Hub areas in video games are more than just a place to sort your gear or enter a new level. They can be a place to rest after a long and arduous mission and a good opportunity to interact with friendly NPCs. They can become so familiar and comfortable that you'll never want to leave!
Hub worlds have evolved over the years, starting as a clever way to transport you into game spaces for levels and missions, to a place where you feel safe and at home. They are a quintessential part of gaming, and have naturally stood the test of time. Here are some of the best and most memorable hub areas in games.
10 Hollow Knight - Dirtmouth
Dirtmouth is Hollow Knight’s first town, and provides some much-needed respite from the rest of the punishing areas down below. At first, it’s a bit of a lonely place, but as you explore the ruins of Hallownest you’ll meet a variety of characters you can save and bring back to town.
You can buy some essential items from shops, such as tools, missed maps and helpful pins to aid with navigation. The very handy Stag Station also allows you to fast travel to any previously explored area of the game, making Dirtmouth the perfect pit stop after an intense bout of exploration in the depths below.
9 Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Garreg Mach Monastery
The Garreg Mach Monastery is just as essential to Fire Emblem: Three Houses as the game’s complex and rewarding tactical battle system. Sort of like an anime Hogwarts, the monastery is more than just a place to rest your hat before the next battle.
After each major chapter battle, you are free to explore the school and all of its winding paths, engage in a variety of minigames, and socialise with the school’s inhabitants along the way. The relationships you build with your students directly affect how they will perform on the battlefield. As a professor, you can improve their attributes by giving lectures tailored to their needs. You can increase your standing with them by giving gifts and arranging some quality one-on-one time to learn more about their past, adding a deeper dimension to the hub experience.
8 Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - Time Twister Machine
Warped’s Time Twister Machine is sure to satisfy the nostalgic itch of any late 90s kids out there. The hub connects you to five distinctly different warp areas, each featuring up to ten historically themed settings with 30 different levels among them.
What makes it memorable is its connection to the plot, where you will need it to gather precious crystals from the past before Dr Cortex and Uka Uka use them to take over the world. The time twister messages in-between levels are also hilariously voice-acted, and as wonderfully ridiculous as you’d expect from a Crash game.
7 Assassin’s Creed 2 - Villa Auditore
The Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni is the first upgradable homestead in an Assassin’s Creed game, and its architecture is beautifully crafted. Initially, the Villa is a bit empty, but it becomes a charming base of operations as you progress.
Spend your hard-earned florins on art to cover the walls and weapons to fill the armoury, and spend time upgrading the buildings in the surrounding town to earn money to fill your pockets. There’s even a way to display all the collectables you’ve scavenged and a secret chamber where you can unlock exclusive gear. The Villa ultimately provides a nice bit of scenic respite from all the hacking, slashing and stabbing across renaissance Italy, and was a welcome addition to the series.
6 God Of War - The Lake Of Nine
God of War’s ‘single-shot’ design eliminates the need for loading screens, while immersing you in the story and world. Nothing encapsulates that more than the memorable Lake of Nine hub area introduced early in the game.
The zone is at first flooded due to the presence of the magnificent World Serpent, and will reveal more as he moves. The area is densely packed with surrounding islands to explore, puzzles to solve and side quests to complete. It’s also an opportunity to interact with Atreus as you paddle your way around the lake, listen to tales of old and strengthen the growing father-son bond between them.
5 Dark Souls - Firelink Shrine
There are many notable hubs in the series, including Majula from Dark Souls 2 and Elden Ring’s Roundtable Hold, but Dark Souls’ Firelink Shrine is as good as it gets. In a punishing world where threatening monsters lie in wait, and death is around just about every corner, having a place to take a minute and rest is very welcome.
As with all games in the series, you can use this safe haven to level up your character and interact with NPCs you’ve met along your journey. It’s extremely well-designed and connects to many areas of the game, so you’ll find yourself coming back to it until the end of your playthrough.
4 Fable - Guild Of Heroes
The original Fable’s Heroes’ Guild acts as the main headquarters for the mysterious heroes of Albion. It is where the player is first introduced, after experiencing some rather tragic events at the beginning of the game, and provides a refuge for those training to be the world's saviours.
There are plenty of characters to interact with, taverns to get drunk in, and secrets to discover. It’s also the place where you can restock your equipment, level up and practice the combat mechanics before undertaking various side quests and story missions to test out your skills.
3 Banjo-Kazooie - Gruntilda’s Lair
Another one for nostalgia, Gruntilda’s Lair in Banjo-Kazooie is a hub zone that is full of atmosphere and character. It stands ominously atop the central hill of the initial area and plays an eerily iconic tune while you approach as the famous bear and bird duo, setting the mood perfectly.
As with most hub areas of the era, the lair will connect you to all the levels of the game, but it also has a few tricks up its sleeve. What sets this apart from the rest is that you can reveal hidden secrets within the lair itself by hitting certain switches out in the main game, making it even more unique and dynamic. Gruntilda will also take to mocking you as you traverse her lair, giving you all the more reason to take some payback in the final battle!
2 Mass Effect 2 - Normandy SR-2
Serving as your ship in Mass Effect 2, the Normandy SR-2 is the perfect home for Shepard and his crew. As with any Mass Effect game, there is nothing more tantalising than opening the Galaxy Map and picking a planet or space station to warp to at faster-than-light speed.
There are stylish new rooms and quarters to explore, but as with most Bioware games, the most interesting part is interacting with your crew in their downtime. You’ll spend time in the various corridors and rooms of the Normandy, strengthening your relationships and making choices that will have an impact on the overarching story. You can easily lose many hours wandering around the different floors of the ship as you zip through the endless ocean of space.
1 Super Mario 64 - Peach’s Castle
As one of the original 3D gaming hub areas, Princess Peach’s Castle from Super Mario 64 deserves the thanks and respect of all others that have followed in its wake. The Nintendo 64 was one of the earliest consoles that allowed movement in a fully explorable 3D space, and Peach’s Castle was likely the first time players got to experience this revolution in game design.
As soon as you boot up the game, you are ejected out of a pipe and onto the lawn of the castle, which looms invitingly in the distance. Each room will take you to a different themed zone on your quest to collect as many stars as possible. The castle itself is a joy to explore and has many secrets and winding paths of its own, making this one of the most memorable and loved gaming hub areas ever created.