History Main / ShiftingSandLand

* Mars in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' is, aside from Corpus-controlled [[SlippySlideyIceWorld poles]], mostly sandy valleys where you can find [[SandIsWater desert skates]], ruins of ancient civilisation etched into cliffs and [[CloneArmy Grineer forces]] wearing desert camo. It's also the location of the quest ''Sands of Inaros'', which has you visiting an Egytian-looking temple to reconstruct a pharaoh-themed warframe.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}'':,

* In ''VideoGame/SongsForAHero'', an Egyptian-styled desert is the fourth level, divided into three acts: [[PunnyName Lühnee Dunes, Pyramid Skeeme and Ottoh Tomb]], though this trope is more present in the first one. The enemies are vultures, giant sand verms and walking cactuses, and the Hero can suffer hallucinations from the heat and get stuck in moving sand.

* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' examples:
** The second stage of [[PalmtreePanic Ice Cream Island]] in ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' and its GBA remake is a desert island.
** ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'' has the first true desert world in the series, Sand Canyon, as the game's third world.
** ''[[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards Kirby 64]]'' also has Rock Star, a [[ShatteredWorld shattered]] desert planet, as the second planet Kirby and company travel to, though the latter levels don't have a sand theme.
** Sky Sands from ''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'' is a desert track. And not to mention, Top Ride's Sand track.
** ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' has Pyramid Sands and Dusk Dunes as sand-themed levels, both located in the second world, Hot Land.
** Raisin Ruins in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' also has a fair bit of RuinsForRuinsSake, as the name would imply.
** Yellow Dunes in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheRainbowCurse''.
** Gigabyte Grounds in ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot''. It also has a few EternalEngine elements to it, owing to the game's "Machinery and Robot" theme.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has Angry Aztec. The main floor hazard here is lots and lots of sand, but it doesn't swallow you up; it just hurts for a slice of melon, complete with {{Knockback}}, if you touch it when you're not {{invincib|ilityPowerUp}}le.
%%* In ''VideoGame/DisneyPrincessEnchantedJourney'', Agrabah is this.
* ''VideoGame/StriderArcade'' has a desert camp stage exclusive to the UsefulNotes/PCEngine version, where it is (optionally) inserted between the original first two levels.

* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'':
** In ''Secret of the Oracle'', the 4th EpisodicGame in the series, the north-west section of the World Map consists of a desert. It contains 3 levels, 2 of which are mandatory in order to proceed. Surprisingly, although the same game also features 4 pyramids, they are not located in this area of the map but rather in a forest more to the south.
** In the fanmade Episode 8 (''Dead in the Desert''), Keen is stranded in a desert planet. Many of the levels explored here are set on hot yellow sandy dunes, many of which have a labyrinthic design underground, though there are some levels showcasing other settings (such as LethalLavaLand and DownTheDrain) for variety's sake. Once Keen retrieves the PlotCoupon that allows him to repair his ship and escape, he's betrayed by a creature who was trying to help him, and the climax pits the two in a boss battle. After Keen defeats his enemy, he escapes the planet and the episode ends.
* ''Quik the Thunder Rabbit'' has Oblivion Desert (Level 2, unsurprisingly), whose sandy ground is host to a strange abundance of [[AllDesertsHaveCacti saguaros]] and palm trees.
* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' has the Desert of Dijiridoos and Grumbling Grottoes which are also [[HailfirePeaks mixed]] with GustyGlade and BandLand.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}''
** ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'' has the Men's Desert and the Ladies Desert, deserts filled with ScorpionPeople, {{Sand Worm}}s, and upside-down pyramids floating in the sky.
** ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'' has the Baron Desert, which has Nagas, Sandstone Golems, and the Ammo Baron's army preparing for their takeover of Scuttle Town.
** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'' has Tan Line Island, featuring the return of the ScorpionPeople, quicksand, and a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Egypt.
** ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': Tassel Town is this as well as GustyGlade and RuinsForRuinsSake, the latter courtesy of a sandstorm that destroyed the town centuries prior. Encountered in the level are cactus-like Spikebugs, BirdPeople [[BombardierMook who drop said Spikebugs from the air]], a bow-wielding AmazonBrigade, and {{Sand Worm}}s, both smaller individual ones, and a giant specimen that chases Shantae in the auto-scrolling tower section [[spoiler: before returning as the world's boss under Lingerbean's command]].
* ''Quest for the Shaven Yak Starring [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren Hoek and Stimpy]]'' has the Stinking Dry Desert, which serves as the second world of the game. Enemies include cacti that shoot prickles, lizards, vultures that lay eggs, scorpions that act as mirages of lemonade glasses, [[DemBones wildebeest skeletons]], spiders, crabs, and hopping toads. The boss of the world is a spitting cobra.
* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet:''
** The Mexican-themed Canyons from the first game.
** The Egypt-themed Golden Sands from the PSP game.
** La Marionetta from the PS Vita game is circus-themed, but also inexplicably placed in a desert. Downplayed since most of the levels are indoors.
* In the ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventures'' LicensedGame for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, Stage 2-1 takes place in a desert. In the first half of the stage, you have to deal with [[QuicksandSucks quicksand]], and in the second half, you find an oasis.
* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'':
** Stage 2 in ''Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2'' ([[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis]]) takes place in a desert. This stage features TempleOfDoom, LethalLavaLand and EternalEngine [[HailfirePeaks elements all within it]].
** Stage 5 in ''Sparkster'' ([[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]]) also takes place in a desert, with a few TempleOfDoom elements as well. Generalissimo Lioness' Wolf Soldiers are even dressed in Arabian garb for this stage. The boss of the stage is a robotic SegmentedSerpent.
* In ''VideoGame/LostHome'', the second world is a desert where the player encounters enemies like buzzards and meerkats, and includes a level where it is possible to die from the heat.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Quackshot}}'', Mexico and Egypt both start out as desert-themed levels. Both these levels end at a pyramid with a LockedDoor which Donald needs a key from another level to unlock.
* Stage 2 of ''VideoGame/AladdinVirginGames'' takes place in a desert. In this stage, Aladdin must collect the three pieces of the Scarab, while dodging the palace guards, snakes, and Iago.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' games:
** In ''VideoGame/TheBugsBunnyBirthdayBlowout'', Stage 2 takes place in a desert.
** In ''VideoGame/LooneyTunes (1992)'', Stage 6 takes place in the desert, where Road Runner is being pursued by Wile E. Coyote, who serves as the stage's boss.
** In ''VideoGame/DesertDemolition Starring [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote]]'', Act One of "Red Rock Rondevous" and Act One of "Granite Gulch" take place in the sandy parts of the desert.
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'' has the Windswept Wastes, the once-home of the Gorleks before TheCorruption forced them to flee, leaving behind [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian Egyptian-esque ruins]].
* In ''VideoGame/WackyRaces1991'', Stage A-2 takes place in a desert, with giant armadillos, [[ScaryScorpions scorpions]], and [[QuicksandSucks quicksand]]. The boss of this stage is Sgt. Blast and Private Meekly in the Army Surplus Special.
* In ''VideoGame/TheFlintstones1993'', the third level, Desert Drive, takes place in a desert. In this level, Fred drives the Flintmobile across the desert in search of [[StrayingBaby Pebbles]], dealing with such hazards as cacti, quicksand, and cow skulls.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}!'',

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The Desert in ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 Monster Hunter 1]]'' (old) and ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2Dos 2]]'' (new). In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'', the Sandy Plains takes this role, while the Wildspire Waste does in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld''. During day, certain areas are so hot that the player will continuously lose HP unless a Cold Drink is consumed. During night, those same areas will be instead very cold, and decrease the player's stamina unless a Hot Drink is consumed. And various large monsters happen to love lurking in them (especially if their names are Nibelsnarf, Sand Barioth or Diablos). ''3'' also introduces the BossOnlyLevel Great Desert, the battlefield of Jhen Mohran and (in ''4'') Dah'ren Mohran. While ''4'' itself doesn't have a regular desert area, both its expansion ''4 Ultimate'' and the follow-up ''Generations'' bring back the desert of ''1'' as a NostalgiaLevel. ''Generations Ultimate'' both brings back the desert of ''2'' and introduces the Forlorn Citadel, another boss-only area, and is where Ahtal-Ka is faced. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' brings back the Sandy Plains in a revamped form, and this time it's no longer required to consume drinks (they're not present in the game anyway).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' has Birabuto, one of Sarasaland's kingdoms. Uniquely for a ''Mario'' game, it is the ''first'' world. It is based on real-life Egypt, and many pyramids can be seen on the background. The boss is Gao, a living sphinx that breathes fire.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The Desert in ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 Monster Hunter 1]]'' (old) and ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2Dos 2]]'' (new). In ''3'', the Sandy Plains takes this role, while the Wildspire Waste does in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld''. During day, certain areas are so hot that the player will continuously lose HP unless a Cold Drink is consumed. During night, those same areas will be instead very cold, and decrease the player's stamina unless a Hot Drink is consumed. And various large monsters happen to love lurking in them (especially if their names are Nibelsnarf, Sand Barioth or Diablos). ''3'' also introduces the BossOnlyLevel Great Desert, the battlefield of Jhen Mohran and (in ''4'') Dah'ren Mohran. While ''4'' itself doesn't have a regular desert area, both its expansion ''4 Ultimate'' and the follow-up ''Generations'' bring back the desert of ''1'' as a NostalgiaLevel. ''Generations Ultimate'' both brings back the desert of ''2'' and introduces the Forlorn Citadel, another boss-only area, and is where Ahtal-Ka is faced. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' brings back the Sandy Plains in a revamped form, and this time it's no longer required to consume drinks (they're not present in the game anyway).

%%* ''VideoGame/SonicDrift 2'': Desert Road.
* ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing'' has two examples. Boo's House takes place in [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sandopolis Zone]], and Sand Road takes place in [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure Sand Hill]]. The latter plays the trope straight, while the former [[HailfirePeaks mixes it with]] BigBoosHaunt.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The Desert in ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 Monster Hunter 1]]'' (old) and ''2'' (new). In ''3'', the Sandy Plains takes this role, while the Wildspire Waste does in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld''. During day, certain areas are so hot that the player will continuously lose HP unless a Cold Drink is consumed. During night, those same areas will be instead very cold, and decrease the player's stamina unless a Hot Drink is consumed. And various large monsters happen to love lurking in them (especially if their names are Nibelsnarf, Sand Barioth or Diablos). ''3'' also introduces the BossOnlyLevel Great Desert, the battlefield of Jhen Mohran and (in ''4'') Dah'ren Mohran. While ''4'' itself doesn't have a regular desert area, both its expansion ''4 Ultimate'' and the follow-up ''Generations'' bring back the desert of ''1'' as a NostalgiaLevel. ''Generations Ultimate'' both brings back the desert of ''2'' and introduces the Forlorn Citadel, another boss-only area, and is where Ahtal-Ka is faced. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' brings back the Sandy Plains in a revamped form, and this time it's no longer required to consume drinks (they're not present in the game anyway).

%% PLEASE don't change "stand" to "sand" in the picture caption.

[[caption-width-right:291:[-If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the desert.-] ]]

** ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': Tassel Town is this as well as GustyGlade and RuinsForRuinsSake, the latter courtesy of a sandstorm that destroyed the town centuries prior, [[spoiler: forcing local spoiled celebrity Holly Lingerbean to steal peoples' memories in order to sustain her existence.]] Encountered in the level are cactus-like Spikebugs, BirdPeople who drop said Spikebugs from the air, a bow-wielding AmazonBrigade, and {{SandWorm}}s, both smaller individual ones, and a giant specimen that chases Shantae in the auto-scrolling tower section [[spoiler: before returning as the world's boss under Lingerbean's command.]]

** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'' has Tan Line Island, featuring the return of the Scorpion folk, quicksand, and a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Egypt.

** ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'' has the Men's Desert and the Ladies Desert, deserts filled with Scorpion folk, {{Sand Worm}}s, and upside-down pyramids floating in the sky

** The first game has the Men's Desert and the Ladies Desert, deserts filled with Scorpion folk, {{Sand Worm}}s, and upside-down pyramids floating in the sky
** ''Risky's Revenge'' has the Baron Desert, which has Nagas, Sandstone Golems, and the Ammo Baron's army preparing for their takeover of Scuttle Town.
** ''Shantae and the Pirate's Curse'' has Tan Line Island, featuring the return of the Scorpion folk, quicksand, and a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Egypt.
** Tassel Town in ''Shantae: Half-Genie Hero'' is this as well as GustyGlade and RuinsForRuinsSake, the latter courtesy of a sandstorm that destroyed the town centuries prior, [[spoiler: forcing local spoiled celebrity Holly Lingerbean to steal peoples' memories in order to sustain her existence.]] Encountered in the level are cactus-like Spikebugs, BirdPeople who drop said Spikebugs from the air, a bow-wielding AmazonBrigade, and {{SandWorm}}s, both smaller individual ones, and a giant specimen that chases Shantae in the auto-scrolling tower section [[spoiler: before returning as the world's boss under Lingerbean's command.]]
* ''Quest for the Shaven Yak Starring [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren Hoek and Stimpy]]'' has The Stinking Dry Desert, which serves as the second world of the game. Enemies include cacti that shoot prickles, lizards, vultures that lay eggs, scorpions that act as mirages of lemonade glasses, [[DemBones wildebeest skeletons]], spiders, crabs, and hopping toads. The boss of the world is a spitting cobra.

** In ''Secret of the Oracle'', the 4th EpisodeGame in the series, the north-west section of the World Map consists of a desert. It contains 3 levels, 2 of which are mandatory in order to proceed. Surprisingly, although the same game also features 4 pyramids, they are not located in this area of the map but rather in a forest more to the south.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': Though the game doesn't have an overworld desert,[[note]]Ikana Canyon is a wasteland, but it doesn't fall under the stereotypical sand-and-cacti setting, and its creepy atmosphere and gameplay contents put it closer to DeathMountain and BigBossHaunt instead[[/note]] the battlefield where you fight the boss of Stone Tower Temple (Twinmold) is a wide desert under a sandstorm. Link has to avoid straying too far from the starter area, or else he'll sink down instantly due to quicksand (even if he grows big with the Giant's Mask).

** Neither ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' nor ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' have full-fledged desert regions, but do have bosses whose respective battlefields are desert-themed: Twinmold (Stone Tower Temple) in the former and Molgera (Wind Temple) in the latter.

** The first Ark level in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', and the Sandbox/Sandtrap multiplayer maps.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', Requiem has a fair amount of desert in it.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has two of these. Fairly early in the game, during the trip from Threed to Fourside, your bus gets held up by a traffic jam in the middle of the Dusty Dunes Desert, where one has to watch out for poisonous insects and heatstroke. Later, your party takes a trip to the Egypt-themed Scaraba, which comes complete with haunted, mummy-infested ruins. Downplayed through an obvious AntiFrustrationFeature as the party doesn't suffer heatstroke in Scaraba itself. Only when they enter the nearby desert do they start to feel the heat. ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER1}}'' gave the music to Dusty Dunes Desert in its own desert area, the Yucca Desert. Then in ''{{VideoGame/Mother 3}}'' comes the Death Desert, which Salsa has to guide Fassad through, much against his will.

* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'': in ''Secret of the Oracle'', the 4th game in the series, the north-west section of the World Map consists of a desert. It contains 3 levels, 2 of which are mandatory in order to proceed. Surprisingly, although the same game also features 4 pyramids, they are not located in this area of the map but rather in a forest more to the south.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' (both the original game and its remake ''Millenium Girl'') has the Sandy Barrens, a desolate desert with dried, withered flora overrun by monsters and creatures, though it's also inhabited by a reclusive race known as the Forest Folk. Its primary features are spots that warp explorers from one room to another, currents of sand that are impossible to override (thus acting like conveyor belts), one-way junctions through certain walls, and a large area patrolled by F.O.E. and the boss Iwaoropenelep. This stratum returns in ''Etrian Odyssey Nexus'', though the warp points are removed (they now appear in one of the game's mini-dungeons, Illusory Woods). ''Nexus'' also features the mini-dungeon Forest of the End, which has even larger rivers of sand (though here they're pretty useful to dodge the F.O.E., even when they dive under that flowing sand).

* The Desert in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter 1'' (old) and ''2'' (new). In ''3'', the Sandy Plains takes this role, while the Wildspire Waste does in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld''. During day, certain areas are so hot that the player will continuously lose HP unless a Cold Drink is consumed. During night, those same areas will be instead very cold, and decrease the player's stamina unless a Hot Drink is consumed. And various large monsters happen to love lurking in them (especially if their names are Nibelsnarf, Sand Barioth or Diablos). ''3'' also introduces the BossOnlyLevel Great Desert, the battlefield of Jhen Mohran and (in ''4'') Dah'ren Mohran. While ''4'' itself doesn't have a regular desert area, both its expansion ''4 Ultimate'' and the follow-up ''Generations'' bring back the desert of ''1'' as a NostalgiaLevel. ''Generations Ultimate'' has the Forlorn Citadel, another boss-only area, and is where Ahtal-Ka is faced. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' brings back the Sandy Plains in a revamped form, and this time it's no longer required to consume drinks (they're not present in the game anyway).

** Despite being based in England, ‘’VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' manages to have a desert ruins area with Falinks, Maractus and a few others running around as well as a wild area desert region with recurring sandstorms.

* Despite being based in England, ‘’VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' manages to have a desert ruins area with Falinks, Maractus and a few others running around as well as a wild area desert region with recurring sandstorms.

* ''VideoGame/NewPokemonSnap'' has a desert area with trapinch and Flygon, rolling [[AllDesertsHaveCacti Cacnea]], buried Minior, Lycanroc, Kangaskhan and legendary Zeraora in it. There are ruins and an oasis as well.