Having a safe place to return to in a video game after a difficult quest or harrowing story beat is more than a welcome reprieve – it’s a necessity. But what if your hub world isn’t actually a needed respite, but a confusing mess? Or – worse – makes the whole experience even more stressful?
Here are the scariest, most dangerous, or unsettlingly insidious hub worlds that I’d not want to live in, from “best” to the absolute worst.
And when you’re done, feel free to read my blog on Video Game Hub Worlds I Would Want To Live In to cleanse your palate!
6: Blackwell Academy – Life Is Strange
Like any budding photographer, Max Cauldwell is so excited to be attending Blackwell Academy. As a private institution, it’s one of the most prestigious schools for science and the arts in the country – and she’ll be learning under the renowned, talented, and hot Mark Jefferson? Of course Max’s pulse sped up when she learnt she’d been accepted.
The thing that gets me about Blackwell Academy is how insidious it is. Behind its shiny reputation as a top-tier private art school, it’s a deeply corrupt and dangerous place. When you first arrive, it seems just as you’d imagine: separate girl and boy dorms, cute squirrels running around in the lush grounds, and every kind of student you can think of, from the quiet weirdos to the snarky bullies.
But in the background, there’s just too many things going wrong for the average high school. Rachel Amber, a popular student, is missing. Nathan Prescott, is violent and unstable, but because he’s a trust fund baby, his acts – like bringing a gun to school and trying to shoot someone in a bathroom – are covered up. Bullying is rampant, leading to a truly traumatic sequence where Max has to try to talk a suicidal student down from the roof of the school – and her powers can’t always save her.
That’s not even the worst part, but I’ll spare you the spoilers.
It’s like the prestigious reputation and pretty exterior of the school is just that – a sickly shiny mask that doesn’t need much digging to remove, but somehow, no-one sees it until it’s too late. Not to mention the freak weather events that eventually cause the catastrophic destruction of Arcadia Bay are tied to the temporal anomalies surrounding the school.
So, yeah. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick to Hogwarts Legacy, Persona, or even Bullworth Academy. They all seem far better places to get an education, even if the latter means you’ll probably be black and blue half the time.
#5: Saffron City – Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen
I may be using the term “hub world” in its loosest form here, but as a city directly at the centre of Kanto, I believe Saffron City is absolutely a hub in its own right.
Let’s start with the positives. Saffron links to four other major Kanto towns: whether you want to go shopping in Celadon, sailing from Vermillion, picking up Pokémon from the day care near Cerulean, or say goodbye to your beloved partner in Lavender, Saffron makes a day trip easy –
Wait. The guards won’t let you through unless you give them something to drink? What kind of weird power trip is this? Am I not free in my own home region? Is this something they do regularly? Who regulates this madness?
Okay, close proximity to other towns isn’t really a positive, if it can be taken away on a whim. How about the gyms? Not only do you have a dojo, where the leader will give you a rare fighting Pokémon if you defeat him, but you also have Sabrina. She’s clearly a fantastic trainer, with cool, powerful Pokémon, one of the best in the region—
What? Sabrina’s the devil? What do you mean she shrunk some children and trapped them in her living doll house because they couldn’t defeat her? Trauma is no excuse – that’s prison time, right there.
Even if you want to visit Saffron City to visit Silph Co. to check out some new technology…you shouldn’t. For most of the game, Saffron is overrun by the terrorist organisation, Team Rocket, blocking your entrance to most of the buildings and taking over Silph Co.’s skyscraper as their base of operations. Here they trap the employees inside the building and hold the company president hostage so that they’ll create a Master Ball for them. And, look, they may not have created the warp panels within the building, but my god, is that maze evil. I’m sure many players remember being stuck in Silph Co. for hours and hours.
Even without all of this, it’s a loud concrete jungle dominated by corporate offices instead of open nature. Celadon, the region’s comparable town, is at least fun, with the Game Corner and Department Store. It’s got a whimsical feel, with the flowers all around and the little patch of water in the middle of town. But with Saffron…there’s just not much to like.
You know what you should do? Hop on the Magnet Train and visit Johto instead.
#4: Hyrule – The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
For many gamers, Hyrule is the ultimate cosy fantasy world to call home. It has rolling green fields, peaceful forests, a grand castle, a picturesque village, and plenty of open space. If you only judged it by appearances, you might assume it was a quiet, idyllic kingdom.
But I think they forget how overrun with mobs it tends to be.
Travelling between towns means wondering through areas filled with Octoroks, Moblins, Zoras, and other creatures who would rather attack first and absolutely not ask questions later. A simple trip to the shop could turn into a life-threatening journey.
Why did I pick A Link To The Past’s Hyrule, you ask? Most versions of Hyrule are filled with enemies, after all. Well, part of the issue is that the land has been taken over by the evil wizard Agahnim, the king is dead, and Princess Zelda is being held captive in the castle. Agahnim has cast a dark spell over the royal guards and soldiers, meaning it’s not just the creatures that have it out for you: the once-friendly protectors are now hostile enemies that attack Link on sight.
Honestly, that’s fine; they’re just harder enemies. The real kicker is how insidious this version of Hyrule is. It has a dark side – literally. Thanks to Ganon’s wish, the Hyrule as Link knows it becomes the Dark World, a nightmare realm filled with more dangerous enemies like bomb-throwing Hinox and fast-moving Snap Dragons. Mobs deal significantly more damage here, and even the landscape is deceptive and threatening, with trees coming to life to attack you.
It really is a nightmare world. When you first arrive, you are turned into a helpless pink bunny, which means you can’t use your sword, interact with objects, or defend yourself in any way. The navigation is far more complex, potentially soft-locking you unless you actively manipulate the environment. For example, in the Swamp Palace, you have to constantly use the Magic Mirror to warp back to the Light World and alter the layout before you can proceed.
Perhaps it’s best to just admire the Light World of Hyrule from a distance, and leave the saving to the Hero of Time himself.
#3: Los Santos – Grand Theft Auto V
Sunny beaches. Luxury shopping. Nightclubs, golf courses, skyscrapers, homes overlooking the ocean. Why wouldn’t you want to live in Los Santos?
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the city has a slightly higher crime rate than you might hope for.
It’s dominated by gangs, organised crime, corrupt officials, armed robberies, and random acts of violence – and only some are committed by you. You could be caught in the crossfires of a shootout or witness someone stealing a car in broad daylight. Even if you obey the rules of the road, being in Los Santos is like living in a parallel world where it’s everyone’s first day with their driving licence, and they don’t care if they die.
Sure, you’re the ones running red lights and crashing into cars, but everyone makes mistakes! Why should that mean the police should shoot to kill? The police response aggressively to minor offences: if you accidentally scratch someone’s car, you may find yourself as part of a high-speed chase within seconds. The city’s wealthy residents, criminals, and powerful organisations, on the other hand, seem to operate above the law. If someone starts a massive gunfight, Los Santos seems to accept it as part of the local atmosphere.
As a hub world, Los Santos is particularly dangerous because it connects so many different types of trouble. You can travel from the city centre to gang territory, military airspace, remote forests, dangerous mountains, or Trevor’s desert hideaway without ever being far from chaos. There is always another mission, side activity, or stranger waiting to drag you into something illegal or otherwise unsafe.
Then there are the protagonists themselves. Michael is surrounded by family problems and criminal contacts, Franklin is trying to escape gang life, and Trevor is, well, Trevor. If these are the people shaping the city’s future, Los Santos may need more than a new mayor.
Let’s be honest: none of us would survive one afternoon in Los Santos. Just get out of there ASAP and start a new life somewhere safer. Like Silent Hill or Raccoon City.
#2: Clock Town – The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Stepping into Clock Town feels safe, at first. It has shops, a bank, an inn, a shooting gallery, and plenty of residents to talk to. Whether you’re chatting to the mailman on his route, the builders constructing the festival tower, or the Rosa sisters practicing their dance routine, it really feels like you’ve stepped into a thriving little community where everyone lives together in a complicated ecosystem.
Maybe it’s this strong contrast with the HORRIFYING MOON GETTING EVER CLOSER that makes Clock Town such a bad hub world to live in.
It’s kind of like a waiting room for the apocalypse. The moon is visibly getting closer every day, complete with a horribly creepy face that strikes fear into my heart whenever I look up. In just three days, it’ll crash into Termina and destroy our hub, Clock Town, along with everyone in it. The residents are aware that something’s wrong, but with mixed reactions: some are preparing to evacuate, but others are simply carrying on with their routines, refusing to make any kind of plans. It’s both unsettling and deeply, poignantly human.
But it’s not just the moon that make this hub world absolutely awful. Clearly, the inhabitants of the town aren’t very happy:
• Anju and Kafei’s wedding plans are disrupted by theft, secrecy, and one of them being turned into a child (!)
• Romani is forced to drug her sister so that she sleeps through the final night, unaware of the catastrophe around them
• The old woman from the bomb shop is robbed on the first night
• Pamela’s father is transformed into a Gibdo and hidden in a music-box house
And there’s plenty more. The horror never ends, moon or no moon.
Not to mention the Groundhog Day of it all – being forced to relive the same disasters, the same horrors, day after day. The only good thing about it is it gives you hope that you’ll save these people, if given enough time. It’s heartwarming to help these people, both in surviving the apocalypse and solving their own individual, smaller problems. But the constant threats, and the lack of time security that a home truly needs, make this hub world a particularly stressful – and terrifying – place to live.
1: The Haruspex’s Lair – Pathologic 2
Sometimes, a hub world is more than just a building or town you return to between adventures. Its atmosphere can be just as important, particularly when it does little to offer relief from the horrors beyond. Instead of providing a safe haven, it becomes another oppressive source of stress, unease, and fear.
This is exactly how I feel about the Haruspex’s Lair in Pathologic 2 – and why it’s number 1 on this list. It’s Artemy Burakh’s makeshift home, his base of operations where he can (stressfully) process organs and brew tinctures, (hurriedly) repair equipment and upgrade his inventory, (hectically) store items in a panicked game of Tetris, and (begrudgingly) sleep.
But even sleeping is traumatic. Time is always an issue in this game, so getting in your eight hours of rest is a no-go if you want to try to get everywhere and save everyone. Even in your alleged sanctuary, you’re always thinking about the clock, and doing everything as fast as possible.
While the Lair is safe from the Sand Plague, it’s not secure. Sure, Sticky becomes your protégé, helping with your late father’s work, but he still manages to break in and squat there with no issue. Murky, a little orphan girl, manages it too. While these children aren’t unwelcome visitors, you’re also visited by one of the creepy beaked Executors – someone you definitely don’t want to find looming over your body while you get your two hours of restorative sleep. The Haruspex’s lair isn’t safe, but is still the safest haven you have in this horrific world.
Because that’s the main reason this hub world is awful. You know that you only have a few minutes at a time inside of this dingy, oppressive, depressing place before you have to go back outside. And whatever you do in here is unlikely to help.
The Lair is located in the middle of a public health catastrophe. The Sand Pest is spreading through the Town on the Gorkhon, infecting districts, contaminating water supplies, and killing people within a day. Additionally, Artemy is accused of murdering his father almost as soon as he returns to town, and hostile locals are perfectly willing to attack him in the street. Outside, there are thieves, looters, infected citizens, and increasingly desperate people. There’s the Kin, the Herb Brides and Odongh, fantasy creatures that both doubt your outsider ability to follow in your father’s medicinal footsteps and hinge upon the hope that you will save them from the modern world. Inside, there is exhaustion, hunger, sickness, and the constant pressure of knowing that someone you care about may die before morning.
Every route eventually leads back to the Lair, usually when Artemy is starving, infected, exhausted, or carrying something he would rather not think too closely about. It’s a grim place of hopelessness in a sea of despair; a home, a hospital, a workshop, and a refuge, but never a peaceful one. If you lived there, you would be surrounded by plague, death, strange dreams, and the sound of Artemy frantically trying to turn bits of the human body into medicine.
Sure, you appreciate that you’ve made it back to the Lair alive. But in just a couple hours, you have to venture out into the town and dodge plague clouds and angry bandits all over again.
Honourable Mentions
What about those that nearly made it to the list?
I hate Lumiose City in Pokémon X & Y. It was remarkable for the time – the 3D graphics of the DS era were new, and it allowed the city to feel huge and lived in – but I always get lost there. It’s so difficult to navigate, and it ends up being more frustrating than impressive.
Haven City in Jak 2 is a confusing mess. Once you’ve opened up the whole map, there’s often just one or two routes in and out of each segment. The lack of interlinking means that you’d often have to run through the city over and over again just to find the spot you want. The player’s journey really needed to be ironed out for it to be a good hub world.
Finally, Horizon Forbidden West’s base is annoying enough to be a bad hub world, but not bad enough to make it onto this list. Its circular layout and samey, metallic grey design meant that I could never find the room I needed.
What about you? Let us know your least favourite video game hub worlds via our Zatu socials!
