Jordan Thomas went on to create the "Fort Frolic" level in BioShock, and to serve as creative director for BioShock 2.
"Robbing the Cradle" was widely praised, and it has been described by publications such as Computer & Video Games, PC Gamer UK and Bloody Disgusting as one of the scariest scenes in the history of video games. They took influence from works such as House of Leaves, Session 9 and the Silent Hill series, and they studied mental asylums and reportedly haunted buildings for inspiration. Using theories of interactive horror design developed by Smith in 2000, the team sought to create the scariest level ever to appear in a game. The level was designed by Jordan Thomas and Randy Smith, with a soundscape composed by Eric Brosius.
Players traverse an abandoned, haunted orphanage and mental asylum called the Shalebridge Cradle, while attempting to free the soul of a young girl from the building's captivity. Unlike other levels in the game, it features a strong survival horror theme, in addition to the stealth gameplay typical of the Thief series. “ "Robbing the Cradle" is a level created by Ion Storm for their final video game, Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004). Honorable mention for Magus' Castle for managing to feel like it's the end-game climax through the whole dungeon and its boss fight, despite being a relatively very early part of the game.
Not so much for the design of the dungeon or any gameplay therein, which is honestly forgettable compared to the rest of the game, but just for the "holy fuck, did that just happen!?" impact of its climax. You finish the level to reach the climax, then reversing time to complete it in reverse is a mind-fuck that radically changes your perception of it and the entirety of the game. Level 1-1 from Braid, the last level from the game which is numbered as the first level for reasons that would be a spoiler to explain. Use invisible to get through her door and talk to her and she'll tell.
Talk to Becky to get the star out of her dressing room. Surface Tension from the original Half-Life is a bit more fuzzy in my memory, but I remember it as being a high point in the game where the conflict with the marines was coming to a head and you started to be plagued by that fucking Apache gunship that you couldn't yet take down. Go throw the portal on the actress with mood swings. I recently revisited these old games via the Enhanced Editions, and Durlag's Tower is just as great as I remember it. I always remembered it as being a huge step-up in design and writing compared to the original game, which turned out to be foreshadowing for BioWare's major narrative improvements in Baldur's Gate 2 compared to BG1. I'll try a few that I don't see posted yet.ĭurlag's Tower, from the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion for Baldur's Gate, remains my favorite dungeon in any RPG I've ever played.
Ravenholm from HL2 was my first thought, followed by the hated hoverbike level from Battletoads. Some other great answers have already been posted.