FPS with mazelike/quality leveldesign

[Doktor Best]

The release of the new Doom and the discussion revolving around it has sent me on a classic Doom playing spree, and now i have decided to upgrade my collection and knowledge about fps with actual good oldschool leveldesign.

No tubelevels, no spoonfeeding of weapons and ammo. I want mazes that make me go lost, i want coloured keycards, i want secrets where i find weapons i would otherwise find only several levels later, i want backtracking, i want scarcity of ammo and healthpacks that make me worry about in which direction i should go next, i want complexity.

So ofcourse i know about the old beauties. Duke3d, Doom1/2 with like a billion quality wads, Shadow Warrior, Blood1/2, Heretic, Hexen, Quake1/2 etc. But what about lesser known gems i might have missed? Or better yet, what about modern niche titles that inhabit atleast some portions of those gameplay elements?

I heard Hard Reset and Singularity were kinda okayish too, never played them though. Other games like Bioshock1/2 were a step into the right direction if you played it the right way (turned off rezzchambers and quest markers), but they were still too straightforward in leveldesign and they had problems in other areas (bulletsponge shooting). While Bioshock was a terrible successor to System Shock, it was actually a pretty okayish shooter.

I also loved Half Life 1 back then to bits because it offered something new and the leveldesign ,while quite linear, was still great and the game overall was a masterpiece. Though ill freely admit that it was the one game that paved the way to modern decline shitgames.

So what are your highlights of the golden shooter area? And what modern shooters are in your opinion playable and provide gameplay revolving around actual exploration?

 

[Dayyālu]

Marathon.

If you want what was before (but it's not quite a shooter.... Pathway Into Darkness).

Edit: The Alien levels of AvP 1999 could also enter in your definition. Not all of them are of high quality, though, and it's always a "cinematic" shooter.

 

[Doktor Best]

Marathon.

If you want what was before (but it's not quite a shooter.... Pathway Into Darkness).

Edit: The Alien levels of AvP 1999 could also enter in your definition. Not all of them are of high quality, though, and it's always a "cinematic" shooter.

Marathon is new to me actually, will try that out.

I remember playing AVP as a kid when it was released. It was shortly after ive watched the first alien movie and i was in both parts scared shitless by the marine campaign and impressed by how well the game captured the feeling of the movie. Maybe ill give it a spin in near future.

 

[skacky]

Hard Reset is very much arena-centric and Singularity is pretty linear (and very average).

 

[Riskbreaker]

Outlaws features some intricately designed maps, as does Redneck Rampage Rides Again (you may freely ignore the first RR game, core gameplay is the same in Rides Again but level design is much better, and maps are much more interesting from visual and thematic standpoint).
Dark Forces is well worth checking out too. Jedi Knight and Jedi Outcast also have some excellent, huge, exploration-heavy maps with lots of verticality.
I remember some later maps from Alien Trilogy being genuinely mazey, but I haven't replayed that one properly in ages and it seems like lots of folks have less than stellar opinion of that game.
Portion of TRON 2.0s levels might also be to your liking, game also features a fair share of pretty straightforward maps tho.

 

[skacky]

Kingpin is also not too shabby. It even has a shopkeeper.

 

[sser]

Corridor 7.

Actually one of the first games I ever played. I think in retrospect it was just a middling Doom/Wolfenstein rip-off, but perhaps worth a look if you've exhausted everything else.

 

[Darth Roxor]

When it comes to "modern" titles, you can pretty much forget about them altogether, just about the last FPS that had anything close to ye olde shooter levels was STALKER: Call of Pripyat (it's also an excellent gaem in itself and you should get it). Even some of the best non-arena-kind shooters of the last 10 years like FEAR or Negrovision were on the whole pretty railroady. Singularity, for instance, is a near total railroad. You'd be much better off playing its cousin Wolfenstein (the one from 2009, also made by Raven) because it's a better game all around, and also has some interesting levels here and there.

Also forget Hard Reset, it's garbage.

TRON 2.0 was already mentioned and when it comes to overlooked shit, this is one that you need to check out ASAP, because TRON 2.0 is super super cool.

Another oldie that you might consider is Realms of the Haunting. It's not quite Hexen, but the game is also pretty much one huge maze made of smaller interconnected mazes.

Also - BLAKE STONE! It's a shooter by Apogee running on the Wolf3D engine. In my experience, barely anyone has even heard about that one, while the game is pretty excellent.

 

[markec]

 

[Riskbreaker]

Turok 1&2 are also very much worth playing, and they definitely fit OP's requirements. 'Tis worth mentioning that Turok 1 received a pretty solid (if overpriced) re-release made by same guys that worked on that Strife remaster from few years ago, and that Turok 2 is going to receive same treatment at some point in the future.

 

[Leechmonger]

Hard Reset is shit, don't bother.

You wanna get lost in a map? Try Descent:

Descent 2 is even better. I'll make a thread about these two at some point.

 

[Doktor Best]

Decent suggestions, problem is i played almost all of them already, except TRON 2.0, Blake Stone, Exhumed and Rogue.

I think with Realms of the Haunting i have refound a game i played at some buddies homepc when i was really young, and what i remember of it was that it was pretty awesome atmosphere wise. Will buy and play it.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

Have you tried Hexen 2? It's pretty good.

 

[tormund]

Exhumed (PC) is p sweet indeed. I haven't played the console version, but that one supposedly features hub based design and fully 3D environments? Some people prefer console version, so you might want to check both of them.

I take it you haven't mentioned Unreal because it is well known?

Rise of the Triad (original, not the cheap reboot) had maps that were literal mazes. Underrated game IMO, and worth playing if you can stomach the basic geometry which is basically Wolf 3D +.

Other than that, some people really like Sin. I never played much of that one, but its opening map was definitely like a Build Engine game map transported into fully 3D engine.


As for modern games, I'm afraid I can't think of a single one. This was already mentioned a lot around this board, but recent gamse that boasted about "OLD SCHOOL FPS DESIGN" tend to be either arena based (Hard Reset, Shadow Warrior reboot) or procedurally generated (that upcoming Strafe game)... There doesn't seem to be much love for complex hand crafted maps outside of modding communities for classic games.

 

[adrix89]

Descent.

 

[grudgebringer]

If you want quality out of level design go for Redneck Rampage, no doubts. I recently replayed first two episodes and was amazed of how well it was done back then. Gunfight is some of the weakest among other games on Build engine, but level design and texture work is where it shines and goes much beyond Duke 3D or even Blood. I'd recommend the first original episode which in my view is the most consistent one.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Marathon.

If you want what was before (but it's not quite a shooter.... Pathway Into Darkness).

Edit: The Alien levels of AvP 1999 could also enter in your definition. Not all of them are of high quality, though, and it's always a "cinematic" shooter.

Marathon is new to me actually, will try that out.

I remember playing AVP as a kid when it was released. It was shortly after ive watched the first alien movie and i was in both parts scared shitless by the marine campaign and impressed by how well the game captured the feeling of the movie. Maybe ill give it a spin in near future.

AvP didn't have complex maps. This was by design because those missions were meant to be finished in one go without saves and the gameplay is hard as shit. Great game, but hardly what the OP was asking for, even though in principle a lot of them weren't just linear corridors.

 

[Dayyālu]

AvP didn't have complex maps. This was by design because those missions were meant to be finished in one go without saves and the gameplay is hard as shit. Great game, but hardly what the OP was asking for, even though in principle a lot of them weren't just linear corridors.

The Marine Maps and the Predator Maps are quite tube-like, with rarely an arena to spice things up. I singled out the Alien maps, because if played on the Alien Campaign or played with other species (I mean, when they are forced to give you a jetpack to navigate) after unlocking them in AvP Gold, they are a nice example of unconventional map design, and some of them quite complex to end up.

The gameplay is hard as heck, resources are incredibly limited (particularly in the Marine extra levels). Of course, as I said, it's mostly a cinematic shooter, focused on giving you good gameplay in movie-inspired setpieces.

Good for what it is. Marathon is a better pick for what the OP was asking, though.

You'd be much better off playing its cousin Wolfenstein (the one from 2009, also made by Raven) because it's a better game all around, and also has some interesting levels here and there.

This, if I can dare a question: it's Wolf 2009 worth the time to download it? Reviews from professionals and non-professionals are mixed, and Raven has a peculiar pedigree (Quake IV).

 

[Darth Roxor]

When it comes to late Raven (i.e. post-Jedi Academy), I'd say Wolf '09 is their most solid game. You just have to clench your teeth and force yourself through the superbad starting levels, but then it gets really cool.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Have you tried Hexen 2? It's pretty good.

This one is the most obvious choice + Portal of Praevus
Doom 64
Gloom Deluxe
Space Hulk: Vengeance of Blood Angels

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

FPS only? You're missing out on King's Field series. These games are sweet as fuck.

From my memory:
Hybrid (aka Virtuoso/Psalm 69) -- a fine attempt to rip off Doom on PS1.
Chasm: The Rift -- some of the levels are bretty good.
ZPC
Cybermage
Corporation
Hades 2
Tetsujin series (3DO/PC)

 

[tormund]

Terminator Future Shock/Skynet is must play material, I forgot to mention them in my previous comment. When they are at their best, you are thrown into large and open environments with tons of optional exploration, with buildings you can enter with sometimes layered interiors even in optional ones...

 

[DraQ]

Maze-like != good.
It's easy to design levels you can get lost in - just make them mazes of corridors all alike.
It's much more difficult to design complex and expansive levels that are unique and full of unique landmarks, yet that you can easily lose your way in, which I suppose are what you're really after.

Anyway:

Hexen 2 - mixed with a bit of adventure.
Strife - proto-Deus Ex using Doom engine.
Unreal - obviously, both vanilla and many custom made SP campaigns for it and UT.
Deus Ex - obviously.

If you're willing to expand to non-FPS shootans Take No Prisoners might also scratch your itch.

From modern ones:
STALKER SoC and CoP are not quite what you say but they have a lot of good level design and exploration.
Possibly Dishonored if you disable ez-mode hud helpers, to a lesser degree DX:HR (under same conditions).

Other than that, some people really like Sin.

I'm not sure Sin qualifies, but it's quite an excellent and ambitious shooter, even though an ugly one.

 

[shihonage]

Quake 4 is probably still the best-looking FPS that feels sufficiently old-school.

 

[DraQ]

Fuck Quake > 1.