Tomb Raider 8: Underworld Walkthrough & Game Guide

Level 5: Southern Mexico | Part 3: The Midgard Serpent

Health Supplies: 14
Treasures: 20/50
Relics: 0/1

(Important bug warning - You are advised to save MANUALLY at least twice each part. This level can be proved really buggy and make you unable to finish it. If you have not downloaded the PC patch, do it now. Among other fixes, the game autosaves at the beginning of each part. So, in case you activate a bug, you can load an autosave and start from the beginning of the part or level instead of the game.)

There is a switch to the right of the spiked pit, but it does not work yet because it is missing something.

Hallway with spiked pits - Get the bike and drive to the left and through the doorway. Drive down the stairs and turn left around the corner. Then turn right twice and stop at the next corner. Dismount, break the rectangular vase and pick up the Treasure (29/50). Get the bike again and drive down the next flight of stairs. Take a good run up and jump over the first spiked pit using the wooden ramp.

[Bug note - If you have come to this point and the wooden ramp is down, you have encountered a bug that was activated in the first part of the level, The Unnamed Days. Check at the bottom of the page for a possible remedy.)

There are some horizontal poles on the walls here, but do not bother with them now. Jump over the second spiked pit and dismount. Pick up the Health Potion and notice that the wooden ramps of the third pit are down. You have to raise them and here is how:

(This page shows the following sequence.) Jump to grab the horizontal pole on the left wall and climb on it. Turn to face the way you came from and jump towards the support pillar. Quickly press Jump again to leap off the pillar and grab the second pole above the first one. Swing and jump to grab the handhold on the opposite support pillar. This is a mechanism that Lara's weight lowers and raises the wooden ramps of the third pit.

Drop down and draw weapons. Two giant spiders crawl out of the second pit, so kill them. You can hang from the mechanism you used before and shoot with one hand, but you earn only a few seconds, because the spiders can still reach Lara. When both are dead, a third giant spider comes from the third pit. Take care of it too.

Get the bike and jump over the third spiked pit. Follow the hallway around to the right and stop at the next corner. Dismount and pick up the Health Potion. Get the bike again and drive through the hallway and down the flight of stairs. Dismount at the bottom of the stairs and pick up one another Health Potion. Then drive through the doorway and into the next room. Proceed forward to trigger a cut scene.

In the cut scene, Lara walks to the centre of the room and takes a look at the statues. Recording to her videocamera, Lara says "The lords of Xibalba were said to kill visitors for sport by sending them into devious trap rooms".

Room with Lords of Xibalba statues - After the cut scene, the door you came from closes and Lara finds herself trapped in this room. Draw weapons and deal with the two giant spiders and swarm of small ones. This time, you have enough space to maneuver Lara, so back up and keep a distance from the giant spiders, because as you have probably noticed from the previous time, they attack and jump on Lara.

First, get some pick-ups around the room. Facing the entrance, locate the Health Potion and the vase that hides a Treasure (30/50) on the right hand side. After getting those, approach the left side of the entrance and jump to grab the handhold on the wall. Jump straight up twice to grab the topmost handhold and traverse to the right. Jump to the right to grab the next handhold, then jump up to grab the handhold above. Finally, jump to grab the ledge on the left and pull up (this screenshot shows the jumps). Pick up the Treasure (31/50) and make your way down the same way you came. If you take a quick look around, you will see that the room has two sides (one opposite the other) with rounded pillars and skeletons hanging from them. Facing the entrance, go to the left pillars and search for three Health Potions.

Area overview - Now it is time to get an idea of what is going on here. There are seven statues in the room, but only four are sitting in front of a channel that each one leads to a niche at the centre of the room. Notice that two statues are missing their scepter. The first scepter is on the ground, really close to its statue. The other one is at the top of the intact staircase. To place each scepter, stand in front of each statue's right hand and press the Interact button. When both scepters are placed, an octagonal platform rises up at the centre of the room. Also, the four statues that are sitting in front of the channels place their scepter on their knees.

The deal is to find four Keys and place them to the niches. These along with the two pressure plates that you have not missed in front of the entrance open the exit. The Keys are hidden in four side trap rooms, but you first have to open the doors. To do that, you have to rotate the four statues that have the scepter on their knees. Grab each scepter and rotate the statue 180 degrees anticlockwise. When you do that, the corresponding door (behind the statue) opens. You can open one door at a time or all four together. It is really up to you. Also, it does not matter which way you go first, since you will visit all four anyway. We will start from the door at the top of the intact staircase and move clockwise.

Rattling House - Go up the intact staircase and through the doorway. Follow the hallway to reach a room with six sets of huge crashing stone walls. To get past them, stand close to the first set and start running when they open. As you move to the other side, the rest walls will open, so sprint through them. Get the Rattling House Key from the pedestal and turn around. Three giant spiders will come from the entrance, but they will not make it through the trap (ouch!). But be alerted in case a lucky one manages to approach.

To return back, you have to find another way than trying to pass through the crashing walls as you came. (This page shows how you can return back.) Locate the stone block in the alcove above the entrance. When the walls open, use the Grapple to catch the metal ring on the block and pull it down. Now drag it towards you. If the cable retracts, wait for the walls to open again and pull. The stone block will stop in the depression between the first set of walls.

Climb on the block and when the walls close, perform the Chimney Jump to grab the top of either wall. Pull up and run to the other side. Before dropping down, jump into the alcove above the entrance and pick up the Treasure (32/50). Walk to the edge and wait for the walls to start opening. When they do so, hang from the edge, drop down and quickly run away. Follow the hallway to return back to the room with the statues.

When you return back to the Room with Lords of Xibalba statues, a giant spider and some small ones are waiting for you. You may kill them from the stairs, otherwise go down and deal with them. Make sure you kill all small spiders now or they will bother you during the next climbing.

Climbing to the Flame House - (The following sequence is shown in this page.) Go up the stairs that lead to the Rattling House. At the top, turn right and step on the narrow ledge with the animal head. Jump to grab the stone beam ahead and pull up. Jump to grab the narrow ledge that goes around the nearby square pillar and traverse around the left hand corner. Pull up and jump to grab the rounded pillar.

Turn left to face the wall and jump to grab the small handholds. Climb down and to the right hand side, going around the corner. Jump to grab the horizontal pole behind you, swing and jump to grab the next one. Pull up on the pole and walk to the right as much as you can (be careful not to fall off the edge). From there, jump to grab the rounded pillar. (Alternatively, from the top of the second horizontal pole, jump to grab the handhold ahead and traverse to the right around the corner. Then jump to grab the rounded pillar.)

Jump to grab the narrow ledge that goes around the square pillar and traverse to the left around the two corners. Pull up and jump straight up to grab the horizontal pole with the hooked end. Traverse to the other side and Lara will automatically grab the second pole. When you reach the opposite square pillar, release to grab the narrow ledge. Traverse to the left around the corner and pull up. You may not see it from here, but there is a stone beam ahead. Position Lara at the middle of the ledge and jump forward to land on the beam safely. Then jump to the doorway.

Flame House - Before entering, break the two vases alongside the entrance and pick up the next two Treasures (33 and 34/50). Go through the doorway and as soon as you enter the Flame House, break the vase on the left to find one more Treasure (35/50).

You have to reach the other side of the room, climbing on the poles and avoiding the fire breathing statues. (See this page for the next process.) Approach the right hand side of the room and wait for the statue to stop breathing fire. Run and jump to grab the horizontal pole from the right hand side. Here you are safe. Before continuing, let's go for a Treasure. Pull up on the pole and turn around to face the entrance. Jump to grab the next pole and pull up on it. Jump to grab the edge of the alcove and pull up. Pick up the Treasure (36/50) and drop to the ground.

Again, approach the right hand side of the room and wait for the statue to stop breathing fire. Run and jump to grab the horizontal pole as before. Pull up, move a bit to the left and notice the two statues that breathe fire from the floor. When both stop breathing fire, jump to grab the pole above the second statue on the left. Quickly pull up on the pole, move a bit to the left and jump straight up to grab the small pole above. Pull up, wait for the next statue to stop breathing fire and jump to grab the next horizontal pole. Swing and jump to the safe ground ahead.

Get the Flame House Key from the pedestal and turn around.

To return back, you have to once again climb on the poles and avoid the fires. (This page shows the climbing.) Approach the left hand side of the room and jump to grab the horizontal pole. Pull up on the pole and jump up to grab the next one. Traverse to the right and Lara will automatically grab the next pole. Pull up and wait for the statue to stop breathing fire. Jump to grab the small pole ahead. You are safe here, so keep hanging from the pole. When the statue on the floor stops breathing fire, release and grab the pole below. Quickly pull up and jump towards the entrance, passing over the two fires. Follow the hallway to return back to the room with the statues.

Climbing to the Razor House - Approach the side of the room where there are four rounded pillars and skeletons hanging from them (to the left if the entrance is to your back). There is an alcove at the back where you can perform the Chimney Jump and reach the narrow ledge on the right. (This page shows the sequence.) Climb on the ledge and jump forward to grab the small handholds on the wall. Climb up to reach the handhold above and traverse to the left around the corner.

Jump to grab the small handholds on the wall to the right. Climb down and to the right as much as you can. Then jump to grab the small handholds on the next wall and climb upwards and to the right. When you reach the top, jump to grab the rounded pillar on the right. Climb almost to the top (do not perch on the pillar) and jump to the stone ledge ahead. Pick up the Treasure (37/50) and jump back to grab the pillar. Perch on it and jump to grab the next pillar, then the third one. Slide down a bit and jump to perch on the fourth pillar.

Jump to grab the narrow ledge that goes around the square pillar ahead. Traverse to the right around the two corners and pull up. Jump up to grab the horizontal pole with the hooked end and traverse to the other side. Lara grabs the other pole automatically, so keep traversing until you reach the next square pillar. Release to grab the narrow ledge below and traverse to the right around the corner. Pull up and jump to the stone beam ahead. From there, jump to the doorway.

Razor House - Go through the doorway and follow the hallway to reach the Razor House. To get to the other side is not difficult as it seems. Wait until the first row of spears is retracted and walk forward. At this point, a situational adrenaline starts, so immediately crouch before the giant moving blades reach you. As long as you stay down, you will not have problems. When the blades stop, stand up and approach the second row of spears. When they move upwards, run past them. Again, a situational adrenaline starts, so immediately crouch to avoid the moving blades. When they stop, approach the third row of spires. When they retract, run past them.

Get the Razor House Key from the pedestal and the Health Potion from the right hand corner.

Turn around to face the spears and blades and approach the right hand wall. Jump to grab the rocks and climb upwards and to the left. Jump over the spears on the left to land on top of the blade. Walk to the left and jump to the next balde on the left. Jump to grab the third blade and pull up. Finally, jump to the fourth blade which is close to the entrance. From here, jump to grab the edge of the alcove above the entrance and pull up. Pick up the Treasure (38/50) and drop down. Follow the hallway to return back to the room with the statues.

When you return back to the Room with Lords of Xibalba statues, a giant spider and some small ones are waiting for you. Kill them.

Climbing to the Jaguar House - Go up the short stairs opposite the entrance and look above to spot a metal ring on the ledge. Use the Grapple to catch the ring and climb up. Pick up the Health Potion from the right hand side and then go left. Jump to grab the flat part of the fallen pillar and pull up. Slide down the slope and jump just before reaching the end to grab the ledge in front of the doorway. Pull up and break the vase on the left to find a Treasure (39/50).

Follow the dark hallway to reach the Haguar House. Roll through the low opening at the bottom of the fallen rocks. When you stand up, look to the right for a Treasure (40/50). Then go to the end of the room to get the Jaguar House Key from the pedestal. Turn around and pick up the Health Potion from the right. Break the nearby vase to get a Treasure (41/50) and approach the fallen rocks.

Instead of rolling through the low opening, climb on the stone block to the right. Then climb on the ledge above. Do a running jump and hold the Jump button to jump farther in order to reach the alcove with the Treasure (42/50). Get it and drop back down. Follow the dark hallway to return back to the room with the statues, but have your weapons drawn, because a giant spider has climbed up here. Deal with it and drop to the room with the statues. There are two more giant spiders down here, so stay sharp!

Once you have all four Keys - Now that you have all four Keys, you can open the exit. Approach each niche (do not climb on the octagonal platform) and press the Interact button. When you place the Rattling House Key (the white one), a giant spider attacks, so take care of it. Every time you place a Key, the corresponding statue unlocks. Once you place all the Keys, push the four statues towards the octagonal platform. Now get the bike and drive it onto one of the two pressure plates. Then step on the other one.

The brief cut scene shows that these actions raise the octagonal platform, revealing an underground passage.

Really long underground tunnel - Get the bike and drive down the ramp. Keep driving down the several flights of stairs until you reach the one that goes upwards. Dismount there and break the vase on the right to get a Treasure (43/50). Mount the bike and drive up the stairs. Do not stop. With the run up you have taken, you can drive over the stone ramp on the left and jump over the rocks. When you do that, dismount and turn around. Break the vase on the right and pick up the Treasure (44/50).

Get the bike and drive down the next flight of stairs to reach a pile of rocks that prevents you from continuing with the bike. When you approach the rocks, the camera focuses on a jaguar head. This is the Xibalba Key, so make sure you get it.

Climb on the flat stone block and roll through the opening. Drop down at the other side and break the vase on the left to get one more Treasure (45/50). Then run down the next flight of stairs.

In the next cut scene, Lara discovers engravings illustrating Jörmungandr and the final battle of Ragnarök.

After the cut scene, turn around and break the vase at the bottom of the stairs on the right to find a Treasure (46/50). Then follow the tunnel to the next room.

As the cut scene unfolds, Lara enters a huge hall with a pool of shining blue water falling from the mouth of three monumental snakes representing Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent. She reckons that this site, along with the Mediterranean temple and the Norse remnants in Thailand probably inspired the mythological legends about the underworld, maybe because of their common point; they were guarded by undead creatures.

Room with toxic pool\ Upper level - Stay away from the toxic pool, because it will kill you instantly. Draw weapons and wait for a panther thrall that will come from the right. Kill it and do not forget to stomp it (approach it and press the Interact button) or it will rise again. If you start shooting as soon as it appears, it will drop down before it reaches Lara. When you are done with it, pick up the Health Potion from the left close to the entrance. Go to the right and then left around the corner.

[Note (Contains SPOILERS) - There is a stone block in the right hand corner (as shown in this screenshot). If you approach it, you will hear the chime signaling the Treasure. Do not look for it, because you will not find it anywhere around the stone block. The Treasure is hidden beneath the block and you will be able to retrieve it in the next part.)

(Note about the thralls - You will meet many thralls in this room and most of the times they attack in groups. The Shotgun can be proved really effective, so if you have spare bullets to use, shoot a couple of times and the thrall will fall down. You can then shoot another one and then stomp both.)

As you approach the part of the floor that is collapsed, a human-like thrall rises from the toxic water. Start shooting while backing up and it will drop down before it reaches Lara. Jump over the toxic water and draw weapons. When you turn around the corner, a Mayan thrall will rise up from the water. If you are fast and shoot it with the Shotgun as soon as it appears, it may fall back in the pool and never appear again. One more Mayan thrall will appear from behind the fallen pillar beyond and one more pair will soon arrive from the same spot. Soon enough, the last two thralls will attack. If you are in a difficult situation and all thralls are around you, you can throw a Greanade and run away. The thralls do not move fast, so the explosion will kill some of them.

Continue around the perimeter of the room, killing one more Mayan thrall on your way. When you reach the end, you will see that you are behind one of the two serpent statues.

Revealing half of Thor's statue - Climb on the stone ledge to the right of the serpent and jump to grab the horizontal pole jutting out of its nostril (as shown in this screenshot). Lara's weight pulls the head down, closing the serpent's mouth. The water stops falling and this action lowers the water level, revealing half of Thor's statue. There is a metal ring under the seprpent's chin. Do not do anything with it yet, because it opens the mouth and refills the pool.

Still hanging from the pole, turn around and swing back to the ledge you came from. Drop to the ground and go left. Climb on the rocks and jump to grab the handhold on the wall (as shown in this screenshot). Traverse to the left around the corner and go all the way to the left. Jump back to land in front of the entrance.

Climbing down to the middle level - (See this page for visual guidance.) There is a flat edge opposite the entrance (close to where you got the Health Potion earlier). Hang from there and release three times to grab the lower handhold. The last drop is a long one, so press the Interact button to save Lara. This handhold is about to collapse, so quickly traverse to the right around the two corners. Remember: to move faster, tap the Interact button along with the direction key. Jump to grab the handhold of the next pillar on the right. Again, the handhold will soon collapse, so quickly jump to land on the safe rock ledge on the right.

Room with toxic pool\ Middle level - Turn right and climb on the stone ledges. (The following sequence is shown in this page.) Jump up to grab the beam above and pull up. Start walking on the longer beam. Halfway across, the beam is not stable and it will start to collapse. You can either hang from the edge before the part that collapses and traverse to the other side or walk back, wait for the beam to collapse and jump over the gap. When you clear this situation, jump to the next set of beams and walk to the other side. Then drop to the ground.

Go to the right around the corner. Draw weapons and deal with the two Mayan thralls that rise up from the pool. If you are quick, you can blast the one with the Shotgun and throw it back into the pool. Two more thralls will appear, so take care of them too.

(This page shows the following sequence.) Approach the edge of the ledge and jump to grab the handhold on the pillar to the right. Traverse to the left around the corner and pull up on the narrow ledge to hug the wall. Perform the Chimney Jump to reach and grab the handhold of the opposite pillar. Shimmy left around the corner until you cannot go any farther. If you press the down direction key and wait for a few seconds, the camera will shift back, showing a beam you can jump to. Do that, walk to the other side and drop down.

Go to the end and climb on the stone block to the right. Pick up the Health Potion and proceed to the other side. Take a look above and behind the statue to spot the metal ring. Use the Grapple to catch it and swing across.

(See this page for visual guidance.) When you land on the stone block at the other side, turn around. Use the Grapple to catch the metal ring on Thor's shield to the left. Then pull it towards to you. Jump to grab the narrow ledge on the shield and traverse all the way to the left. Jump to grab the handhold on the pillar behind you and shimmy left around the two corners. Hang from the third corner of the handhold and jump to the safe ledge behind you.

Draw weapons and kill the two thralls that rise up from the water. If you are fast, you can blast the one with the Shotgun and throw it back in the pool. When both are dead, a second pair of thralls arrives. Take care of them too. Then pick up the Health Potion and break the vase to find a Treasure (47/50) close to where you landed.

Revealing the other half of Thor's statue - You are standing behind the second serpent statue. Climb on the stone ledge to the right of the statue and jump to grab the handhold on the pillar to the left (as shown in this screenshot). Jump up to grab the handhold above and travese around the corner. Now jump to grab the horizontal pole. Once again, Lara's weight closes the serpent's mouth, blocking the water from falling down. This action lowers the water level even more, revealing the other half of Thor's statue along with a platform in the middle of the pool.

Still hanging from the pole, turn around. Swing back to the stone ledge and hang from the edge. Traverse to the right to grab the handhold of the pillar. Release twice to land on the square ledge above the toxic water. Turn around and jump to the platform.

Lower level - Kill the two Mayan thralls that appear. Turn to face Thor's statue and go to the far left corner of the platform. Jump to the square ledge above the toxic water and climb on the stone block above where you will find one more Treasure (48/50). Make you way back to the platform. (See this screenshot for the location of the Treasure.)

Approach the screw in the middle of the platform. Use the Grapple to catch either metal ring and move Lara clockwise until she reaches the exact opposite side. Pull the cable to rotate the screw and make it go down. With the Grapple still attached, move Lara again clockwise to the other side and pull the cable to rotate the screw even more. (This page shows the process.)

In the cut scene, Thor's head will straighten up and his second hand will move, granting the access to the small chamber into his chest.

Locate the lowest pillar close to the screw. Jump to grab the handhold on the pillar, then jump up to grab the top. Pull up and pick up the Health Potion. Turn to face Thor's statue and jump to grab the bottom of the stairs that lead in the chest. Pull up and go up the stairs to enter the chamber. (See this page for screenshots.)

In the next cut scene, Lara enters the small chamber and tries to take Thor's belt. While the ornaments turn to dust, a small stone remains, whose glow echoes the gauntlets. When Lara grabs it and puts it on her own belt, the artifact creates a halo similar to the gauntlets one.


The wooden ramp at the beginning of the level is down - If you have come to this point and the ramp is down, you have encountered a bug that was activated in the first part, Unnamed Days. In that level, after getting the Jaguar Head you drive to the first calendar puzzle. There is a fork in this area where you have to go right and solve the puzzle. If, upon reaching this area you go left, you will meet a spiked pit with a wooden ramp. Just before that, the game creates a Checkpoint. If you die after this Checkpoint (and you risk to fall into the pit and die) before the game creates another Checkpoint, you will activate the bug in Midgard Serpent.

To avoid activating the bug, you have to proceed in the level as described in the Unnamed Days walkthrough, enter the building with the first calendar puzzle and let the cut scene play (this will load the Xibablba level). Then you will not activate the bug even if you die on the specific spot.

If you have activated the bug, you have to load a saved game at the beginning of Southern Mexico, or at least after getting the Jaguar Head and before going left at the fork. Then replay the level by first going to the first calendar puzzle. The PC players can download this saved game that takes Lara at the beginning of Midgard Serpent.

 

     
« Southern Mexico | Part 2: Xibalba Index Southern Mexico | Part 4: Land Of The Dead »

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