I finished TR4 without a walkthrough!!

[Sat42]

Thanks HarleyCroft and .snake.

@HarleyCroft:
- the hook and pole combo: well frankly I tried to get those keys just with the pole at first When that didn't work I went about exploring as much as I could, until further progress became impossible without those keys (I had even managed to briefly penetrate the Catacombs and Pharos, Temple of Isis - the latter gave me a big wow moment of discovery! ). Once I was pretty sure I had seen everything I could, I figured that the solution to getting those keys must be located near said keys - otherwise it would be really random (aka poor) level design. Combing the sector naturally led me back to the place where I got the pole - and seeing the other objects there, I started to press action on each of them - finally giving me the hook! From there, checking out the hook in my inventory made it obvious that I had to combine it with the pole - problem solved, using my new tool to get the keys worked immediately!
- Yes I knew right away to look for the Amulet of Horus in the water, the FMV with Seth barging in on the ceremony made it clear
- Hehe, I just knew Seth would be invincible - but yes I did shoot at Seth a bit just to quickly confirm my feeling (and went close to have a good look at the god and its powers - cool stuff, then reloaded), and heck 'twas a quick way of eliminating the possibility that you may need to temporarily "injure" him in order to trap him, but to me the required steps were obvious, also because I had taken the time to look around before starting the ceremony. Invincible enemies are a bit of a trope of the game at this point, e.g. even those monsters in cages (in the last puzzle sequence with the scales before entering the chamber of Horus) are invincible so Seth being invincible was a given

@.snake.:
I seriously doubt ANYONE managed to get ALL the game's secrets legitimately (although I suppose there are some true "fans" who get obsessive), it really seems to be made with the idea that people would be spending money on game guides! I think I will decline taking on this challenge - too many other games to play, y'know?

[dg1995]

I nearly beat the game without walkthrough.

But I was forced to use a walkthrough to find this damned Pyramid near the end of the game.
https://tombraiders.net/stella/walks...khufu-2.html#4
This is the only part of TR 4 where I was forced to use a guide.

Kinda funny that I somehow managed to finish the city level without adding the Nitros. (I didn't know that Lara can destroy the turrets and so I retried and retried driving through the ramps with that slow bike so much until I was able to make the jumps since you can make the jumps if you drive correctly.)

[Sat42]

Originally Posted by dg1995

I nearly beat the game without walkthrough.

But I was forced to use a walkthrough to find this damned Pyramid near the end of the game.
https://tombraiders.net/stella/walks...khufu-2.html#4
This is the only part of TR 4 where I was forced to use a guide.

Kinda funny that I somehow managed to finish the city level without adding the Nitros. (I didn't know that Lara can destroy the turrets and so I retried and retried driving through the ramps with that slow bike so much until I was able to make the jumps since you can make the jumps if you drive correctly.)

Good one! I didn't know you could finish the Cairo segment without the nitro upgrade

Regarding that pyramid entrance: yeah I can see how many would miss it, in my case I figured it out not because I saw that ridiculously faint symbol carved into the ground (or maybe I did but didn't register consciously), but because of how that stone block is lit compared to its surroundings - it looks detached from the ground, and so I tried to interact with it when I realised I could move it, I just moved it as much as I could until the entrance opened.

[TRExpertgamer]

Look at this!!

https://youtu.be/hFPuCFQ7abI

[Wooxman]

(Sorry in advance for joining the conversation so late. )

That's so cool, Sat42!

You're little walkthrough of the Cairo section is an interesting read! Sounds like you played through that game the way the developers intended.

I think that a lot of veteran TR players find TLR and especially the Cairo section so hard because of all the new gameplay elements that don't get properly explained (or not explained at all). You mentioned having a lot more gaming experience now, so that's maybe the key: Back then stuff like combining inventory items and using tools like the laser sight to interact with the environment were still fairly new in general and they had never been done in a TR game. I guess that especially the ability to combine inventory items created some frustration, considering that it was rarely necessary to take a look at the items in your inventory in TR I-III. Also the most unconventional objects that the player had to interact with in TR I-III were the detonators in TR II and III and the giant gong in TR II. But TLR constantly confronts you with interactive objects that aren't just different types of keyholes and switches/levers. I can imagine that back in the 90s someone could've easily getting overwhelmed by this stuff.

[redfox45]

Congrats

I've only made it to the Lost Library without one. And now I am too stuck to progress but too proud to cave.