Back in the day, the shareware model was commonly used to showcase the games to the players, and possibly entice them to buy the full version. With that in mind, it's no wonder that he first episodes of Doom and Duke3D were so well made.

Also, game reviewers occasionally don't have enough time to play through the entire game (since they get a review copy very close to release) so it makes sense to put the best content at the beginning, as that ensures that they will see it.

And then you have Daikatana, a rather good game, which "cleverly" put the worst levels at the beginning! 😜

A couple examples of this from the Soulsborn games include:

Dark Souls - Apparently the developers ran out of budget/time, so the later levels of the game (Demon Ruins, Lost Izalith) were underwhelming and felt unfinished.

Elden Ring - Early regions in the game were massive compared to later areas. For example, Stormveil Castle is one of the first legacy dungeons the player encounters in the game and it's one of the most expansive and detailed in the entire game. Later areas also tended to feature a lot of re-used content (e.g Mountaintops of the Giants).

Hexen threw all the biomes at you at the first hub, gave you extremely mucky levels after, and then relaxed to just singular places until you get to the parts where they just make the maps out of one shape with a single enemy type and saved the most thoughtful puzzle for the penultimate level (which revisits the biomes)

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-05-13, 14:34:

Back in the day, the shareware model was commonly used to showcase the games to the players, and possibly entice them to buy the full version. With that in mind, it's no wonder that he first episodes of Doom and Duke3D were so well made.

Also, game reviewers occasionally don't have enough time to play through the entire game (since they get a review copy very close to release) so it makes sense to put the best content at the beginning, as that ensures that they will see it.

yes i think that's true, i also think devs may end up rushing the final maps on some games compared to the first few maps - depending on how they organised their map dev

dr_st wrote on 2025-05-13, 14:41:

And then you have Daikatana, a rather good game, which "cleverly" put the worst levels at the beginning! 😜

true 😀 ahead of its time, that game...!

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-05-13, 15:48:

A couple examples of this from the Soulsborn games include:

Dark Souls - Apparently the developers ran out of budget/time, so the later levels of the game (Demon Ruins, Lost Izalith) were underwhelming and felt unfinished.

Elden Ring - Early regions in the game were massive compared to later areas. For example, Stormveil Castle is one of the first legacy dungeons the player encounters in the game and it's one of the most expansive and detailed in the entire game. Later areas also tended to feature a lot of re-used content (e.g Mountaintops of the Giants).

Elden ring is a good example of making the best impressions up front perhaps, hexen may qualify for that too as leileilol notes

many games do seem somewhat like a funnel, starting wide with lots to explore and then becoming gradually "smaller" as the end game is reached

Some games like the old TMNT Dos couldn’t even be completed because a level mid game was broken/incomplete

rmay635703 wrote on 2025-05-13, 19:08:

Some games like the old TMNT Dos couldn’t even be completed because a level mid game was broken/incomplete

I had this problem with TMNT3 running in Nesticle. I think it was an emulator bug, though.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-05-13, 14:34:

Back in the day, the shareware model was commonly used to showcase the games to the players, and possibly entice them to buy the full version. With that in mind, it's no wonder that he first episodes of Doom and Duke3D were so well made.

This was my very first thought when I read the topic. Just about any shareware game suffered this by design.
But I also wonder how much of this is due to nostalgia. I had finished Shareware Doom 1 and 2 multiple times before getting the full version.
Some shareware games I didn't get the full version till I got into retro computing, so have no nostalgia attachment at all.

Kind of like Shareware is it because you start games multiple times but only finish every now and then. Like GTA series (Diablo is another I can think of) where you've probably played and unlocked the first island multiple times but the rest less so?

Looking down my list of games RTS's jumped out at not suffering from this. I think due to the way units aren't unlocked till later in the game, so it's the later levels you want to go play.

Racing games are also a bit like this. You want to be later in the game to have the cars unlocked and your choice of tracks with the better ones not always available from the start.

I remember ages ago, when 8 bits computers were the kings, that the earlier levels were the best ones in most games... because only hardcore gamers were able to see the later ones.

R-Type for the ZX Spectrum is a good example.

The desert part in GTA San Andreas that opens up last is the best.

San Fierro that opens up in the middle is second best.

The most annoying part is at the start with all the gang wars going on.

This is often the case - FarCry and Crysis come to mind but yes there are countless examples. It makes sense though I think, the developers would be running out of time and ideas in the later levels but they'd also know that 80% (or more?) of players wouldn't even play them.

Strife is another great example. The level design is great for the first half of the game and then the devs started padding the levels out with maze-like busywork, just to make the game longer I guess?

Creativity.
Most people start out with a really good idea, they run with it and enact it in the real world.
Then to make it commercial they have to add to it, but because its forced to meet an end it looks different.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-05-13, 14:34:

Back in the day, the shareware model was commonly used to showcase the games to the players, and possibly entice them to buy the full version. With that in mind, it's no wonder that he first episodes of Doom and Duke3D were so well made.

On top of that, I have a suspicion that with some of the lesser known episodic shareware games from the 90s, what became the shareware episode was originally the full game pitched by the developer to the publisher, and the publisher suggested to make more content that would be sold.

I'm almost completely sure that this was the case with Thor's Hammer, for example. The first episode is a complete adventure, with a hub system, character dialogue (however basic) and even some degree of non-linearity. The latter two episodes are just linear add-on levels with very little going on in terms of plot, just go from point A to point B and defeat the bad guy. I think there's even no new music and no new enemies introduced in the registered version, although I might be mistaken about that.

But that said, let's not forget the subjective psychological factors too, a game might seem more interesting on a fresh playthrough, with the novelty gradually wearing off as you progress through the levels. This could coincide with the developers' burnout as they approached the completion of the project, with later levels becoming possibly less inspired and more repetitive in design.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-05-15, 03:08:

But I also wonder how much of this is due to nostalgia. I had finished Shareware Doom 1 and 2 multiple times before getting the […]
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But I also wonder how much of this is due to nostalgia. I had finished Shareware Doom 1 and 2 multiple times before getting the full version.
Some shareware games I didn't get the full version till I got into retro computing, so have no nostalgia attachment at all.

Kind of like Shareware is it because you start games multiple times but only finish every now and then. Like GTA series (Diablo is another I can think of) where you've probably played and unlocked the first island multiple times but the rest less so?

Looking down my list of games RTS's jumped out at not suffering from this. I think due to the way units aren't unlocked till later in the game, so it's the later levels you want to go play.

Racing games are also a bit like this. You want to be later in the game to have the cars unlocked and your choice of tracks with the better ones not always available from the start.

that's true, i played shareware Duke3d lots of times before getting the whole game, so maybe i just grew to like that episode the most

interesting on RTS - i agree, but for racing i often prefer the modesty of the earlier cars while they are still closer to stock, maybe that's because getting up to 100mph seems cool, while easily getting to 200mph seems a bit 'unrealistic' (even though it isnt!)

Zup wrote on 2025-05-15, 04:45:

I remember ages ago, when 8 bits computers were the kings, that the earlier levels were the best ones in most games... because only hardcore gamers were able to see the later ones.

R-Type for the ZX Spectrum is a good example.

I hadn't thought of those 80's home computer games but that's a good addition - and the reasoning too, many of those later levels would never be seen! In fact i occasionally watch long plays of such games just to see what did happen later on 😀( I guess this could be true of arcade games too

st31276a wrote on 2025-05-15, 11:23:

The desert part in GTA San Andreas that opens up last is the best.

San Fierro that opens up in the middle is second best.

The most annoying part is at the start with all the gang wars going on.

i admit i liked the first map in the same way and for the same reasons i like portland, it represented the "grittier" poorer part of the map and seemed in keeping with the humble origins of the protagonists

but really the differences are margins - i like all the maps with only small preferences

i agree with the other comments about creativity and pressure to deliver on time in the game dev world, but open world locations seem more even in overall quality - thinking of fallout3 and nv too

Most late 80s and 90s DOS shareware games usually put the best levels in the first episode. They usually just dangle few new monsters or weapons to your face.

st31276a wrote on 2025-05-15, 11:23:

The desert part in GTA San Andreas that opens up last is the best.

San Fierro that opens up in the middle is second best.

The most annoying part is at the start with all the gang wars going on.

I think you're onto something here. The GTA Trilogy (III,VC,SA) follows a principle of opening up the game world for you gradually. The more of it is open, the more freedom you have, which comes with access to nicer vehicles, missions, items. So generally, later sections of the game are more enjoyable.

I think this would apply on some level to any open world game with RPG-style elements - as your character gets ramped up, the game becomes both easier and richer (since the game can throw more at you).