Honestly, if you played Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures back in 2008, you probably remember the Temple of Doom chapters being a total nightmare compared to the fun, sunny vibes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Specifically, the mission titled Free the Slaves is where most players hit a brick wall. It’s chaotic. There’s lava everywhere, Thuggee guards are throwing spears at your head, and you’re trying to manage a bunch of disparate mechanics while platforming on tiny ledges.
It's one of those levels that feels iconic because it perfectly captures the dark, frantic energy of the movie, but man, it can be frustrating if you don't know the trick to the cage mechanics.
Most people searching for help with this level are stuck on the same three things: the hidden levers, the Thuggee statue requirements, and that one pesky minikit hidden behind the glass. We’re going to break down exactly how to navigate this level without losing all your studs to the lava pits.
Getting Through the Main Cavern
You start the level in the thick of it. The primary objective is exactly what the title says: you have to free the enslaved children working in the mines. But before you can do that, you need to clear the immediate area of guards. The AI in this game is surprisingly aggressive for a Lego title. The guards won't stop spawning until you move forward, so don't bother trying to clear the room entirely. Just keep moving.
To get the first cage open, you need a character with a shovel. If you’re playing in Story Mode, the game gives you the characters you need, but in Free Play, you’ve gotta make sure you brought someone like Satipo or a generic excavator.
The Thuggee Requirement
This is the part that trips up casual players. You’ll see those red-and-black statues throughout the level. If you aren't wearing a Thuggee turban, those statues will just shake their heads at you. You have two options here. You can either kill a Thuggee guard and hope he drops his hat—which is a temporary fix because it falls off if you take damage—or you can use a dedicated Thuggee character like Mola Ram or a Thuggee Acolyte in Free Play.
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Once you have the hat, stand in front of the statue and press the action button. The statue will mimic your movement, and usually, a secret door or a platform will trigger. In Lego Indiana Jones Free the Slaves, these statues are the literal gatekeepers to the end of the level.
Freeing the Cages: A Step-by-Step Mess
The level is basically split into three major "save the kids" zones.
First, you’ve got the lift section. You’ll see a large cage suspended over a pit. You need to build the gears on the right side of the platform using the hopping bricks. Once the gears are set, use Indy’s whip to pull the orange ring. This drops the cage. Simple enough, right? Except the game throws a bunch of enemies at you the second you start building.
Pro tip: Use Willie’s scream. Seriously. Willie Scott is often considered an "annoying" character in the films, but in this game, her high-pitched scream is an AOE (Area of Effect) attack that shatters glass and stuns nearby enemies. It gives you the three seconds of peace you need to finish building those gears.
Then comes the second cage. This one is tucked away behind a puzzle involving a small crawlspace. Only small characters—like the Short Round or the liberated slave kids—can fit through these hatches. If you’re in Story Mode, you’ll be switching to Short Round constantly.
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- Find the hatch.
- Crawl through.
- Smash the box on the other side.
- Build the lever.
- Pull it to drop the bridge for Indy.
The third cage is the trickiest because it involves the mine cart tracks. You have to find three distinct pieces to repair the track. One is buried (shovel needed), one is in a smashable crate near the lava, and the third is tucked behind a Thuggee statue. Once the track is fixed, push the cart into the barrier. The explosion clears the path to the final area.
The Secret to the "Free the Slaves" Minikits
If you're going for 100% completion, this level is a goldmine, but it’s also a headache. There are ten minikits, and most are invisible to the naked eye.
One of the most missed minikits is right at the start. You have to jump towards the screen onto a hidden ledge that the camera barely shows. It feels like you’re jumping into a void, but there’s a platform there with a chest.
Another big one requires a character with an explosive, like the Bazooka Trooper or the Thuggee with grenades. There’s a shiny metallic gate near the second cage area. Standard punches won't dent it. Blow it open, and you'll find a secret room that references the "dank" atmosphere of the mines, complete with a hidden artifact.
Why "Free the Slaves" is a Design Landmark
Looking back at the 2008 release, this level was a pivot point for Traveler’s Tales. It was one of the first times they really experimented with verticality in a Lego game. You aren't just walking left to right; you're climbing, falling, and using the whip to swing across massive gaps.
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It also introduced the "fear" mechanic. Remember how Indy is afraid of snakes? In this level, there are sections where Willie or Short Round has to lead because Indy literally cowers in fear if he gets too close to the snake pits near the slave quarters. You have to use a torch to scare the snakes away or use a different character to build a bridge over them. It adds a layer of character-driven gameplay that later Lego games, like the Marvel or DC sets, used as a blueprint.
Technical Glitches to Watch Out For
Because this game is older, playing it on modern hardware (like via Steam or backward compatibility on Xbox) can cause some physics bugs. In the Lego Indiana Jones Free the Slaves level, the mine carts sometimes get stuck in the geometry of the walls.
If this happens, don't panic. You don't usually have to restart the whole level. Try switching to a different character and walking to the other side of the room. This often "unloads" the physics of the object and snaps it back into place. Also, make sure V-Sync is turned on if you’re on PC; the Lego game engine's physics are tied to the frame rate, and running it at 144Hz can make the jumping mechanics go haywire.
Completing the Level and Moving Forward
Once you’ve freed all the kids and reached the end of the cavern, you’ll trigger the cutscene where the Maharaja is freed from the Black Sleep of Kali. This leads directly into the boss fight with the slave driver on the rock crusher.
To wrap this up efficiently:
- Always keep a Thuggee hat on hand. It saves you from having to backtrack through the enemy spawns.
- Don't ignore the shiny containers. They contain the parts for the mine cart, which is the only way to progress.
- Use the "Scream" ability. Willie is your best defense against crowd control when you're trying to build.
If you’ve followed these steps, you should walk out of the mines with "True Adventurer" status and all the caged children safe. From here, your next move is to head back to the University hub and spend those studs on the "Fast Build" or "Invincibility" extras. Those red bricks make the subsequent Boss fight against the Giant Thuggee a lot less stressful. Go to the mailroom in the hub, enter your codes, and get ready for the bridge showdown.