Top 10 Bad Levels in Great Games

#10: The Lost Pilgrimage

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“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017) Even though its one of the best games of 2017, Zelda is not immune to frustration. You have to follow a little Korok named Oaki to a nearby Shrine without being seen by him or going off course. The problem is that because the area is very dim and Oaki is so small, he blends in with the tall grass making him very difficult to spot. But the real kicker comes towards the end when a wolf attacks him and he explicitly calls out for YOUR help, but he’ll still fail you if he spots you. That’s the thanks I get for saving your life? Screw you Oaki! I hope that wolf finds you tasty.

#9: Lost Sanctum

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“Chrono Trigger” (DS Version) (2008) There’s nothing wrong with bringing back a classic in a new format, especially if it adds on more content for us to enjoy. Except in the instances when all that additional content turns out to suck. Case and point: The Lost Sanctum. Inside this titular alternate dimension, players will be tasked with travelling back and forth through the same mountain and cave to do a series of fetch quests for some villagers. What makes this area very infuriating the fact that you can only take up one quest at a time means you’ll being going up and down the same mountain over and over … and over again.

“Mafia” (2002) In order to prove yourself as an up and coming Mafioso, you’ll find yourself stealing a racecar and taking it to a garage to be used 1930’s era Grand Prix. It might sound like a fun mission, until you find out that you have to get the car there within a time limit and that if you damage it in any way you will fail. But it gets worse when the actual race starts. The controls are very slippery and the car has a nasty habit of spinning out of control or getting stuck in other cars, possibly costing you the race. No wonder the developers had to patch in the option to skip the whole thing.

“Kingdom Hearts II” (2005) No matter how many times we talk about this section, we can’t imagine how on Earth a whole area based around a rhythm mini-game to some rather mediocre Disney songs that wouldn’t be considered for a direct to DVD sequel, got approved to be included in this game. Come on Square Enix, we’re here to beat the crap of the heartless and memorable Disney villains with a giant key, not take part in Sebastian’s rejected musical! We imagine Kairi would be a little peeved if she knew what Sora was really up to when she needed him most.

#6: Chapter 13

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“Final Fantasy XV” (2016) Remember how the strongest points of this game were the bromantic bonds between our four leads as they took to the road, slayed monsters together and generally had what was quite possibly the best bachelor party of all time? Well forget about that because it’s time for Noctis to fight solo. As you near the end of the game, among the many issues with this chapter, you’ll mostly find yourself desperately trying to stay alive as you constantly back track through the area to upgrade your keycard and fighting off waves of enemies until the damn elevator arrives. Even Square Enix acknowledged how bad this area is and has since patched it.

#5: Final Section

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“Bioshock” (2007) You can imagine the disappointment players felt after coming off the high of not only one of the greatest twists in video games, but also one of the best death scenes, only to have the last level of the game be downright drudgery. The final challenge that players had to overcome in Rapture unfortunately damped the revelations that came with the killing of Andrew Ryan and the reveal of Frank Fontaine as players had to complete the following straight afterwards: overcome hordes of enemies while our plasmids constantly switched out, a painful as hell escort mission, and of course a disappointing final boss. Would you kindly let us forget that all this happened?

#4: The Library

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“Halo: Combat Evolved” (2001) Nothing like finding yourself stuck inside a complex filled with the likes of the Flood with only the annoying 343 Guilty Spark for company. Not to say that the Flood can’t be effective at inducing horror, after all they made their debut one level ago and gave the Master Chief a run for his money with their sheer numbers. The Library on the other hand is just a mad rush to find the Index Chamber as you work your way up through the same copy and pasted floors of the installation, making this area feeling more tedious than tense. And again, we have to put up with 343 Guilty Spark…

#3: Tutorial

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“Driver” (1999) Talk about getting off on the wrong foot. Before you can get out and explore one of gaming’s earliest 3D Open Worlds, you find yourself confined to dreary car park and given a checklist of driving manoeuvres to perform in order to get to the actual game. Problem is; the game does a terrible job of clarifying some of said manoeuvres and they are not easy to pull off, especially under a 60 second time limit. In fact the difficulty spike is so misplaced that it might be one of the few games that will have players rage quitting before the even reach level one!

#2: Xen

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“Half-Life” (1998) Welcome to the Borderworld, where just like the gravity all forms of excitement that you had previously felt as you crowbarred your way through zombie scientists and other Combine forces has been severely reduced. While the environment is a beauty to behold, the fact of the matter is you are now stuck hopping over floating platforms while all the visceral action is taking place back at the Black Mesa Facility. While by far not the most anger-inducing level, considering Gordon Freeman’s journey up until this point had been nothing short of masterful with its fast-paced combat and unique puzzles, made the whole Xen experience feel rather stale by comparison.

“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002) What’s the GTA best know for? Car chases? Firefights? Solicit activity with some hookers? How about having to destroy an entire construction site by piloting a remote control helicopter and planting bombs all over the area. Not only is this far from the ludicrously fun activities we’re used to doing, but all of this has to be done within a time constraint while having to avoid hammer-wielding guards. And just to top it off, the controls are not your friend. Can’t we go back to San Andreas? I mean we’ll follow that damn train over using this wonky tincan anyday.