Tomb Raider - Cistern

Probably the best level in the game. Not only is it incredibly open, with a bunch of paths to go down in whatever order you choose, but there is a unique element of commitment to your decisions. Which door do you unlock first? When you've raised the water level what becomes accessible? What becomes inaccessible? In the room with the lever that controls the water level, one misstep can send you down a completely separate route before you even get to pull the lever, and you can't backtrack; you just have to press on until you loop back to the main hub. If you're unwise to the consequences of your commitments, this could be an exceptionally long level even if you're technically progressing the whole time. Progress down a path only to find that you're supposed to raise the water level, backtrack to the pull the lever, go back to where you were, keep progressing, then reach an area where you're supposed to have lowered the water level, backtrack, accidentally fall in the water, loop round and backtrack again to pull the lever and then you might think...hmm wait I didn't explore that place with the higher water level, I should go back and check and etc. All of the routes loop back to the central hub so before you start properly progressing you can do a lot of meaningful exploration and make some intuitive assumptions to fill out your mental map. This, in conjunction with the committal decisions, made this level the most fun to route, and of course with an optimal route you only need to pull the lever once, and never need to backtrack (although I did a little just to double check something). As with all of the levels with multiple paths, the true magic of the experience is not captured at all in a recording of a practiced run. The magic of the level comes through in the experimental runs when you're exploring, unsure how the map connects and what raising the water level will allow you to do or not do. The successful run with optimal routing is the pay off to your time enjoying the level. This is the first level to demand a ledge drop, a skill that will be invaluable moving forward, and has applications in prior levels, even if it isn't required. Jumps and maneuvers like this are always more reliable when you have an edge or a wall to work with because you can line yourself up perfectly. Here, you need to rely on Lara's movement alone to align yourself up properly: a slow step forward moves you precisely 1 mini-square, and a slow step back moves you 2. This is also the first level to demand a high-stakes diagonal jump. There's a door that opens onto a pit of spikes. At first glance it seems impossible to progress, but you can jump diagonally to clear the spikes. These are nice instances of ramping up the demand on Lara's moveset, you can feel the game is getting more dangerous now. This is complemented by the change in aesthetic. The atmosphere is more confined and oppressive: the scenery dingier and less majestic. The last 3 levels were all incredibly large, and all used the same assets so the switch up is welcome. With the introduction of rats, it's hard not to think that this level theme was inspired by St. Peter's tomb in The Last Crusade. Steal from the best I suppose. The final room is an excellent capstone. This has already been such a meaty level, we could have called it at the locked door and it would still be great, but the chessboard-esque room is distinct, memorable, and even has a nifty secret, giving the impression that the designers have no shortage of good ideas. Fittingly, it is rather low stakes, which is appreciated at the end of a very long level; it throws a lot of lions at you but you should have no issue with them by this point, and the spike traps are quite obvious. I'm not thrilled with my performance here. Platforming was mostly solid but the missclick at 6:08 is particularly embarrassing. The croc attack at 12:58 was also very unfortunate (I think I forgot there were 2 down there), and the rats at 29:50 can go to hell. Human encounters are usually bad but I still could have done better. Otherwise I'm satisfied, particularly with finding and executing what is, to the best of my knowledge, the optimal route through the level.