Vikings Walkthrough

Walkthrough by José (levels 3 & 5), dmdibl (levels 1, 2, 4 & 6),  Soul (level 4)

One lesson learned from this author's Legio VI Victrix was that players disagree on what is difficult. Several players might agree that there were two impossible challenges in that game, but then it turned out they were referring to completely different obstacles. It is hard to predict where an individual player will hit an impasse. Perseverance and a modicum of skill are all that is required to succeed at some points folks claim are overly challenging.

Level 1:Freyja
Level 2: Loki's Demigods
Level 3: The Red Tent—Midgadsormr
Level 4: Helheimr
Level 5: Heroes
Level 6: Gramr—Bonus Level

Level 1: Freyja

Two secrets, including Secret Bonus Key #1

A foretaste of things to come: running jump

The level opens with a scene of a helicopter searching for a place to land. Lara leaps.

At start swim to other end of the pool to get flares at bottom. Swim back and pull out on left N (the other bank is too high). Get small medipack, and look up the slope above it to see the hole into which Lara must jump. A direct running jump is possible, but the easiest way is for Lara to bounce off the slanted slope near the right wall. Move right and see how two slopes form a V. Lara needs to aim for the right-side slope at the bottom of the V, bounce off of this to land in the hole (a gentle curve right may be necessary to guide Lara into hole) . To do this Lara must stand on the elevated ground in front of the V and—this is essential—the front half of her boots must be over open air. Better yet have only Lara's heels resting on the ground. Then hop back and make the running jump, and it should not be too difficult to bounce into the hole.

To position Lara properly you can also align her toes with the edge of the elevated ground, which may seem natural. She is too far away to make the jump. Hop back. Angle Lara slightly and sidestep, then angle her again and sidestep back, so that Lara returns to her original position, but has advanced forward by about half or sixty percent of the length of her foot. Now make the running jump. Taras is trying to make a point, which is why I am belaboring this jump: without proper positioning Lara cannot make the jumps in these levels.

Swim forward and see a gate, take the right into the alcove, pull down the hard to see ceiling lever. Swim out through the open gate, right, and into the second gate which has also opened. Swim down and follow, look for an opening on the left, and then for an opening on the right. Swim toward the hungry looking fish, they are harmless. Go up to surface, pull out, and head to the open area with the statues.

Wraith Chase

Watch the scene and see the wraith statue come at Lara. [Firing pistols at the wraith will confuse it so that it will not harm Lara, but then the wraith will not self-destruct, and it will plague Lara this entire level. Do not fire pistols at the wraith.] Run past the left statue toward the tree and the ladder on the wall beside it. Climb the ladder and back flip at the gap. Lara lands on a helpful platform in the tree. Jump back to grab the ladder off center, which may help in getting by the swinging lantern overhead. Climb into the alcove and press the button. Drop down ladder, run up the steps, then to the left and jump into the water trench, pull the underwater lever. A big red door opens.

Get out, run down to the open door on right, and drop down to that curious mask-on-a-pole (a retextured owl statue). Crouch beside it until the wraith self-destructs. Climb the second ladder and pull up into the crawlspace. Have Lara in the middle of the crawlspace, go to the end, and crouch.

The New Move

There is a slanted pillar to Lara's left, so position her to aim for it. Now for the new move. (I thought this was easier if Lara crouched in the center, not on the left of the crawlspace.) Hit Alt as if for a normal jump, and Lara will spring from the crawlspace to land on the pillar. Jump immediately with a hard right curve to land on the next pillar, slide backward and grab the edge. Shimmy all the way left.

Pull up and hesitate. Lara's feet will slip back on the slope, so her next jump will go farther. Now jump with twist and a hard right turn. Normally Lara can do these jumps every time, but because of the raised ledge on which the pillar sits it may take several attempts before she grabs the lower part of the ledge. Pull up and look around. Lara can get the medipack later.

Gold and Silver Bars

Jump over to the next ledge clockwise, and make a running jump to the ladder. Drop down. Lara's lands beside a room with a large red vase and a moveable block. Move the block beside the red vase where the ceiling is lowest. Good things happen: a statue emits electricity, a fire lights, and the gate to the torches opens. Go to the room with all the electricity, jump on the block and find the newly minted silver bar.

Climb the ladder and retrace Lara's route to where she first pulled up, avoiding the flame. The torch alcove is in the N wall (using the light compass needle). Stand at the outside of the pillar and make a running jump (no grab) to land in the torch alcove. Pick up the torch and make a running jump back to the alcove with the medipack. The camera refuses to show Lara's alignment, even using the Look key, so some trial and error is needed. Press Lara's face into the corner, press 1 to drop the torch. Get the medipack, then retrieve the torch. Make a standing jump up beside the pillar.

Get onto the neighbor ledge where fire is spouting, and light the torch. Throw the lit torch by the ladder. Jump to the ladder and down, get torch, light the bowls of the two statues in front of the red vase room. Look up N and see that the other high gate has opened. The torch is no longer needed.

Climb the ladder, drop on the ledge and head N. Stand in the middle of the ledge facing the N gate, but turn left (W) toward the medipack alcove. Run off the ledge, pressing Ctrl, and Lara lands in the alcove. Get medipack. Use a running jump and grab to the switch alcove, and press switch to see more electricity on this upper level. A drop down is unavoidable. A hang and safety drop will take ninety percent health. However, a jump back to the medipack alcove, and a run out to land on the platform with the statute will take less than seventy percent health, which seems curious. Your choice.

Climb the ladder again. Jump to the flame ledge and over to the room with the electricity, onto the block with the gold bar, and pick it up. Back past the flame, leap to the ladder, climb up and place the gold and silver bars in their receptacles. The door opens.

Thumpers...and a secret

Oh, good, thumpers. A nice trick, shown in Soul's video of moves for Vikings, is to have Lara crouch in front of the first thumper, then press Alt to have Lara somersault under it. This is because if Lara runs under the thumper, even when it is going up, it may be fatal. Once by, stand Lara at the right corner and try to somersault under the middle thumper so that Lara ends against the wall between the middle and last thumper in this series. Keep Lara in a crouch, swivel, and somersault to safety in the clear square before the next thumper. The last two thumpers, which are singly placed, will seem easy. There is a low crawlspace to the right, but ignore it and go straight, picking up the medipack, to stand before the large green room.

At the bottom of the slope is lava. Lara can make jumps to the left and slide to the exit. But for the secret slide down the slope and at the end make a jump to the right to land in a doorway. I believe that Soul's video shows Lara sliding down from the middle of the doorway. As a matter of preference I had Lara start to the left of this, slide down to where the angle of descent increases, make a hard curved jump to the right, and press and hold Ctrl at the last moment. Lara lands in the doorway.

Climb the ladder and get up to Secret #1 room. Find the shotgun, 2x shotgun ammo, and Bonus Key #1. Flip the lever in the corner to get out the door, get the flares in the crawlspace, and try to get by the thumper with little health loss.

Deadly Slope

The next part seemed more difficult to me than getting the bonus key. Lara has to make it all the way to the left of the slope using jumps and hard left curves while in the air. Every tiny scrap of distance matters, so make sure to position Lara so she is leaping from the very corner of the doorway. To me this was the difference between making it and not making it. Do a running jump to the left. I had Lara curve left while in flight, to land high on the slope. At once jump and curve hard left and repeat until Lara lands on the extreme outer edge of the exit ramp. Make a final left jump and slide to safety.

Get the small medipack from the end of this room, then exit through the hole in the wall. Watch the beautiful and intriguing flyby. Well this looks interesting. No doubt all of the hard challenges are already behind Lara....

Village

Run across the wooden bridge, then all the way to the right and find the passageway there. Go inside and see a crawlspace (inaccessible) to the left. So turn right and go take a look through the fence, turn around, and spot the jump switch on this side of the doorway. Use it and see that a high doorway has opened. Run straight back out and keep running until Lara splashes into the water.

Close to Lara, where the walkway juts out, but closer in against the wall, look for an underwater ceiling lever. Some rocks get in the way, so Lara will have to swim around them to the right, but find the lever and pull it. See a screenshot of ropes descending overhead. There is a spot nearby where Lara can pull out of the water.

Rope Swing and the Roll

Lara can use the ropes now, from this side. Make a running jump to the first rope, then swing to the second rope. Turn Lara to face to the right of the flag. Lara needs to swing to the horizontal pole holding the flag, but don't try to land next to the flag. Only a super rope swing will work, and it may take several attempts. So swing Lara twice, then let her sway until she brings her legs back up on the rope. Now press the swing (dash) key and Lara should do a super rope swing, arcing all the way up to the pole. Jump and grab the pole.

Shimmy all the way to the right, around the corner, and pull up in the middle of the cramped wood roof. Use the Ctrl bug to get Lara to the floor directly underneath: that is, drop back with Ctrl as if to grab the edge, but release Ctrl so that Lara misses the edge, then quickly press Ctrl again so Lara drops inside onto the floor.

Run down the passageway and drop into a room. Get the Roll from the workbench. This was shown at the end of the flyby. Now there doesn't seem to be any way out of this room, unless you remember that Lara has a new move. (It took me a while to remember.) Crawl to the opening, put Lara into a crouch, and press Alt to jump from the crawlspace.

Room with Key and Painting

Run back out in the open, down to the wooden bridge and beyond to the ladder. At the top of the ladder is the door Lara opened with the jump switch. Climb up, enter, and spot the small medipack directly in front. A curious painting, a bell jar, some heavy pieces of furniture...Move the furniture in the distant corner aside to get Uzi clips. Move the heavy furniture near the entryway by pulling it aside twice (E) to reveal an opening. There is a nearby raised portion of floor, Lara can stand at the corner of this and shoot with pistols through the opening to hit that burning lantern. Watch the effect in the traveling camera. The bell jar raises, and the key is free.

Lara goes and picks up Farrier's Key. Go to entrance, and from here spot the red door across the water, the one that is near the hanging flag. That is where the key is used. Get down the ladder, run across the bridge, go over there, and get inside.

Crowbar

Go right, jump on the platform, and take the colorful crowbar from the workbench. Turn around where Lara stands and notice that in the back center of the room there is an odd hanging object on a chain that looks like an anvil. Lara can go over there, draw pistols, jump up and shoot it until it swings back and forth. See a screenshot of the painting opening in the room that Lara was in previously. (Actually I couldn't get rid of this shot of the painting, despite hammering Esc, Ctrl, and the Look key. Saving the game and then reloading restored normal camera.)

Lara is done here, so back across the bridge and climb to that previous room. Go right to the open painting to get the Handle. Combine the Handle and Roll to make the Starting Handle. Drop down the ladder.

Notice the wagon nearby, and behind it the pen for the horses. The center gate for the horses is a crowbar door. Open it. Lara is too busy for any horseback riding, but maybe another day. Go to the back, and up the ladder. At the top as Lara steps on the floor there is a screenshot of a padlocked trapdoor overhead. That is what the Starting Handle is for. Use it in the contraption to the left, underneath the padlocked doors, pressing Ctrl. The padlock breaks, the doors fling open.

And Some Goodies

Before pulling up there is a slight detour. Go directly East to find a window that can be shot. Outside there is a balcony to the right. Lara can jump to it, then run to the end and find a large medipack. It is possible to jump back into the broken window, but Lara might as well take a running jump from the right corner where the balcony juts out, aiming for the stairs below, without health loss. Behind the stairs, in the dark corner under the balcony are 2x Uzi clips. So might as well get the Uzis. Run past the wagon to where a large bowl is being filled with water. On top of the stone that holds the bowl are the Uzis.

But wait, there's more! Go back to that large tree and stand against the S side with Lara's back to the wall, facing toward the water. Pull down on that leafy twig that is sticking out of the tree trunk. [Pablito spotted this secret.] A cage raises up around the corner. Run there, pull up on the cage, and jump to get the shotgun, Secret #2.

To Roof and Balconies

Now Lara can go back to the horse corral and climb the ladder, then pull up through those open trapdoors. Run left to a sloping roof structure, and on the E side find a button to push. Something opens, but where? Actually if Lara goes to the fence and looks over she can see a balcony down to the left, and spot the open door. It is easy to do a run jump down to that balcony.

Go inside and do a hanging drop to the floor below. From where Lara lands, a few paces away, is a jump switch on the left. Pull it to open a second exit door high to the N. Pull out the nearby barrel once in its center track, then climb up to the E balcony to get the shotgun ammo. Now get down and push the barrel all the way in its track to within one or two squares of the W wall. Jump up to the balcony and collect 2x shotgun ammo. Make a running jump over the railing to the new exit door, using Ctrl. Loop around left on the outside balcony to find the jump switch, pull it, and notice that a rope now dangles from the ship floating in air over the water.

Golden Lever

Side flip Lara over the balcony onto the raised stone below. Make a standing jump to the rope, and swing Lara gently to the central platform in the water. Throw the golden floor lever, see doors open. Climb the stairs to the doors, enter and go left to jump up beside the sarcophagus. Here Lara is safe from a mangy creature, so turn and use the shotgun to dispatch it.

Light a flare and go down the stairs to pick up flares. Pull into crawlspace. At the spikes have Lara crouch. The spikes are dangerous to Lara, so wait until they pop up, then press Alt to jump with Lara's new move. Time the two sets of spikes and enter a chamber with sarcophagi while nice music plays.

Tomb with Spikes

Go around to the ladder, climb, and shimmy to the right. Get Brodir's Key from the sarcophagus. Spot the keyhole that is on the other side of the room across spike tiles. Position Lara on the N side of the sarcophagus, her side touching it, facing out. Look at the base of the sarcophagus which is parallel to the ledge: Lara's toes should be just slightly over the imaginary line made by extending the base out from the sarcophagus.

Time the floating spike tiles. When you anticipate the first spikes will be popping up, start Lara's running jump. Land, make a standing jump to next spike tile, then run, leap, and grab to the ledge with the keyhole. Use the key and see the lower tomb slide aside. If Lara looks around she spots the shotgun on the ledge to her right (S). To get this, drop down and go back up the ladder as before. Jump to the S ledge. Lara needs to banana jump around the pillar to reach the shotgun ledge, but the sarcophagus restricts the space. It appears that the banana jump will be more difficult than normal, but actually it is easy, or as easy as any banana jump ever is. Once done, get the shotgun.

Safety drop. Go into the hole in the floor and light a flare. At the end pick up the Brisingamen, and on the way back get the Uzi clips and the shotgun ammo. Get out of the hole and up the ladder again, but this time shimmy to the left. First jump to the N ledge to get a large medipack and flares, then jump back to go through the open gate.

Certain Death?

Oh-oh. Look to the right beyond the spikes and notice the hole in the floor. This is just a regular hole, the sort that we always see used to catch boulders that come careening down tunnels to crush Lara. Now look up the tunnel. Thumpers. Everything is clear: Lara will need to pass through thumpers, then a boulder will come crashing down and Lara's survival becomes precarious.

Stand below the first thumper. As it comes down make a standing jump up and run through it. Repeat with the next thumper. Well, no boulders yet, maybe a false alarm. Light a flare. Stand on the sloping tile right beyond the thumper, and find the texture border line where it ends. Stand below this line. There is some leeway here, Lara can stand below this line by about the length of her foot. Now stand jump forward. A boulder thuds down. It is almost on top of Lara. Lara instantly calculates its trajectory, and crouches down. The boulder sails harmlessly over her head.

Back to the Start

Light another flare, because there is a spike pit around the next corner. There is a button on the right to open the red door. The best way down from the balcony seems to be to jump next to the statue where the ground is elevated. So take a running jump to the right of the statue, ending with a little health loss. Note that the second red door is now open across the way.

While Lara is back here she can go up the stairs and to the right, to the NW corner and pick up the large medipack. The wraith was chasing Lara before, so then it seemed inadvisable to pause to pick this up. Trot back down the stairs, and enter the newly opened red door. Light a flare to spot the two large medipacks.

Look down the mine shaft in disbelief. Yes, Lara is going down there. It will take a lot of health, so you need to bring Lara to full health now.

Easy Suicide Drop

See that slanted block that is way below Lara, a long way down, to the N and slightly E? Run Lara off the right corner of the ledge so that she falls and lands on the right corner of that block, which is the highest point. If Lara doesn't land at the very highest corner, she dies. This takes away most of Lara's full health. Lara will at once slide down. Before she falls, hit jump. While Lara is back flipping, still in the air, give her at least a half medipack. Lara lands, slides, and hits the ground alive.

A more complicated method, as illustrated in Soul's video, is to jump to that odd slanted block in the E corner, slide and jump to the slope under the first ledge, bounce from there to the same block as used above, and so descend. This uses up less health, but is nowhere near as easy as Soul makes it look.

Raising a Cage

Run forward into the mine tunnel and about halfway up the slope. Turn around and spot the jump switch that is now to the right, near the wall. Stand Lara on the walkway. Look at the wall beside Lara, and note there is a vertical juncture line for the wall blocks near Lara's feet. This is where she should be standing. Do a running jump and pull the jump switch, see a cage rise up.

Return to the start area and climb on the block with a triangular area to stand on. Lara can stand in the corner and aim for the cage. Do a short-takeoff jump (also know as Walking Jump, 2 Step Jump, Short Running Jump). That is, hold down the shift key and start to take a step forward. Release the shift key and immediately press the jump key (Alt). Lara only uses about half a block, but gets the distance of a running jump. Grab the side of the cage and pull up.

Mechanical Toy

Jump up to the crevice and shimmy all the way right, pull into a crawlspace and get the Twine. A drop down will take a lot of health, so best to shimmy left and drop back onto the cage. Run up the slope in the mine tunnel, crawl through, and go straight to the opening ahead, jumping up the slope. Use the crowbar lever. Get out and find the door opened in the SW corner. Crawl in, get the Mechanical Toy and back out.

Return to the crowbar lever. Stand on the tile next to it, over the black mark, and combine the Mechanical Toy and the Twine to get the Mechanical Toy of Erik's Son. Select this from inventory, and watch the toy take out all those nasty spikes. So back to the SW crawlspace, and crawl through to retrieve the Mechanical Toy. Repeat the process for the next set of spikes, and then for the third set. Lara drops into a room with a deep vertical shaft and a pole. (The Mechanical Toy of Erik's Son cannot be used again, so there's no sense Lara carrying it around. Select it from inventory and put it anywhere on the ground to see what happens.)

The Mine of Eternal Jumps

Slide down the pole, find the opening, and follow the slopes up to come out in the mine. This looks confusing, but the tasks here are only a few. They are just very hard. At this level in the SW and NW there is 2x shotgun ammo. In the NW, on the inner track, are Uzi clips.

Now jump to the big sloping ramp that dominates the center of the room. Take the ramp up, going E and then N. Pause about two-thirds of the way up. Look E to see a sloping block and two collapsible tiles. Lara is going to use these to reach the high opening in the S wall that is in line with the ramp. Lots of luck.

Take a running jump to the lower part of the sloping block, and immediately jump to the first collapsible tile. Lara needs to jump and hang from the second collapsible tile, and that is hard to manage because Lara lands in an awkward spot. You may want to experiment, but this is how I did it. Don't jump to the end of the sloping block, but try to jump more up the slope. Bounce from it with a hard left turn. When Lara lands there is now room to press the forward key, so that Lara takes a quick step, then she jumps straight up to grab the second collapsible tile. Lara hangs from the tile.

This is how José described this difficult jump. "Shimmy to the right corner and while hanging do a 'step' left. Hoist up and run with a small curve to the right pressing 'Alt' in the very corner and in the last moment. Turn right when you're in the air approaching to the very left side of the opening, keeping the up arrow pressed all the way. When you are very near to the left side of the edge of the opening, press grab (Ctrl) and hopefully Lara will land into the opening (not grabbing the edge but stepping onto the tile)."

Some have noted that the press of Ctrl should be done firmly. Bene found it easier to start from the right corner of the tile, rather than making that 'step' left. The jump seems impossible but it can be done.

Once Lara lands go forward and pull the jump switch and watch what happens. Take a running jump back to the ramp, go all the way to the top, and take a running jump to the opening where you saw the giant bucket move aside. Enter and use the crowbar lever, watch the scene, see the door open.

Down and Up

Lara now needs to get down. The fall will kill her unless she uses the ledge where that crane is whipping back and forth. Stepping straight out W doesn't work very well, as Lara tends to miss the ledge below. Stand Lara at the end of the ledge, face W, then turn Lara about 35 degrees toward the wall (not quite facing NW). Step off as the crane pulls back. Lara will hit the ledge with the crane and bounce safely down, or else the crane will knock her off the ledge with only slight health loss.

Run forward W, jump to the tracks, and back into the open doorway, pressing Ctrl so Lara will grab. Press the button and ride up. Get the Uzi clips and use the crowbar lever to see the mine cart shift to one side. Slide down the slope and find the Uzis at the bottom of it. Go around the mine cart and find the Elevator Hoist Key (this looks suspiciously like Hel's key that shows up later on.) The camera takes us all the way back to the beginning.

The Two Brisingamen

So take a running jump to the wire-frame trapdoor that rises, safety drop, out the SE exit, down the slopes, up the pole, take the corridor by the shovel, press the button to open the door, run straight across and use the key.

Enter the elevator, press the button, and rise up. Make a running jump back to the ledge where Lara first entered the mine. Now the door to the W is open. Make a running jump into it (I did it without grab). Press the button, ride to the top, and make a running jump to ledge.

Enter the room (nice music again), push open the sarcophagus to get the second Brisingamen. Nothing else here so exit and jump across. Go down, push the button to the left of the red door and go out. Make a running jump over the railing of the balcony, aiming just to the side of the statue where the ground is higher.

Now place the two Brisingamen into the receptacles in front of the statues. Light rays emanate from the artifacts in their hands, touching the scales. The doors at the top of the stairs open. Lara runs up the stairs, and into the opening to enter

Level 2: Loki's Demigods

No Secrets

Lara mutters something about being afraid. Perhaps I didn't hear correctly. Lara says a lot of stuff but it is impossible to hear because the music is blaring. The music and Lara's soliloquy are one piece, and can't be separated. (Soul points out that what we hear is a song by Nightwish, The Poet and the Pendulum. Taras had no voice actors and so aligned his camera sequence with the song.)

When the intro is done pick up several medipacks. A close timed run, with demigods throwing bolts at Lara, is about to occur. The whole level takes about a minute. You'll probably need to play it a couple of times to get the hang of it. See passageways on the left and right. In the back left of the room near the statue is the exit door. Lara needs to throw some switches to open this.

Start with a running jump to the right, aimed at the passageway. An annoying camera shot kicks in when Lara needs to be in motion, showing beams shooting from the statue's eyes. When Lara can move, dash into the right-side passageway and find the wheel to turn. While the animation plays, Lara can turn to the left to prepare for a dash straight across the room. Unfortunately the effort seems to freeze Lara for a second so that she can't move. One gets impatient.

Lara dashes (sprints) across the room, avoiding the bolts from demigods, finds the second wheel and turns it. Again she can turn left, but seems frozen for a second. This time sprint out, feeding Lara medipacks as needed, and make a U-turn around to the left into the passageway. Turn the third and last wheel.

Now dash out and around to the far side of the high platform with the goddess. Find a small floor ramp here, which gives Lara enough elevation to pull up onto the platform. Sprint through the exit door.

Proceed down the corridor and into

Level 3: The Red Tent—Midgadsormr

Four secrets, including Secret Bonus Key #2 and #3

Two Switches

Jump into the water and quickly mount on the boat; the waters are very cold in this part of the world and Lara can't stay in the water the same time as before (watch out for the blue bar in this level). Drive N breaking the rocky wall and continue to the small lake below. There's an opening at the bottom of the lake near the W wall so leave the boat and dive there. Follow the underwater passage and once out of the water pull the kind of half-eye-switch in W wall and see the flyby. Return to the boat. Park the boat near the S cascade and go behind it (shift + left or right arrow). Climb the E ledge and follow the path picking up a small and a large medipack on your way to a place overlooking the lake. Climb the N ladder to the upper level; pick up the large medipack and continue through the N opening. In the next area pick up another two large medipacks and approach to the S border looking the ladder to your left. Now you have to do a banana jump to grab the ladder; it's not easy so you'll have to position Lara more left or right to get the suitable position (I think the very right side of the second tile from the E wall is appropriate to grab the very left side of the ladder). The rotating cutter wheels around the ladder interfere and make this jump a matter of timing or luck.

Once you grab the ladder, you'll have to time the circular blades to climb to the top (the medipacks were there for something). Once at the top follow the path to a room where you'll find another of those half-eye-switches; pull it to see a door opening below in the lake. Jump into the lake, mount the boat and go through that open door. Continue driving to an area where you can see some goodies over the ledges: 2 x shotgun ammo, a small and a large medipacks. Pick them all up and from the left side of the W ledge, if you face S you can see a small triangular opening in the icy pillars. Duck and shoot it with the pistols to see a screenshot of an ice door opening somewhere. Mount the boat and return to the small lake where you came from. Dismount in S ledge and to the right is the door you've opened. Climb to get Secret #3: a large medipack, 3 x shotgun ammo and Bonus Key #2.

Thor's Rune

Return to the boat and drive again back to the place where you collected the goodies before. Continue W to reach a very huge outside area with a lot of things to do. Your goal here is to find four runes and place them in their receptacles to open the tall red door you've seen in the flyby. Let's go. Drive to SW ledge where the bear is, kill it (you can shoot the fish from here too) and pick up the large medipack near the W door. Now you must jump over the sloped ledge behind the pool, so approach the pool from its right side and advance S to the very corner; take a (tricky) running jump with a right curve (a kind of banana jump) avoiding the rock to your right (it can take many tries) trying to land in the very right side of the top of the slope; to do this, situate Lara facing S and angle her a bit to the left.

Once successful climb the E rocks to the ledge where the balloon is (it's easy). Use it to reach an icy ledge in the middle of the lake (grab at last moment) and pick up the Thor's Rune. From here, angle Lara in a NE direction and use the binoculars to spot an icy door behind the small cascade to the left. Duck and shoot it with the pistols (it's breakable) for later. Now jump into the water and return to the ledge where the boat is to repeat that tricky jump.

Again climb the E rocks to the ledge where the balloon was, continue E to the place with the receptacle for the rune. Place the rune and see a screenshot of the door near the previous small pool. If you want another large medipack, you can return the way you came to the very W side of this rocky cliff and drop onto the ledge where it is; if not, jump into the water and return to the boat.

Loki's Rune

Now it's time to go behind the cascade where the shootable door was. Drive there and jump into the opening; climb the ladders to the top of the cascade and jump onto the ledge to your right overlooking the huge area. Run off this ledge from the N side to land on the ledge below and from here take a tricky running jump to the very N side of the sloped icy ledge NW (you'll have to initiate the run from the SE corner to not surpass the ledge and fall into the water). Either slide a bit or jump at once with a hard right curve to grab the crack of the W block where the rune is (it can take some tries). Shimmy to the right and crawl to get the Loki's Rune. Drop into the water and quickly return to the boat.

Drive N to the ledge where the stuck wheel is, turn right (E) and climb the E wall from its very left side. Continue E and take another tricky running jump to a flat triangular ledge in the very corner of the sloped wall (I did it not as usual approaching to the very border and taking the jump back, but approaching running from the previous tiles and jumping at the very last moment). If Lara runs with her shoulder against the wall this jump fails because she moves too far out. Move Lara away from wall, but aim for that tiny triangular spot right against the wall when jumping.

Once up climb the left ledge and follow the path along the N and W walls to place the rune in its receptacle. Return to the place where the stuck wheel is.

Freyja's & Hel's Runes

Go to the very W side of the ledge and jump into the water (you can situate the boat near so you can go out of the water faster when you return). Behind this ledge there's an underwater passage; dive fast until you see the first air hole in the ceiling; go there to take a breath and restore the blue bar; here is the receptacle for one of the remaining runes. Jump into the water again and dive W and S to a second air hole in the ceiling where you can recover your health and pick up the Freyja's Rune. Jump into the water again avoiding the barracuda and pick up the Hel's Rune behind the very nearby block (S) under this air hole. Return to take a breath and go back to the first air hole to place one of the runes. Take a breath and dive back to the outside area with the boat. Use it to reach the E ledge in front of the lighthouse and place the last rune there. Finally the door opens. Mount the boat again and go there.

The Lighthouse Key

In this cave area safety drop to the bottom of the pit using the slopes and go S to the closed door. Turn around to discover two wall switches: one in the NW corner and another one in NE corner. Use this one first to open the door. In this big hall go to the left alcove with the frozen Viking and pick up the torch from the right hand. Now you must take the torch with you up to the entrance of the cave using the slopes so, return to the first entrance (with the switches left and right) and try to drop the torch in the middle of the right hand tile, near the very N edge (I did it drawing the pistols). Now go to the switch in NW corner and save your game for another tricky task. Pull the switch to raise a timed trapdoor up in the pit; press the "look" key to stop the camera (or a side jump to the right) and quickly go to the entrance to pick up the torch. If the torch was in the right place, you only have to turn right N/NE and do a standing jump to the corner of the first slope to your right, keep pressed the jump key to immediately jump to the next slope N; now you must roll in one of the jumps and continue jumping over the next slopes with right curves in midair to finally land onto the (hopefully) still raised trapdoor and from here a standing jump to the top of the pit.

Light the torch and throw it into the pit. Descend again to the bottom of the pit, pick up the torch and enter in the hall. There are many torches here you can light but some torches will cause the floor to disappear causing death for Lara. There's a code in S wall, but the fastest solution is the method of trial and error to know what five torches must be lit. With Lara standing close facing the letter chart in S wall, the first torch on her left remains unlit, and the first three torches on her right stay unlit. The rest you can discover.

No one could decipher the letter chart word for the five lit torches. (Regon?) Then I found the following in the readme file: "Umberto Nobile ... is primarily remembered for designing and piloting the airship Norge, which may have been the first aircraft to reach the North Pole, and which was indisputably the first to fly across the polar ice cap from Europe to America." So it seems obvious that the key word is NORGE, the name of the airship. Knowing this, one can find on the balloon zipline for Thor's Rune the repeated words NORGE.

When all five torches are lit a Lighthouse Key appears in the left hand in the alcove with the frozen Viking. Place it in the keyhole near the entrance door and see the flyby. Make your way to return to the ledge with the now unstuck wheel-switch.

Water Corridors

Park the boat near the wheel and use it several times to open the large red door. Mount the boat and quickly drive it through the big red door. Wait for the door to close completely. Have Lara jump out of boat and swim back under the door. Swim to the ledge around to the right, pull up here, and notice the new raised block E near the revolver, in front of the Lighthouse. Swim to the raised block in front of the block with the small statue inside to get Secret #4: the revolver. Go back to the boat the way you came.

Drive the boat W and N until you are in a darker place with some dark pillars to your left and right (before the hexagonal passage). Stop the boat here and jump into the water to the left side (W) to find a small crevice under the first dark pillar where you can find Secret #5: a large medipack and 2 x revolver ammo. Return to the boat and continue driving to the end of the path (notice the blue keyhole to your left). Open the sarcophagus to get a large medipack and the trapdoor behind you opens.

The Red Tent

Descend and follow the path to the end picking up a small and large medipacks on your way. Jump into the water but don't dive too long; look for an underwater ceiling switch near to open the next trapdoor. Return to the previous ledge to take a breath and this time follow the underwater passage to the end and find yourself over a kind of iceberg with a red tent. When the flyby stops quickly pick up the large medipack and go into the tent (you're safe here from the locusts) and pick up another large medipack. Pick up a Pencil from the yellow vase to your left and place it between the two radios (facing W) to open an underwater door. Go out, N and jump into the cold sea, dive through the open door and pick up the Hel's Key at the top of the block to your right. Quickly, return to the tent using all medipacks you need (I see impossible to do this task without using medipacks).

The Exit

Swim back through the water channel, and climb the ladder. Get up on the ledge and do a running jump and grab to the W door, aiming for the low ledge on its left. Use the key to open the door. There are huge snowball boulders to the right and left down the ramp. Save your game.

Third Secret Key

Slide down the center of the ramp and as Lara approaches the boulder at bottom of this first ramp jump with a left curve in front of it. Now Lara slides down the next ramp backwards. Press and hold Ctrl to grab the edge at end and wait for the two snowballs to bounce overhead. Lara looks up in thanks and notices an icy ladder above her. Shimmy to the right side, hoist up and back flip with twist and turning left to land over the left slope; jump between the E and W slopes and roll when jumping so Lara faces E. Continue jumping between the slopes with right curves to go up where the ladder is to finally grab it (from its right side, higher part of the slope).

Climb up, jump back and enter in a room full of goodies for Secret #6: 3 x shotgun ammo, a large medipack, 2 x revolver ammo and Bonus Key #3. Return to the ladder and slide the ramp to finish the level.

Level 4: Helheimr

Three secrets, including Secret Bonus Key #4

Magical Ships

Slide down the rest of the slope. The big red doors in the next room open as Lara approaches. Pass through and watch a sweeping camera sequence which introduces an area with flying ships, but don’t be taken in by the beauty as you will have to go through difficult passages in order to finish this level.

Push Block for Golden Bridge

When Lara has control, go right to spot the push block in the wall, then go further to see the golden bridge. To make a difficult jump to the golden bridge Lara needs to pull out the push block, then somehow position it in the corner closest to the bridge for her to stand on. There are two ways to do this, including an easy cheat.

(1) The Hard Way

Lara pulls out the block twice, trapping herself in an alcove. Here it is possible to cheat, using Ctrl, to maneuver Lara through the corner of the block. Then she should be able to pull the block to the corner nearest the bridge. However, Taras has anticipated that some devious players would attempt this. Try it, and find that a wire cage has risen next to the push block that prevents moving the push block. Any further progress is impossible. The moral is not to cheat (or to use a different cheat, see next paragraph). So Lara needs to stand in the alcove facing S toward the golden bridge, and make a banana jump to the low rocks next to the bridge. This is very difficult because there is no room to set up a run. I tried the short-takeoff jump, and also tried a circular arc run, then a jump and hard right curve in the air to land on the rocks near the bridge. Then Lara can pull up onto the ledge, and drag and push the block to the corner nearest the golden bridge.

(2) The Easy Way

Lara pulls out the push block once from its niche. Then she pushes it N, toward the doors, as far as it will go. Get around to the doors and the pillar, and push the block outward  E, toward the Viking statue. Now, without stopping, drag the block back through the rock mound as far as it will go. Then make a last push to get the block to the corner nearest the golden bridge. This completely avoids the hard banana jump of the above paragraph. Lara can stand on the block and make the jump to the bridge, but that is for later. First Lara needs to visit Hell.

Lever

Go back to the red doors. Notice that the Viking statues have sword points in front of them that seem incomplete. Lara's task will be to find four sword hilt fragments. Drop down E on to the broken bridge and jump to the other side of that huge expanse below. See two more statues and a closed door. Around the wall to the left is a lever to pull. Jump back to the other side to the red doors. Now the N door is open, so Lara can go through.

Descent into Hell

Go downstairs and flip open the trapdoor, drop into Viking’s hell. Enjoy the nice cut scene which first shows a lever up on a ledge, and then a prelude to hell. Hell seems to be run by dominatrixes, and looks a little like an S&M club. First go forward and look right. There is a large revolving wheel that needs to be rolled aside to reach the nasty parts of hell. So jump over the lava and spot a high lever in the left SE corner. To reach the switch use the slope in the SW corner. This takes some patience to find the right spot. I had Lara facing toward the switch, side flip right to that slope, bounce from the slope with a right curve, bounce again to land in front of the switch.

Save the game here. Lara uses the switch to roll aside that wheel door. Naturally this is going to be a timed run. Lara can side flip left, roll, and run to the ledge. Or else pull the lever, turn right, and do a back flip/twist. Run to the ledge and do a running jump over the rocks with left curve, land and run all the way down to the edge of the lava, and leap across. I had problems here with Lara stumbling on the raised rock at the doorway, so jump quickly to get over the threshold. Even if the wheel door starts to close Lara can get through. After a few practice runs one gets the hang of this. It is possible to get through the door without having to sprint.

Go forward and jump up to where a dominatrix is busy whipping a Viking. Lara turns away and notices something in the fog, right where the ground is oddly flat. Hidden in the dense fog  is a trapdoor that Lara can open. (Almost no one could find this or the next secret that were hidden in mist.) Drop down for Secret #7, 2x revolver ammo and large medipack. Climb out.

Continue SE to more Viking punishments, follow the path. See a Viking in a cage and a large medipack. Jump into the opening SE and pick up a small medipack. Enter a large cavern. Lava flowing down in rivers, pools of it, Vikings being repeatedly lowered into it in cages: Lara has to endure a lot of awful places. Follow the stony pathway and pick up a shotgun. On the platform in the middle is a sword piece, but it’s surrounded by fire and is, for now, unreachable.

Deadly Spheres

Follow the walkway and reach a huge pit with a lot of fog in it. Jump to the right NW to a flat spot. Jump to the following slope so that Lara slides back and grabs the edge. Shimmy to the left until you see a triangular area, with Lara at the low corner. Draw up, turn a little bit to the left and do a roll. Now you should have the perfect position for the next jump around the swinging spheres. Press Look and watch them. When they swing to the left side let go of the Look key and start running. Jump at the last possible moment and curve right while in the air,  press Ctrl at the last moment to grab the edge of the block and draw up. This is one of the most difficult jumps in the game, because any contact with the spheres results in death for Lara.

It is such a relief to have made this jump, that there is no thought of secrets. But notice how heavy the mist is W. Try to find a push block, or a jump switch, or a crawlspace. There is a crawlspace, but Lara can't just enter it. She needs to turn around and back into it, pressing Ctrl because there is a drop off here. Lara is still cloaked in mist, but go N. Find a brightly lit room for Secret #8, with a revolver, 2x revolver ammo and a large medipack in it.

Chain Jump

Get back out and head S to a room with two cages. Jump up SW onto a triangular patch to see that the cage on the left has a chain that is climbable. At this point you may hear a harpy beating its wings and crying out. It should be possible to reach the chain using a short-takeoff jump from this triangular area, but I always came up short. Instead I had Lara return to that flat area of ground before this slope. Back Lara across this flat area, almost to the slopes that go up toward the secret area (Lara's left foot will be near this slope). Align Lara with the chain and the triangular area. Do a running jump, land on the triangular area, run across it at its widest spot, and jump to the chain. This works every time once you find the exact spot for Lara to start. It is a straight run and jump, no curves.

Once on the chain have Lara back flip directly S to a flat ledge in the lava. Jump up E, into the cave, make a standing jump to grab a ledge to pull up higher. At this point the harpy may show up, so blast it with the shotgun.

Big Cavern Again

Go forward and take in the scene from this new vantage point. Follow right around the ledge at the wall to where a pull chain is on fire. Step out on the N edge and look across to the low entrance. Above it and to the left is a cage with a now open door. Inside the cage is a ball. Draw pistols and aim for that cage. Start firing, have Lara crouch while firing, and see the ball swing back and forth. The fire goes out at the chain behind Lara. Pull the chain, and see a bridge raise, so the central platform is now accessible.

On the central roof use the golden floor lever to open the E door near the chain, but don't go there yet. If Lara misses this next step she has to repeat everything with those deadly swinging spheres all over again to get back here. There are model Viking ships to the left and right. Standing on the ledge beside them (not on the roof) push the ships over the edge to land below. Look down, and see that the ships now block the fires, so that the piece of the sword can be gotten later.

Now go in the E door. Turn around and back flip to grab the ladder. Move to the lower right portion of this ladder, back flip and jump to grab the next ladder. Then back flip to land. Go E to see the first sword piece that Lara can get, now smothered in fire. There is a bridge with ropes. At the bottom of the right rope is a curious object. Lara needs to draw pistols and jump up and down firing at this. Or use the shotgun, angling it upward. Once hit, the bridge will fall down and be climbable, for a later exit.

The First Sword Piece

Do a running jump left to grab the ledge N. From here jump to the platform behind the fire-spewing head. Watch the wall to see when the fire is out. Then have Lara run and jump toward the sword piece. There are problems here, with Lara being pushed off into the lava. A solution is to do a jump/twist so that Lara lands backwards in front of the anvil with the sword piece. Immediately back flip to get to a safe portion of this ledge, away from the fire. Now some patience is required to wait for a time when Lara can safely rush in and grab the Piece of Sword, and hop back from the flames.

Lara can now climb the collapsed bridge as a ladder and exit here. However there is an odd pickup. Jump to the platform next to the ladder and turn left. Do a running jump to grab the edge to pull up. Go to the left corner, to the center of the spot where the triangular slope meets the even floor and press Ctrl. Lara picks up an invisible shotgun. Now get back to the platform in the middle and from there jump to the fallen bridge or ladder. Climb up and shoot two harpies with the shotgun.

Slope Jumps

At the end use the chain to reach a higher level. The next section has sloping blocks and water that is deadly. Lara needs to aim for the sloped block to the NW. Some players prefer to do a running jump to it. I had Lara stand on the slope N, do a standing jump to the block, bounce off it with a right curve to land on another slope, and jump to hit a slope W. Press Ctrl here, otherwise Lara will bounce backward into a bad position. With Ctrl pressed, Lara slides down facing this last slope, then at the bottom do a back flip/twist and curve right to land on that rock in the middle of the lava.

Next jump SW to the slope, and bounce to the standable rock ahead. From here do a running jump N, drop down and take the large medipack at the right side. Pass through the steam vents. With Lara at full health, step off into the steam pit. Doing a safety drop doesn't matter. At the bottom, still alive, take the large medipack and slide down into the new area.

Second Sword Piece

We see eight levers, four on each side. As a test Lara can throw a lever on the left (W) side, and watch the boulder roll down with disastrous results. So start by going to the E side and throw the leftmost of the four levers. A camera shot shows the second from the right trap door lifts up, but because of the camera position this will be the second from the left when looking through the window. Go to the window, and note the second from the left symbol over the boulder. Now find that symbol in the switches on this W side. It is the leftmost lever, the one that is diagonally across from the lever on the E side. Lara wants to throw the leftmost switch on the E side, then run diagonally (timed, of course) to the leftmost switch on the W side to throw it.

Do that now. Lara throws switch (holding the Look key to prevent the screen shot), turns slightly, does a back flip/twist, sprints across. Let up on the sprint key to be able to leap up to the switch and throw it. If successful one of those plungers will start going up and down after the boulder rolls down. If that doesn't happen, well...

Next repeat this with the rightmost switch on the E side by the Vikings, and the rightmost switch on the W side, again running diagonally across.

The remaining switches are pretty much paired up straight across the room. The second from the left on the E will be the second from the right on the W, a straight run. The last will be the second from the right on the E, with the second from the left on the W, a straight run. Compared to other tasks, these timed runs aren't too bad.

After all switches are activated a Piece of Sword appears between the two seated Vikings. That's two. The rest will be easy. Leave this room through the red door, and make a couple of simple jumps to platforms. Lara is back where she started.

Third and Fourth Sword Piece

Straight ahead N is the third sword piece with a flame blower over it. You may have already picked this up if you did a bit of exploring. Do a running jump across the lava, and walk (crawling is for wimps) over and pick up the Piece of Sword. Jump back across the lava.

Now Lara needs to retrace the steps to that large cavern, and retrieve the sword piece that was protected by flames. Get through the opening for the huge wheel door, follow through the mists, avoid falling into that open trapdoor, to return to the large cavern and pick up the Piece of Sword that is between the two Viking ships. Now Lara has everything. Return the way you just came, jump the lava twice, and get back to the entrance to hell.

Place the Sword Pieces

Don't go right to the trapdoor, but instead take a left and climb up into the room, then get on a ledge at the wall. Do a running jump and grab to the ledge with the Viking statue on the N side. Place the first sword piece. Drop down. The door is now open to the S, so exit there. Return to the big red doors of the start. There are two Vikings here that require sword pieces. Take the broken bridge to the E to find the last Viking for a sword piece. (Note that the other Viking already has a whole sword.)

The door opens. Inside, and to the left on a pedestal is Amundsen's Key. Go around the biplane to the end of this room to find a jump switch on the wall, and pull it (but first read next paragraph). See some lovely camera shots of statues rising into the air.

Alternative Play

(There is an alternative play at this point that bypasses the two difficult jumps from the push block to the golden bridge, but expends two large medipacks. Lara gets Amundsen's Key, but must avoid using the jump switch to raise the statues, as she needs to trigger them from that large area below. It is indeed possible for Lara to make the long descent if she is at full health. Outside this room where the two Vikings stand, Lara can go N to the right-side edge, hang, drop, and roll. Or there is another spot at those low rocks by the golden bridge, the point where Lara lands after the difficult banana jump. At that corner Lara can angle slightly left, hop back several times, and do a sprint run off the edge. Hit Ctrl to sail farther to reach a high rock that is a couple of squares from the wall. This method takes less health. Explore the rocky terrain, find the top of a statue S of the bridge, which is distinct from the surrounding rock. Use only the two end statues of the four, starting with the most SW statue. When Lara walks on that statue, it raises with Lara riding on top of it, a cool effect. At the highest point make the jump to the slope West, holding down Ctrl in flight. Use the key, enter the building, and get the White Fleece from the sarcophagus. Climb the ledge N, and from there a standing jump E. Pick up the large medipack around the corner. Jump into the opening N and slide down. Lara again makes the long drop down, and searches beneath the middle of the golden bridge for the end statue East. It lifts Lara for an easy jump to the golden bridge. Skip the next three paragraphs, and continue.)

The Golden Bridge—Normal Play

Having thrown the jump switch to raise the four statues, go back across the broken bridge to the red doors, and left. Climb up on the push block that Lara positioned so laboriously at the beginning of this level. Place Lara on the left side for a difficult jump to the golden bridge. Side step right then back left to gain a forward placement equal to about half of Lara's foot. Do a run and jump without Ctrl to the corner of the golden bridge.

Go halfway down the bridge and make a running jump and grab to the nearest statue. Continue across the statue platforms.  At the end make a jump to the slope West, holding down Ctrl so that Lara makes more distance. Use the key in the keyhole to open the door, and go inside.

Approach the sarcophagus while lovely music plays. Open it to get the White Fleece. Climb the ledge N, and from there a standing jump E. Pick up the large medipack around the corner. Jump into the opening N and slide down. Get back to the push block and set Lara up for another difficult jump to the golden bridge.

Alternative and Normal Play Merge

Run down the bridge, minding your own business, and some sort of winged and tailed creature attacks Lara. Shoot it with the shotgun while hoping back. At the end of the golden bridge place the White Fleece, and the gated doors open. First go left to get a small medipack. Then from the gate go right and loop around left. Find two large medipacks by a glass door that is the exit through which Lara will return from the next level. Then there is another large medipack. This is beginning to seem ominous.

The Winged Demon

The doors open as Lara approaches. Watch the camera sequences with the skeletons twirling over flames. The skeletons aren't a threat to Lara, but something else is. Climb the stairs and look around. The four pieces of furniture can be moved, but only one is needed. There are two torches on the ground to the East. The normal way to play this is to move the furniture piece in the NE corner and push it W over the edge. (Actually Lara can wait, because she has a trick to use, but she might as well move the furniture now.) Drop down after it, and move the furniture W, stopping before the drop off for the stairs. Lara can stand on this piece.

Now get one of those torches E and light it under the skeleton. Go W and light the two bowls between the two thrones. A winged demon is released, and things get hectic. This is why there were all those medipacks. The demon will continually bombard Lara, and even set Lara on fire, and if it gets too close can grab Lara and shake the life out of her. This is a losing battle. So run for your life out the doors and back down the hallway. The demon will follow Lara. If the demon gets hung up in the hallway, then have Lara run back, keeping on the opposite side of the hallway, to lure the demon onward.

The N part of the hallway is the crucial part. Lara must tempt the demon into stooping and entering here, near the corner. Once that happens the demon is trapped. The low ceiling will prevent the demon from following Lara as she runs back down the hallway S to the main room. Lara is free to complete the needed tasks without interference. All of this can be done with very little health lost.

Final Tasks

In the main room light the bowls in the alcoves SE, SW, and also NW. Lastly there is a high alcove over the stairs. Lara can jump to it by standing on that furniture. When all of these bowls have been lit Lara can drop the torch. A doorway in the middle of the S wall opens. Save the game because Lara needs to be careful not to accidentally enter the next level. Go into the first room S, then into the next doorway for about two squares (much further and Lara hits the trigger for the next level).

Turn around and run back to the main room. Look straight across to the high alcove over the stairs. See the dancing statue for the secret against a red backdrop. Climb on the furniture and jump back into that alcove and enter Secret #9. Pick up Uzi clips, large medipack, revolver ammo, lasersight, and most importantly Bonus Key #4.

Jump back to the furniture and down. Return to the exit in the S doorway. This time keep going until Lara enters the next level. The author has set a pattern as the third and fourth Bonus Keys were both right at the end of their levels. Taras has certainly lulled us into believing that we don't have to worry about Bonus Key #5 until much later on.

Level 5: Heroes

Three secrets, including Secret Bonus Key #5

Secret Bonus Key #5

Jump into the water and pick up the small medipack. Go out of the water on the other side and through a narrow corridor where three spiked balls will drop down. Pass the first and stop before the second (darker section). Light a flare and run a bit to trigger the ball from the left or right sides; quickly roll (try to land just behind the ball) and take a standing jump W to the alcove above (no grab) before the spikes appear; continue through the dark passage to get Secret #10: in the water a large medipack, flares, in the alcove above 3x shotgun ammo, shotgun, and on the other side the last Bonus Key #5. Exit through the E underwater passage, pull the yellow underwater switch and in the next pool get out of the water in SE corner. Pick up the flares at the end of the corridor and return to open the grated trapdoor in the middle. Drop down and prepare yourself for another tricky task.

Circular blades and breakable tiles

At the bottom of the ramp you'll find a series of breakable tiles and circular blades (with a deadly floor below, of course) so you can't stop too much to time the blades. Situate Lara to the left at the top of the ramp and slide; jump with a right curve a bit before you reach the bottom so she doesn't shake when landing and you can immediately run to the right over the first breakable tile taking a running jump to the next. You'll have to be lucky and take running jumps when reaching the blades the best you can. You even can save your game after each blade when jumping to the next if you're fast enough, and use medipacks if necessary. The first time it seems difficult, but it can take few tries at last.

The barrels in the next room are shootable, and one of them contains 2 x Uzi ammo. To safety drop to ground floor in the pit, jump to the sloped ledge to the right and when sliding grab in last moment when falling (without grab the edge) to land onto the slope below, grab its edge and drop to the ground. Enter into the...

Aquariums Area

Climb the S ladder and grab the monkeyswing at SE corner of the roof to reach the E side. Jump into the first aquarium and pick up the Twins' Key 1 at the bottom. Return to the main room and use the key in the keyhole behind the pillar in SW corner. This raises a cage near the entrance of this room so go there, jump to its top (from the W ledge), and jump to the roof above the entrance; press the yellow button to open a trapdoor in the central pool; go there, dive E and look for an air hole in the ceiling at the end. Once out of the water pick up a large medipack in the crawlspace to your right. Continue and in the next small room there are two brown moveable blocks, N and S. Push the N block twice to a niche behind; in this new passage there's another block to your left, pull it once, return to the small room and pull the S block out and aside to clear the way. Enter, jump the small pit and push the block to your right (the one you've moved seconds ago) twice to the niche behind. Turn around and pull the last block near the small pit once to open the passage between the aquariums. Return to the main room, go to the first aquarium like you did before, jump into the water and dive through the N opening to the second aquarium. You can't see it, but there's a second Twins' Key 2 at the bottom in the central tile near the glass. Pick it up, return to the main room and use it in the keyhole behind the ladder to raise the big picture in E wall revealing a new passage. Go there, climb a long ladder, up the stairs pick up another large medipack and in the next room press the yellow button in SE corner to open the door giving you access to the city.

The R tablet

Enter and pick up the flares to your left. Go to the other side and through the big opening under the arches; one of the two fountains there is really a switch; pull it to open the nearby grated door. Enter and pick up the Lost Key under a bush (you'll have to duck to do it). Return to the main street and go S and left (E) to find two Vikings in a niches in left and right sides. Behind the Viking to your left there is a moveable block; push it to clear the way and climb the ladder; shoot the barrels to pick up a shotgun and pull the switch to open the W door. From here a jump to the N ledge in the corner, a running jump to the next W ledge, shoot the S balustrade and jump there, another jump to the ledge with the statue and a final curved jump W around the corner to the top of the arch to get Secret #11: a large medipack and revolver ammo. Drop to ground floor and use the key in the keyhole behind the balustrade to open the door. Inside in SE corner there is one of the four tablets you need: the R Tablet. You'll be back here later.

The L Tablet

Go outside and left (W) through the arch below the secret to another area where you'll shoot a dog. Go through the second corridor to the left passing the arch and shoot another dog. Light a flare or use the binoculars to discover a high opening to your left in the middle of the corridor. Hoist up there, go left and a door opens for you (walk over the central tiles). In the next room shoot the barrels to get flares and a large medipack. Pull the switch to open the E door and move the crate left of the switch to throw it through this open door to the street below. Drop there and move the crate all the way N in front of the pot with the green plant. Climb the crate and jump to the S ledge; climb the S roof and pick up the large medipack; approach to the N edge of the roof and shoot the balustrade of the N balcony. Now you must take a running jump to that balcony from the W side where the golden statue is. This is another very tricky jump. I did it beginning to run one or two tiles back from the statue; run like fool over the tile with the statue pressing "Alt" in the very last moment at the very corner, keep pressing Up Arrow all the time while in the air and trying to jump to the very corner without curving in the air. Once there pick up the L tablet. Safety drop to the street.

The first A tablet

Go SE up the stairs and continue to a big courtyard with hanging ropes where you'll have to place your tablets later. Left (N) is a high balcony to which Lara must swing. To prepare the way, combine the revolver and lasersight and shoot the center railings of that balcony. Then go down the stairs beneath it (N) and to the left (W) pick up shotgun and revolver ammo. Run to the other side (E) and continue to a small courtyard. Climb the NW ladder and jump back to the balcony behind; pick up 2 x large medipack and shoot the balustrade of this and W balcony in the other side of the street too. Jump there and approach to its N ledge to see a dark crawlspace around the corner. Jump there with a left curve and crawl to the other side to find a switch; pull it to open a nearby door, go north to find the first A Tablet. Also two golden grated doors are now open to give you a shortcut to the beginning of the level area (for later). Go S to return to the large courtyard.

The second A tablet

Run in a SW direction to find a ladder in S wall; climb the ladder and jump back to the ledge behind. Jump to the ledge behind the arch and take a running jump N-NW to grab the first rope. Now a tricky swing E to grab the next, another tricky swing to grab the N rope and a last tricky swing to land onto the balcony with a large medipack and the second A Tablet. Try not to align the ropes, but turn a bit left and swing to the highest position; when Lara jumps she will turn a bit to the right. Also try not to jump very high in the last jump to the balcony so Lara doesn't hit the ceiling. Save after each jump if necessary.

Jump to ground floor (watch your health before jumping) and go W to place the tablets in its receptacles to open the big doors. But don't go there yet. Do you remember the shortcut to return to the entrance of the city? Go there and into the room you picked up the first tablet; in the E wall the large painting has moved itself to the right, revealing a niche which was behind. Climb there and pull the switch to release another rope in the large courtyard. Return there, climb the S ladder again and jump to the new released rope from the SW corner of the ledge; swing to the N balcony to get Secret #12: flares, a large medipack, the revolver and revolver ammo. Jump to ground floor taking some damage again and go up the stairs through the big open doors W.

The First Chain

Watch the flyby carefully when entering in another very huge courtyard; it will give you some hints. Your goal here is to pull four chains to open the doors of the W building near the airship. Let's go. Run to the large central pool and pick up a revolver and revolver ammo. Go to the far W wall to find the lasersight in another pool. Turn around and climb the wide ladder behind you to the high gazebo with the telescope you saw in the flyby and pull the First Chain. Don't climb down yet; go to the left of the telescope and use the binoculars to spot a hanging ball high in a small opening in the building to your left. Shoot it to open the doors of that building. Now climb down the ladder and go there.

The Second Chain

Climb up the stairs and find an opening in the ceiling in NW corner. Hoist up and in the room above pull the second chain in NW corner. Go to the S balcony, turn around and climb to the higher floor. Go to the W golden statue and climb the ledge where it is; from the SE corner jump NW to grab the edge of the highest floor (or drop, grab the edge, shimmy left around the corner and use the N ledge behind the statue). Go to the N side of the building and use a kind of grey book-switch there to open the doors of the S building. Now go to the E side and use the purple wings (zipline) to reach the E building (beware when landing, don't wait to the very end so you don't fall).

The Third chain

Crawl and go to the other side but don't use the ladder; go to the SE corner hang and drop to the ledge below. Now take a running jump N-NW to the most N alcove, pull the switch behind the pillar there to raise a block in the floor above. Now take a running jump to grab the ladder, climb to the top of the raised block, turn around and another running jump to grab the W ledge of the upper floor. Pull the Third Chain in SE corner. Use the ladder to go to ground floor (grab from the edge above the raised block, release and grab again), the door is now open there; go out and S to the remaining building.

The Fourth Chain

Climb the S ladder near the fountain to the next floor, go E and up the stairs there to the next floor, straight W to the outside terrace and around the building to its E side. Look up to see an high wooden door W. Soot it with revolver + lasersight and climb there to pull the last chain. Finally the doors of the W building open so descend to the courtyard and go there.

The Mausoleum

In this beautiful building there are many sarcophagus with Italian names. Go to the N side where the Hugo Lago's sarcophagus is, jump back over the E rhombic sloped ledge, slide, jump and grab the edge of the ledge with his tomb. Hoist up, turn around and take a running jump to the SE brown ledges; from here, another running jump to the ledge above the entrance door, climb the E windows sill and another running jump S-SW to the ledge where the Ettore Arduino's sarcophagus is. Drop and grab the edge of the ledge from the S side and shimmy left to the other side. From here you can take a running jump to the top of the hanging ball with the fire and see what happens. Jump to the W ledge and pick up the Andvaranautr (a ring) and safety drop to the floor. You couldn't see it, but big grated doors have opened in E wall near the NE building so, go there and slide down the ramp to the next level.

Skidbladnir—Epilogue

If you don't have all five secret keys, you can pull the switch and go to the right to return to the golden bridge from level 4. Advance over the bridge (you don't need the pickups) and see the final animation to finish this extraordinary adventure. If you have the five secret keys you can go left of the switch to the room where you can place them (pick up the large medipack); a door opens in the corner. Pick up another large medipack and walk to the teleporter which will lead you to...

Level 6: Gramr—Bonus Level

No secrets

Freezing Sea

Lara steps into the right teleporter and is magically taken to an island dusted by snow in the middle of a freezing sea. There are ships in the distance, and strange structures at the cardinal compass points. On a central pedestal is the sword Gramr, the object of this quest. Currently (ouch) it is protected by electric energy. The water is not only frigid, but is inhabited with voracious fish. Lara is going for some swims.

Runes

First run over to the E and look on the right side of the building for the first rune. Make a copy of this on a notepad. There are a total of four runes to get. Dive into freezing water on this side (E), swim beneath the island, and locate the next rune—looks like an R. Get out of the water fast, and make a note of that rune.

Go to the SW corner of this little island. Look S with the binoculars to spot the next rune on the side of the building. Standing in the same spot, turn and look W to spot the rune low down, hidden by sloping rock at the water's surface. Make a running jump into the water, and swim far enough to see the rune, which looks a bit like the track made by a penguin. Get back to the island, probably losing health.

Having spotted the four runes, go N, dive in, and swim under the structure ahead. On the other side find the middle sloping blocks where Lara can pull up to bounce between them, angling jumps to land on the ledge. Go to the front of the building and pull the switch left of the door to find the rune matrix. Lara needs to jump on the four found runes and no others. Two of the runes are in the back corners. The other two are in the middle row. I found the short-takeoff jump helpful to keep Lara from running over the edge of a tile. That is, hold down shift, start to take a step forward, release shift and immediately press jump (Alt). Use this and standing jumps to land on all four runes.

When Lara jumps back from the rune matrix to the ledge there is a screenshot of an open trapdoor under the structure directly across to the S. Swim to the island, run across, swim S and beneath to find the trapdoor. Inside, the lever is by the door. Go right, jump and grab the overhead walkway, hoist up and follow to the next structure.

(From the walkway Lara can reach the teleporter on the ledge, but she doesn't have the sword yet. This is a challenge level to get the sword, but now at any time Lara can simply use the teleporter to continue the main game. There is no game play penalty, although if Lara returns with the sword one may assume she gets nicer accommodations on the Viking ship at the end.)

Trapdoor Challenge

At the end structure do a standing jump and grab and pull onto the ledge. Go right, look on the E side of the building for the jump switch beneath Lara. Hang from the ledge, drop to pull the jump switch, go around to the open door. Climb the chain until Lara is within the side opening, then back flip W. On the wire walkway, run along and jump to the parallel walkway, going back to the N building. Drop to the ledge and go to the SW corner. The run over collapsing trapdoors takes some practice.

Lara can stand in the middle of the block, or a bit forward, and stand jump to the trapdoor as it is raising up. Run diagonally along the trapdoor and jump at its corner to make the corner of the next trapdoor. (Soul has a video demonstrating this technique.) I tried to save during Lara's leap, but then she always came up short when reloading the game. I could save while Lara was running, but this may have shortened the time Lara had for the last trapdoor. If Lara can make the trapdoor run in one fluid sequence it is best.

The Sword Gramr

Once safely on the ledge, go around to the W side of the building where Lara can pull up. Descend the ladder inside, hang from the bottom edge, drop. With Lara facing N, turn the wheel several times or more. In the screenshot you see Lara in the distance, and will have to guide her actions from this. In the foreground you see a high platform closing to shield the sword from lightning strikes. (The sword only looks like it's on fire. Normally, turning a wheel starts a timed sequence, but not here.) Lara runs out the door and leaps into the water, soon getting a proper viewpoint back. Surface and pull up at the island, run to grab the sword Gramr on the pedestal and hop back.

Swim S to the underwater trapdoor and go around to pull up on the walkway. This time get to the upper ledge of this building, where Lara steps into the teleporter.

Skidbladnir—Epilogue

Take the corridors by the only route into familiar territory, and come out where the gates have opened once again to the golden bridge. See Uzis, shotgun, revolvers, medipacks: they have no use now, but will the adventure continue? As Lara walks by them we see the final tantalizing animation. The magical ship appears to take Lara. And one must be sad that this remarkable and enchanted adventure has come to The End. Congratulations to the author for this superb achievement.

03 July 2009

Back to Top