Line #97 Main/DualWorldGameplay


1	[[quoteright:326:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dualworld_2458.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:326:Left = Past era. Right = Present era.]]
3
4	A video game that features the concept of the player travelling between two (or more) different versions of the same "world" -- often in the form of [[TimeTravel the past or future]], a DarkWorld, or a [[AnotherDimension parallel universe]].
5
6	The game will present puzzles and obstacles to the player that can ''only'' be solved in one version of the world or another, or which otherwise require travel between the two worlds to overcome. Specific gameplay features will vary depending on the game's design and other thematic choices, but there are several common techniques:
7	* Having a particular transition point (or points) to prevent the player from changing too freely (a portal between the worlds, a time machine)
8	* Closed off paths in one world are unobstructed in the other, and vice versa (a wall that's crumbled away in the future, immaterial walls in the shadow world)
9	* Character's actions in one world directly affect the other (a seed planted in the present grows into a climbable tree in the future)
10	* Having directions or objective indicators existing in only one world (demonic markers in the hell world, signs that are still fresh in the past).
11	* Certain enemies may only appear in one of the worlds (demons only occur in the demon world, roaming zombies only appear in the future after the ZombieApocalypse)
12	* One world may inflict damage on the player limiting how long they can stay there (acidic atmosphere erodes your armour, the bright sunlight of higher realms damages the undead hero)
13
14	See LayeredWorld for the more general concept. Likely to feature an AlternateWorldMap. When the other world is an afterlife, this overlaps with DeathAsGameMechanic. Under the right circumstances, it can be combined with TogglingSetpiecePuzzle.
15
16	----
17	!! Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[AC:Video Games]]
22
23	[[folder:Action Adventure]]
24	* ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge2'' has Indra exploring the planet Kiengir, and she can also explore a parallel, [[{{Retraux}} 8-bit]] version of it with the use of her drone. At first, you're limited to entering and exiting the parallel world through static portals, but later on you find an item that lets you to exit from anywhere, and even later an item[[spoiler:-sized version of the Breach Attractor used by the [[VideoGame/AxiomVerge first game]]'s BigBad]] that pulls out-of-reach portals towards you.
25	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'' does this. It's a bit of a reveal that the second castle exists though -- then you warp back and forth between the two castles. This makes backtracking very annoying, especially before TheReveal of the two castles' natures. Near the end, you have to locate all six of Dracula's relics, hidden away in both castles. You'll have likely found two or three initially though. Where you fight at the end also determines the ending.
26	* ''VideoGame/{{Guacamelee}}'' and [[VideoGame/Guacamelee2 its sequel]] give Juan the ability to shift between the worlds of the living and the dead, where several platforms and enemies only exist in one or the other (though enemies can damage him regardless of what world they're in)
27	* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver'' featured an original take on this with the material realm/spectral plane mechanic: Since the player character is an undead wraith, he is a native of the spectral plane, his energy drains constantly in the material realm (unless he has maximum health, and the titular Soul Reaver on-hand), and losing all of his health kicks him back into the spectral plane, although he can shed his material form at any time. However, travelling back to the material realm requires the player to find a conduit and be at full health. In the spectral plane, time stands still, so the player can't open doors or push or pull items, but with a certain skill they can at least transition through gratings. In addition, the scenery in the spectral plane is twisted and contorted, so what was once an impassable gap in the material realm can turn into a doable jumping puzzle in the spectral plane. The duality factored into the combat as well: The player could find dangerous wraiths in the spectral plane, and revive their bodies in the material realm, where they were even more difficult to fight.
28	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
29	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' started this trend in the series. Link stumbles across a portal to the DarkWorld just before [[DiscOneFinalDungeon what seems to be the final dungeon]]. This is one of many portals in Hyrule which trap people in the Dark World and [[FisherKingdom warp their bodies]]. Luckily, Link gets the Magic Mirror right before he enters, and uses it to return to Hyrule. The mirror is used extensively in the second half of the game as Link finds more portals and collects crystals from the Dark World dungeons.
30	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': Link can travel [[TimeSkip seven years]] forwards and backwards in time by using the Temple of Time. Once you learn some [[MagicMusic songs]], you'll need to return to the past to get some items, and then go back to the future to use them as an adult. Link can also plant seeds in the past to gain access to items in the future, and [[GuideDangIt finish a few other fun sidequests]].
31	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'':
32	*** In ''Ages'', Link learns [[MagicMusic songs that let him use time portals]] scattered across Labrynna to travel centuries into the past. It's very integral to the plot, because a sorceress has travelled to the past and is mucking up the timeline. Link has to [[PlotCoupon collect items from dungeons]] in the past and present in order to defeat her. Later he gains the ability to travel back and forth more freely.
33	*** The companion game, ''Seasons'', features a considerably [[DownplayedTrope downplayed version]] with its season-changing gameplay. Every part of the world map is mapped differently for each of the four seasons. Spring makes big flowers grow that shoot you up cliffs, water dries up and vines grow up walls in the summer, leaves cover pits and mushrooms soften in the fall, and water freezes and snow piles up in the winter. Note that this is all the same land of Holodrum, just with the natural changes that the turning of the seasons would bring naturally (albeit radically accelerated), but from a gameplay perspective it fits the trope.
34	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' also features the Dark World, but it doesn't cover the entire world. Link can collect Moon Pearls in some levels to open portals, which are used to bypass obstacles and solve puzzles. It comes up fairly often, but it isn't central to the game.
35	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'': The concept is different in theory, but the same in execution. The two worlds in this game are the Human World and the Minish World, which aren't different worlds at all. The Minish are [[{{Lilliputians}} about an inch tall]] and live alongside the humans, unnoticed. It's really the same thing gameplay-wise: Link can only shrink at certain places, changing things at normal size open up paths when shrunk and vice versa, and certain enemies are only encountered while shrunk. The game takes that last part a step further: you can encounter normal Zelda enemies in the Minish realm, but while they die in one or two hits at normal size, they become massive bosses once you're an inch tall.
36	** Oddly, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' averts this trope. The world doesn't change much when it's under the Twilight Realm's influence, but all the [=NPCs=] and monsters do. The Twilight Realm itself does not mirror Hyrule at all, and acts instead as the penultimate dungeon.
37	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' includes the Silent Realms, areas based on parts of the game world that make you go through a StealthBasedMission to get needed items. There's also the entire region of Lanayru, the location of the Temple of Time. There are minerals here that can create time portals to the past when Link strikes them. They usually only affect the immediate area, but Skipper's Sandship carries the most powerful one, able to stretch its effects at least as far as the horizon, effectively giving the place a true present-mode and a past-mode.
38	** Lorule is the new DarkWorld of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', as its title might hint at. You travel between Hyrule and Lorule through special cracks, which require you to turn into a painting to pass through.
39	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' has the Depths, a deep underground world map seamlessly connected to the Hyrule overworld by gaping chasms that radiate Gloom. You have to bring (or make) your own light, food and ranged weapons are scarce, the terrain is broken up by massive cliffs, puddles of Gloom and Gloom-infused monsters will lower your maximum health, and there are lots of minibosses and bosses prowling around. Players who explore and map the Depths will quickly realize it is a mirror of the overworld. Bodies of water are replaced by solid walls. Elevation is also inverted from the overworld, with mountains replaced by valleys, and valleys replaced by massive cliffs. Also, most shrines in the game are visible as large glowing lightroots, allowing clever players to deduce the location of hidden and underground shrines on the surface.
40	* ''VideoGame/TheMagicOfScheherazade'' features two time periods per area (sometimes you go to the future, sometimes to the past) with similar-but-not-identical geography and goals that only exist in the other time period (for example, finding a legendary object or recruiting a new ally).
41	* ''VideoGame/TheMessenger2018'': During the [[spoiler:part where the game becomes a {{Metroidvania}}]], the Ninja can swap between the 8-bit present and 16-bit future via blue portals in the game's levels.
42	* ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege'' involves a time travel story where its two protagonists, Samanosuke and Jacques, swap places in time. You bounce back and forth playing the two characters in their respective times, and later gain the ability to send items to the other across time. Certain puzzles are also solved via the time travel gimmick.
43	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' had the Prince moving between the Island of Time's past and present. In the past, he could access rooms that were destroyed in the present and meet characters that were long dead by that time. In the present, he could use the damage to the island to access areas that are normally inaccessible in the past.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Adventure Game]]
47	* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' features a novel variation. The three characters are trapped in the same house in three different time periods and have to work together, [[BagOfSharing using items from different time periods]] by [[JustifiedTrope passing them through]] a time-traveling toilet.
48	* ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'' was originally pitched as a PlatformGame with Dual World Gameplay, whose protagonist would have to jump between fantasy and cyberpunk versions of the same levels to get through them. However, under the influence of the creative director, it has, over time, evolved into a sprawling AdventureGame epic with complex cosmology based on the contrast between the scientific world we know and its magical alternate reality. In other words, the dual world idea moved from the realm of gameplay to the realm of story and never returned.
49	* ''VideoGame/MysteryOfMortlakeMansion'' features a real-world mansion and its "shadowy" counterpart, between which the protagonist must frequently travel.
50	* ''VideoGame/{{Rakuen}}'': Interacting with certain objects in the real world world will have effects on the fantasy world. For example, watering a dry potted plant in the hospital room will cause the corresponding plant in Morizora's Forest to send up a giant vine leading up to the sky world.
51	8 ''VideoGame/TheSilentAge'': The protagonist has a {{time machine}} that goes back and forth a fixed forty years, taking him between the present in 1971 and the derelict post-human future.
52	* ''VideoGame/TheSplitting'' has two worlds, the normal world and the mirror world. The player character has to figure out how to progress by using objects from world in the other or modifying something in the normal world so the mirror world changes to match.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Fighting Game]]
56	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'': Happens in ''The Lake'' stage in The Subspace Emissary; there are doors that take the player to a DarkWorld version of the level; entering them is necessary to avoid obstructions that are present in either dimension. Reused in [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon The Great Maze]] as well.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:First-Person Shooter]]
60	* The Vault of Glass in ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' has this when you're facing Atheon, the portals are the same place but in the past and future.
61	* In the ''Opposing Force'' expansion of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', Adrian Shepherd gets a portal gun that lets him jump between Xen and Earth at any time. This is usually a good idea if you're in a tight spot, because Xen tends to be less hostile than Black Mesa. You can access Xen from any point by just using the gun's alt fire, but you always return to a fixed point in Black Mesa (varies with the map you're on). What awaits you in Xen varies, from some supplies, a healing pool, to a very, very long drop.
62	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' has Samus travel between Aether and Dark Aether. The planet was split by the impact of a [[spoiler:Phazon]] meteor, and the inhabitants of Dark Aether started an invasion. Even worse, [[ApocalypseHow Aether is in danger of being destroyed]] because the Ing stole critical technology from the native Luminoth. [[LateToTheTragedy Samus finds portals made by the Luminoth]] that let her travel there to set things right. Because Dark Aether isn't as interconnected, each level's DarkWorld feels like a claustrophobic, twisted splinter of reality. And the atmosphere of Dark Aether [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou will eat your suit, just like everything else there]]. Fortunately your suit gets an upgrade somewhat early in the game that makes it more resistant to Dark Aether's atmosphere, and another upgrade near the end of the game that makes it completely immune. The two worlds are so intricately connected, that at times opening a gate or moving a platform in one world shows a phantom of it's otherworld counterpart also moving shortly afterwards in turn.
63	* ''VideoGame/Prey2006'' lets you leave your body temporarily to walk around in the spirit realm. This lets you walk through force fields, kill enemies with arrows, and do some other nifty stuff.
64	* ''[[VideoGame/FinalDoom TNT: Evilution]]'' does this in Map 4, which has a regular world and a [[DarkWorld Dark]] MirrorWorld. Subverted to an extent, as the latter ends up being superfluous to completing it.
65	* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein\|2009}}'' (2009) has the Veil, a strange area between dimensions that can alter the appearance of the environment (i.e. brand new airplanes appear derelict) and is what powers the Amulet's abilities.
66	* ''VideoGame/Titanfall2'' features a stage where Jack and BT investigate a ruined IMC facility to determine the cause of its devastation. As Jack explores the base, he finds time becoming unstable. Eventually, he gains a device that allows him to shift back and forth to the past, where it eventually becomes clear that [[PredestinationParadox he was at least partially responsible]]. The stage itself features several moments where Jack often has to time-shift between {{Parkour}} jumps and in and out of battles, culminating in a protracted firefight against a squad of soldiers in the past ''and'' a pack of hungry alien wolves in the present.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:[=4X=]]]
70	* ''VideoGame/MasterOfMagic'' has Arcanus and Myrror. The latter is a MirrorUniverse with other races and more magic. Units can go back and forth via towers, "plane walk" spell and some on their own ability. The goal is to conquer both, anyway.
71	* ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders: Shadow Magic'' one-ups this by having battles take place in up to ''three'' parallel worlds: the Surface world has varied terrain and mimics the real world (albeit with PatchworkMap tendancies), the Underground is a vast warren of caves that restricts movement and visibility for most races (giving an edge to natural burrower factions), and the Shadow world is a bizarre astral plane that allows rapid movement, but inflicts a debilitating shadow sickness on most races (giving a huge combat advantage to units immune to this effect).
72	* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} II: Test of Time'' has two campaigns that each include multiple parallel "world" that can be played simultaneously. The science fiction campaign has Funestis (Earth-like), orbital platforms (SpaceZone), Naumachia (rocky planet with no water), and Nova ([[FloatingContinent floating platforms in a gas giant]]). The fantasy campaign and the Midgard scenario have the Surface World, the Underground World, the Cloud World, and the Undersea World.
73	* ''[[VideoGame/ConquestOfElysium Conquest Of Elysium 4]]'' has multiple planes to conquer in each game; the most obvious example of this trope is the Underworld, a dead mirror of the living world filled with ghosts.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Party Games]]
77	* ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'': The game's main gimmick is the day/night cycle, due to which the boards have some of their main features remixed or altered depending on the current time. Several minigames undergo changes (whether aesthetically or mechanically) this way as well, and some can only be accessible during a specific time.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Platformer]]
81	* Click Clock Wood in ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' is a vertically sprawling forest which you must enter in four different seasons of weather, via four separate doors. They differ in terms of aesthetic, enemies, and accessible areas, and some puzzles must be solved by hopping among the seasons, affecting future seasons. Such a big challenge is fitting for the last main level.
82	* ''VideoGame/LegacyofKainSoulReaver'' features this as a key feature where the wraith protagonist Raziel can shift between the physical plane and spectral plane, with different enemies being encountered in each, and sometimes the landscape changing.
83	* The first stage in the "Milky Way Wishes" part of ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar ([[UpdatedRerelease Ultra]])'' is a stage with doors leading to the same area, only in a different season. The object was to traverse the stage in the right seasons to bypass obstacles.
84	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
85	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'': Stage 4-6 of Giant Island has a door and a pipe that Mario or Luigi can go into, changing the enemies of the stage from the giant size foes you have been facing all throughout world 4, or into the regular size enemies you see in every other world, as well as resetting the blocks you may have already smashed.
86	** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' features Tiny-Huge Island, where Mario can go through pipes to change size. As a giant, Mario can easily jump up cliffs and doesn't need to worry much about enemies. As a midget, Mario can ride on breezes and enter narrow passages. This is implemented by two different maps of the same island. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' has a similar level, where going through doors shrinks the normally enormous enemies to normal size. The environment remains big, however.
87	* Every stage in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' has four variants: Past, Present, Good Future, and BadFuture. Each of these variants has slightly different stage design, and some stage gimmicks work differently between the four of them. While in the past, Sonic can destroy a Metal Sonic projection to free the animals, upon which they'll leap around in the present and future; and destroy a robot generator, which renders the stage free of enemies in other time periods and changes the future from bad to good.
88	* A variation of the trope is present throughout ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''. Not only do the "dual-worlds" in question (daytime/nighttime) have completely different level designs, but they also have different gameplay styles ({{Platform\|Game}} vs. BeatEmUp) between them.
89	* ''VideoGame/SpyroShadowLegacy'' pits the eponymous hero against enemies from the Shadow Realm. These creatures are impervious to standard attacks, which makes it easy for them to capture just about everyone; even [[TheChosenOne Spyro himself]] is initially powerless against them. After undergoing a crash course in new combat techniques, Spyro hops back and forth constantly between the material and shadow planes; some bosses require you to switch worlds multiple times to bring them down.
90	* ''VideoGame/WarioLand 3'' has a day/night cycle integrated into the entire game, with each level mapped twice for day and night. [[GuideDangIt Many treasures cannot be accessed at the wrong time]]. During the day, [[{{Mooks}} monsters patrol everywhere]] and doors in cities are open. At night, [[MechaMooks robots prowl where enemies were]], and the hungry dead stalk the dark places. Near the end of the game, you get an item that lets you change the time of day on the world map without having to enter a level.
91	* ''VideoGame/GianaSistersTwistedDreams'' is built entirely around this concept. Every level has two variations: a bright and colorful SugarBowl and a gloomier, more macabre realm of nightmares. You can switch between both worlds on the fly, and the effect changes not just how the level looks, but how enemies behave, what items you can get, what areas you can access, what abilities Giana can use, and even the music.
92	* In ''VideoGame/BugsBunnyAndTazTimeBusters'', the Zoovania level can be switched from day to night, at which point all the animals turn monstrous and break out of their cages. This enables you to collect gears from the now-open cages, but the monstrous animals are now enemies, which they aren't in the daytime version.
93	* The most important game mechanic in ''[=YesterMorrow=]'' is switching between BadFuture and the past, also aging or de-aging the heroine. Mainly, it's used to circumnavigate the obstacles: in the future it's monsters and rubble, and in the past it's artificial obstacles and adults who [[CassandraTruth mistake the warnings as her hyperactive imagination]].
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Puzzle Games]]
97	* In ''VideoGame/DegreesOfSeparation'', a line divides the world directly between the current position of the two characters, with each character being in their layer of the world. [[AnIcePerson Rime]]'s half is frozen, while [MagmaMan Ember]]'s half is hot.
98	* ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'' actually has more than one layer: there are 8 in total, but nost of the time, you'll only be using 2 or 3 of them per level. At different layers, different objects may be obstacles or even enemies. In the lower levels, clouds can be platforms. In the highest levels bushes are obstacles, go lower and they are death traps, beyond that they are just dead and background art. Enemies are deadly to different degrees with different one optimised for different levels.
99	* ''VideoGame/HeartStar'' has a gimmick based around this, where pressing space cycles between the two worlds. The player's job is to get the two characters to the goal by cycling through the worlds.
100	* In ''VideoGame/LaraCroftGO'', the ''Mirror of Spirits'' downloadable expansion features levels in which Lara's world comes parallel to a world of spirits, containing a mirror Lara. This alternate Lara makes exactly the same moves as "real" Lara -- but the spirit world isn't an exact clone of the real one. To progress, players have to find moves which work in both worlds rather than just one of them.
101	* ''WebVideo/{{Petscop}}'': As Paul discovers, things he does in the Gift Plane/Even Care affect things in the Newmaker Plane. For example, catching Care NLM in the Newmaker Plane requires him to go to Pen's room in Even care and set the interval meter to -1.
102	* Puzzles in ''VideoGame/PortalReloaded'' (a mod of ''VideoGame/Portal2'') revolve around traveling between present and future. Some devices like light bridges and fizzlers will only work in the present, while structures such as stairs, glass panes or portalable walls may be destroyed in the future. In addition, actions in the present affect the future but not the other way around. At first you can only go through the time portals the game provides for you, but then you get the ability to place them at will with the triple portal device.
103	* The layers of reality in ''VideoGame/{{Submachine}} 8: The Plan'' work like this, with each layer looking very different, but being connected somehow. For instance, in one layer you find a freestanding wheel you can turn, and in another you find a sealed circular safe in exactly the same place. Turning the wheel to the correct position unlocks the safe. Continuity between the layers is provided by things like that and also your freedom of movement; while there are many paths that only exist in some levels, there's enough similarity to allow you to keep your bearings regarding which screens are "equivalent" to each other.
104	* ''VideoGame/TimeFcuk'''s main gimmick is a layer system that allows the player to swap between two or ''[[ExaggeratedTrope three]]'' different screens in the same level by pressing a button. Quick-swapping between layers and using blocks that gain the same property when touched to punch holes in the terrain of other layers is mandatory.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Racing Games]]
108	* ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'': The Animal Crossing DLC stage has four different variants that move between seasons, but also between the time of day. The spring track is in the morning, summer occurs during the day, autumn is in the evening, and winter takes place at night.
109	* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat'' has you switching between day and night versions of Palm City. During the day, you can buy new cars, upgrade your existing ones, and compete in events to earn money. At night, you compete in a whole different set of events to earn Rep, which unlocks new cars and parts, but you also have to deal with the police, who'll pursue you if they spot you and arrest you if they catch you.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Real-Time Strategy]]
113	* [[https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/good-evil-ii-between-worlds-v-0-7-for-patch-1-30-4-wc3.319433/ Good & Evil 2: Between Worlds]] is an RPG using the ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' engine which (as the name suggests) switches between two different worlds, a high-tech dystopia and a dangerous fantasy one.
114	* ''VideoGame/MetalFatigue'' features an orbital layer and an underground layer in addition to the surface layer. Moving between them will start you off at the same point on the new layer that you left on the old layer. For instance, if a bomber does a bombing run on the orbital layer, any of its bombs that do not hit something will fall to the surface layer and impact there -- and attacks from this distance can not be protected against via AA defenses on the surface.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]
118	* The second ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' game features the BonusDungeon House of Time, where you travel between past and present to advance.
119	* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' does this with seven different time periods, accessible via fixed [[PortalToThePast time gates]]. After you find [[CoolAirship The Epoch]], you can time travel anywhere on the world map. The two most closely linked time periods (and thus most true to the spirit of this trope) are the Modern (1000 AD) and Medieval (600 AD) eras.
120	* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' has parallel worlds from a different timeline each. There is only one portal to travel between them, and you have to figure out your own way to navigate the world map in each. Despite being parallel worlds, one side can affect the other (e.g. cooling scorched ground on an island in one world allows plant life to grow in the other world).
121	* Technically turns up in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', where the "other world" is simply Kirkwall at night.
122	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' takes place [[spoiler:mostly]] in the Dream World and the Real World, which look very much alike, (though they have different layouts, some towns exist in both worlds) and you'll be traveling between them often.
123	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has the similar-looking present and past worlds.
124	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' features this as the gimmick/twist of the [[spoiler:Auriza Side Tomb]] dungeon: the dungeon actually consists of two identical-at-first-glance dungeons layered on top of each other, with "trapped" chests teleporting you from one instance to the other, albeit in a way that looks like you are teleported to a different location of the same dungeon at first. The switch that opens the boss arena is located in the version of the dungeon you first descend into, but is only accessible by using a specific teleport/trap in ''other'' version, so the trick to beating this dungeon is figuring out a) that there even are two different versions of it and b) which sequence of jumps across them will get you to the switch and then back to the boss room.
125	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' starts out concerned with past, present and future versions of a planet which is gradually being flooded, with land vanishing under water as the centuries pass.
126	* Final chapter of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights: Hordes of the Underdark'' features a ring that shifts you into a parallel world when equipped, which is required to pass some obstacles. ''Shadows of Undrentide'' also has a short plane-shifting sequence.
127	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' does this. Things in the plane of shadows are shaped differently than in the material plane. Most notably the small temple of Kelemvor becomes the massive Death God's Vault. You can use portals to the plane of shadow to pass obstacles or find things that don't exist in the material plane, or find people hiding out in the plane of shadows.
128	* ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' has Oliver's world, and the fantasy world that he gets summoned to at the start of the game. While the worlds themselves aren't at all similar, some people in the fantasy world have "soulmates" back in his world, and travelling back and helping those soulmates is required at various points in order to progress the plot. Unlike many examples, you can travel between the two worlds anytime, anywhere.
129	* ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'' evokes a variation of this trope -- instead of separate worlds, Stocke has to traverse two separate timelines, or "Histories". When you meet a road block in the "Standard History", you'll have to seek its solution in the "Alternate History", and vice versa.
130	* The ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]]'' action RPG games have a normal world and a DarkWorld.
131	** Switching is entirely under the player's control but can be done only from one place. The Dark Capital is essentially a gloomy and overcast version of the regular capital. There are no people on the streets (normally); it's inhabited entirely by demons. Energy barriers called Dragon Gates block paths that are accessible in the normal version of the Capital, and you can only go between the regular Capital and the Dark Capital at certain shrines.
132	** The Dark Capital is useful to you in that it is your main source of demons to negotiate with, which gets you allies in battle. Refusing to visit it except strictly as necessary will leave you underpowered and ill-prepared for the challenges you'll face in the game.
133	** It's also necessary to the plot; oftentimes those kidnapped by demons wind up in the Dark Capital, and people harassed by demons usually require the problem to be traced back to the location's Dark Capital counterpart. As a Devil Summoner and a private investigator, that usually means it's Raidou's job (and thus, the player's) to do it.
134	* The Kabuki Cho prison in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', where the other world is upside down, making it possible to get past [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence the waist-height fences]].
135	* Three of the five ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games have had this mechanic as their gimmick.
136	** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' has the bros. and their baby selves alternate their travels between past and present. This is, however, a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example, as the only location you can explore in the present is Peach's Castle, which isn't accessible in the past until the very end of the game.
137	** Happens strangely in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Bowser's Inside Story]]''. In some places, Bowser can do things that change some aspects of his internal workings. If he drinks water, some areas become covered in such, allowing the Bros to swim. Standing in front of an X-ray sheds light on invisible blocks and causes ghostly blocks to vanish. And so on.
138	** A variation is used in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''. While Pi'illo Island and the Dream World don't have nearly identical maps like most examples of this trope do (largely because the former having ThreeQuartersView and latter having SideView make this impossible), the part of Pi'illo Island where the Dream World is accessed affects the latter's layout. For instance, if Luigi falls asleep on a pillow where a windmill is in the vicinity, that windmill will appear in the dream (though with a much different positioning and use).
139	* ''VideoGame/PandorasTower'' invokes this trope with the Dawn and Dusk Towers. Both towers are physically in the same dimension, but are near-identical to each other in terms of design and structure. The Dawn Tower has a luminous golden energy overflowing within its interior and is overall a light-themed tower, whereas the Dusk Tower houses a luminous purple energy that represents darkness. Aeron has to frequently warp from one tower to another by activating certain dimensional rifts with Light Stones or Dark Stones (depending on the color of the rift). And to fight the bosses, the chains in both towers must be broken as well.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Sandbox]]
143	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has the normal world and [[FireAndBrimstoneHell the Nether]], accessible through obsidian portals when lit on fire. (This creates an inconvenience in SMP -- survival mode multi-player -- where having two maps hosted on the same server can be a major memory strain.) The Nether is smaller than the normal world, as ten meters in the Nether is eighty meters outside. This makes it convenient for fast travel, [[EverythingTryingToKillYou assuming you can travel safely]]. Later on, at full release, ''Minecraft'' introduced a third world, called "The End". It's a floating landmass, full of Endermen and one of the game's bosses. To get there, you need to fix an enderportal, found in a Stronghold (found in the main world), with items obtained in the Nether. There's also a GameMod that introduces ''VideoGame/TheAether''. It's a world made of floating islands and clouds. If you fall, it brings you back to the normal world. If you don't have a parachute, the fall will most likely kill you.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Shoot 'em Up]]
147	* ''Chaos Field'' has the Order Field and Chaos Field, hence the name. In the latter, the player's weapons are more powerful, but the boss's attacks [[BulletHell increase in intensity]].
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Stealth Games]]
151	* In ''VideoGame/SheepDogNWolf'', Level 8 and the second secret level have a time-travel gimmick. Using a special watch item will teleport you back to an ancient version of the mountain forest, where you can plant seeds that grow into climbable trees or move boulders that become rocks you can hide behind once you return to the present. Just look out for the lava and dragons.
152	* In ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', one of the missions takes place in a mansion where an occult ritual went terribly wrong and as a result the house is permanently in a nested time crunch with parts of it in the past and other parts showing the present while also preventing you from using any of your powers. The Outsider gives you a timepiece that lets you navigate the simultaneous timelines and also has a set of retractable glass shards that give you a view into one timeline while you're in the other.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Survival Horror]]
156	* ''VideoGame/TheMedium'' is set in an abandoned holiday resort in 1990s Poland, and has different versions of our protagonist in our world and the spirit world. If a path is open on one world but not the other, she usually can't progress until it's open in both worlds.
157	* The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series is probably one of the better-known examples of gameplay involving switching back and forth between the [[DarkWorld Otherworld]] and the comparatively normal Fog World, although in most cases it's mechanically a "stage transition". In certain cases there's also a Dark World, essentially the Fog World [[BlackoutBasement but in almost total darkness]]. ''VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins'' gives the player complete control of shifting between the Fog World and the Otherworld for navigating past obstacles and solving many of the game's puzzles.
158	* ''VideoGame/TormentedSouls:'' Video tapes allow you to travel to different days in the past of the AbandonedHospital, while magic mirrors transport you to a DarkWorld version, both to solve puzzles so you can progress in the real world.
159	* ''[[VideoGame/ChzoMythos Trilby's Notes]]'' has a normal world/dark world mechanic heavily inspired by ''Franchise/SilentHill'' -- the player can switch at will to a certain extent and often encountered the "path open in another world" technique, although the DarkWorld does pop up unexpectedly sometimes.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Turn-Based Strategy]]
163	* The X-Dimension stages in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' are... sort of like this. Basically they're modified versions of the same stages from the story, but with higher level enemies, geo-block puzzles and occasionally other special conditions.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[AC:Other Games]]
167
168	[[folder:Board Games]]
169	* This is the entire concept of a [[VariantChess variant of chess]] called Alice chess. A piece on Board A moves to a space on Board B.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
173	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
174	** The classical version expanded and expounded in ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' has the Ethereal and Astral planes to connect everything else to the Prime (worlds of mortals) and consequently have corresponding areas. Ethereal has Borders, contacting Prime and Inner planes and separated from Deep Ethereal by curtains. Also, shadow mages discern Shadow Fringe -- less dark and dangerous part of Demiplane of Shadow connecting to the shadows in Prime. So, ghosts dwell in the Border Ethereal, invisible but able to see everything in reality within a few feet. When they want to haunt someone or something, they can "manifest" by moving halfway between the planes. Magic users can become ethereal to float through walls, "make a short cut" via Shadow Fringe or move to another plane entirely.
175	** 3.5 edition has coterminous planes, which connect at a few points, and coexistent planes, which overlap.
176	** Adventure I10 ''Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill'': If the [=DM=] had module I6 ''Ravenloft'', the {{PC}}s could switch back and forth between modules, fighting Strahd in both. It's possible for the {{PC}}s to find items or information in one world that could help them in the other.
177	** ''TabletopGame/{{Birthright}}'': Halflings originally came from the Shadow World but fled to Cerilia when a force of evil corrupted their homeland. They and other Cerilian races can travel there if necessary.
178	** Streamlined in 4e, with the Feywild and Shadowfell being the brighter and darker version of the world, respectively.
179	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has done this a few times, with suspend (exile with counters, removing one during each upkeep, and playing it when they're all removed), phasing (put the card and everything attached to it in a special zone at the end of turn, or whenever it "phases out", only to put it back in play at the beginning), shadow (creatures with shadow cannot block or be blocked by creatures without shadow, seen as another world), and lots of things like Parallax Wave (exile cards temporarily).
180	* Creator/WhiteWolf:
181	** ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has the Underworld, which is a dark reflection of Creation; some necromantic spells allow you to instantly step between corresponding points on the two, and the dark Labyrinth beneath the Underworld also allows it to be used for fast travel. There's also Yu-Shan, which is a celestial copy of the Blessed Isle that links to Creation at several points, and is covered with canals for high-speed travel. There's many other worlds, like Autochthonia and Malfeas, but the Underworld and Yu-Shan are the only ones that explicitly map to Creation.
182	** ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'': Several of the monster types have access to the Umbra, a spirit world containing a duplicate of the entire world. The Garou in particular are known for jumping into the Umbra to study or fix problems popping up in the physical world. From their enemies' perspectives, they are also known for jumping ''out'' of the Umbra, resulting in a [[LightningBruiser ten-foot-wolfman suddenly appearing from thin air to tear your head off with little to no warning sign at all.]]
183	** ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':
184	*** ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'': Changelings have Arcadia and the Hedge, but they do not map onto the real world as much. And Arcadia is the realm of the fae which Changelings are not too keen on getting to.
185	*** ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'': The same, but replace Werewolf with Sin-Eaters and Spirit World with The Underworld.
186	*** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'': The player characters are part-human, part-wolf-spirit that can easily sidestep between this world and the Spirit World (called 'Shadow'). Any permanent-ish solution to the world's [[CrapsackWorld many]] woes usually need things to be done on both side of the Gauntlet.
187	[[/folder]]
188
189	[[folder:Webcomics]]
190	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': In ''Alterniabound'', an interactive walkabout segment, the choice is given when interacting with certain items as Terezi or Vriska to be future versions of those characters, which then lets the player explore parts of the meteor as they are a few hours in the future. The layout remains the same, but a few areas become blocked off or newly accessible, one chest contains a different item, and background decorations are changed to reflect the trolls' new interactions with the kids, such as Terezi modifying her chalk drawing to resemble Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff or Vriska setting up a Nicholas Cage wall shrine.
191	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DualWorldGameplay