Top 10 Most Bizarre Video Game Levels
One of the most integral parts of any video game is the levels, and while some are your standard attack every enemy on screen and move on, or jump from platform to platform, some games don't like playing by the books. It's one thing if an entire game has messed up levels, but sometimes among a sea of normal levels, there's one that makes you constantly ask yourself "What am I playing!?"That's what this list covers. Although, I'd encourage you to not include levels from games that are messed up to begin with (Unless they really stand out) or fan-made levels.
No contest whatsoever in my book. Apocalypse is the weirdest level in video game history. While Hotline Miami 2 might have been quite the bizarre experience, keeping in touch with the first game, this level raises the bar so high it reaches beyond the exosphere.
In this level, you play as The Son, who is already mentally unstable and consumes an absurd amount of pills. What follows is the video game definition of a drug trip, beyond what LSD: Dream Emulator can do. First of all, you go through this level with a screen manipulation effect or a slowdown effect, with your keys even being inverted in hard mode, as you progress through the level killing hallucinated demon mobsters and three-headed guard dogs.
And then the beasts arrive: the Bear, Zebra, Tiger, and Swans all make an appearance in this level, and they fall victim to the bizarre drug trip as well. From the Tiger exploding in a sea of light to the Swans being morphed together into a gigantic, angelic beast, this level knows how to dumbfound the player. The level even ends with The Son crossing a rainbow bridge to Valhalla. Even small details like the gore being ramped up far beyond what Hotline Miami has ever crossed into, and even the level select getting morphed (the top of the screen says "Don't do it!" and the normal Y/N for the skip intro says PLEASE/STOP), cement this level as the most bizarre level video games have ever seen.
I won't even get into the story details, mostly because Hotline Miami's plot is something that needs to be experienced blind. Either way, I needed to get a grip after playing through this.
Blizzard lied to you. There is a secret cow level. And then you put two and two together and realize that there's an army of cows that attack you in a Diablo game. To be fair, this isn't exactly something you'd find by accident. You need to complete the entirety of Diablo II, which varies depending on whether you have the expansion or not, on a difficulty level before going back to Act I, where you combine Wirt's Leg and a Tome of Town Portal to create an entrance to this secret area.
Once you've done all that, you're greeted with demonic cows. What did you expect? No matter the expectations, we can say for certain that this is quite the out-of-place level for the Diablo series, which relies on many dark fantasy elements.
There are plenty of games I expect to get trippy from time to time, the Devil May Cry series is not one of them. But then the level Bad News came along, and it proved that anything can become a trippy drug-fest if it wants to. This level revolves around the Raptor News Network controlled by Bob Barbas, who just so happens to be a demon.
When Dante (yes, I'm calling him Dante and not Donte, believe it or not) goes to kill Barbas to lessen Mundus' control over demons, we get a fight with him. Bob Barbas is supposedly a reality warper, and I can see why he would be one, as he fires holograms of the Raptor News Network animations, among other attacks, to stop Dante. He even plays videos of himself reporting Dante murdering innocent civilians when, really, it's one of his minions. I don't blame you if you find that difficult to wrap your head around.
And no, I'm not gonna make a joke about whichever news station you hate. I'll leave that to the YouTube comments section.
Mario games usually don't step down to the level of baffling those who play them. Rather, they become so basic it makes us think they will never step over the boundaries. To the point where I have to go all the way back to the intended sequel of the first Super Mario Bros. game to find a level that makes absolutely no logical sense. Better yet, a level I doubt was even supposed to exist. Introducing level 9-3, the most bizarre of the World 9 levels found in this game.
I could just end it on the fact that this is a level that isn't very difficult for the Japanese Mario 2, but I could go a few better. It's a basic backdrop with the Castle theme playing and absolutely no obstacles outside of Bowser, who clips through bricks in this level. There's a bonus stage packed with more clouds than usual. And lastly, there's no axe in this level. You just cross a bridge and go to the flagpole, running from Bowser rather than beating him.
Sounds tame, but as I said before, Mario isn't known for baffling levels. And then this happens, and we all feel lied to. Which us Americans essentially were, but now I'm getting ahead of myself.
If you've read a few of my remixes, you likely know by now that I find Postal 2 to have the most bizarre plot in video game history. With a claim like that, you'd think nothing could catch me off guard with its DLC, which I wasn't. At least until I needed to collect money for charity, that is. That's when you're greeted with the Winter Wonderland, where what was once a police station has been turned into a Christmas playground of all things.
And in order to raise money for charity, you need to solicit who else but Zack Ward, the child star who played the bully from A Christmas Story. You also have an optional boss fight with him - I'm actually speaking the truth here. The funny thing is, Zack Ward actually played one of the characters in the Postal movie adaptation directed by Uwe Boll. I don't know if that makes this more bizarre or helps make more sense of it, but it at least puts this into context.
Self-awareness is absolutely everywhere in Kid Icarus Uprising, and that's one of its main charms. So, while the Chaos Vortex shouldn't be as surprising as it is, I can't help but admit it caught me completely off-guard. The color scheme is completely inverted, and the enemies are aware of the camera's existence and take advantage of it. This is another level of self-awareness that goes beyond just making references to Nintendogs.
There's not much to say about this entry. It's pretty self-explanatory. You're traveling through a mountain made entirely out of scat. Meanwhile, you're going to face off against one of the most bizarre yet memorable enemies of the N64 era, the Great Mighty Poo. I'd rather not state the obvious, so I'll end it there.
Question: What kind of world do you think would exist inside a terrifying moon with a terrifying grin and eyes that pierce through your soul? Why, that's easy, a peaceful meadow with a bunch of kids playing by a singular tree! Wait, what?
Yeah, once you're sucked into the moon, this is your first sight. This would be an instance where things are simply too normal, a vibe that I usually don't get. But don't worry, for those who like to be unsettled with imagery rather than concepts, we do have the Majora fight to scar your eyes and ears.
Realm of the Mad God seems to have elements of everything, and bizarre levels count towards that. The Candyland Hunting Grounds is easily the most bizarre out of the selection we have, which, to be fair, isn't that much. That's not to say the Candyland Hunting Grounds leaves me as anything else but dumbfounded, though.
Obviously, this level is far more cutesy than anything this game has shown you up to this point, with unicorns and fairies being the polar opposite of the havoc-wreaking gods we've been fighting before. But what's more peculiar is that this dungeon has no end. You can only leave by going back to the Nexus or the Portal of Cowardice, as an endless supply of cutesy enemies will flood the screen.
Let's face it, when a world has the word distortion in its name, you know it's not gonna be a world we're all used to. The lore surrounding the Distortion World is that it's essentially the pocket dimension for the legendary Giratina, who was banished to this world because of his violence. Which I'd say is a fate worse than death, considering the player needs the help of Sinnoh's Legendary Trio just to navigate the place! That's all that needs to be said, really. The lore reflects the game quite well, as I can't help but get lost all the time.
The Newcomers
Gravity and reality take a break in this level.
Do I really need to explain this one?