The mines are Incredible.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

Zone of contamination's mines are so cool, I just need to ramble about it.

I loved blackrock's last prospect mine because it was something a bit more unique in comparison to most mines.
And now, i went into zone of contamination and entered the mines and oh my GOD.

The depth. The darkness. The danger. The SIZE.

I have no idea how much of this i have truly explored yet, but oh my goodness. The mines are so big and they have so many paths that you wonder if you're ever going to get back out of them, or if you're gonna get lost, run out of fuel and die a slow, painful death down there.
I was so scared in a way i've never been before while exploring what i have in these mines.

It feels like i'm the protagonist in one of those horrible stories where a caver gets stuck in a cave somewhere, alone, in the dark.

Well done Hinterland.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

I mean just look at this!

Spoiler

 

 

[MrWolf]

I agree.  Hinterland did a fantastic job on the mine and the new region in general.  Very well done.

[Dan_]

I just love the fact that it gets creepier and more dodgy looking the more you go down. 

Buried Echoes spoiler:

Spoiler

Specially when you get closer to the machine and you're running through gas into multiple slanted tunnels, having to make decisions on the fly. It's just an incredible piece of game design and a crazy trip. The contrast between the mines and the peaceful nature spots, like Monolith Lake or the Cabin at Drift Island speaks volumes about HL's prowess on level design. It's like a different game altogether. 

 

[BugReportEnthusiast]

21 minutes ago, Dan_ said:

I just love the fact that it gets creepier and more dodgy looking the more you go down. 

Buried Echoes spoiler:

  Hide contents

Specially when you get closer to the machine and you're running through gas into multiple slanted tunnels, having to make decisions on the fly. It's just an incredible piece of game design and a crazy trip. The contrast between the mines and the peaceful nature spots, like Monolith Lake or the Cabin at Drift Island speaks volumes about HL's prowess on level design. It's like a different game altogether. 

 

Yeah for real. Getting out of the mines after you've completed the tale and seeing the blue morning sky, the landscape and hearing that soft music after all you've seen in the mines is a very serene feeling.

[hozz1235]

 

[ajb1978]

I don't know if I had a role in this, but something I've been quite vocal about in the past is the idea of "The Underdark." Inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons environment, the idea was that it would be a region that is entirely underground, with remnants of industry plus a few mysterious objects left behind by anonymous researchers. Key features would be that it would act as kind of a warp zone, with underground exits allowing the explorer to traverse massive swaths of overland terrain in short order.

In my wish list suggestions this was always intended to span the entire island, but it does appear that the Zone of Contamination fits the bill in all other regards. It doesn't span the island, but the exits do span the region. And the majority of the exploration is underground, with no light.

I'm gonna go on with my life believing that this came about because of me. If I'm wrong, that's fine. I'm still carrying on with that belief.

[acada]

I think designers did incredible work. But I will not stay in ZoC and mines a minute longer then necessary. The region is well made, but I play TLD mainly for the calm beutiful, yet mighty and harsh nature. The tainted, scarved face which is in ZoC is not for my taste. I just feel uneasy there.