"You know what this map needs? Needs more sand."

Okay, time to get THIS LINE out of the way before everyone else says it "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." This countdown is brought to you by "SAND, IT'S EVERYWHERE", get used to it

"Hey, (insert name 1)." "Oh, hey, (name 2)! How are you?" "Fine...just fine ..except...I'm STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT!!"

I did want to pat Futabas head and give her a hug after her palace was complete. So the game certainly did it's job with that trip to a desert of pure isolation.

This countdown was brought to you by Sand! It's everywhere, get used to it.

In reference to your question at the end... Whilst not necessarily a biome in the sense of an environment, a common recurring theme in games is the 'haunted' level: areas in non-horror games that are either designed to put you on edge or play with the theme of ghosts and ghouls. These levels could make for a fun halloween countdown for their shock factor and what they do to put a spin on the theme.

Honestly, I'd love to see a Ghost level countdown, if only because there's so many different interesting routes developers can go for.

A fool off his guard could fall and fall hard, out there on the dunes.🎶

When my family comes from the beach: Me: Ok who got sand in their- Everyone: Yes!! My Uncle: Fucking Everywhere!

I remember when I first got to Solm, minor spoilers for something funny in that chapter When we first got there and the characters were talking about how they had no idea what the prince and princess looked like, and then a little later they ran into Fogado, I was thinking “wouldn’t it be funny if he turned out to be the prince?” Then he introduced us to the Sentinels, and I was getting some serious Chrom and the Shepherds vibes, and when he started acting all chummy with the palace guards I burst out laughing because I realized that my initial impression had been spot on, and he was being a huge reference to my favorite game in the franchise (which is also the one that got me into Fire Emblem in the first place)

-Okay, let's get this over this (opens strengths and weaknesses screen) You've gotta be kidding me -well, geometry is... is pretty cool -yeah, who would've want to be better in geometry!? And for weaknesses - endurance, and what else let me see, heat, sand and sun. It shouldn't be a problem. It's not like we're in the middle of a GODDAMN DESERT! Jumaji the next level, 2019.

In the desert, you can't remember your name, for there ain't no one to give you no pain...

Yes, ironically while we consider deserts warm and sandy, do you know the biggest desert in the world? Antarctica. Completely barren and the whole continent is a desert itself

This Green Scorpion countdown is brought to you by... SAND! IT'S EVERYWHERE! GET USE TO IT!

Anakin Skywalker: I hate sand it gets everywhere.

I guess you can say Mario Odyssey puts the Sand into Sandbox Thank you & good night!

The dessert battle in Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn lives rent free in my head. One of the largest levels in the game, and with some really interesting lore reveals, AND finally getting revenge on an early game antagonist... but unless you take the Dracoknights, you're basically leaving this level in the hands of Naesala and no one else, because by the time you cross the map with them, the rest of your units are just now making it out of the starting corner of the map.

"This Green Scorpion video is brought to you by Sand! It's everywhere! Get used to it!"

Engage is very fun and campy it’s got toku vibes the character interactions are awesome and I’m digging the story it’s my first FE game

A new Green Scorpion video?? Yes pls!!! As for biomes... How about Top Ten Sky levels? It's a video game level theme I've always loved. From Windy Hill, to Gusty Garden Galaxy, to even Sky Tower, sky levels have a sense of scope and amazement that Id love to see you tackle!

The segway into number 10 was very good. I think that an improvement for you

Anakin isn't going to like this lol. Respect and keep up the epic work.

I love desert levels, it's one of my favorite biomes. The aesthetics, the feeling of freedom and exploration, and the music. My personal list of favorite desert levels overlap with yours a lot, including having the Sand Kingdom as number one. Some of my favorites that didn't make your list include: -Sandblasted Corridors from Deep Rock Galactic - The terrain being mined in one pickaxe hit is a nifty convenience, but what really gets me are how its features encourage DRG's famous multiplayer teamwork. Howling sandstorms occasionally blast through the caverns, limiting vision and forcing teams to hunker down and travel together to not get lost, as well as sand sharks that will grab a nearby dwarf and must be killed by another player, encouraging players to stick together and look out for each other in case one pops up. I also just really like the color palette and sandy aesthetic -Overdrive Ostritch Stage from Mega Man X2 - It introduces the Ride Chaser and motorcycle rides through the desert are awesome. If you manage to get through the stage keeping it intact, you can also use it to easily snag some upgrades. It transitions between a desert base to the outside dunes back into the base for the entrance to the boss room, but instead of a regular boss room, you hitch a ride on and then shoot down a launching missile, crashing into the desert. Then, you fight the titular Maverick in a wide-open space where he'll hop between the foreground and boackground. Fighting Overdrive Ostrictch without his weakness weapon is really fun, too. -Gerduo Desert from Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom - The Arbiter's Grounds is probably the best desert dungeon in the Zelda games, but the BotW and TotK portrayals of the Gerudo Desert itself are my preference. I find that it makes the idea of a vast, empty desert with little in it interesting by how haunting it is. I will never forget the moment in my first playthrough of BotW when I got stranded in one of those cursed sandstorms. The feeling of isolation and helplessness was palpable. Having so little visibility was one part, but the big reason is the map not working. Realizing I had no easy way out if I got jumped by monsters I wasn't ready for, especially a Molduga, was terrifying. Even outside of the sandstorms, just staring off into the dunes at the edge of the map in silence was an experience of existential melancholy I will never forget. TotK has the better dungeon in the Lightning Temple and better use of Gerudo Town, but I had to mention my first experience in a sandstorm. There's more to it that makes it one of my favorite desert levels, but the sandstorms stick out to me. For another level theme I'd like you to touch on: forest levels. I love trees and whenever I'm on a trip out through the countryside with rolling forested hills, I use all the time I can to take it all in. As such, I love the aesthetic of forest levels, and there are lots of mechanics that can be used from the verticality: climbing the trees, structures supported by the trees, even vines if jungles are counted (they are rainforests, after all).

i've also been a part of the crowd that's dreaded desert levels, but this video proved just how many great ones there have been! awesome list, and it's cool to see a lot of my favorites make the cut. you've managed to maintain that entertaining, unique style that made me a fan all of those years ago and i remain impressed every time

Is no one going to acknowledge the awesome SNAPCUBE REFRENCE AT THE BEGIBING OF THE THING. GUYS WHAT ARE WE DOING!!!!!

One of my favorites is Cliff Town in Spyro 1. It's a fantastic feeling after scaling up the town being rewarded by being high enough to glide over the river and to a wide open space to run freely, and that leads to peak of the level from which to glide wherever your heart desires, with whirlwinds activating for an easy return to the peak to glide again.

Monster Hunter has some good deserts. I'm most familiar with the Sandy Plains featured in 3U and Rise, but the Wildspire Waste from World also makes a noteworthy impression with it's building-sized termite mounds. Heck, Wilds is set to open WITH a desert level, and I'm hooked just from the limited glimpses we've seen at the time of writing this. The main thing that I feel they get right is that despite how samey deserts may seem, they can still have plenty of variety. Sure, you've got the obligatory big open sand dunes. But you also have windswept canyons, oases, mud pits, and even subterranean caverns to beat the heat.

If we are talking other biome countdowns, we go back to Yahtzee Croshaw and one of his catchphrases. "Grassland, desert, ocean, jungle, ice world, fire world, boss!"

For the next one, it would be cool if you went the old "Is the desert too harsh for you? Well too bad, we're going even harsher!" and do top 10 lava/volcanic levels. I love how Death Mountain in BotW was set to demonstrate that just being near an active volcano can be so hot, you'll need extreme protection. Anyway, time to add my own sand quote: "Ahem! There's SAND on my boots!"

I had been watching some SnapCube highlight compilations before I watched this so when the intro happened I was pleasantly surprised! 😂 Post-watch edit: YEAAAAA SOLM PEAK! I love the Solm family, they cracked me up after so many depressing chapters lol. Futaba's Palace had me so emotional, I know it was a pyramid bc "haha conspiracy theories" but your analysis shows how much deeper it goes

My theory for Stallord: That's Dragon Zelda in the bad timeline, gone crazy still with a corrupted Master Sword in her head. Just my thought.

My favorite part about the Kingdom of Solm? It introduces Pandreo the frat-boy priest and Panette the walking Crit machine.

For me, my favorite desert level is Pipeline Destruction from Ace Combat 7, where you and your squadmates attack a port oil refinery in the desert before a sandstorm hits, only to dive in and out of said sandstorm to hunt 20 fuel trucks trying to use the storm to escape.

Well, it's summer and a bit of a hot one as usual, so I say a list of desert levels is perfect timing. Going through them is a challenge dealing with heat, sandstorms, quicksand, creatures that inhabit the area, etc. You'll need to not underestimate the environment that desert levels provide if you dont want to be buried in the sand.

The lore behind Twilight Princess you brought up definitely upped the creepy factor the game goes for but the Gibdo queen from TOTK made me jump the moment she came on screen. Any boss that does that nowadays has my insta-respect.

My favorite desert levels are: Bring Down The Strider - Armored Core VI Chozo Ruins - Metroid Prime The Maw - Halo: Combat Evolved The entire Saudi war story in Battlefield 1 The Asado Desert - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Arid Badlands - Borderlands Every Red Zone level in C&C 3 (not a traditional desert by any means, but still worth mentioning) Final Conflict - C&C Tiberian Sun

I like the idea of "Top 10 [biome] Levels" being a topic you revisit even if you don't cram a bunch of them into one month. You've done water and desert, that just leaves mountain, forest, urban, and maybe some crazy ones like volcano and space (places that don't normally have life, as far as we know at least). You could even subdivide "forest" into temperate, tropical, and savannah, if there are enough of each to justify it. Suggestion: January would be a great time for a Top 10 Ice Levels video. The cold would make it thematically appropriate.

I remember doing this countdown almost 10 years ago. And I’m very interested to see your choices.

*Sees the length of this video, sees the length of wambu’s video* Seems the green scorpion got out thesaurused by lamp and spoopy ghost. I kid loved both videos, still don’t like sand all that much but can appreciate it more in games now

Hell yeah, Solm made it to the list! Definitely the best part of Engage since most of my favorite emblems: Ike, Corrin, Byleth, and Eirika are accessible. Plus, Timerra and Fogado are my favorite pair of siblings

This was fun - even IF you almost killed me in the middle of #5 (seriously, I'm still giggling about it with a slightly sore throat after choking on spit)! Personally, I admit to not playing a whole lot of games, but when I do, I have a fondness for forest/jungle levels. I wouldn't mind a countdown on those next. Lots of trees to potentially climb around in, vines to swing from if you're talking jungles or rainforests, and SO many animals.

Here are some of my favorite desert levels. 1. Chase from Red Steel 2. It has everything from a high speed train chase to some great fights in a city that's in the middle of nowhere in a desert. 2. Great Desert from Stellar Blade. Sandstorms, Naytiba under the sand and a protagonist who can stand the heat in a skin tight suit or even a skirt without a problem in the world. 3. Sand Land from Sand Land. Akira Toriyamas game has half of the runtime in a desert and yet it's a rollicking Mad Max adventure with demons.

It's honestly ironic that the fact that the redeads carry swords in TP made my child self LESS afraid of them.

i say dry dry dessert from paper Mario 64. it really captures what its like to travers a dessert.

10: Deserts are a pristine natural landscape, it's art in itself. 9: Howdy, Hedgehog. Now draw! 8: Arabian Tatooine Nights 7: Everything you mentioned is what makes it one of the best, but you forgot one important thing: the stage theme which also got remixed in Smash Ultimate! 6: A galactic hourglass constantly shifting in orbit...tilting it every cycle as it fills and drains with its infinite grains of sand.... 5: An improved desert map (about time Intelligent Systems), and probably the best new lineup of units thus far in the game. Besides, two words: Wolf. Knight. 4: Creating Rivers in the Desert that is Futaba's psyche, classic movie pyramid traps, and of course, Futaba's own Shadow actually helping her out of her own internal prison. And besides....you forgot about the fact it's a freaking UFO! 3: The deserts of Hyrule hides many secrets throughout the ages....most are hidden beneath the sands, in the depths of the earth....some never meant for Hylian eyes... 2: A desert where life began, but also ends.....and Kirby gets to play in the sandbox that is the oasis. 1: Tostarena, the jewel of the desert! See the inverted pyramids! Party with the locals and enjoy some shave ice! Hitch a ride on a Jaxi and race across the dunes! You may even find oases with fish swimming in them!

Interesting list. A lot of these I agree with, but I would probably consider places like Arbiter's Grounds more of a ruins or haunted level, despite being found in a desert. I'd also consider Ikana Canyon more representative of a wasteland, which could overlap with deserts. As for my favorite desert level, I'm probably going to say Sandopolis. Sonic 3 and Knuckles is easily my favorite Sonic game, and that music just really has that desert vibe. Atmospheric but ever so slightly oppressive, like you can feel that sun beating down on you. Anyway, glad to see a countdown from you. You, Joker, and Quarter Guy are easily my favorite KZfaqrs and I keep coming back to all your lists.

Ah, but you see? The Heavy Magician masquerading as Team Hooligan IS the Mirage of Mirage Saloon

So hopefully you'll try Top 10 Ice Levels during a Winter Season

I love Futaba’s palace because of how it reflects her trauma and isolation. But I also love The Spirit Temple, Ikana Canyon, and Desert Palace from Zelda. And I love the Desert Resort in Pokemon gen5. Also that intro 😂.

I’m not even a minute in and I love the Snapcube reference

So glad Solm made it onto this list.

There are a lot of unique and diverse deserts in Pokémon I hope they’re on here even tho Pokemon doesn’t have levels technically

I don't really understand why people have such a strong dislike for Fire Emblem Engage, but to each their own. One cannot deny that the kingdom of Solm is very fun to play around in and that you get some of the more well-designed characters there in Timerra, Merrin, Panette and Seadall. Oscar gets points redacted though for failing to mention how *cool* Merrin is (or linking her to Shantae for voice acting).

With regards to your end question, one area/biome that you traverse a lot in games that i really thought would be more prevalent in this countdown would be the "isolated/abandoned resource extraction/processing plant" such as massive desert drill and mining operations, or abandoned mining towns. These locales are isolated from outside contact and surrounded/engulfed in hazardous weather and terrain but serve as proof that whatever was speculated to be on site was worth the risk of setting up operations in order to get at those sweet resources and can be used for a variety of themes from stealth, action, horror, wonder and exploration and so on. These places can either be the main setting, a connecting part of a larger whole or an unrelated time capsule containing stories that either ended or were left unfinished and we just happened to stumble across it on the way to our own objective or just by complete happenstance but are fascinating all the same which makes them prime countdown material for their storytelling potential.

A very solid list with a lot of franchises I love getting reps for the desert Some of my personal favourites are The Canyon from Little Big Planet for its music and sense of danger and Silica from Inazuma Eleven go galaxy for being a very interesting introduction to the planet hoping soccer/football adventure, introducing you to gravity affecting how you play on each planet that’s not earth, that awesome hoverboard segment and being the true introduction of souls from a gameplay standpoint

The snapcube opening was great, that’s such a good bit from the Sonic 06 Fandub 😂😂 though there are so many good bits and moments from all of their sonic fan dubs

Another level biome that gets overlooked and imo can be overhated is ice themed.

A perfect countdown for the summer.

I usually hate desert levels, so it was nice to see some good ones

Glad to see some of my personal favorite desert levels make the list, most of them crowding the upper half. One of my new favorites was the Desert Zone from NieR: Automata. It may not be much, but the music was one of my early favorite songs when you find the building ruins until I reached the Amusement Park, and traversing through it is surprisingly okay, whether running on foot or using a boar to ride on. There's a lot of interesting things to find, but playing Replicant puts the area in a brand new context, likely being the remains of an isolated civilization with too many rules to follow. (Playing Replicant to find this place when it used to be around really helped emphasize the history of what once was.) As someone who played Automata first years before Replicant got re-released for modern day, the whole thing flew over my head on my first time. But finding the uniform of the former king worn by one of the machines is a clear sign something went wrong with the place and ceased to exist. Gameplay-wise, it's more or less pretty basic (if the gameplay itself wasn't as fun as it was, it'd be a chore to get through). But lore-wise, Desert Zone hits on so many levels, but it already left a huge impression on me after my first playthrough just for being fun. I was even excited to go back to the locale for side-quests later on, if only just to hear the music.

If you were to ask me. My personal favorite Desert level is pretty much the entire Greed layer from Ultrakill.

So, you've done a Water Levels list, twice, and a Desert Levels list, what's next? A Lava Levels list, Jungle Levels list, ooh, how about Levels where you're inside a creature's body?

Any chance of a list for the “Top 10 Final _Exam_ Bosses”, in which you use literally everything you learned against the villain?

My favorite is the old clock works in Luigi's mansion 2/Dark Moon it perfectly combines the desert theme and some Egypt parts while having its own mechanical theme just the metal and sand make for a good combination

Great video as always Green Scorpion. I also have a few level ideas for a countdown, like a space level or a haunted house level

My favorite part of the Arbiter's ground is that its theorized to be whats left of the Spirit Temple. There is a 99.9 percent chance it's not true: but it's metal, so I like to think it's true.

One of my favorites is Al-Maajik from Fantasy Life. It’s the 3rd kingdom to visit, but I feel the challenge really picks up with the enemies to be encountered

If only you had mentioned Jet Lag, then your Desert Power Meter would be at maximum.

Honestly, I kinda liked the Exclusion Zone from Destiny. It's a solid mix of desert ruins, buried metropolis, and military base. A great location for the final push.

Casino levels would be a nice topic to see. Ya know, to see which levels make the best use of the theme and potentially even includes the use of gambling.

I really like the Cavare Desert, from Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force. This is the place where you have to go to finally resurrect the Goddess, and as a result it has a series of boss fights against the guardians and Bernard, who has ambushed you. You then move to the innermost area at night time as you approach your objective for the first half of the game. This leads to you finally fighting Marianna. It's also what reveals the next part of the game is Fang accidentally travelling back in time due to his subconscious wish to save Tiara. Once you eventually make it back to the desert, you'll be fighting all the guardians at the same time. And that's all from base FFF. Advent Dark Force turned this area into a route split depending on how many furies you've extracted from the Vile God in this run. If you were wise enough not to remove many you end up in the Goddess route that is the closest to the original second half. If you couldn't resist your temptation you end up in the Vile God route, named after you accidentally unleashing and getting curbstomped by the Vile God. If you remove a number of furies from the Vile God that is downright impossible outside of new game +, he fully revives and you have high enough stats to beat him halfway into the game, unlocking a secret third route (that sadly has an unresolved cliffhanger). This area was so iconic it got a homage in Neptunia Gamemaker, only this time your bike allows the team to make a much larger desert without it feeling tedious. It's a great dungeon itself, appropiately playing the theme of the Gold Summits as you comb the area to fight the fake members of Gold Third.

I'd love to see these level archetypes: *Fire Levels *Sky Levels *Forest/Jungle Levels *Spooky Levels *Space Levels *Ship/Boat Levels *Living Levels -As in levels that are alive in some way. Like Chronos from God of War 3 or any level where you go inside someone.

I really like Dry Dry Desert in Paper Mario & it's Bug Fables counterpart Defiant Root. Great chapters that take place in a desert.

When I saw the title, I thought of one desert level I wanted to see on here, and I am so glad that not only was it on the list but it was also #1.

The Tostarena Kingdom is a great one. Probably my favourite desert area. The ones in Uncharted 3 are also great.

Here’s an unique idea: what do you get if you mix the sand level and the water level? The Beach level! If you dig in (no pun intended) there are many interesting choices you can find

I approve of number 4 as it is my personal favorite palace in p5/p5r AND is the palace of my personal favorite persona character

Fun list with interesting pics, and if you're actually taking suggestions for level themes, I have a good one. My personal favorite level trope is the ancient ruin level. These levels have nice atmosphere, usually have interesting mechanics, and my favorite bit is there is always a story, but it isn't always spelled out

you think for October he can do top 10 haunted levels?, he has done Ice and water, and now desert hell I think Countdown creators can have a field day with a top 10 level themes

8:34 Turns out it's Fang the Hunter now. Took over the IDW comics for a few months.

My favourite desert level, well world really, is the Desert of Didgeridoos in Rayman Origins. Maybe it’s the Aussie patriot in me but there’s something about starting the world by being sucked into a didgeridoo, hearing the sound of it as you travel down it and are then spat out into a world full of music themed platforms. Yeah, the emphasis may not be so much on the desert, but still I love it. Also the music is really REALLY good P.S. If you do go down the level trope countdown path, could I request best cave levels? Once again, Rayman has one of my favourites with The Caves of Skops

Even though it didn't make the list, my favorite desert level is going to be Muska Lacka/Racka and the Sun and Moon Temple from the first Dark Cloud on the PS2 if anyone even remembers it. Sure, it's so annoying to keep each house facing the corresponding totem pole with the exception of the vacant house that actually belongs to your fifth ally, I really like the music in the area. Plus, the Sun and Moon Temple is more like an Egyptian tomb and the boss of said dungeon is a cursed pharaoh that needs to be laid to rest.

I would LOVE to see more countdowns about level themes from you, Oscar! Another fantastic video as always! Keep up the good work!

Well look at that. I was convinced that there would be no Fire Emblem maps on this list, but in retrospect, Solm was a pretty good choice. And the music was incredible, say what you want about Engage, but the music is impeccable. As for suggestions for what kind of level list to do, a couple that I can think of would be the Poison level which is often hated even more than the desert level, or the Space level, which often get to be very creative with lowered gravity when done right.

I really enjoyed the countdown here, with the variety of how desert levels were set (and the variety that was included) making things fairly enjoyable (the level at Number 6 was certainly the most interesting, for reasons you've brought up in that entry). And of course the obvious "Sand: It's Everywhere; Get used to it" deal is apparently a thing, though obviously not universally in a negative way (I don't know where it originated, I just know it's quoted...which applies to a lot of things I learn about from references through the internet). If I were to provide a level biome to tackle next (eventually decided as it may be), I might say...maybe a Top Ten Space Station Levels countdown. Not something we know about too often, right?

This countdown just reminded me that I _really_ need to pick Engage back up. I can't wait to get to Solm! (I've, uh, been obsessed with Fate/Samurai Remnant lately... to the point of neglecting almost everything else...)

One that I remember well is the desert part in Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire - it wasn't big, but still I feel it was fun

Going to Utah really made me appreciate the Rise iteration of Sandy Plains for perfectly capturing the way the rock formations look in that game, specifically in comparison to those found in Bryce National Park. But I truly think the biggest sleeper desert is in Bug Fables, wherein you traverse a sprawling desert, yet you can always tell where you are since each tile/room is distinct, be it at the towering split rock, that room with the sinkhole, the pass where you get ambushed by bandits, the path between Defiant Root and Golden Settlement, it feels huge even once you realize what it truly is and that speaks volumes of its quality.

Also another way to know that Futaba is clearly interested in egyptian and arabic folklore is the name of the hacker group she created being called Medjed which is also the name of an obsure egyptian god, yes the one people thought looked like Among Us.

I know it gets a bad rap in the Sonic community, but I actually like the Sandopolis levels. It’s fun rappelling and swinging all over the place (or climbing and gliding) in the first act, and the fact that you explore an ancient Egyptian tomb for the second act is just endlessly fascinating for me, in spite of the ghosts/light mechanic. The music is also pretty catchy, as you apparently agree. Since you’ve already covered my beloved water and ice levels, have you considered caves and volcanoes? Those levels in both the Sonic games and The Lion King made a major impression on me as a kid, and they always make for such moody, dynamic settings compared to the quietly threatening serenity of water levels and the stark beauty of ice environs.

Hey, Oscar, If you’re looking for another level types list, there are a couple you can borrow from WatchMojo: Bizarre Levels Boat/Ship Levels Fire/Lava Levels Forest/Jungle Levels Ice/Snow Levels (Remake) Mine Levels Prison/Jail Levels Rooftop Levels Spooky Levels In Non-Horror Games Train Levels (Remake)

1: One of my fav kingdoms 2: Not my fav area in the game, but it´s still great and I like the variety of levels it has. Also the boss is really good. 3: Great item and boss fight 4: One of the best levels in the game when it comes to narrative and Futaba has the best awakening of the characters. 5: Dat music!! Also finally great desert maps in FE and this is probably my favorite part of the game 7: Not one of my fav Banjo levels, but it does refine the desert element a lot and Gobi is awesome. 9: Have not played Mania, but the desert level in Unleashed is great. 10: Superb game and level Good list. Some other good desert levels would be from Crash Bandicoot 3, That Scorpion level in Spyro 3, Desert in New Pokemon Snap, The desert level in Granblue Fantasy Relink and Groundman´s stage in Megaman and Bass

32:00 this was the same guy responsible for the Shadow Temple

One little theme level idea: "Factory Levels". When Osha standards have no concern for level safety at all.

A personal favorite of Mine is SMT Nocturne's setting the vortex world

In terms of new biome themes, I think 'Castle/Fortress' could be an interesting one. Good levels would make use of the theme in a more architectural sense than natural biomes. Plus there would be distinct differences in culture that can be utlisied to add character. A quick example I can think of would be the Bowser's Castle from Super Mario Odyssey, with it taking a definite Japanese architectural style and laying itself out as a gauntlet of challenges, with a brief stop at a tea garden halfway.

There are two open world games that I really like, who's worlds is (almost) nothing but desert. Mad Max (2015) and Assassin's Creed Origins. Both games manages to make every area of the desert distinctly different. I.E. yeah you have the typical sand and rock desert but there's one moment in Mad Max where you're opening a gate of a fortress and when you're driving through the gate, through pure environmental storytelling you learn that was a sluice and that the previous area's used to be the bottom of the ocean, that was a powerful moment for me.

This was quite the interesting list, and, yes, I could feel the heat somewhat. But you know what's even hotter that the desert? HELL! I wanna see the top 10 videogame equivalents of hell someday!

JUNGLE LEVELS NEXT PLEASE!!

One of the best theories I've heard about Stallord is that it was a "trial by combat" form of execution as you put it. The added bit it is that they theorized Ganondorf was the one who actually killed it and that was why he was instead banished to the Twilight Realm.