Most of the levels on the original Dungeon Master by FTL for the Amiga/Atari ST/PC. Some of best puzzles and frightening enemies for its day. The traps were outright diabolical. Yes the dungeon graphics were pretty bland but it was a killer game for its time(1987)

Zelda: Ocarina of Time also had some nice dungeons. I particularly liked when you battled your mirror image in the Water Temple. Forest Temple was also pretty creepy but had annoying music. Rescuing the workmen from The Gerudo Fortress was also a fun litle excursion but once again the music got annoying. The utility items (deku sticks, grappling hook, boomerang, lens of truth, etc. some of which doubled as weapons) and the puzzles you had to solve with them were one of the games best features.

Most of the levels in Thief I (really should get around to playing the other two) were quite good - especially Down in the Bonehoard and Return to the Cathedral scared the bejesus out of me first time through. Constatine's Mansion was the best madhouse I've ever seen. Though gameplay was what made Thief I great, the levels were quite well done even if their graphics were a bit dated at the time of release.

It's hard to pin down exactly what makes a dungeon "great". I tended to like the ones that had puzzles and riddles that made you think just a little bit and not just Diablo-style hack n' slash. Failing that, very exotic locales with cool enemies, good artwork, good dialogue (voice acting a big plus!), and a good storyline can make up for this, e.g. in Baldur's Gate 2: Irenicus' Dungeon, the Planar Prison, the Shadow Temple, and the Underdark.

I agree on Thief I. Great game. Too bad Thief 2 sucked.

Also Severance / Blade of Darkness had some great levels, including the egyptian themed one, and the 2nd to last level, the Temple of Ianna, was the most atmospheric level I've played in a game in a looooong time.

The music was amazing, it had a slow, quiet beginning, a great sense of age, and once you opened the way to the sword, all the enemies came out to play and it was more hectic.

I tend to HATE sewer and mine levels. Why would I want to spend time there?

I also dug the tomb raider I levels. I like levels that feel like somewhere I would really want to explore.

I've always liked random dungeons as well. Diablo, Angband, etc.

Random dungeons are alright, but they're seldom employed in an interesting or creative layout. There's some good info online about maze carving, and you can definitely get a lot of variety out of them, but they never seem too adhere to any kind of architectural constraints, or provide a sense of intrigue.

The only time Diablo ever provided intrigue is set rooms that never change layout.

I am shocked that no one has mentioned the World of Warcraft dungeons; Gnomeregan was amazing, and a few people were mentioning a "safe zone", which Gnomer has (albeit instanced). What makes it so cool is bosses (Techbot, with his Lag ability!) and near the end, Thermaplug, who was in a room that had these gargoyle-like mouths mounted in a circle, whenever one wold open, a little "present" would pop out, which could potentionally cause a lot of trouble.
There was a good theme that stuck with it throughout. As you head into the start, you would see a bunch of formerly enslaved gnomes escaping out.

I personally was very impressed with the haunted house level in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. For an RPG it is quite interesting as it features 0 (killable) enemies. Just a very scary atmosphere (in my opinion anyway), pots, pans and paintings flying at you at unexpected moments and an occasional ghost flying through the hallway. All very old cliches ripped from movies, but I have never seen it in a game before.

Tom

I am going to add to the UO list with Despise dungeon. It was not a favorite of the community because it had littler creatures. The fun part was the little creatures could overwhelm. It was great to see a highlevel mage come in and not be able to cast because of interuptions, and not be able to move because he was surrounded by lowly rats.

Besides that I used to pick locks in the one corner of level 4 in between fighting of NPC Mages. Ah those were the good days of lockpicking.

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Original post by dimebolt I personally was very impressed with the haunted house level in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. For an RPG it is quite interesting as it features 0 (killable) enemies. Just a very scary atmosphere (in my opinion anyway), pots, pans and paintings flying at you at unexpected moments and an occasional ghost flying through the hallway. All very old cliches ripped from movies, but I have never seen it in a game before. Tom

I completely agree with this; I enjoyed it (despite not being a big fan of scary things), but I didn't realize until you mentioned it that there were zero killables enemies. The traps and flying things still forced you to use your abilities or manuever carefully, so it was still a challege. Another fun element is the unfolding of the creepy story; at one point you read about a child's head or something equally disturbing being found a while ago in a washer; the same washer thats half open where a key was located. Upon opening it, I half expected some headless abomination to leap out at me or find some grotesque head inside!

If you want to try out a really awesome dungeon-based puzzle / actions / adventure game, play Will Harvey's the Immortal. It had some of the most interresting traps and puzzles and was one of the first isometric games ever made.

Lots of praise with the Zelda series' dungeons.

I'll have to say most of the dungeons in Vagrant Story are beautifully done as well. Can't stand the trap tiles, but there aren't that many of them to really be frustrating. The puzzles are mostly done in solitary, or after you clear the area, giving you time to think and admire the gorgeous artwork.

I also love how the textures make a wine cellar the most obvious choice to connect the outside world to a vast underground demon sanctuary. It really puts you there.

:stylin: