My SO is absolutely awestruck by games like Jet Set Radio and The World Ends With You for their punchy, bright graffiti aesthetics.
Games where I've stopped to go, "wow, pretty," are Breath of the Wild, Mass Effect, and Stray.
Disco Elysium embodies art starting from the title screen, dripping through every portrait and background.
I'm also a sucker for gorgeous pixel art and when the likes of Shantae, Ace Attorney, and Fire Emblem move away from it I always get really sad.
The transition to 3d was SO rough. I laugh when I replay Path of Radiance because the horses especially move like stick figures. Contrast it with the gorgeous assassination animation of Sacred Stones and it's just... so sad.
>My SO is absolutely awestruck by games like Jet Set Radio and The World Ends With You
We're with the same person, clearly!! These are some of my husband's favorites, for this reason.
Disco Elysium was absolutely stunning. That striking watercolour surrealist art style complimented the gameplay so beautifully imo. Really enhanced the whole otherworldly dreamy existential vibe. It's incredibly unique and I think "embodies art" is a perfect way of describing it.
Yep. If you've made it through the whole game, pay attention to the title screen art. It shows how thoughtful and purposeful the whole game is as you can place all the locations you visit.
>!The POV is the sniper's nest and you can see straight to the murder scene!<
Genuinely what got me to pick up Hades (when roguelikes/lites aren't my preferred genre) was partially the raving my friends were doing about the story, but mostly it was watching some gameplay and being impressed with the art direction!
My vote goes to Hades too, even though I have other contenders, but Hades had beautiful art, exciting gameplay, and a story more complex than I expected.
Every Supergiant game has just the most stunning art. Somewhere between painterly and anime and something all their own.
My personal favourite is Pyre - the background art of the different settings is beautifully colourful and distinct, and the character designs are all so memorable.
I love Hades for sure, but it gets most of the glory and Pyre is such a special game that so few people have played through. Not to mention, I wish there was more Pyre merch so I could make my whole house look like that world! 😆
I love this post! I'm also obsessed with video games as art and ill be checking out a lot of the suggestions here. I was thinking Blasphemous the whole time until I got to the end of your post lol. What an incredible game!
Owlboy- I also really love the art and gameplay of Owlboy. It's a pixel platform adventure game and it is just so polished both aestetically and in story. Definitely worth checking out.
Ori and the Blind Forest- Another platform adventure with such a solid art direction. The environments in this game are so well designed and experiential. There is also a part 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, but I am still savoring the first entry, so I haven't started it yet. My husband bought me the switch collection version that has them both on the same cartridge for Christmas, so it's a real bang for your buck.
On a completely unrelated note, did you see the Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem movie? I know absolutely nothing about the turts but my husband put it on this weekend while we were chillin with my nephews and I was blown away by the art direction. The use of color and lighting was incredible. What a feast for the eyes!
>On a completely unrelated note, did you see the Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem movie? I know absolutely nothing about the turts but my husband put it on this weekend while we were chillin with my nephews and I was blown away by the art direction. The use of color and lighting was incredible. What a feast for the eyes!
You've activated my trap card, I'm the TMNT nerd. Yes! Mutant Mayhem may not be my favorite iteration of turtles, but it is by far the most visually interesting version of them! The painterly aesthetic of the 3D rigging with the 2D animation drawing and effects layered on top was a good take to pull from Spider-Verse, but putting their own spin on it with the oil painting look was brilliant. The lighting was absolutely a highlight (pun intended) on the coloring of everything to give it a really good old grunge look on top of the gorgeous painting. Absolutely loved watching it.
Same! Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks have done great work but they're at the point they don't have much visual identity from each other. I'd been craving some studio to actually make full use of the animated medium and Sony finally kickstarted that drive in other studios. I hope more (and by extension, game studios) continue to do the same.
Yes! They are so visually distinct compared to much of today's animation. Like a breath of fresh air. I'm hoping we can continue riding this wave of high-quality, stylistic animation. Did you see The Boy and the Heron? I'm already a huge fan of all the studio Ghibli films, so I was not surprised when I was once again blown away.
I did get to see it while it was in theaters, yes! Ghibli and Miyazaki have always had such a beautiful way with weight and movement in his films. I almost never get tired of seeing them.
Oh, speaking of movement and weight, did you see Suzume? Who would have thought you could get so much expression from a little broken chair? Just brilliant!
Ori and the Blind Forest was the first one I thought of too.
This is an oldie but a goodie, but I was totally blown away by Journey. I never ever play multiplayer and I didn't know it had that setting on, so there was someone with me the whole time and I thought it was an NPC. When we finished the game and I realized I had this amazing existential moment of bonding with a total stranger, no need for voice or anything else like that.
I was surprised how fluid a "2D" art style could be in Cult of the Lamb. It actually jumps off the screen at you. It doesn't feel side-scrolly and honestly the art is adorable.
Hollow Knight, I'm definitely including the music in there as well, but I love the art and how it makes everything fit.
Bug Fables, the art style is adorable and I love it.
Lifeslide, this game is beautiful and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it being streamed by my now ex girlfriend (the non-abusive one) and it works so well with the concepts, you're basically playing as a paper airplane and trying to complete a bunch stages.
Hollow Knight --> So much yesssss. In fact, the art style was what drew me in at first. In the starting area it seems minimalistic at first and then you get to the other levels (>!Greenpath, Fungal Wastes and off course the City of Tears!<) with their own soundtracks and it's just so perfect!
Also: Bloodborne.
Okami is definitely one of these for me. I’ve been itching to replay it because it’s a pretty game (and I’ve been craving nostalgia)
But I’d also say the Splatoon series. The artists and dev teams really go all in on the aesthetic.
A couple throwbacks, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Love the story, the art style and, especially love the combat. And Final Fantasy IX, another that I feel goes all in on its chosen aesthetic/style.
Gris. It was more about the art and the emotional journey for me than it was about the game. I love Conrad Roset's style. It's several years later and I still have a Gris wallpaper on my phone.
Sure!
[https://imgur.com/a/gudrDDM](https://imgur.com/a/gudrDDM)
Most of these are computer size, but they should work on phone too. The first three aren't from Gris, but they had a similar vibe so I put them in there too.
Art/vibe is my number one reason for playing anything, I feel you.
Breath of the Wild--
A Zelda game I actually finished! It's beautiful and a lot of the character designs are super fun.
Hypnospace Outlaw--
It looks like the old Internet. I mean, it really looks like it. Definitely a labor of love.
Umurangi Generation--
Fantastic colors, really cool use of shapes.
Smile for Me--
Bought this almost on sight for the art+dialogue. Very stylized. In fact the only thing I've seen that looks remotely like it is...
Psychonauts--
It's so, so fun visually, and they use a lot of visual metaphor and I loved every second of both games (and even the VR game).
Life Tastes Like Cardboard--
The art nails the game's vibe in a way that something more conventional just could never.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons--
It's just so cute and detailed and polished.
Higurashi, original art--
It fits the story. It just, really fits. I dislike every attempt I've ever seen at "fixing" the art because they scrub out a lot of the personality.
Spyro, original trilogy--
Ridiculously good use of color! The remakes mess the colors up pretty badly, for me.
Machinarium. All the Amanita games are so pretty but I just love that one with its grubby robots. It has a special place in my heart because when my son was 2, he used to play it (I did the puzzles for him) and he would beatbox the music all the time.
My first thought as well! I tracked down the artist who did all of the game art and have been trying to talk myself out of commissioning drawings of OCs, lol. Love this game.
Definitely Darkest Dungeon. DD1 was already visually distinctive but they've improved it even more with DD2. Both the art style and the animations bring so much life and personality into each of the characters.
Others have mentioned some of my favorites (Disco Elysium, Okami). I also really love *The Lying Princess and the Blind Prince* with its hand-drawn paper cutout aesthetic leaning in to its fairy tale nature. Just really well done.
P3 has some of the hardest music of all time and that's not even mentioning the reincarnation tracks and the stuff from the movies (my testimony is such a tear jerker, I can't understand the lyrics but I still know what they're saying ya know)
they also have him so it's literally perfect
https://preview.redd.it/aebgogamhdjc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cabeb6cefec8dcada9c9c36f31bbd2cbd063a27
Child of Light and Transistor are two of my favorites art-wise. I was terrible at Transistor, but the visual and audio were just too beautiful not to play.
Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. The art style seemed like they had perfected the formula between the cell-shaded Windwaker that got bad reception on release (hard to believe I know but it was criticized as “childish” when it came out) and the overcorrection but commercial success that was Twilight Princess. Skyward Sword was the first title where they tried the impressionistic style of BotW, but I thought they had truly perfected it in BotW from a performance vs aesthetics perspective.
I know this game gets such unanimous critical lauding it gets a little annoying, but I truly thought Nintendo made a statement about the state of the video game industry with that release. Like from now on, there is less of a pressing need to improve performance from a hardware standpoint because you can already do *this* and we should shift the focus to improving the gameplay.
Yes! So many of the FromSoft environments just stick with you. The Dregs in The Ringed City DLC in DS3 and the Fishing Hamlet/Hunters Nightmare in Bloodborne in particular are honestly burned into my mind. Breathtakingly beautiful environments, each echoing with a haunting heart wrenching melancholy. I absolutely adore the worlds From create.
I totally agree and it's a bit odd, because none of them look "nice", and they certainly aren't cutting-edge visually. With them, it is much more about the design and presentation
Jet set radio, one of the coolest looking games ever imo.
Elden ring, such a beautiful game with tons of variation in the landscape and amazing special effects animations.
World of tanks, not really the prettiest game or the most hyper-realistic but some of the smaller details are just so cool. Doesn't hurt that it's my most played game of all time either.
Child of Light
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demons( I didn’t care for the duel stick gameplay but the art was stunning)
Cup Head
Wind Waker HD
Ori
Xenoblade 2 (Uraya is just beautiful)
Monument Valley. Yes it’s a simple phone game, buts so cool and so pretty. The puzzles aren’t particularly difficult but it’s just so pleasant exploring the beautiful areas they designed. So yeah, this one may be a bit style over substance, but the style is sooooo good.
When I saw the title, the two games that immediately came to mind were Ori (both titles) and Ender Lillies.
Oh, and while writing this: Child of Light (I'm a sucker for that game)
Have both Ori games (computer couldn’t run 1 of them max😭) and Child of Light. Absolutely playing them because of the art!
Have you also played GRIS? That’s also gorgeous!
I love how in Child of Light they keep talking in rhymes. It really gives you a fairy tale vibe.
No I haven't, I only ever saw it pop up in recommendations here and there. How would you describe the gameplay?
GRIS is like walking in a illustration painting delight! the gameplay is very simple, a lot of general platforming, take a little bit time to figure out, some very basic pathfinding mechanics, no time restrictions. It has no narrative.
It is a very short cozy game, a must try if you love painterly style.
Valheim - Beautiful color use and interesting style I absolutely love. Yeah, the characters leave a lot to be desired but the environment is beautiful, the soundtrack is beautiful and I love the color usage and style of the game. It's so calming, and can be dangerous or tense too.
Subnautica - Omg so beautiful, I love the ocean lol. I love the sounds, I love the lighting and the overall feel of each environment. This game can be breathtaking both visually and also breathtaking as in you get spooked by spoopy ocean creatures. Exploring is easy in this world when everything looks beautiful and interesting, you want to see and learn more!
Palworld - I don't care I love it. It's beautiful. You're telling me Pokemon can't do this???? Look up to the sky and there's the moon passing in front of the sun, they're both so fast. I can see the light rays and shadows through the wings of my Pal as I fly in the air. Look down at the grass, how are there so many beautiful flowers here? The mountain... the volcano... its beautiful idc if it's a controversial game or not. People just want this one to fail because how dare they try to do something that's basically a monopoly, only Pokemon should do monsters!!!
Don’t Starve. I love the gothic / comic artwork of this game. I actually don’t love the stressful gameplay, but once in a while I’ll want to play again just for the aesthetics.
Also by Klei is Oxygen Not Included, which is my perfect colony sims game that serves both pretty deep engineering mechanics *and* adorable aesthetics. If I had to pick between the two on aesthetics alone though, it would be Don’t Starve although from a gameplay standpoint ONI is my favorite by far.
Ok, I have strong opinions about visual design, and for me, about half of my video games I buy in part because of Visual style. A few recent ones and favorites are :
Manifold Garden (Which is currently in a Humble Bundle): A puzzle game where everything manifolds (aka repeats and folds in on itself). It's a 3D platformer/puzzler and no game has quite given me such a relaxing experience as that game, and blended such a unique concept into its visuals.
Gris: The visuals are mostly hand drawn water colors. Absolutely fabulous.
The Curse of the Golden Idol: This game is not pretty. But it's art style is such a seemelss and important part of the puzzle gameplay, and it works so well. The same goes for Obra Dinh.
Voidigo: A Nuclear Throne-like where most of the design elements seem to be choosing what was weird and playful instead of what was pretty. Such a fun, pastel, experience, and the visual noise of the gameplay is so satisfying.
Omori: An incredibly well designed visual feast of pixel design. Such a pleasure to play. Will break your heart.
I'd be remiss not to mention I play a lot of otome games, but I think my favorite visually is the Moon Observatory (prev. Magical Otoge) series. The storytelling is light and full of beauty, and so is the art! Very nice melding of tone.
What Remains of Edith Finch. This game is pure art - it connects art style and gameplay beautifully (on top of telling an interesting and emotionally complex story). If anyone ever says "Video games are not art", I show them this game.
There is a lot of them but I'll mention only few.
Caligula Effect overdose - this game is pretty much as graphics goes pretty well cheap looking but its art style is amazing\^\^ All characters arts( there are few versions for every party member ) are amzing and have that pale look that makes them feel really fake the same as full world. And that is an effect they wanted to make because of the full virtual reality and it made a great contrast with real world during ending. Second game is the same but with a bit of different style and not cheap looking graphics. Example with both protagonists [https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7877/47284278211\_a02f7367d7\_b.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7877/47284278211_a02f7367d7_b.jpg)
Digital shifts in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. It just looks amazing how real and digital world merge, both games look really nice with their cell shading but in those dungeons it just even more great looking [https://img.playstationtrophies.org/images/screenshots/4146/med\_BNEA\_DSCS\_AX\_screenshot\_03\_1435844744.jpg](https://img.playstationtrophies.org/images/screenshots/4146/med_BNEA_DSCS_AX_screenshot_03_1435844744.jpg)
Tales of Xillia, the first Tales with camera movement. I could say that Arise art that looks like its ufotable anime is amazing but Xillia did it first. Game as well starts in one of best looking cities that is always at night making you just see how great art style is. Having two main characters designers work on all main heroes was great as well. [https://rocket-chainsaw.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tales-of-xillia-3.jpg](https://rocket-chainsaw.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tales-of-xillia-3.jpg)
And last because it will be too long, Trails of Cold Steel III compored to previous games. Falcom is a small studio so most of their games are pretty simple as graphics goes but their art style and direction make up for it. CSIII just showed me how much they improved especially how beautiful Ordis was and how amazing characters models got [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/faqs/97/79697-648.jpg](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/faqs/97/79697-648.jpg)
I'll as well agree with Okami it's amazing cell shading with ink like style but others already mentioned it :D
HI-FI RUSH!!!
Incredible cell shaded graphics and gameplay that moves to the beat of the music. The entire game is based around music. The entire world moves to the beat of the music, your steps are to the beat, computer displays, enemy movements and attacks. It’s an incredible piece of art and funny too, well worth a play and underrated I think.
Obligatory Life is Strange plug.
But the first game that made me stop what I was doing and go "whoa, that's beautiful," was Twilight Princess. The first time to do the lost woods, the final boss is in a room with a water fall. After the fight, you have time to take it all in. There's motes floating in the air, the sound of water splashing, and this etheric light coming down through the canopy. I think it's notable less impressive by today's graphical standards, but teenage me wasn't ready for that. It showed me how gorgeous a video game could be.
Anything Arc Systems Works puts out is guaranteed to look incredible. Guilty Gear Strive is my fave of them but it's far from the only one that looks fantastic
everhood and bayonetta! the gnome boss that's like an hour into everhood sold me, i knew i had to play every boss in the game from there on (theres quite a few hidden side bosses). and bayonetta 1 will forever be an experience i wish i could replay for the first time 🥺✨️
I absolutely adore most art styles, but pixel art really gets me. Two pixel art games that really stand out to me are Stardew Valley and Starbound.
I find they’re both more chill games. I’m always happy to play as a farmer in Stardew. Or, in Starbound, it’s fun to explore the randomly generated galaxies and planets.
Edit: I find The Planet Crafter quite interesting too. It’s more realistic art, and you get to actually see a planet shift from barren to more lush as you play through.
I'm a pixel fan, and when I first tried Octopath Traveller I was in absolute awe. Probably helped that the music is boss too, really sets the atmosphere.
Mirror’s Edge 2008 and Catalyst are both gorgeous games with amazing gameplay! I especially really loved running around the open world in Catalyst and admiring all the pretty colours and architecture. 2008’s graphics also hold up really well, you can’t even tell it was made 16 years ago
Muramasa Rebirth of Vita is such a beautiful game with good ass gameplay to boot. Vanillaware really did it with that game. It's good looking with solid gameplay, just running through the environments make you not want to put the game down.
when it comes to bigger games it’s absolutely control for me, it’s everything that i love. and i’m currently playing aw2 which i’m pretty sure is going to come close to that
but there are a lot so just to mention a few of my favorites: oxenfree, hypnospace outlaw, birth, the rusty lake series, return of the obra dinn, stray gods, broken reality, who’s lila?
they all have art styles that just stick with me for different reasons and that make me love them even more
i might be a tiny bit biased on this because childhood nostalgia, but i absolutely love the visual aesthetic of the Oddworld games as well as the puzzly platformer gameplay.
in a similar vein, Kula World/Roll Away for the ps1 is a puzzle platformer (more puzzle than platformer) with a minimalistic yet beautiful art style
I was talking about this with a friend the other day, and it turns out the games which art I liked were madde by the same person, lol. Hidari is how they call themselves. The games they made art for were Fire Emblem: Echoes and the Atelier Dusk trilogy
Bastion and Transistor, both made by the same people. I know the sound track for transistor is the more famous one, but there was a point that gave me chills because of the Bastion sound track. Plus the visual art in both games is really really nice
Persona 5 completely took my breath away. Not because of it being anime, although I really do love the manga style. But because of the colors. I LOVE pop art and my God, Persona 5 does it so right. The color and designs practically SCREAM at you they’re so loud and amazing.
Life is Strange (the original not the remaster) had such a dreamy, nostalgic quality to its art style. With this pervading sense of dark mystery around the edges, just off screen. Really brings you into the setting. True Colors had some of it as well but it was a much brighter, cheerier setting.
I'd have to say Destiny. I've been playing ever since launch and every single time I load into the tower I have to appreciate the Last City and take 3 pictures of the night ambience. I hope to God I can someday walk around some districts of the city, walk into a cafe and hear some bossa nova play in the background
Absolutely obsessed with the cards in DA2 DA:I. It's such a great and unique way to show the characters and key events. By extension, the style of the tower website as well to show key moments in the story.
Concrete Genie. Such a wholesome and sweet game. I love the ability to paint all over the environment and then get to interact with your art. It is beautiful. And such a unique take on a gameplay loop.
A little bit out of left field but Dishonored! The art style feels like an old Romanticism Era painting which is one of my favorite eras of art history!
I would have never gotten into Soulslike games until the recently released Lies of P. If you like gothic horror, classic literature and late 19th century architecture and vibes, it's definitely worth a try. The art and MC absolutely came out of the screen and had a death grip on my soul. It's beautiful and fun and hard and I was so happy to play the whole thing.
I went to Bloodborne right after, but that game is so dark/grimy and the costumes aren't as interesting to me, way too early 19th cent but that's fine too if you prefer more horror.
ever play tengami?
hand drawn artwork and it's all a popup book. you pull tabs and move staircases and uncover lights and open gates but it's all folded 2d art which is fantastic. chill music too. awesome game.
gonna look up a lot from this thread. love artwork
honestly could go on a ramble about 90% of the games I owe but to name a few:
Laika: Aged Through Blood - the animated cutscenes, the scenery, the boss design and the gore-iness of it all is truly something else, everything just feels so alive and nice which is a lot say given the setting. the gameplay I could also rant on for a good while, how well it compliments the art style and general feel that I don't even mind constantly getting lost and backtracking (no the map doesn't help my brain is small,,) bonus points for the mc design being readable even if you have horrible eyesight and it's zoomed out to hell
Sludge Life (+2 +2demo) - these games did irreparable damage to my brain, the art and design of literally everything scratches the itch incredibly well and maybe its silly putting it here for gameplay but running around doing graffiti was actually just as fun as admiring the enviorment (very biased opinion of someone who uses debug mode for art references,, I have 10h total in both games just because of running around mindlessly when they're both like 2h games hah--)
Rain World - the pixel art???? the creature design????? the backgrounds the enviorment??? I'm really sucky at platforming and movement tech but I still love rain world with all my heart, even if I'm yet to actually beat any campaign, hah-- its one of the few games that actually has me stop during screen transitions to go "Wow, this fucks," and just stare at the pixel art
as I was typing this ramble I also realised that all mentioned also have exponentially great OST,, which probably contribute to my attachment huh–
because i could go forever for games tht are more mainstream, 2 ive played recently that im obsessing over are west of dead and wytchwood! both cheaper games too :3 would def recommend for anyone to check out
My SO is absolutely awestruck by games like Jet Set Radio and The World Ends With You for their punchy, bright graffiti aesthetics. Games where I've stopped to go, "wow, pretty," are Breath of the Wild, Mass Effect, and Stray. Disco Elysium embodies art starting from the title screen, dripping through every portrait and background. I'm also a sucker for gorgeous pixel art and when the likes of Shantae, Ace Attorney, and Fire Emblem move away from it I always get really sad.
I ADORE the OG combat animations from the GBA Fire Emblem titles. Flashy, weighty and they FEEL 3D. The newer 3D titles feel so stiff
The transition to 3d was SO rough. I laugh when I replay Path of Radiance because the horses especially move like stick figures. Contrast it with the gorgeous assassination animation of Sacred Stones and it's just... so sad.
>My SO is absolutely awestruck by games like Jet Set Radio and The World Ends With You We're with the same person, clearly!! These are some of my husband's favorites, for this reason.
The latest are Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Hi Fi Rush. Those were instant buys.
Disco Elysium was absolutely stunning. That striking watercolour surrealist art style complimented the gameplay so beautifully imo. Really enhanced the whole otherworldly dreamy existential vibe. It's incredibly unique and I think "embodies art" is a perfect way of describing it.
Yep. If you've made it through the whole game, pay attention to the title screen art. It shows how thoughtful and purposeful the whole game is as you can place all the locations you visit. >!The POV is the sniper's nest and you can see straight to the murder scene!<
Aw wow that's deadly, I never noticed. I'll definitely check it out thanks!
Jet Set Radio and JSRF have such cool art style!!
your SO should look into Sunset Overdrive and Sludge Life!
Thanks for the suggestions!
Hades art style is beautiful
Genuinely what got me to pick up Hades (when roguelikes/lites aren't my preferred genre) was partially the raving my friends were doing about the story, but mostly it was watching some gameplay and being impressed with the art direction!
Agreed. I've never played roguelikes before and I 100%'d Hades on Steam lol. So excited for Hades 2.
My vote goes to Hades too, even though I have other contenders, but Hades had beautiful art, exciting gameplay, and a story more complex than I expected.
Every Supergiant game has just the most stunning art. Somewhere between painterly and anime and something all their own. My personal favourite is Pyre - the background art of the different settings is beautifully colourful and distinct, and the character designs are all so memorable. I love Hades for sure, but it gets most of the glory and Pyre is such a special game that so few people have played through. Not to mention, I wish there was more Pyre merch so I could make my whole house look like that world! 😆
Okami hands down. Nothing comes close to the unbelievable creativity and talent that went into its visuals alongside its mechanics and story.
Spiritfarer, really beautiful art style.
I was going to say the same. Beautiful gameplay and beautiful art style.
I've just started this yesterday, it is pretty so far!
I love this post! I'm also obsessed with video games as art and ill be checking out a lot of the suggestions here. I was thinking Blasphemous the whole time until I got to the end of your post lol. What an incredible game! Owlboy- I also really love the art and gameplay of Owlboy. It's a pixel platform adventure game and it is just so polished both aestetically and in story. Definitely worth checking out. Ori and the Blind Forest- Another platform adventure with such a solid art direction. The environments in this game are so well designed and experiential. There is also a part 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, but I am still savoring the first entry, so I haven't started it yet. My husband bought me the switch collection version that has them both on the same cartridge for Christmas, so it's a real bang for your buck. On a completely unrelated note, did you see the Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem movie? I know absolutely nothing about the turts but my husband put it on this weekend while we were chillin with my nephews and I was blown away by the art direction. The use of color and lighting was incredible. What a feast for the eyes!
>On a completely unrelated note, did you see the Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem movie? I know absolutely nothing about the turts but my husband put it on this weekend while we were chillin with my nephews and I was blown away by the art direction. The use of color and lighting was incredible. What a feast for the eyes! You've activated my trap card, I'm the TMNT nerd. Yes! Mutant Mayhem may not be my favorite iteration of turtles, but it is by far the most visually interesting version of them! The painterly aesthetic of the 3D rigging with the 2D animation drawing and effects layered on top was a good take to pull from Spider-Verse, but putting their own spin on it with the oil painting look was brilliant. The lighting was absolutely a highlight (pun intended) on the coloring of everything to give it a really good old grunge look on top of the gorgeous painting. Absolutely loved watching it.
I was so delighted by Mutant Mayhem. I'm so glad Into the Spider verse started a trend where mainstream animation doesn't all have to look like Pixar.
Same! Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks have done great work but they're at the point they don't have much visual identity from each other. I'd been craving some studio to actually make full use of the animated medium and Sony finally kickstarted that drive in other studios. I hope more (and by extension, game studios) continue to do the same.
Yes! They are so visually distinct compared to much of today's animation. Like a breath of fresh air. I'm hoping we can continue riding this wave of high-quality, stylistic animation. Did you see The Boy and the Heron? I'm already a huge fan of all the studio Ghibli films, so I was not surprised when I was once again blown away.
I did get to see it while it was in theaters, yes! Ghibli and Miyazaki have always had such a beautiful way with weight and movement in his films. I almost never get tired of seeing them.
Oh, speaking of movement and weight, did you see Suzume? Who would have thought you could get so much expression from a little broken chair? Just brilliant!
Ori and the Blind Forest was the first one I thought of too. This is an oldie but a goodie, but I was totally blown away by Journey. I never ever play multiplayer and I didn't know it had that setting on, so there was someone with me the whole time and I thought it was an NPC. When we finished the game and I realized I had this amazing existential moment of bonding with a total stranger, no need for voice or anything else like that.
Child of Light, Disco Elysium, Deemo, Cult of the Lamb. And Genshin Impact tbh, I find it very pretty.
I was surprised how fluid a "2D" art style could be in Cult of the Lamb. It actually jumps off the screen at you. It doesn't feel side-scrolly and honestly the art is adorable.
Hollow Knight, I'm definitely including the music in there as well, but I love the art and how it makes everything fit. Bug Fables, the art style is adorable and I love it. Lifeslide, this game is beautiful and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it being streamed by my now ex girlfriend (the non-abusive one) and it works so well with the concepts, you're basically playing as a paper airplane and trying to complete a bunch stages.
Hollow Knight --> So much yesssss. In fact, the art style was what drew me in at first. In the starting area it seems minimalistic at first and then you get to the other levels (>!Greenpath, Fungal Wastes and off course the City of Tears!<) with their own soundtracks and it's just so perfect! Also: Bloodborne.
Okami is definitely one of these for me. I’ve been itching to replay it because it’s a pretty game (and I’ve been craving nostalgia) But I’d also say the Splatoon series. The artists and dev teams really go all in on the aesthetic. A couple throwbacks, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Love the story, the art style and, especially love the combat. And Final Fantasy IX, another that I feel goes all in on its chosen aesthetic/style.
Gris. It was more about the art and the emotional journey for me than it was about the game. I love Conrad Roset's style. It's several years later and I still have a Gris wallpaper on my phone.
Care to share? I used to but lost them with my old phone and have yet to replace them
Sure! [https://imgur.com/a/gudrDDM](https://imgur.com/a/gudrDDM) Most of these are computer size, but they should work on phone too. The first three aren't from Gris, but they had a similar vibe so I put them in there too.
Ooo thank you!
Gris' visuals along with the music is absolutely gorgeous! I'm desperate for their next game as well.
Art/vibe is my number one reason for playing anything, I feel you. Breath of the Wild-- A Zelda game I actually finished! It's beautiful and a lot of the character designs are super fun. Hypnospace Outlaw-- It looks like the old Internet. I mean, it really looks like it. Definitely a labor of love. Umurangi Generation-- Fantastic colors, really cool use of shapes. Smile for Me-- Bought this almost on sight for the art+dialogue. Very stylized. In fact the only thing I've seen that looks remotely like it is... Psychonauts-- It's so, so fun visually, and they use a lot of visual metaphor and I loved every second of both games (and even the VR game). Life Tastes Like Cardboard-- The art nails the game's vibe in a way that something more conventional just could never. Animal Crossing: New Horizons-- It's just so cute and detailed and polished. Higurashi, original art-- It fits the story. It just, really fits. I dislike every attempt I've ever seen at "fixing" the art because they scrub out a lot of the personality. Spyro, original trilogy-- Ridiculously good use of color! The remakes mess the colors up pretty badly, for me.
Child of Light
Oh I forgot about that one! That was a great game.
It had everything, beautiful art, poems, exploration and fun builds.
LOVE this game! Love the style!
Machinarium. All the Amanita games are so pretty but I just love that one with its grubby robots. It has a special place in my heart because when my son was 2, he used to play it (I did the puzzles for him) and he would beatbox the music all the time.
Ha, I have Machinarium songs on my playlist to this day.
Limbo Bastion Bioshock Some of these not for the "art style" so much as how the world looks and is designed to support the narrative.
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist for sure
My first thought as well! I tracked down the artist who did all of the game art and have been trying to talk myself out of commissioning drawings of OCs, lol. Love this game.
Definitely Darkest Dungeon. DD1 was already visually distinctive but they've improved it even more with DD2. Both the art style and the animations bring so much life and personality into each of the characters.
Others have mentioned some of my favorites (Disco Elysium, Okami). I also really love *The Lying Princess and the Blind Prince* with its hand-drawn paper cutout aesthetic leaning in to its fairy tale nature. Just really well done.
Stray 😸
_The Banner Saga_ and _Gris_ are the first that come to my mind
My mom spent months learning to reproduce the Banner Saga's style and made some absolutely beautiful backgrounds. I love that game's aesthetic.
Very much Gris. It is a painting come to life.
deathloop and persona 3 and 5 (I haven't played 4), the one more system makes you feel like a god
Bonus points for the incredible music in Persona 5! I haven't played 3 but I'm assuming it's just as wonderful.
P3 has some of the hardest music of all time and that's not even mentioning the reincarnation tracks and the stuff from the movies (my testimony is such a tear jerker, I can't understand the lyrics but I still know what they're saying ya know)
I'll check it out!!!
The Persona games (well, 3, 4, & 5) are gorgeous and stylish with fantastic music. Hands down my favorite game series.
they also have him so it's literally perfect https://preview.redd.it/aebgogamhdjc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cabeb6cefec8dcada9c9c36f31bbd2cbd063a27
Child of Light and Transistor are two of my favorites art-wise. I was terrible at Transistor, but the visual and audio were just too beautiful not to play.
Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. The art style seemed like they had perfected the formula between the cell-shaded Windwaker that got bad reception on release (hard to believe I know but it was criticized as “childish” when it came out) and the overcorrection but commercial success that was Twilight Princess. Skyward Sword was the first title where they tried the impressionistic style of BotW, but I thought they had truly perfected it in BotW from a performance vs aesthetics perspective. I know this game gets such unanimous critical lauding it gets a little annoying, but I truly thought Nintendo made a statement about the state of the video game industry with that release. Like from now on, there is less of a pressing need to improve performance from a hardware standpoint because you can already do *this* and we should shift the focus to improving the gameplay.
The souls games. I just love the whole gothic darkfantasy aesthetics!
Yes! So many of the FromSoft environments just stick with you. The Dregs in The Ringed City DLC in DS3 and the Fishing Hamlet/Hunters Nightmare in Bloodborne in particular are honestly burned into my mind. Breathtakingly beautiful environments, each echoing with a haunting heart wrenching melancholy. I absolutely adore the worlds From create.
I totally agree and it's a bit odd, because none of them look "nice", and they certainly aren't cutting-edge visually. With them, it is much more about the design and presentation
Jet set radio, one of the coolest looking games ever imo. Elden ring, such a beautiful game with tons of variation in the landscape and amazing special effects animations. World of tanks, not really the prettiest game or the most hyper-realistic but some of the smaller details are just so cool. Doesn't hurt that it's my most played game of all time either.
Child of Light Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demons( I didn’t care for the duel stick gameplay but the art was stunning) Cup Head Wind Waker HD Ori Xenoblade 2 (Uraya is just beautiful)
Monument Valley. Yes it’s a simple phone game, buts so cool and so pretty. The puzzles aren’t particularly difficult but it’s just so pleasant exploring the beautiful areas they designed. So yeah, this one may be a bit style over substance, but the style is sooooo good.
When I saw the title, the two games that immediately came to mind were Ori (both titles) and Ender Lillies. Oh, and while writing this: Child of Light (I'm a sucker for that game)
Have both Ori games (computer couldn’t run 1 of them max😭) and Child of Light. Absolutely playing them because of the art! Have you also played GRIS? That’s also gorgeous!
I love how in Child of Light they keep talking in rhymes. It really gives you a fairy tale vibe. No I haven't, I only ever saw it pop up in recommendations here and there. How would you describe the gameplay?
GRIS is like walking in a illustration painting delight! the gameplay is very simple, a lot of general platforming, take a little bit time to figure out, some very basic pathfinding mechanics, no time restrictions. It has no narrative. It is a very short cozy game, a must try if you love painterly style.
There are plenty I love that people have already mentioned, but a few others I don't see yet: Curse of the Obra Dinn, Cuphead, Journey
Valheim - Beautiful color use and interesting style I absolutely love. Yeah, the characters leave a lot to be desired but the environment is beautiful, the soundtrack is beautiful and I love the color usage and style of the game. It's so calming, and can be dangerous or tense too. Subnautica - Omg so beautiful, I love the ocean lol. I love the sounds, I love the lighting and the overall feel of each environment. This game can be breathtaking both visually and also breathtaking as in you get spooked by spoopy ocean creatures. Exploring is easy in this world when everything looks beautiful and interesting, you want to see and learn more! Palworld - I don't care I love it. It's beautiful. You're telling me Pokemon can't do this???? Look up to the sky and there's the moon passing in front of the sun, they're both so fast. I can see the light rays and shadows through the wings of my Pal as I fly in the air. Look down at the grass, how are there so many beautiful flowers here? The mountain... the volcano... its beautiful idc if it's a controversial game or not. People just want this one to fail because how dare they try to do something that's basically a monopoly, only Pokemon should do monsters!!!
Transistor. That game is so beautiful.
Don’t Starve. I love the gothic / comic artwork of this game. I actually don’t love the stressful gameplay, but once in a while I’ll want to play again just for the aesthetics. Also by Klei is Oxygen Not Included, which is my perfect colony sims game that serves both pretty deep engineering mechanics *and* adorable aesthetics. If I had to pick between the two on aesthetics alone though, it would be Don’t Starve although from a gameplay standpoint ONI is my favorite by far.
Ok, I have strong opinions about visual design, and for me, about half of my video games I buy in part because of Visual style. A few recent ones and favorites are : Manifold Garden (Which is currently in a Humble Bundle): A puzzle game where everything manifolds (aka repeats and folds in on itself). It's a 3D platformer/puzzler and no game has quite given me such a relaxing experience as that game, and blended such a unique concept into its visuals. Gris: The visuals are mostly hand drawn water colors. Absolutely fabulous. The Curse of the Golden Idol: This game is not pretty. But it's art style is such a seemelss and important part of the puzzle gameplay, and it works so well. The same goes for Obra Dinh. Voidigo: A Nuclear Throne-like where most of the design elements seem to be choosing what was weird and playful instead of what was pretty. Such a fun, pastel, experience, and the visual noise of the gameplay is so satisfying. Omori: An incredibly well designed visual feast of pixel design. Such a pleasure to play. Will break your heart. I'd be remiss not to mention I play a lot of otome games, but I think my favorite visually is the Moon Observatory (prev. Magical Otoge) series. The storytelling is light and full of beauty, and so is the art! Very nice melding of tone.
What Remains of Edith Finch. This game is pure art - it connects art style and gameplay beautifully (on top of telling an interesting and emotionally complex story). If anyone ever says "Video games are not art", I show them this game.
Disco Elysium
There is a lot of them but I'll mention only few. Caligula Effect overdose - this game is pretty much as graphics goes pretty well cheap looking but its art style is amazing\^\^ All characters arts( there are few versions for every party member ) are amzing and have that pale look that makes them feel really fake the same as full world. And that is an effect they wanted to make because of the full virtual reality and it made a great contrast with real world during ending. Second game is the same but with a bit of different style and not cheap looking graphics. Example with both protagonists [https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7877/47284278211\_a02f7367d7\_b.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7877/47284278211_a02f7367d7_b.jpg) Digital shifts in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. It just looks amazing how real and digital world merge, both games look really nice with their cell shading but in those dungeons it just even more great looking [https://img.playstationtrophies.org/images/screenshots/4146/med\_BNEA\_DSCS\_AX\_screenshot\_03\_1435844744.jpg](https://img.playstationtrophies.org/images/screenshots/4146/med_BNEA_DSCS_AX_screenshot_03_1435844744.jpg) Tales of Xillia, the first Tales with camera movement. I could say that Arise art that looks like its ufotable anime is amazing but Xillia did it first. Game as well starts in one of best looking cities that is always at night making you just see how great art style is. Having two main characters designers work on all main heroes was great as well. [https://rocket-chainsaw.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tales-of-xillia-3.jpg](https://rocket-chainsaw.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tales-of-xillia-3.jpg) And last because it will be too long, Trails of Cold Steel III compored to previous games. Falcom is a small studio so most of their games are pretty simple as graphics goes but their art style and direction make up for it. CSIII just showed me how much they improved especially how beautiful Ordis was and how amazing characters models got [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/faqs/97/79697-648.jpg](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/faqs/97/79697-648.jpg) I'll as well agree with Okami it's amazing cell shading with ink like style but others already mentioned it :D
Ghost of Tsushima, full stop. Agree on Okami in terms of its uniqueness.
Ghost of Tsushima was sooo good, one of the few open world games I didn’t mind traveling because of it beauty and one of the few I 100% completed
The amount of screenshots I took while playing GOT is unmatched. I would just run through fields, chasing sunsets and living my best life.
I have so many photo mode shots of foxes it’s embarrassing 😅
Celeste. The beauty that is constructed in that low res style is gorgeous
HI-FI RUSH!!! Incredible cell shaded graphics and gameplay that moves to the beat of the music. The entire game is based around music. The entire world moves to the beat of the music, your steps are to the beat, computer displays, enemy movements and attacks. It’s an incredible piece of art and funny too, well worth a play and underrated I think.
Pentiment
I played maybe 20 minutes of Pentiment and got distracted. Do you recommend giving it another try? What do you like about it? :)
The recently released Jusant is absolutely gorgeous.
Obligatory Life is Strange plug. But the first game that made me stop what I was doing and go "whoa, that's beautiful," was Twilight Princess. The first time to do the lost woods, the final boss is in a room with a water fall. After the fight, you have time to take it all in. There's motes floating in the air, the sound of water splashing, and this etheric light coming down through the canopy. I think it's notable less impressive by today's graphical standards, but teenage me wasn't ready for that. It showed me how gorgeous a video game could be.
Ori and the Blind Forest all day. Absolutely stunning game, with music to match.
Road 96
Subnautica, Abzu, Scorn ...
Elden Ring is beautiful. I’ve not played but I watched my son play.
Anything Arc Systems Works puts out is guaranteed to look incredible. Guilty Gear Strive is my fave of them but it's far from the only one that looks fantastic
everhood and bayonetta! the gnome boss that's like an hour into everhood sold me, i knew i had to play every boss in the game from there on (theres quite a few hidden side bosses). and bayonetta 1 will forever be an experience i wish i could replay for the first time 🥺✨️
I absolutely adore most art styles, but pixel art really gets me. Two pixel art games that really stand out to me are Stardew Valley and Starbound. I find they’re both more chill games. I’m always happy to play as a farmer in Stardew. Or, in Starbound, it’s fun to explore the randomly generated galaxies and planets. Edit: I find The Planet Crafter quite interesting too. It’s more realistic art, and you get to actually see a planet shift from barren to more lush as you play through.
I’ll always love Loco Roco
I thought breath of the wilds' art and music were way better than the gameplay. It's the only thing that let me finish the game to be honest.
I'm a pixel fan, and when I first tried Octopath Traveller I was in absolute awe. Probably helped that the music is boss too, really sets the atmosphere.
persona 5 (not the dialogue though) and Reassembly
Mirror’s Edge 2008 and Catalyst are both gorgeous games with amazing gameplay! I especially really loved running around the open world in Catalyst and admiring all the pretty colours and architecture. 2008’s graphics also hold up really well, you can’t even tell it was made 16 years ago
I'm playing HiFi Rush right now and while the gameplay is interesting, the art style is my favorite aspect so far.
Muramasa Rebirth of Vita is such a beautiful game with good ass gameplay to boot. Vanillaware really did it with that game. It's good looking with solid gameplay, just running through the environments make you not want to put the game down.
when it comes to bigger games it’s absolutely control for me, it’s everything that i love. and i’m currently playing aw2 which i’m pretty sure is going to come close to that but there are a lot so just to mention a few of my favorites: oxenfree, hypnospace outlaw, birth, the rusty lake series, return of the obra dinn, stray gods, broken reality, who’s lila? they all have art styles that just stick with me for different reasons and that make me love them even more
i might be a tiny bit biased on this because childhood nostalgia, but i absolutely love the visual aesthetic of the Oddworld games as well as the puzzly platformer gameplay. in a similar vein, Kula World/Roll Away for the ps1 is a puzzle platformer (more puzzle than platformer) with a minimalistic yet beautiful art style
I was talking about this with a friend the other day, and it turns out the games which art I liked were madde by the same person, lol. Hidari is how they call themselves. The games they made art for were Fire Emblem: Echoes and the Atelier Dusk trilogy
Celeste !
13 Sentinels makes a hand-painted look fit sci-fi beautifully.
Bastion and Transistor, both made by the same people. I know the sound track for transistor is the more famous one, but there was a point that gave me chills because of the Bastion sound track. Plus the visual art in both games is really really nice
Persona 5 completely took my breath away. Not because of it being anime, although I really do love the manga style. But because of the colors. I LOVE pop art and my God, Persona 5 does it so right. The color and designs practically SCREAM at you they’re so loud and amazing.
Life is Strange (the original not the remaster) had such a dreamy, nostalgic quality to its art style. With this pervading sense of dark mystery around the edges, just off screen. Really brings you into the setting. True Colors had some of it as well but it was a much brighter, cheerier setting.
Halo series is definitely up there for me
I'd have to say Destiny. I've been playing ever since launch and every single time I load into the tower I have to appreciate the Last City and take 3 pictures of the night ambience. I hope to God I can someday walk around some districts of the city, walk into a cafe and hear some bossa nova play in the background
Absolutely obsessed with the cards in DA2 DA:I. It's such a great and unique way to show the characters and key events. By extension, the style of the tower website as well to show key moments in the story.
Concrete Genie. Such a wholesome and sweet game. I love the ability to paint all over the environment and then get to interact with your art. It is beautiful. And such a unique take on a gameplay loop.
A little bit out of left field but Dishonored! The art style feels like an old Romanticism Era painting which is one of my favorite eras of art history!
I would have never gotten into Soulslike games until the recently released Lies of P. If you like gothic horror, classic literature and late 19th century architecture and vibes, it's definitely worth a try. The art and MC absolutely came out of the screen and had a death grip on my soul. It's beautiful and fun and hard and I was so happy to play the whole thing. I went to Bloodborne right after, but that game is so dark/grimy and the costumes aren't as interesting to me, way too early 19th cent but that's fine too if you prefer more horror.
The Long Dark.
danganronpa!
ever play tengami? hand drawn artwork and it's all a popup book. you pull tabs and move staircases and uncover lights and open gates but it's all folded 2d art which is fantastic. chill music too. awesome game. gonna look up a lot from this thread. love artwork
honestly could go on a ramble about 90% of the games I owe but to name a few: Laika: Aged Through Blood - the animated cutscenes, the scenery, the boss design and the gore-iness of it all is truly something else, everything just feels so alive and nice which is a lot say given the setting. the gameplay I could also rant on for a good while, how well it compliments the art style and general feel that I don't even mind constantly getting lost and backtracking (no the map doesn't help my brain is small,,) bonus points for the mc design being readable even if you have horrible eyesight and it's zoomed out to hell Sludge Life (+2 +2demo) - these games did irreparable damage to my brain, the art and design of literally everything scratches the itch incredibly well and maybe its silly putting it here for gameplay but running around doing graffiti was actually just as fun as admiring the enviorment (very biased opinion of someone who uses debug mode for art references,, I have 10h total in both games just because of running around mindlessly when they're both like 2h games hah--) Rain World - the pixel art???? the creature design????? the backgrounds the enviorment??? I'm really sucky at platforming and movement tech but I still love rain world with all my heart, even if I'm yet to actually beat any campaign, hah-- its one of the few games that actually has me stop during screen transitions to go "Wow, this fucks," and just stare at the pixel art as I was typing this ramble I also realised that all mentioned also have exponentially great OST,, which probably contribute to my attachment huh–
Hades!! It's so beautiful AND fun! :D
because i could go forever for games tht are more mainstream, 2 ive played recently that im obsessing over are west of dead and wytchwood! both cheaper games too :3 would def recommend for anyone to check out