Bear Grylls is lost in the middle of the african savanna. How to guide oneself in such a harsh environment? To avoid walking around in circles one tip is to follow a landmark. It can be a solitary tree or a mountain, but go there in a straight line. Upon reaching the landmark figure out your next landmark to go to. In all episodes of this TV Show having a sense of direction and knowing where to go is one of the most fundamental skills required to survive.

Hangar. In Doom's first level the wide open area outside is a landmark. If you take a look at the level's map, every area was built around the open space. The same concept is reused in other doom levels. Note that the windows allow the player to see both ways, where they are going and where they came from.

Toxin Refinery. In the third level the toxic slime pit is both a landmark and an environmental hazard that gives the name to the level. The player is going to backtrack through this area after getting the keys to the locked door. This is repeated on many levels and is a trait left by John Romero. The player is invited to go back in already explored areas to discover new paths.

In map 29 of doom 2 the player goes down a lift and is immediately amazed by a mountain like structure in the middle of the damaging floor. There is no bridge to cross the lava. The player has to go around and traverse a long path till they reach a teleport that sends the player to that structure. The path is quite lengthy and it creates a sense of a journey, despite the limits of such an old game.

In Alan Wake the player gets out of a car that is about to fall down a chasm in the middle of a mountain ridge. Far away there is a filling station with lights on and the player has to go there. The game follows a theme of exploration and adventure, giving the players a view of their next destination from very far away. The player has to travel a long distance on foot to reach it. Every environment in Alan Wake was built around landmarks that are clearly visible from many km away. Those landmarks work as light houses to guide the player. From many different points the player can see their destination becoming closer and closer.

In Naar Shaada, Kyle Katarn is looking for a gangster. After fighting off some thugs in a bar, the bartender tells that the gangster is to be found on the upper levels, where the garbage collectors go. After the fight Kyle is at the edge of a chasm. Naar Shaada has tall buildings with many km of height and falling off is fatal. The player can easily spot a landmark in the middle of the chasm, a what seem to be a spaceship's cockpit. Looking up and the player can see a glass bridge and the flying garbage collectors. The player traverses many obstacles but the landmark and the clear design of this level making traversing it a challenging but not complicated task.

Kejim Outpost. The game's first level is a military base split into three sections. This area with walkways and a control panel in the middle act as a landmark and is revisited many times. This concept has already been used in Doom 1993. The player has to explore the base and in each segment there is a secret code that is required to open the last door. The level is very large and this landmark helps the player to not lose track of which areas have already been explored.

Image credits: keboooo

Act 1. The entrance to Tristam is a portal and the portal is marked by a monoliths made of stone. When the player ventures in the Cathedral to look for the Horadric Malus, the room that has it always has the same open furnace. In Diablo 2, all places, except for the starting camp, are random. Each map has five different layouts that are randomly chosen by the game. The landmarks are always the same, not in the same place, but it's always possible to recognize the environment by means of common architecture.