Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistle locations: How to complete the Whistle in the Dark Challenge

You'll need to track down Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistle carvings as part of 'Whistle in the Dark', the first challenge you encounter during your adventure with Lara, and it's easy to miss out on this if you're rushing to get stuck in to your new game. This can be problematic, because if you do overlook any of the Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistles on your first pass, it takes a lot more work to get back to them later in the story. Don't worry though, as we've got you covered with our Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistle locations guide, however you approach finding these items.

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider is full of little challenges, like diving off cliffs, shooting wildlife and blowing things up, that you’ll come across in various areas of the game as you play though. These aren't essential and won’t stop you from upgrading anything, but they do reward you with a nice chunk of XP. The first of these you’ll come across is called ‘Whistle in the Dark’. Here’s how to complete it.

1. If you’re starting this area fresh then you’ll find the first Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistle carving inside the cave where Lara tells Jonah they may lose contact over the radio. Don’t worry, you can’t not go in here so you’ll find it. 

Inside you’ll be taught how to ‘rope pull’ doors down, and told how to scramble under obstructions. The first whistle is above you after you’re scrambled under the spears. Take out your bow, shoot it down and you have your first death whistle. 

2. The second is visible as soon as you’ve crawled through the curved tunnel with the rats in it, and emerged into the rectangular room with the water in it. The carving is straight in front of you, hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by bats. The bats are harmless and don’t do anything, but it’s still harder to hit this one if you’re new to the controls. If Lara starts to quiver with her aim, release the left trigger (which doesn’t fire an arrow, therefore saving your supply), allowing you to try again. 

3. For the third Shadow of the Tomb Raider death whistle carving, you’ll need to head deeper into the cave until you reach the section where Lara almost drowns. After she’s done coughing up centuries old water, turn around and you’ll see the next whistle carving to the left of the pool you just got out of. 

There’s another door here that you’ll need the reinforced knife to open (although you’ll only need that if you’re doing this challenge after you’ve unlocked fast travel). If that’s the case this is the door you’ll need to come back to when you want the rest of the carvings, because you’ll arrive at the Cozumel Base Camp on your return. Opening this door lets you discover the Tidal Caverns base camp, which is at the foot of the big room with all the bells… but literally isn’t there when you first play the area. 

4. The fourth carving is the easiest to miss because of all the drama, and can be found after you’ve pushed the cart around and jumped on top of the first hanging bell in the pyramid / temple area. Get over to the second bell - triggering Lara’s favourite thing to do in ancient tombs, destroy them - and, assuming you’re not distracted by the carnage, you’ll see your target hanging from the ceiling ahead of you. Again, shoot it with your bow. Shooting stuff is fun and rewarding.

5. The final one is really close by to the previous death whistle carving. 
Once you’ve made your first rope tether at the end of the platform, there’s just a quick duck to be done under some spears, a leap onto another bell, some more gleeful destruction of a site of massive historical importance, and a jump to the wall with your grapple. Reach the top and you’ll see the last whistle carving hanging above you. 

And that’s it, you’re first challenge is complete! (unless you missed on and have to go back, but still this should help you pick up any you’ve missed). And if you’re wondering how to get the reinforced blade to get you back into the Tidal Caverns through that rope door, you can get that item by either completing the ‘Find Tikiy’s Dice’ sidequest in Paititi, or buying an upgrade to your existing knife in Paititi Market. Either way, it’s a long old wait before you can get back in, so better to do it right first time.