The levels of Duke Nukem 3D take the player outdoors through rendered street scenes, military bases, deserts, flooded cities, space stations, moon bases and even Japanese villas. Many of the levels have a fairly non-linear design that allows players to thoroughly explore the levels a number of different ways and let them discover many secret areas. The non-linearity of the levels also allows them to be easily used in multiplayer games.
The levels of the game are the result of a number of people's work. The initials next to each level denotes who primarily created that level. (Information from DUKELVLS.TXT.)
- AB - Allen H Blum III
- LL - Richard Bailey Gray (The Levelord)
- RP - Randall Pitchford II
- KS - Keith Schuler
- GB - George Broussard
Episode 1 - L.A. Meltdown
This episode takes place in Los Angeles. Duke begins the game roaming deserted streets, an adult cinema and a strip show, before being arrested and taken to prison to be executed. Duke then breaks out and explores a waste processing facility, before ending up in the Battlelord's lair.
- AB - Hollywood Holocaust
- AB - Red Light District
- AB - Death Row
- AB - Toxic Dump (has secret exit to "Launch Facility")
- LL - The Abyss
- AB - Launch Facility (secret level)
- AB - Faces of Death (Dukematch level)
- AB - Dukematch Level 1 (Dukematch level)
Episode 2 - Lunar Apocalypse
This episode takes place outside Earth. Duke explores a number of spacecraft and space stations, before landing on the Moon to explore there as well. After forcing his way through some lunar facilities, he ends up facing off against the Overlord.
- AB - Spaceport
- LL - Incubator
- LL - Warp Factor
- AB - Fusion Station
- AB - Occupied Territory (has secret exit to "Spin Cycle")
- AB - Tiberius Station
- AB - Lunar Reactor
- AB - Dark Side (has secret exit to "Lunatic Fringe")
- AB - Overlord
- LL - Spin Cycle (secret level)
- LL - Lunatic Fringe (secret level)
Episode 3 - Shrapnel City
Duke arrives back on Earth and ventures through several unrelated locations, including a bank, a movie set, a subway and a hotel, before ending up in a football stadium opposing the Cycloid Emperor.
- LL - Raw Meat
- LL - Bank Roll
- LL - Flood Zone
- LL - L.A. Rumble
- LL - Movie Set (has secret exit to "Tier Drops")
- LL - Rabid Transit
- LL - Fahrenheit
- LL - Hotel Hell (has secret exit to "Freeway")
- AB - Stadium
- LL - Tier Drops (secret level)
- AB - Freeway (secret level)
Note: Shrapnel City was also the name of the first episode of the original Duke Nukem game.
Episode 4 - The Birth
Secret footage shows a woman giving birth to the Alien Queen, surrounded by a herd of not-before-seen aliens. After seeing this, Duke sets off from the secret missions facility, through a fast food restaurant, a theme park and a post office, towards an alien spaceship and the Alien Queen.
- RP - It's Impossible
- AB - Duke-Burger
- LL - Shop-N-Bag
- AB - Babe Land
- LL - Pigsty (has secret exit to "Area 51")
- AB - Going Postal (see note below.)
- LL - XXX-Stacy
- LL - Critical Mass
- AB - Derelict
- RP - The Queen
- RP - Area 51 (secret level)
Note: Although the creator information for Going Postal is not present in DUKELVLS.TXT, opening the map in BUILD reveals the creator's initials (AHB = Allen H Blum) in the lower right corner. These initials are also present in other maps created by Allen.
Episode 5 - Alien World Order
- AB - High Times
- LL - Red Ruckus
- LL - Bloody Hell
- AB - Golden Carnage
- AB - Mirage Barrage
- LL - Tour de Nukem
- AB - Hollywood Inferno
- LL - Prima Arena (secret level)
Demo levels
The following maps are extra levels that come with the game, and show examples of various effects and sprites. They are not meant to be played in.
- AB - _se.map (Sector Effector demo map)
- AB - _st.map (Sector Tag demo map)
- AB - _zoo.map (Zoo map)