I was playing Ori and the Blind Forest this weekend (and I finally beat that thing; man what a ride) and I was constantly struck by how jaw dropping gorgeous it is. As Telefrog would never ever say, it was really visually stunning.
It got me thinking about some of the games I just think look terrific. Not necessarily my favorite games, or the technically best looking games from a graphical prowess point of view, just games I love the look of and will play longer and get more into maybe just because I can’t get enough of their style.
So without further ado, here is the list I came up with (going just with Steam, Origin, Battle.net, and Uplay). I actually had like 30 on this list and it was super hard to trim it down. And I’m certain others will have games they think look just amazing that I forgot, and for this reason I’m posting this - I’d love to hear about them and maybe see some images! Maybe I missed some, almost certainly I missed some.
Lastly, a word on consoles - I’d have loved to put down some console games, like The Last of Us Remastered comes to mind right away, but I stuck with PC because I can look more easily at the games I’ve played myself (which was obviously a criteria) by going to my game libraries. Also, it was daunting enough as it was. That doesn’t mean others can’t use consoles though!
I’ll make a proper list later, but the games that come to mind are Ori, Mad Max, Cities: Skylines, Anno 2070, Mirror’s Edge, Skyrim, and Dragon Age Inquisition.
EDIT: And Rayman Legends. If you liked Ori visually, and you haven’t played Rayman Legends, you should play it. Like, right now.
That’s funny you mention restricting your list to PC games when I think all but SimCity are available on consoles. But yeah, I know, they look better on PC.
Just to pick one I happen to be playing right now - really digging the Barbarella-like design of Headlander. Also kind of reminds me of that weird old sci-fi flick Saturn 3, just with less Kirk Douglas ass.
I went through my list of games. There are two that stand out.
STALKER: I hesitate to use the words “art” or “direction” here. But the drab visuals, muted lighting engine, and post-processing effects all combine to align closely with the theme and setting of the game. It’s an eerie, abandoned, industrial place with a lot of strange stuff going on, and you know that just by looking at it.
Dark Souls: This is the pinnacle of design for the series even though it’s probably my least favorite in terms of gameplay. Many of the bosses and locations look amazing (sometimes in inverse proportion to how frustrating they are).
I’m a big fan of simple geometry with clear and distinct colors and good lighting. Some good examples of this would be first person 3d games from around 2000 (Deus Ex, System Shock 2 - all modded with new renderers) and select few isometric titles (BG2, JA2, UnderRail, Pillars of Eternity). Sample images:
Some great entries as well. STALKER and Dark Souls (3, specifically) almost made my list, and while I probably wouldn’t put it top 10 Jagged Alliance 2 would be up there as well as Baldur’s Gate/Icewind Dale. I almost also picked Human Revolution, because I never really got tired of that black and gold motif they were going for.
My top choice is definitely Dark Souls since it uses it’s art so effectively to tell the story of that world. Second place is probably Overwatch which is just so clean and tight a visual style. Rounding out the top three is the Guilty Gear XRD games which are just beautiful in a most insane anime way.
I love the Monument Valley-like clean look of Lara Croft Go. I’m fond of this minimalistic approach to game art. For a darker variation of this same art style (simple shapes and even simpler texturing, or no recognizable texturing at all), see also Necropolis.
I wonder if I shouldn’t have included 80 Days, man I love the way that game presents itself. Same with the Sorcery! games, which I hold in high esteem for making my teenage years all the more enjoyable - they look fantastic on my phone, I bet they look great on PC as well.
Lara Croft GO is another excellent one. I haven’t played Battlefield 1 yet, there are several titles that look gorgeous when I see them on ads or something that aren’t really my thing (mostly multiplayer stuff such as Overwatch) that could have made my list if I’d actually played them (a criteria I adhered to).
I only played this a week ago, but I think Inside is the best looking game I’ve ever seen. You could write a dissertation just on the use of light in the game. Even the last section, where it takes a turn for the Chapman brothers, it remains grotesquely beautiful.
Okami
Shadow of the Colossus
Trine
Pac Man
Robotron 2084
Apotheon
Alien Isolation
Unreal
World of Warcraft
Geometry Wars
Journey (Infocom)
Demon Attack
