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[Kukawaki]

Legend of Mana's home and garden

You. I like you.

 

[Berserking Guts]

Midgar - Final Fantasy VII.

I played this game way back when it was first released, and to this day the poverty stricken slums of Sector 8 forever in the shadow of the plate above where all the rich folk live pervades my dreams every now and again.

Oh, and Tselinoyarsk from MGS3.

Edit 2:
And Raccoon City/RPD from Resident Evil 2.

 

[YankeeDonB]

Starting village in Okami (cemented after the fireworks festival), pretty much the whole world map in Ni No Kuni, the forest people village in Suikoden 3, Toussaint from Blood and Wine, those are all top of mind but I'm sure I'm forgetting some other favorites.

 

[emag]

Bitterblack Island from Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen is the obvious pick.

 

[Venture]

So many great choices already in his thread, but if I have to pick one place from any game I've ever played I'll go with Gold Saucer from FFVII.

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

I really like the Ashlands in Morrowind.

 

[BadenBadenLily]

Inner Sol Sanctum in Golden Sun.

Mostly because of the soundtrack. Its so good.

 

[famfrit]

Inner Sol Sanctum in Golden Sun.

Mostly because of the soundtrack. Its so good.

How nostalgic this soundtrack, I played this game in 2002 and remember even today this beautiful music.

 

[Samikaze]

Sure, there could have been more to do, but I absolutely loved the highly detailed Apocalyptic Manhattan in The Division.

The peat bogs in the areas surrounding the city of Whiterun in Skyrim were another home for me. I'd spend hours just riding around there, hunting creatures and meeting with traveling NPCs.

 

[BadenBadenLily]

How nostalgic this soundtrack, I played this game in 2002 and remember even today this beautiful music.

Yeah, its just so good. I don't even like the first Golden Sun much (The Lost Age is great though) but Elemental Stars is probably my favorite video game track ever.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Yeah, its just so good. I don't even like the first Golden Sun much (The Lost Age is great though) but Elemental Stars is probably my favorite video game track ever.

0rangaStang's remaster is blissful

 

[jnWake]

Such a cool idea for a world!

Runner-up: Sand Sea in Skyward Sword.

 

[| Praxis |]

There are a few, but the most recent one that comes to mind is this:

After all the shit you go through, this scene is special.

 

[Lynx_7]

First thing that came to mind was Latria Tower from Demon's Souls. Incredibly atmospheric and I don't think anything from Dark Souls or Bloodborne managed quite that same level of oppressiveness.

Zeal from Chrono Trigger also comes to mind. Incredible soundtrack, gorgeous visuals and just the right amount of unsettling details underneath the surface.

 

[Thabass]

Spirit Temple. One of my favorite uses of Time level design I've ever encountered. The music, the story during this phase of the gamer and just the look of Temple is amazing.

 

[fatherKratos]

- Ravenholm level in Half Life 2.
- All ghilled up in Call of duty:MW
- Train level in Uncharted 2
- Desert of lost souls and pandora temple level in first god of war and cronos battle in gow3.

 

[Cepheus]

City 17 in Half-Life 2.

 

[Baleoce]

Landstalker - King Noles Labyrinth (one of the best dungeons in existence)

 

[Creaking]

I really liked a lot of the locations in Dragon's Dogma. Can't find any good screenshots (come on PC players!) but the way the environment subtly changed as you traveled seemed very naturalistic. Really enjoyed the woodsy areas, especially at night. Who doesn't love spooky woods to get lost in?

 

[Waji]

That and Valak Mountain at night <3

You stole my idea.
Not to mention the music...

 

[xochipiltontli]

Goldenrod City in Pokemon G/S/C. Loved going through it as a kid, always made me wonder what was in all of the buildings with no doors on them. The music, the connection to Kanto, the way it was taken over by Team Rocket, the game corner, the underground, haircuts, bicycles, the department store, it contrasts so much from every other city in G/S/C. It felt like an actual city on such old hardware. And in the areas surrounding it, you have the daycare (which I remember enjoying more over R/S/E's because you could interact with your Pokemon) and National Park, which had great music and that bug contest. A lot of my love for it is just nostalgia though.

 

[zMiiChy-]

 

[GrayDock]

The Shadow Moses area "remake" in MGS4 almost made me cry at the time....

It brought all those memories back in a tearful way....
Kojima at it's best IMO.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

Pioneer 2, Phantasy Star Online (screenshot is from PSO2 I believe)

Spent so much time hanging around the bank and shops waiting for groups to head to the teleporter or during trips back up after a boss. The neon lights and buildings in the background really make it feel like a place on a huge spaceship. And the music is great.

 

[Maogp]

there are many but this 3 are my favourites

Alan Wake, Bright Falls

Amerzone, the lighthouse

Max Payne 3, favela

 

[Drazgul]

Swamp & sewer levels in every game ever made. Who doesn't like those?

 

[Barry Burton]

Spencer Mansion - RE1/REmake

 

[The_Ayertosco]

Well, Dobuita, Highway 17 and Phendrana Drifts already in the topic...so i'll go with this area in Mirror's Edge, wonderful music and great vertical design

 

[papercamm]

The most recent that comes to mind is Black Velvetopia from Psychonauts.

 

[Theognosis]

The forbidden land in Shadow of the Colossus captures the beauty and desperation of solitude in a video game.

Intro

 

[Offshore Breeze]

So many good picks in here and so hard to pick just one. I think for me the one that will always hold a special place for me is the Farplane in FFX. Used to just let my game idle there for hours and get lost in the music.

 

[CrazyHorse]

Facility Goldeneye

 

[J-Roderton]

Probably one of the towns in Fable 2. I've forgotten most of their names, but there are some awesome areas in that game.

 

[Liquidsnakeiv]

Balamb Garden- FFVIII
The Citadel- Mass Effect
Cosmo Canyon- FFVII

 

[Liquidsnakeiv]

Aesthetics:

Devil May Cry 1 - Mallet Island Castle:



Level Design:

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes - Camp Omega:

Camp Omega is the GOAT

 

[DanWensing]

Diablo 2, ACT I camp!!
I can hear the song when I look at the image!! =..(

 

[aOlafsson]

The Space Pirate Research Lab in Metroid Prime: going back and forth between thermal visor really made the atmosphere of this place something else.

 

[killroy87]

Treasure Trove Cove from Banjo-Kazooie

 

[Steve McQueen]

Boggly Woods; Paper Mario TTYD

I absolutely loved that place.

Gawddamn, totally forgot about that. Awesome looking place. I have to replay TTYD someday.

 

[Darkstorne]

Grizzly Hills from WoW, Kaer Morhen in the Witcher, and pretty much everywhere in Skyrim. I just adore alpine environments. All my holidays have to include mountain hiking =D

 

[dosh]

Drake's house in UC4. Such a normal, cosy place.

Which is a tie with Armadillo in RDR. Coming back to this place always feels good.

And there's also the house I built with the editor in Morrowind. The entrance was hidden somewhere in Balmora, and I spent hours upon hours iterating on it, adding details, rooms, npcs. Good times.

Ok, I can't choose.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

School II is almost a perfect Tony Hawk level. It's one of the first levels to really excel at straddling the line between free-flowing level design and more combo-driven setpiece design, which makes it an easy standout considering it debuted in the game that introduced the manual. Paths for great combos aren't necessarily spelled out for you, but there's so much going on that you can easily string together some good shit. It even manages to integrate several real life skating landmarks like the Leap of Faith and the Carlsbad Gap. The level also aged incredibly well, as later games in the series introduced mechanics that allowed you to utilize the entire level in a single combo if you were skilled enough. The only shortcomings I can think of are the relative lack of quarter-pipes and the secret area being accessible only through a single doorway (though you were originally supposed to be able to access it through the area with the Gonz Rail in addition to the regular entrance, as evidenced by beta footage and a leftover railing).

 

[WheelHoss1]

Anor Lando. Once I got there, I never wanted to leave.

 

[AudioEppa]

The auction level in Uncharted 4.

It was hard to choose from this or The drake home.

 

[Salmon]

Forever and ever!

 

[Algebrah]

The music, isolation, and calmness of the area always make me smile.

 

[Zakkath]

And for mood

Placed at the most perfectly paced 'rest' moment in any game ever, and infinitely memorable, with beautiful vistas and interiors, amazing music, and a crazy 'wtf is going on' vibe.
When you go up that first teleporter and see the big island off to the side you're just immediately like 'the fuck is this. THE FUCK IS THAT? I need to go there'

This. I remember sitting back to enjoy the view the first time I played that game... 20 years ago... I still like it.

 

[GoldenCrow]

Recently : Geothermal Valley , Tomb Rider

At a quick glance I initially thought this was Link.

 

[sora87]

That's a hard question as there's just so many.

Playing through the Midgar section was probably the most immersed I've been playing a game.
Pretty much everywhere in FF9 is incredible. Clockwork Town in MM. Traverse Town in KH. All of Ni No Kuni.

But special shout outs to Inaba

And to Twin Falls Hideaway in Galaxy 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKoV4tgmj0A

 

[RootCause]

Village RE4 and Zero Mission Chozo Ruins.