Greatest opening levels (and why)

[curl-6]

firebush03 said:

(If the opening area of BotW counts as an “opening level,” then that def wins IMO. .

PAOerfulone said:

Breath of the Wild - Great Plateau

Yeah this is one of mine too, just masterful in the way it teaches the player about the game's mechanics through level design.

1-1 in Super Mario Bros does the same thing, serving as an intuitive tutorial where you learn by playing.

Metroid Prime's opening with the frigate Orpheon is also masterful in its ominous tone and commitment to immersion, and I'd also give a nod to RE4's village fight and Bayonetta 2's city sequence for starting their games off with an epic bang that only gets better.