Level 28: Underneath the Sphinx

Proceed downhill and go through the gate. When you enter the next room the gate closes behind you. There is no turning back!

The cut scene shows three stone tablets guarded by two vicious looking bulls.

If you take a look on the two bulls, you will see them breathing (once again!). There are two cages on each side of the hallway, and each gate closes when you throw the switch to the side of the corresponding entrance. Yes, you need to trap the bulls inside the cages, so you can then move more freely around the area. To goad the bulls into coming after you, you simply need to approach them.

(Bug note- You can avoid the bulls by walking around them to the left or right, but you may encounter a bug later where the stone tablets will not be reset. We suggest you complete this part, trapping the bulls inside the cages.)

Trapping the bulls - It does not matter which bull you awaken first, and it does not matter in which cage you trap them. You need to personally enter your chosen cage first so that the bull will follow you inside. Then exit in haste and throw the switch to close the gate, hopefully trapping the bull inside it.

Assuming you have the level's entrance to the back of you, let's awaken the left bull first and trap him in the cage on the west (the same side where the bull is). Run in front of him to wake him from his slumber, then do a roll and run back the way you just came. Enter the cage on the right (west). As soon as you have done this, turn around to face the entrance and stand in front of the left wall next to the entrance. The switch should be outside on the right - you stand in the opposite direction of the switch because it will help you to reach it whilst exiting. Wait for the bull to enter, stupidly attacking the wall behind you when he does. Quickly exit and throw the switch to trap him inside. Do the same for the second bull.

Introduction to the puzzle - Once you are done with the bulls, go towards the location you first saw them and head to the left. Lara will look at a Scrap Of Paper. Pick it up, and then pick up the Flares next to the skeleton - the poor guy that obviously failed. Enter your inventory and examine the Scrap Of Paper to see that it contains the translation of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. If you approach the three stone tablets and compare the hieroglyphics they have on them with the hieroglyphics of the Scrap Of Paper, you will see that (from left to right) the Reeds (44) correspond to the letter I, the Sandy Slope (triangle) to the letter Q, and the Bird to the letter A. This will not tell you anything at the moment as there is still a crucial component to the puzzle you do not have.

With these three stone tablets we have a maximum of six possible combinations. Using each combination will open one gate at a time on either the east or the west side of the area.

• I - Q - A (Reeds - Sandy Slope - Bird)

• I - A - Q (Reeds - Bird - Sandy Slope)

• Q - I - A (Sandy Slope - Reeds - Bird)

• Q - A - I (Sandy Slope - Bird - Reeds)

• A - I - Q (Bird - Reeds - Sandy Slope)

• A - Q - I (Bird - Sandy Slope - Reeds)

Understanding the puzzle - From these six combinations, only one can give you the access to the clue of the puzzle, and this is Bird - Reeds - Sandy Slope (that is Right - Left - Middle). The logic of this combination is the order they appear in the Scrap Of Paper (A - I - Q, according to the alphabet). This is the only correct combination you can use at this point of the level - you first need to get the clue of the puzzle. By using any of the others you open the northeast gate. This leads to a trapped area which is completely pointless in visiting. Furthermore, if you do end up here you will NEED to negotiate all the traps purely in order to find the switch which will allow you back to the stone tablets room.

Once you get the clue of the puzzle you can then use any other combination of symbols apart from Bird - Reeds - Sandy Slope, which is the same combination as before. This will open the trapped area again and you will NEED to go through the traps in order to use the switch and reset the stone tablets.

We first describe the trapped area in case you have not hit the correct combination and are stuck in there, either that or for the benefit of those who follow this walkthrough because they want to see everything.

(Bug note - The PS players have even more reason to completely avoid this part of the level, because some of you have mentioned that even if you use the switch the stones tablets will not be reset. If you are a PS player and want to see everything, make sure you save your game in a different slot BEFORE hitting the combination in case you activate the bug. If you do not have a pure save to load in order to come back, you will not have any other choice but to use the Level Skip cheat. Bear in mind, though, that by doing this you will miss the Four Holly Scriptures that you find at the end of the level. You NEED them in order to finish the game.)

Wrong Combination\ trapped area (northeast) - After going through the gate (which closes behind you), kill the two bats and approach the left hand side of the deep pit. Take a running jump over the pit and go through the opening with the skull tiles. Then go down the ramp. You can follow either the left or the right side of the T-junction, as they meet each other at the other side.

Regardless of the route in which you choose to go, be careful in the hallway. If you take a look on the ceiling you will see a hole. A ball with spikes drops down from the hole so you had better crouch to avoid them. For your information, blades pop out from the floor in the next square, and a second ball with spikes drops down from a hole beyond the blades. So, you had better make stealthy moves. If you crawl slowly across the hallway you will not get damaged at all. After the second ball with spikes has done its thing, you can stand up again.

At this second T-intersection, you can see three hallways. If you stand in front of the middle hallway, you can see a circular blade trap beyond. Behind this trap is the switch that you need to use in order to reset the stone tablets and open the gate from whence you came. If you decide to follow the middle hallway you will have to pass through two sets of blades that pop out from the floor, then the circular blade trap you can see beyond. If you decide to go through either of the outer hallways, you will need to go through one circular blade trap, then the circular blade trap you can see beyond.

Two moving horizontal blades though protect all three of the hallways, and if you stand in the wrong place they will slice you in two at the waist. By crawling you can avoid them without getting any damage at all, just as you can to get past the blades that pop out from the floor. For the circular blade trap, stand in front of it as close as you can, and when the blades are open press the Roll button. Be careful however to only press it once. If you hold the button down for a split second too long, Lara will twice do a roll and end up either on the side of the trap she was before, or dead.

Throw the switch to reset the stone tablets and open the gate from where you entered. You need to pass through the traps again and make your way back to the stone tablets. When you reach the deep pit, approach it on the right hand side and take a running jump to grab the extended block. Pull up and return to the stone tablets through the gate.

Getting the clue of the puzzle (due west) - Reminder: you MUST hit this combination first and get the clue of the puzzle. Any other combination at this point will open the trapped area. Hit the Bird - Reeds - Sandy Slope combination (that is Right - Left - Middle) and the gate due west will open; go through it. Approach the deep pit from the right and take a standing jump to the extended ledge, which is also on the right. Kill the two bats that emerge from the left and continue forwards to a second deep pit. Take a standing jump from the left hand side and kill two more bats.

Forget about the closed gate for now as you will open it at the end of the level. To get the clue for the puzzle back in the main area, use the Binoculars and look through the colored shafts. Press Action to activate the night vision. The clues are shown in the table below, following a clockwise order.

Colored Shaft

Combination

Gate's Location

Pick-up

Red

Bird - Sandy Slope - Reeds
(Right - Middle - Left)

Northwest

Stone of Maat

Green

Sandy Slope - Reeds - Bird
(Middle - Left - Right)

Southwest

Stone of Khepri

Magenta

Sandy Slope - Bird - Reeds
(Middle - Right - Left)

Southeast

Stone of Atum

Blue

Reeds - Sandy Slope - Bird
(Left - Middle - Right)

Due east

Stone of Re

Once you have got the clues, return to the deep pit and take a running jump from the right hand side (or a standing jump and grab). Then head onwards and cross over the other pit in your way.

You can open the gates and get the Stones in any order you like, but to avoid a possible bug (see the bug note below), we advise you leave the Stone of Atum until last.

Stone Of Maat (northwest) - Hit the Bird - Sandy Slope - Reeds combination (that is Right - Middle - Left) and the gate in the northwest will open. As you enter, the gate closes behind you. This will occur each time you engage in the four challenges ahead. Kill the two bats and approach the deep pit on the right. Stand against the slope and take a standing jump over it. You can take a direct running jump to the ledge ahead (north), or first jump to the ledge on the left and then to the one on the north. Turn right (east) and take a standing jump over the slope. Kill two more bats.

There are three openings in this area. The one on the left (north) leads to the Stone, the one ahead (east) to a Secret, and the one on the right (south) to the switch that opens the gate blocking your route back to the stone tablets. You can explore them in any order you like.

North opening - Crawl through the opening and at the first intersection go left. Bypass the passage on the right (it leads to a spiked pit, as do most wrong turns lead to in these tunnels!) and go through the one on the left. Get the Stone of Maat and crawl back out the same way you came.

East opening \ Secret (1-1\ total: 64-70) - Crawl through the opening and at the T junction go to the right. Crawl to the end and stand above the wooden boards. They will break away and you will drop down into a small tunnel. Pickup the Grenade Gun (ammo if you already have it) at the end and crawl back out the same way you came.

South opening - Crawl through the opening, and at the first intersection go to the left. At the second intersection, go to the right. At the T, follow the passage on the left. Stand up and throw the switch to open the gate leading back to the stone tablets. Crawl back out the same way you came.

Approach the pit on the right hand side and slide down to the ledge. You can take a direct running jump to the ledge on the left (south), or first jump to the ledge on the right, then to the one on the left. Slide down and return to the stone tablets through the gate.

Stone of Khepri (southwest) - Hit the Sandy Slope - Reeds - Bird combination (that is Middle - Left - Right) and the gate at the southwest will open. Go though it, kill the two bats and approach the deep pit from the left. Take a running jump over it and draw your weapons, as four crocodiles emerge from the pool on the right; kill them all. If you are having troubles killing the crocodiles, enter the next room quickly and kill them from the ledges with the niches. They cannot follow you then.

Enter the room with the shallows and use the four niches to open the trapdoor in the middle of the water. Throw the switch on the west wall, opposite the entrance, to open the gate that leads you back to the stone tablets. Now drop through the trapdoor and pick up the Stone of Khepri. Climb back out and head to the east to return to the deep pit. Kill the two bats and approach the pit from the right. Take a running jump to grab the extended block ahead and then hoist yourself up. Return to the stone tablets through the gate.

Stone of Re (due east) - Hit the Reeds - Sandy Slope - Bird combination (that is Left - Middle - Right) and the gate due east will open. Go though it, continue ahead and kill the three bats. Approach the pit from the left or the right and take a standing jump over it.

Niche puzzle - From those nine niches, use the right niche on the north wall to open the gate that leads back to the stone tablets and get the Stone of Re from the right niche on the east wall. If you take a look on the tablets above the niches, you will see that those two have the same mirrored hieroglyphic. The rest of the niches release swarms of beetles. Approach the pit from the left or right and take a standing jump over it. Return back to the stone tablets through the gate.

[Bug note - Before proceeding with the Stone of Atum challenge and before even pushing the stone tablets on the wall to get there in the first place, save your game in a different slot. This because you may activate a bug where the stone tablets will not be reset on your way back. If you have followed the walkthrough entirely as it is written then the retrieval of this particular Stone should also be your last, so you do not have anything to be afraid of, because you will not need to use the stone tablets again. In any case, you need to load a previous saved game. Note though that you will need to throw about five switches in the Atum section. Even if you have followed this walkthrough in the order it is written, make sure you save in a different slot BEFORE using any switch, and keep a pure saved game which if used would take you back to where you were before pushing the stone tablets to get the correct Atum combination.]

Stone of Atum (southeast) - Hit the Sandy Slope - Bird - Reeds combination (that is Middle - Right - Left) and the door in the southeast will open. Go through it, approach the pit from the right and take a standing jump to the ledge below, which is also on the right. Hang from the edge and shimmy to the left around the corner. Pull up, turn left, and take a standing jump over the slope. Kill the two bats.

Water maze - This is hard! You need to swim through the passages of the water maze and find the room that will give you access to a switch that opens the door to the second room you need to swim to. This task is given to you again and again until you reach the maze's fifth room, from where you can get both the Stone and the switch which opens the gate taking you back to the stone tablets. The hieroglyphics you will meet in the maze are supposed to help you, as you need to follow them according to the alphabetical order of the Scrap of Paper you have.

From the start to the 1st room - Stand above the water tunnel facing east. Drop into the water and follow the tunnel downwards. At the first intersection you have three choices: left, forward and right. Turn right and follow the tunnel as it goes seemingly straight at first, then downwards. At the second intersection you have two choices: right and left. Turn left and continue to follow the tunnel. At the third intersection you again have two choices: upwards or right. Go to the right and carry on. The fourth intersection also gives you two choices: right or forward. Elect the forwards route and follow the tunnel downwards and right. You see the hieroglyphic of a bird at the end. Swim upwards from here and surface for some well deserved fresh air! Climb out of the water and throw the switch to open the trapdoor that allows you access to the 2nd room.

From the 1st to the 2nd room - Drop into the water with the switch to your back and follow the tunnel as it goes upwards. At the first intersection you have two choices: forwards or left. Go left for now. At the second intersection where you can see a Snake hieroglyphic, you once again have two choices: upwards and forward. Continue forward and follow the tunnel as it goes right and then up. At the third intersection you have two choices: keep upwards or right. Continue upwards to find the water's surface. Climb out and throw the switch to open the trapdoor that leads to the 3rd room.

From the 2nd to the 3rd room - Drop into the water having the switch to the back of you. Pass the opening on the first left you come across and continue downwards. At the intersection with the Snake hieroglyphic you have two choices: forward and upwards. Swim upwards to surface in the next room. Climb out and throw the switch to open the trapdoor that leads to the 4th room.

From the 3rd to the 4th room - The distance between these two rooms is quite long, so you might want to consider taking a break in the room where you started halfway there. It depends on how confident you are in your swimming ability. Drop into the water having the switch to the back of you and follow the tunnel downwards. At the bottom where the Snake hieroglyphic is, you have two choices: left or right. It does not matter which one you follow, but we will explain only one in this walkthrough. Go to the right and follow the tunnel right and upwards. At the second intersection you have two choices: keep upwards and right (east). Go to the right and follow the tunnel. At the third intersection you have two choices: forwards or upwards. Go upwards and follow the tunnel. The fourth intersection gives you three choices: forward, right, or upwards. Go upwards to surface. You are back at the beginning.

Once you have filled your air bar back up, turn to face east and swim downwards. At the first intersection you have three choices: left, forward, and right. Opt to go left. At the second intersection, the passage on the left is a dead end with a Small Medipack. Get it and continue to the east. Follow the tunnel upwards past the Reeds hieroglyphic and surface. Climb out of the water and throw the switch to open the trapdoor that leads to the 5th room.

From the 4th to the 5th room - Drop into the water having the switch to the back of you. Follow the tunnel downwards and left. At the first intersection you have three choices: upwards (that leads to the beginning), forward, or left. Choose left. At the second intersection there are two choices: right or upwards. Swim upwards and follow the tunnel to surface. Climb out of the water and throw the switch on the east wall to open the gate that leads back to the stone tablets. Then pick up the Stone of Atum and prepare to head back.

From the 5th room back to the start - Drop into the water having the switch to the back of you and follow the tunnel. Pass the first passage on the left and when you reach the intersection that goes left, right and upwards, swim upwards to surface. You are back where you started.

Climb out of the water and approach the pit on the left. Slide to the ledge below and hang from the edge. Shimmy to the right around the corner and pull yourself up onto the flat ledge. To jump out of the pit, stand facing north and reach the corner of the triangular ledge that is a bit on the right. Tap back once and take a running jump over the slope. Return to the stone tablets through the gate.

When you have all four Stones - Go through the gate that is due west, where you got the clue of the puzzle at the beginning of the level. Once again, approach the deep pit from the right and take a standing jump to the extended ledge on the right. Continue right to a second deep pit and take a standing jump over it from the left side.

Place the four Stones in the receptacles and the gate will open. Go through it and at the end of the hallway jump up to grab the bars. When you start traversing, two bats will attack. You can either return back and kill them or traverse across to the opposite ledge and kill them from there. If you go for the latter however you will most likely lose a bit of health.

Save your game before going through the next gate. As soon as you enter it will close behind you and spinning blades will start to descend from the ceiling. You have just enough time to get the four Holy Scriptures (one in each corner of the room), just so long as long as you move efficiently and do not make rash moves. When you have all four of them, the gate at the north will open automatically. Go through it.

There are blades that pop out from the floor in the next room, apart that is from in the four corners and at the center. From the entrance you can take a standing jump over the first blades and land in the middle of the room. From there, take another standing jump to land in the next hallway. At the end of here jump up to grab the bars. When you start traversing, two bats will attack (what a surprise!!). You can either return back and kill them or traverse across to the opposite ledge and kill them from there. Continue into the cave, then up the hill to the left to end the level.

 

     
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We would like to thank TR-Player and Nicky for their help. Many parts of this walkthrough would not have been written without their participation. Special thanks go to Scottlee for proofing the text.

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