best level design in video game

2020 has been a trial for everyone, and for many, video games have offered an essential respite in the form of heart-racing thrills, exacting crucibles, and voyages to brighter worlds. Between reimagined classics likeFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeand surprise hits like Hades, and titles ranging from the light-hearted laughs ofPaper Mario: The Origami Kingto the heart-wrenching drama ofThe Last of Us Part 2, there have been experiences to suit all tastes.

Every game can be defined by a series of discrete moments, whether emergent or carefully plotted to surprise the player. These are some of the finest sequences, locales, and challenges from titles released throughout the past year.`

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - N Sanity Island

After a 22-year of hiatus, the main Crash Bandicoot series returned to PlayStation for a new generation of platforming hijinks. And the heir to the classic N Sanity Beach, now N Sanity Island, delivers the gameplay equivalent of hopping back on a bike after a long break. That is not to say the level is trivial, or leans too heavily on nostalgia—the platforming challenges will quickly bring newcomers up to speed while demonstrating Crash's unique charm as a mascot hero. It's a brilliant modernization of the Crash series' solid core.

Demon's Souls - Boletarian Palace

Demon's Souls had one of the best trailers of the year, and is one of the most impressive-looking launch titles on either next-gen platform. But the remake of From Software's classicis much more than a pretty face; its level design is a master class in atmospheric dread, challenging enemy placement, and a mix of open and hard-to-navigate areas. As befitting the grandfather of the Souls-genre, the game tosses players into the deep end, having them assault the enemy-infested Boletarian Palace—a castle-like medieval estate complete with a bridge guarded by a fire-breathing dragon and a challenging boss fight to round things out.

Destiny 2 - Deep Stone Crypt Space Jump Puzzle

Destiny 2is better known for its fierce gunplay and space-wizardry than its platforming, but the game's secrets and raid levels often require some absolutely brutal and precise jumping. Case in point:Beyond Light's first raid has an absolutely fiendish jumping puzzle that requires keen eyes, excellent timing, and an absolute mastery of the title's jumping mechanics. Even though the clan Luminous World beat Deep Stone Crypt at a breathless pace, the raid as a whole provided most fireteams with a steep, satisfying challenge, but the jump puzzle as a whole cannot be ignored.

Doom: Eternal - Hell on Earth

Doom Eternal's opening level, Hell on Earth, excels for many reasons. The aesthetic—a lava-soaked, urban wasteland where Gundam-sized mechs lay vanquished amidst fallen skyscrapers—captures the essence of classicDoom. Even more importantly, those visuals and the level's pacing harmonize with the game's mechanics, whose frenetic loop of gunplay, grenades, chainsaws, and glory kills hearkens back to the series' root formula: over-the-top violence and twitch-shooting. Doom Eternal's trove of secrets and hidden items also start dropping before players can even finish the brief tutorial section, and the layout has a pleasing mix of heavy combat set-pieces, verticality, and exploration.

Fall Guys - Slime Climb

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockoutis one of the many titles that defined multiplayer gaming in 2020. The action in Mediatonic's platforming battle royale is defined by the gauntlet of obstacle courses and arenas players must contend with, and the level that wins the crown is Slime Climb. Like most of Fall Guys' races, the steep, candy-colored switchback is laden with tricky obstacles, but it is the potential for PVP sabotage that makes Slimb Clime shine. This X-factor ensures that every race is a unique experience, which is crucial in a game defined by repeated runs.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake - Wall Market

Square Enix faced a steep challenge with Final Fantasy 7 Remake in striking a balance between players' nostalgia and the need for modernization, as not all parts of the original game aged gracefully. The developers' greatest triumph was with the game's Wall Market sequence, which involves an underground fighting ring with a brutal boss battle, a slew of fun mini-games, and a wonderful twist on Cloud's cross-dressing sequence. It is also the section of the game that comes closest to capturing the open-world feel of otherFinal Fantasytitles, and unlike many ofRemake's excessive side quests, Wall Market keeps things relevant and lively with a fresh cast of likeable supporting characters.

Genshin Impact - Liyue

In many respects, Genshin Impact's Liyue is the largest entry on the list, constituting an entire continent rather than a discrete environment. But the entire region deserves mention for its beauty saturation of challenges and secrets, and numerous distinct areas that cohesively capture different aspects of its Chinese source material. Liyue Harbor is a thriving metropolis that dwarfs the comparatively conventional Monstadt. The towering spires of the Stone Forest provide a wonderful jungle gym for the game's climbing and gliding mechanics that is reminiscent of sumi-e ink wash paintings, brought to vibrant life. If MiHoYo maintains this level of quality withGenshin Impact's forthcoming regions, players have a lot to look forward to.

Ghost of Tsushima - Retake Shimura Castle

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Ghost of Tsushima has some of the most beautiful environments of the year, from verdant bamboo forests and autumnal groves to austere, snowy plains. But while its overworld is beautiful, the end of the game's second act, Retake Shimura Castle, delivers a tour de force performance of mechanical variety—big set piece battles, stealth, and dueling—coupled with compelling character development and deeply moving storytelling. One could argue that Jin's decision to poison the Huns marks his true turning point from honorable samurai to ghostly assassin.

Hades - House of Hades

Hadeshas emerged as a dark horse candidate for Game of the Year by perfecting the roguelike formula and expanding on its appeal with accessibility and fresh mechanics. One of Supergiant Games' greatest achievements, however, is that each run through the underworld, no matter how short-lived, feels rewarding. This is partially based on the strength of the game's hub level, the House of Hades, where players can mingle with fellow chthonic entities, power up in a variety of ways, listen in on dead shades, and eventually customize the area's appearance as well. Hades' absolutely enormous script provides players with a seemingly inexhaustible amount of content doled out in those halls, transforming the normally-staid trope of hub areas into something special.

Half-Life: Alyx - Jeff

Even though VR is seeing greater adoption, naysayers could be forgiven for their skepticism, given the dearth of AAA titles available. But Half-Life Alyx is a game-changing title that delivers a truly compelling campaign shooter experience worthy of its predecessors. There are numerous sequences and puzzles that deserve mention, like Zen Garden—a nail-biting maze of explosive barrels and barnacles—but the game's best level is unquestionably Jeff. As players try to navigate an infested vodka factory, they are pursued by the eponymous blind monster who tracks the player via sound. What ensues is a viciously tense, truly first-person game of hide and seek with lethal stakes. There is no other VR experience like it, though hopefully other developers will take note.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Silent Woods

Even though it is only two games deep, theOri series has provided some of the most moving, atmospheric visuals in the platforming genre. The series' first sequel,Ori and the Will of the Wisps , improves on its predecessor in every way, particularly where it's larger, more intricate levels are concerned. The Silent Woods level stands out as a particularly strong example, showcasing the game's painterly mechanics, side quest system, and numerous, mechanic-rich puzzles to great effect. It also contains one of the more poignant beats in the game's moving story.

Paper Mario: The Origami King - Shogun Studios

Nintendo's level design is second-to-none, and its finest offering of the year can be found inPaper Mario: The Origami King. Shogun Studios, a parody of Japan's real-life Edo World theme park, allows the writers to flex the game's charming, punny-sense of humor in full-force and the area's theme dovetails wonderfully with the game's origami conceit. The amusing parade following the Rubber Band boss fight is a cheerful cherry on top of the experience, with the area being also fun to revisit later in the game.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Intro

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales_20201104144434

Though it is a brief experience overall,Spider-Man: Miles Moraleskicks off with a cinematic bang. Beginning with a personable introduction that shows offMiles Morales' awesome, vinyl-worthy soundtrack, things quickly escalate into a downtown brawl with a host of Raft escapees, followed by a rodeo with the Rhino and an explosive boss fight finish. The tutorial fights seamlessly blend scripted set pieces and Spider-Man's signature sense of humor for a combination that will please fans of the comics and superhero brawlers alike.

The Last of Us Part 2 - The Descent

The Last of Us Part 2provided provided some of the finest video game sequences of the year; ultimately, Abby's Descent stage proves the most memorable and harrowing. Between the claustrophobic corridors, stalkers, and enemies that blend into infected environments with perfect camouflage, the level plays like a noose of ever-tightening piano wire. The jump scares are never relentless or overdone, as they are intercut with quiet stretches of scavenging and sparse conversation between Lev and Abby to remind players of the stakes.

But on top of that is a beautiful master class in level design. Adventuring over the skyscrapers, complete with platforming, stealth, action sequences, and a beautiful backdrop, it's easily some of Naughty Dog's best environmental design. It's all there, and it's all perfected.

Wasteland 3 - Denver

In an alternate history, post-apocalyptic title shaped by Cold War anxieties, it is very hard to top a giant, mechanized Ronald Reagan and his fanatical machine cult.Wasteland 3's Denver delivers precisely that, in a snow-dusted base built from scrap. As per Wastelandtraditions, players are presented with an array of amusing choices about the fate of the Reagan AI, followed by a tough fight with the mechanized statue itself. Gamers with fond memories of the original Fallout series, or the preceding Wasteland titles are in for a fun treat, as it is one of the Wasteland series' high points to date.

Despite its tremendous challenges, 2020 brought a bounty of wonderful, memorable video game moments, pushing the boundaries of the medium in new and compelling ways.

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