This post listed 10 strange levels and locations used in computer games. The entries were a mix of unexpectedly strange levels and locations found in grounded games and extreme ideas used in bizarre games. The list only included levels from computer games I have personally played and thought were weird. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.

10. Marble Garden from Sonic the Hedgehog 3

It was difficult to decide which level from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 belonged on this list, Marble Garden or Hydrocity. According to the story for the game, Sonic was exploring the Floating Island, which had fallen from the sky and into the sea, and had reached Hydrocity. Hydrocity was built with colourful stones and was filled with water. The background for the level was strange as it seemed to resemble a purple cathedral, although it was not clear what it was actually supposed to be. The level ended with Sonic being carried upwards on a large jet of water to reach the next zone, Marble Garden.

Marble Garden started with Sonic falling from the sky, presumably after the jet of water had dissipated. The level design consisted of stone ruins covered in grass, with broken pillars and destroyed rooms adding to the sense of destruction. The background consisted of a dense, green forest, with more stone structures visible, and distant purple mountains. Weird objects were present throughout the level. A large number of strange large, orange pots, that contained plants, were present, along with narrow, red pillars that led below ground. The player was able to spin small, blue wheels, which caused parts of the ground to move, and use blue platforms, which had rotating drills placed on the underside, to fly through the air. Sonic could also run around large, circular pillars to reach lower levels.

The weirdest aspect of Marble Garden concerned it’s theme. The levels that featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 presented with clear themes, one level was based around exploring a water-logged environment, another was filled with snow and ice, etc. Marble Garden, however, seemed to use an abstract theme of ground and sky. There appeared to be 2 distinct paths to follow through the level, one that led upwards and another that led along the ground. If the player followed the upward path, they navigated between floating platforms and spent a lot of time flying through the sky. If the player stayed on the ground, they encountered Dr. Robotnik, who used a drilling machine to cause the ground to shift and force the player to race through the level to avoid being crushed.

The level’s boss was strange, but innovative. At the end of the level, Dr. Robotnik fell from the sky in his drilling machine and hit the ground, which caused the ground to seemingly melt. Tails appeared, using his two tails as a propeller to fly through the air, with Sonic holding onto his hands. Dr. Robotnik then flew across the sky and the player had to jump from Tails and hit the villain. Each time Sonic struck his enemy, he fell downwards and Tails rushed to reach him, before the two heroes reappeared. It was not actually clear what happened after Sonic fell to an area not shown on screen, as the ground was clearly shown to have been destroyed. Weirdly, after the boss was defeated, time passed so rapidly that the day changed to night within seconds, so that the player started the next level (Carnival Night Zone) during darkness.

9. Eye Snake from Bomberman Hero

The Bomberman Hero game contained a large number of odd levels, such as a valley populated by vicious clowns and a dark wood that contained both benevolent and malicious tornadoes, however, the weirdest level in the game was Eye Snake.

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