favourite levels

Over the last month, I’ve been taking my time with a replay of Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s the first time I’ve revisited it since completing it for the first time around 2020.

Not that you really needed any reminding that this is a video game on an entirely different level from many others, but I’ve really been struck by Rockstar’s impeccably detailed world. I’d almost forgotten just how good it is.

Every field, town, and woodland is brimming with atmosphere, each NPC feels dynamic and alive, and the game’s slower pace forces you to just take it all in.

With this realisation, though, I really started to think about other video game worlds that have won me over across the years. So over on the Push Square YouTube channel, I decided to go on a deep dive across 10 such settings, ranging from entire video game settings to specific levels or areas within PlayStation games.

This was a really fun video to make, exploring my all-time favourite video game worlds including the massively underrated PREY and a very specific level from IO’s Hitman trilogy. I dig into aspects like environmental detail, atmosphere, and lore to fill out why I think these worlds hit, even to this day.

You can check the video out now, and let me know what your favourite video game worlds are down in the comments!