Best 2026 Video Games for level design

#1

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

#2

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

#3

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

#4

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

#5

Level and map layouts were praised for thoughtful movement, beautiful spaces, and rewarding terrain.

#6

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

#7

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

#8

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.

#9

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

#10

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

#11

Kalona's city-based combat spaces are viewed as a strong fit for Gears, with verticality and new traversal seen as potentially game-changing.

#12

Level design gets positive marks for remixes, logical escalation, and mini-games that reviewers found well thought out and engaging.

#13

Level design is widely admired for semi-linear routes, shortcuts, varied sectors, and combat arenas, though repetition appears in a few late-game comments.

#14

Road, city, track, and landscape design are often praised as dense and varied, though some criticism targets overly wide roads.

#15

The clearest level-design praise centered on vampire abilities opening unconventional routes through environments.

#16

Most stages work as compact, open-ended sandboxes filled with interactions rather than simple left-to-right courses. The best pages feel dense and clever, while weaker ones can seem small, empty, or...

#17

Level design was often praised for branching paths, biomes, and movement support, though procedural layouts sometimes became familiar or disrupted flow.

#18

Level design ranges from criticized simple spaces to praised scale, nonlinear structure, and distinct larger environments.

#19

Level design ranged from intuitive and propulsive in positive reviews to overly restrictive or lacking interpretive room in a negative one.

#20

Dungeon and level design drew mixed evidence: some praised memorable layouts and new gimmicks, while one reviewer disliked a Grim Garten objective enough to sour the experience.

#21

Level design had strong claustrophobic highlights in vents and corridors, but one larger station area was criticized as nondescript.

#22

Level design ranged from dungeon-like, vertical, side-path-heavy praise to complaints that early spaces could resemble long linear hallways.

#23

Arena layouts were described as relatively flat, though the same review still appreciated the genre-consistent presentation.

#24

Level design has limited, mixed evidence, with one reviewer criticizing repeated small rooms that look similar.

#25

Level design was mixed, with one reviewer finding the large terrain rewarding but sometimes too mountainous or exhausting.

#26

Preview builds suggested some scenic variety, yet finished-game reviewers overwhelmingly describe compact, generic, empty arenas with little interaction.

#27

Level design criticism focuses on repeated arenas and spaces that do not support the scope of the world.