8 Most Beautiful (But Deadly) Areas In Video Games
Gorgeous but so, so dangerous.
One of the many great things about video games is their ability to transport players to a gorgeous world that doesn't - and perhaps can't - exist in real life.
With games looking as good as they do these days, it's easier than ever to get drawn into a richly immersive world that feels truly alive.
But it's also fair to say that video games aren't natural picnics, and if you end up waltzing through a stunningly beautiful area, there's a good chance there's something waiting nearby to take you on.
And that's absolutely the case with these video game areas, each of which look so intoxicatingly beautiful and atmospheric at first glance, only for something more dangerous, even terrifying to soon reveal itself beneath the surface.
Conflict is central to most video games, but could the developers really not have just let us savour these outstanding locales for all of their impeccable art design and visual splendour?
No, the answer is of course no - there had to be a giant snake or a fetus monster or an infectious disease keen to eat away at your skull, because we can't bloody have nice things, can we?
8. Ash Lake - Dark Souls
Ash Lake is one of the most atmospheric and visually impressive areas in any Soulsborne game to date - though you'll need to work for it by traipsing through The Great Hollow to get there.
Those who bother to do so will be rewarded with a seemingly endless expanse of water and staggeringly huge archtrees, evoking an almost overwhelming sense of scale, abetted by goosebump-inducing choral music.
It's at once haunting and awe-inspiring, but that S-tier level design and atmosphere eventually gives way to probably the most memorable part of Ash Lake - that damn, dirty Black Hydra.
It goes without saying that this many-headed serpent will make short work of unprepared players, though honestly, if you're committed enough to reach Ash Lake in the first place, you should have some idea of what you're doing.
It was, apparently, too much to ask for Ash Lake to just be a nice meditation spot for dedicated players to enjoy - it just had to contain a vicious monster that can turn you into a red smudge in record time.