Best Video Games for level design

#1

Level and world design receive exceptionally strong praise for readable traversal challenges, distinct biome mechanics, rewarding loops, and clever use of movement abilities.

#2

Legacy Dungeons, layered open spaces, underground regions, and the expansion’s vertical layouts are consistently praised as intricate, surprising, and among FromSoftware’s best work.

#3

Large, vertical maps are a standout, with strong visual variety, hidden routes, and traversal abilities that make exploration consistently rewarding.

#4

Level design receives very strong praise from IGN for systemic intelligence, opportunity density, and the way environments support stealth and action.

#5

Areas such as Mistwoods stand out for stronger environmental hazards, puzzles, mood shifts, and reasons to engage with the space rather than simply cross it.

#6

Districts stand out as unique and handcrafted rather than feeling copied and pasted, helping routes stay visually distinctive.

#7

Reviewer evidence is strongly positive: level design was repeatedly praised as a standout strength across 1 review(s).

#8

Level design earns praise for standout roads and elevation changes that create memorable racing routes.

#9

Base layouts earned strong praise for creating distinct defensive choices and intense close-quarters spaces.

#10

The previewed locations stand out for environmental storytelling, charm, and personality-rich visual composition.

#11

The reviewed levels are praised for supporting tactical variety and pairing well with changing hazards, enemies, and environmental rules.

#12

Clever level layouts combine secrets, traversal challenges, enemies, and boss spaces in ways that consistently push players to learn and adapt. The design rewards attention without abandoning the interconnected Metroidvania...

#13

Level design received strong praise from one reviewer for making linear spaces feel flexible and meaningful.

#14

Districts, interiors, rooftops, and alleys communicate history and mood before dialogue begins. The compact city supports discovery without feeling like a generic open world.

#15

Level design is consistently praised as creative, intricate, masterfully mapped out, and varied across imaginative environments.

#16

Level design is strongly praised for seamless area flow, purposeful rooms, thoughtful platform placement, and dense Metroidvania structure.

#17

Level design was a major strength, especially the care center’s loops, agency, and interconnected mansion-like structure.

#18

A.R.E.S. is compact but distinctive, with rooms that reveal the people who occupied them.

#19

Level design was widely admired for dense, layered spaces, fresh ideas, and challenge variety, especially once the game opens up.

#20

Level design stood out for memorable finales, strong set pieces, and mechanics that could sustain larger ideas.

#21

Level design was praised for verticality, density, handcrafted routes, and spaces that felt larger than their footprint.

#22

Level and environment design is praised for being more thoughtful and confident in how it leverages traversal.

#23

Level design was praised for compact, meaningful areas and strong map layout, especially when supporting exploration, puzzles, and atmosphere.

#24

Compact towns are dense, visually distinct, and built to reward curiosity, with stronger verticality and memorable themes. A few comparisons to the original note slightly reduced density or complexity, but...

#25

Level design was strongly praised for handcrafted chunks, biome structure, combat spaces, and a balance between freshness and mastery.

#26

Kanto’s compact, interconnected routes and smart roadblocks remain a major strength, letting players discover paths and sequence parts of the journey without becoming directionless.

#27

Level and map design remained a major strength because verticality and terrain created memorable tactical spaces.

#28

Stage and level design earn praise for evolving Power Stone arenas and thoughtful layouts that support strategy and spectacle.

#29

Level design is praised for distinct areas, route variety, and region-specific mechanics that add structure beyond simple room chains.

#30

Maps received strong praise for flow, density, varied spaces, and strategic layouts across multiple reviews.

#31

Level design is a standout, from folding streets and gravity-shifted city blocks to stranger interior spaces that turn perspective itself into a traversal and puzzle mechanic.

#32

Level design was broadly praised for open-field layouts, strong world structure, and mission-like areas integrated into larger spaces.

#33

The dungeons are the standout attraction, repeatedly finding new ideas within each region’s limited powers. Some early layouts are less exciting than the inventive later challenges.

#34

Aurora 5’s vents, maintenance passages, vertical spaces, and looping shortcuts are a major strength. Thoughtful interconnection rewards searching even when ladders and mapping tools fail to match the quality of...

#35

Reviewers respond very positively to the level design, describing it as a notable strength of the overall experience.

#36

Level design is one of the strongest areas, with carefully placed hazards, secrets, character-specific routes, and increasingly inventive set pieces. Even more critical reviews usually acknowledge the stages are well...

#37

Stage design is a major strength in the more positive coverage. Rooms, optional routes, hidden areas, backtracking and secondary objectives make locations feel more like spaces to explore than simple...

#38

Randomized dungeons and distinct biomes are major strengths, but the Mistlands' fog and awkward terrain are a notable low point.

#39

The game uses broad, explorable stages rather than one continuous open world. Hidden paths, optional items, side activities, and compact runbacks give the zones both freedom and structure.

#40

Mount Kami works as a long sequence of open-ended climbing problems, with multiple lines, difficult cruxes, plateaus, caves, and optional routes that reward observation rather than markers.

#41

Level design is praised for longer, more vertical, and well-designed mission spaces rather than flat or shallow levels.

#42

The roguelike dungeon rooms are praised for turning gentle life activities into timed, tense challenges.

#43

One reviewer praised the way locations were recontextualized into memorable set-pieces that rewarded planning and awareness.

#44

Stage transitions are praised for being fast and not interrupting match flow.

#45

Cost of Hope’s added regions are praised as strong pieces of world design, with distinct hostile spaces that make exploration feel fresh and memorable.

#46

Vampire traversal hints at strong vertical level design, with teleportation, wall-walking, and alternate routes opening spaces in ways ordinary movement cannot.

#47

Enemy nests, alleys, rooftops, and urban squares provide lively, action-focused combat arenas.

#48

Biomes introduce shields, hazards, and other small mechanical changes that make positioning matter. The best received stages offer more than a new backdrop.

#49

Track design was usually praised for style, branching, and spectacle, with only a few complaints about cramped layouts or visual overload.

#50

Skyrim improves sharply on Oblivion’s repetitive dungeons, with more individualized layouts, environmental variety, shortcuts, traps, and discoveries. Repetition still creeps in after very long play sessions.