True! But I think those are more on the metroidvania side of things, a genre that follows this pattern on a macro level. The shooters I'm thinking of had level-

True! But I think those are more on the metroidvania side of things, a genre that follows this pattern on a macro level. The shooters I'm thinking of had level-based, compact environments that nonetheless tangled up in interesting ways. There were also tons of secret areas and easter eggs to find. In other words, this: http://i.imgur.com/BITmX.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BITmX.jpg