10 Best Underground Areas In Video Games
2. Spelunky's World (Spelunky)
From the opening mines to the depths of hell, Spelunky's caves, jungles and cities play host to a game that's every bit as maddeningly addictive today as it was when it exploded onto the scene.
The key word there is "maddening". Neophyte Spelunkers will feel like one of the Three Stooges, trapped in a world designed to humiliate them in increasingly inventive ways. Except even the Stooges never had to contend with being shotgunned to death by an angry shopkeeper. A shopkeeper who is only angry because you jumped out of the way of a snake's venomous spit, only for it to damage one of his store's precious items.
These "damned if you do, damned if you don't" moments are the bread and butter of Spelunky (if the butter is acid, and the bread was made of spikes). Spelunky's underground labyrinth is a chaotic whirlwind of competing systems that can - and will - blow up in your face (literally, in the case of the booby-trapped treasure chests).
It's brutal, but mastering the chaos of Spelunky's internecine design is one of the most uniquely rewarding experiences in all of video games. You stop being a Stooge and become the director behind the camera, not just surviving the chaos but actively manipulating it into telling your story. And no matter how many pratfalls Spelunky's beleaguered protagonist suffers, you'll find yourself all to willing to get back in the chair and yell "ACTION!" until you get his story just right.