunting and a level-wide bonus puzzle to unlock an alternative ending. Looking at the walkthrough after finishing I did seemingly solve a couple of things in unintended ways, but I guess that comes with how radically certain thing here modify basic mechanics. There are also some other new ideas, like how there's a extension to healing where the waterskins work as medikits and instantly restock when you enter most pools of water (although combat is subdued enough that this only really came into play for the boss fight, which itself is clearly a scripting feat). It starts off with little in the way of threats but ramps up a lot as you go, and the later puzzle areas get quite complex and challenging, even if the focus is more on navigation rather than combat. There is also an optional hint system, as well as a bypass for the final fight, so there are systems to help somewhat if you get stuck. Unfortunately the biggest issue I had was technical one, where loading a save would crash the game, but when I restarted it would work; since restarting always worked, this was an annoyance rather than anything fatal, but it made the more difficult later parts more frustration than intended. It appears most others didn't get this problem so I'm not sure how universal an issue this is, but it's unfortunate I've had technical issues with all three BTB 2024 entries I've played so far. Despite my save issue this is an excellent level full of original ideas and great visuals, and the one to beat so far." - Mman (13-Aug-2024) |
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| "I have no idea how this even works, I mean Drobridski has been offering us some very wild TR1 experiments but this is something else entirely. From my layman eyes it feels like a technical prowess considering it's still running on the same engine we've thought to know for the past two decades. It's been tweaked to infinite and back but the point still stands. From the beginning with an investigation area where you interact with objects to gather clues, to dialogue options with NPCs, to a system of power-ups tied to colored torches, to an overly complex system of flimaps built ontop of flipmaps, and you even have a screensaver mode if you idle by. It's sheer brilliance, and you just never know how far this rabbit hole really goes (quite literally, as it's all taking place inside a dream, and moving from Alice to The Matrix you have several objects glitching out time and time again to drive that lucid dreaming state even further). I was progressing fairly well and cleared the first of three areas all on my own (what a big boy I am, right), but for the other two I admit I consulted the walkthrough — even though the author has an inbuilt hint system for that, too! — as it was quite daunting and overwhelming. I did get the Key of Qed through the three trials before entering the pyramid where things got crazy to say the least, at which point I'm not even ashamed of saying I used the Orb of Immunity to make things easier. I know I've been knee-deep in early releases (well, 'first decade of TRLE early' anyway) but this certainly pushes the envelope further and while it's not my personal favorite of the bunch, there's no denying that this is quite an unique experience. Plus, it's wonderful to look at. 120 minutes, 2 secrets. 07/24" - Treeble (11-Aug-2024) |
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| "When the walkthrough just "copies and pastes" large screeds of text from the level itself,
you know you are in trouble. I never much cared for English comprehension tests. Like
Riven/Myst, and Thief at its worst - there is just too much to read here. Level design,
however, was the best in the competition thus far - pretty advanced stuff on display here." - Dick (11-Aug-2024) |
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| "A beautifully designed level with very creative ideas and puzzles and great tasks.
I particularly liked the puzzle with the three gates, but even more the use of the different
torches that give Lara different abilities. I found the task with the reversed controls very
funny. The areas leave little to be desired. They are very well built, the music is right
and the enemies can all be defeated. I didn't like the long conversations so much, as they
took me out of the game a bit. I also had a few technical problems. At the first obelisk,
Lara simply froze and I had to restart the computer. This also happened to me at the
beginning in front of the pedestal where the PDA was. The two skeletons that were supposed
to follow Lara also suddenly disappeared. Nevertheless, I can only recommend the game." - nad (26-Jul-2024) |
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| "An amazing game with a lot of inventive thought. The game consists of the prolouge and the
main part with three big puzzles. And let me tell you that these puzzles are one of the
most complex, innovative and original I've ever seen. There are three main areas, each of
them stands as one big puzzle. We need to maneuver between different enviornments of each
area which we can change in a special place. In each area, we've also got different
torches which make Lara have different abilities. Very original and creative. Personally,
the puzzles, especially at the beginning, made me very confused because I didn't know how
the "place" which changes the environment works. Although, I didn't really read the hints
so probably would be easier if I did LOL. The game also contains a story which develops
along with our progress in the game. I liked how we could optionally talk with the god and
the woman. A nice little addition. One issue with the gamplay I found is that when you
save after the skeletons appear and load, they are going to disapepar and you cannot
progress. I think I also found a small shortcut in the King's Rest area. Anyway. The
visuals are great. Very vibrant colours and spectacular rooms. Top-notch. Overall, the
game is awesome and feels very fresh in its ideas. It's certainly not easy with its quite
complex puzzles where you have to really think. Definitely recommended." - BlackWolfTR (23-Jul-2024) |
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| "This latest BtB contest has thrown a fair
few new tricks my way, but even this is a
curveball: a torch that dramatically alters
Lara's movements! She can jump much further,
run continuously and even have her left and
right directions altered (!). It all makes
for a unique and, quite frankly,
unforgettable experience. Granted, a few
sequences were rather on the tricky side
(particularly the timed exercises), but
they're all manageable with a bit of
practice, although the object collision and
overuse of sloped surfaces did prove a
hindrance at times. Lara can also enter
certain structures to modify the terrain
around her. Be sure to read the obelisks
you'll uncover, as they do provide valuable
information for future tasks. Aside from the
torch shenanigans, there's also the classic
Tomb Raider fare with acrobatics and
pushblock sequences etc, and I'm repeating
myself with praise for the surroundings
here, but they're gorgeously constructed and
atmospheric again. After all that
adventuring, Lara proves herself to be a
right old worrier as she wakes up,
encounters Jonah and realises it may have
been a dream after all... Or was it? Quite
the experience indeed." - Ryan (20-Jul-2024) |
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| "This is one of my favorite custom levels so far including gorgeous environments, some of the best puzzles I have seen, and interesting storytelling with cinematic touches. Most of the game takes place in an Egyptian dream land containing three different puzzle areas and one final boss arena. A central feature in each of the puzzle areas is a torch, which alters Lara's movement in different ways. The puzzles are not only brilliantly designed but they are also fairly complicated requiring a lot of thinking, meaning that if you are looking for an easy level with fast progression, this level may not the best choice. However, the game does offer hints that will greatly facilitate puzzle solving in case you don't want to figure out everything yourselves. I found a shortcut in both King's Rest and Queen's Mantle areas, which allowed me to skip parts of the puzzles. This was not a big issue though, and perhaps, the shortcuts were even designed by the author. All in all, the level is amazing and gets a very strong recommendation from me." - Samu (10-Jul-2024) |
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| "What an absolutely gorgeous level this was! If you're after purely aesthetics this is a must
play. Gameplay wise, was a little bit cryptic for my liking, I know thats more of a me
problem and thankfully tips and guides are available throughout. I could really appreciate
the effort and innovations implemented though and like I say the level is a proper looker!
It makes getting stuck in these environments that little bit more bearable!" - Feats (06-Jul-2024) |
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"Bugs/Functional Issues
- There are several surfaces that Lara slides off of even though they aren't slopes. This glitch can make it hard to traverse certain areas.
- The thin bridges are easy for Lara to fall through. Best to jump across them rather than just running.
- There are also object collision issues that cause Lara to get pushed around even when she isn't that close to them (in particular, the dome in the second torch area).
- When Jonah is replaced by skeletons, saving and loading causes the skeletons to disappear. Best to finish this sequence without saving and reloading (it doesn't take long once you figure out how to progress).
- After using one of the teleporters unlocked by a scroll, Lara appears at her destination with one of her meshes replaced by a random object. Thankfully this only lasts for about half a minute before a sound effect is heard and she returns to normal.
Disliked
- I could have done without the locusts in the third torch area. They fly in and disable the torch when Lara steps in seemingly arbitrary spots.
Liked
- The various torch abilities are very creative. Each area with a torch becomes its own puzzle, and Lara has to set things in the right place in order to get them to their destination. Throw in the environmental changes that can be triggered and that adds another fun dimension to these areas.
- There isn't much combat until the end, but when it does kick in it gets pretty interesting when the aforementioned torch abilites come in different combinations for an extra challenge.
- I appreciate the two endings, one of which takes some extra work and obstacles to overcome.
- Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the forced walking parts, the large amount of world building makes the story and adds an additional level of immersion to the adventure.
Time: 2 hours 16 minutes | Difficulty: Hard | Rating: 8.75/10 - Very Good" - JesseG (05-Jul-2024) |
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