10 Best Video Game Levels Of The Decade

5. Hirata Estate - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro is one of the most brutal titles you'll ever play. A game with a pinpoint precise combat system predicated on matching rhythms to block and counter properly, you'll need to study enemy animations to a tee, before going on the offensive with perfect timing.

Though there are many memorable locations across its runtime - including one hell of a duel against a dragon, no less - the Hirata Estate walks a perfect line between horror, stealth, action and memorable boss battles. Sekiro nails these elements to varying degrees across its runtime, but this flaming, crumbling village brings them together better than anywhere else.

You've got hidden items like the Flame Vent attachment, a general enemy layout that encourages multiple runs to lap up as much Sen and XP as possible, tons of secret passages, and two bosses - one of which thousands of us never got past.

While you'll learn to dominate Juzou the Drunkard, one Madame Butterfly was the cause of so many rage-quit compilations on Youtube, it only etched her into the history books with thicker ink.

Going from struggling to overcoming this area is everything FromSoftware do better than anyone else, and it doesn't hurt that the Hirata Estate's aesthetic is instantly iconic and memorable to boot.