Crafting a great game is all about design; ensuring that players can smoothly navigate the world you have created in a manner that is fun and sufficiently challenging. It’s harder to get right than you think, and this accounts for the glut of forgettable titles that pass through our hands in any given year.
To craft a truly memorable video game level, so many things have to be factored in – aesthetics, difficulty, pace, cinematic quality, shock factor, and in some of these cases, just some outright bonkers flourishes we would never have even thought of.
Whether they’re breathlessly exhilarating, heart-poundingly tense or just downright epic, these gaming levels have provided some of my most memorable gaming experiences to date, and I’m always on the lookout for another to burn itself into my mind.
Here are the 10 best video game levels of all time…
10. The Lost Valley – Tomb Raider
Playing through the new Tomb Raider recently got me thinking about the original game released on the PlayStation in 1996, which helped to redefine the 3D adventure game and make it what it is today.
Tomb Raider was a revolutionary title and this was made clear within minutes of picking up the controller, but there’s one mission early on that cemented this fact – the famed Lost Valley, which gets you to grips with some of the game’s tougher enemies.
Lara enters a cave and hears footsteps; is it another bear perhaps? No, it’s a velociraptor, who you promptly have to dispatch, but don’t let your guard down, because the best is yet to come.
Running forward towards the jungle reveals a giant T-Rex lying in wait, and if you were smart, you ran to the nearest alcove where you could fire at the beast from relative safety. Still, the combination of the terrifying music and the shock factor of having to face off against a big-ass dinosaur makes for one of my favourite gaming levels.
We are currently seeking Gaming contributors on WhatCulture. To find out more about the perks of being a Gaming contributor, click here.
8 Comments
Half Life 2 is consistently excellent? That water level with the boat was atrocious.
I wanna say that the best level of all this is “God of war 2″ I play all of this games and they are great but when i play “God of war 2″ I was really delighted from that game. I’m gamer and I play so many games but God of war is the best game of all time (for now)
What about scarecrow from Arkham sylum? So epic
True.
I heartily disagree about Green Hill Zone. Between spikes that bounce you onto other spikes and instakill you, an invincibility powerup right before the boss, and some wonky, excessively vertical design, it’s one of my least favorite levels in the franchise. I’d much sooner say the Generations versions of Green Hill Zone or Sky Sanctuary Zone, or perhaps Flying Battery Zone from Sonic & Knuckles.
I agree. GHZ is iconic but not really the best. Although it’s a personal triumph for me because I can zoom through GHZ:1 in 28 seconds. But I digress. I think Hill Top Zone from Sonic 2 and the Chemical Plant Zone are my favorites for beauty, intricate puzzles and overall level design. Carnival Night from Sonic 3 has the best soundtrack….but the level is maddening.
As I have a very short term memorey I’m going to have to say the mission in Far Cry 3 where you’re burning marijuana crops is epic, the sheer enjoyment of setting fire to everything in sight with a newly aquired flamethrower was so satisfying, and with Skrillex and Damien Marley’s “Make It Bun Dem” in the background really made this mission stand out for me.
Red Lights District, Duke Nukem 3D. Pipe bombs, pig cops and strippers. what more can you say. Oh, except this game gives you a goddamn RPG on level 2!