I love Borderlands' quirky cel-shaded aesthetics. There were times I just wanted to look at stuff because it looked so good! Everything worked really well together and Borderlands 2 just expanded the size and palette of Pandora.
Most beautiful game you've played?
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I really liked Valkyria Chronicle's art style. The light, aquarelle colours really worked for me. The character designs, the vehicles and everything looked neat, too, if a bit on the "typical" side. It really was a lovely game visually.
Of course, while the characters looked nice, I couldn't stand them once they began to talk, most of the time... Once again, "typical" was the problem. Irritating charicatures from the bogstandard anime bin for the most part. However, the art style nearly got away from all that, and I certainly hope we see more of it.
Moving on...
Now, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. doesn't exactly look beautiful at first, by the regular standards. But there is a certain kind of beauty to the Zone, nonetheless. In its decayed and warped solitude, it really has a strange, wild beauty of its own. Even if the graphics are old, they still paint a marvellous picture.
Espesially with the MISERY modpack, it really comes to life.
http://i.imgur.com/DT6myuQ.jpg
It can be dangerous, though. Once, I was standing around admiring a gigantic anomaly, and failed to notice the bloodsuckers creeping up until they'd clawed and drained me, like a lovely frappé with legs.
Of course, while the characters looked nice, I couldn't stand them once they began to talk, most of the time... Once again, "typical" was the problem. Irritating charicatures from the bogstandard anime bin for the most part. However, the art style nearly got away from all that, and I certainly hope we see more of it.
Moving on...
Now, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. doesn't exactly look beautiful at first, by the regular standards. But there is a certain kind of beauty to the Zone, nonetheless. In its decayed and warped solitude, it really has a strange, wild beauty of its own. Even if the graphics are old, they still paint a marvellous picture.
Espesially with the MISERY modpack, it really comes to life.
http://i.imgur.com/DT6myuQ.jpg
It can be dangerous, though. Once, I was standing around admiring a gigantic anomaly, and failed to notice the bloodsuckers creeping up until they'd clawed and drained me, like a lovely frappé with legs.
Journey, without a shadow of a doubt is one of the best looking engaging games I've ever played in my life. If I ever play a game that comes as close to looking as good as that game, It'll be too soon. But Farcry 3's Jungle aesthetics got me and Mirrors Edge city aesthetics are pleasing to look at (just a shame the game couldn't have been better).
Witcher 2 is by far the most beautiful game I've played. It literally blew me away on high settings so I can't imagine how it looks when you max that game out.
The Wolf Among Us is one I really dig the aesthetics of it, best one from the "cell shaded" ones that I have enjoyed.
Far Cry 3 for an open world is really beautiful as well. It really felt like I was in a real jungle.
PS: These are all on the PC high settings. I can't say anything regarding console games because I don't own one.
The Wolf Among Us is one I really dig the aesthetics of it, best one from the "cell shaded" ones that I have enjoyed.
Far Cry 3 for an open world is really beautiful as well. It really felt like I was in a real jungle.
PS: These are all on the PC high settings. I can't say anything regarding console games because I don't own one.
Graphically? Hmm... I can't really point at one game because there are just so many different art-styles and pallets, and all these methods that feel equal in greatness but obviously different in looks.
I mean fidelity wise, I would say maybe GTA V, but I hesitate to do so because as of now it is on console which right there makes it look a little inferior to almost any game on PC that has shot for fidelity in the past 3 years, BUT I KNOW that if GTA V was on PC right now it would be by nearly outmatched.
Style-wise... Either Bastion or The Wolf Among Us. I mean, there's something about TWAU that you really can't explain it... you just HAVE to look at it and you CANNOT capture it just by screenshot even though it looks great in screenshots. Great game btw, a must buy from me especially with only a $25ish price tag.
I mean fidelity wise, I would say maybe GTA V, but I hesitate to do so because as of now it is on console which right there makes it look a little inferior to almost any game on PC that has shot for fidelity in the past 3 years, BUT I KNOW that if GTA V was on PC right now it would be by nearly outmatched.
Style-wise... Either Bastion or The Wolf Among Us. I mean, there's something about TWAU that you really can't explain it... you just HAVE to look at it and you CANNOT capture it just by screenshot even though it looks great in screenshots. Great game btw, a must buy from me especially with only a $25ish price tag.
Probably a lot of people saying it, but there's a good reason for that. This game is fucking incredible. Runners-up include:
-Uncharted 2: I swear to god, sometimes this game looks practically photo-realistic.
-Minecraft- I mean, from a distance stuff looks awesome. Just don't get too close.
-Far Cry 3-Looks pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider the size of it.
Beyond Good and Evil's world, Shadow of The Colossus's rolling landscapes, Psychonaut's level design.
There are so many disparate art styles and settings that I don't think I have a favorite.
So I'll just give Alice Madness Returns a shout-out.
There were gameplay issues, but the art design really does deserve more recognition.
Those colors...
There are so many disparate art styles and settings that I don't think I have a favorite.
So I'll just give Alice Madness Returns a shout-out.
There were gameplay issues, but the art design really does deserve more recognition.
The sandbox was spread way too thin in my opinion.stormeris said:
Odd thing to ask for, but I hope Episode 2 has another opening credits sequence.
Those colors...
Viewtiful Joe.
The striking visual design, the cartoonishly stylized aesthetics coupled with the main character and the game's developers obsession with eastern wire-fu style fight sequences make it a really memorable gaming experience.
Let's go SIX MACHINE!
The striking visual design, the cartoonishly stylized aesthetics coupled with the main character and the game's developers obsession with eastern wire-fu style fight sequences make it a really memorable gaming experience.
Let's go SIX MACHINE!
I always liked the unique art design of morrowind
http://i.imgur.com/tbHcfUO.png
Antichamber
http://i.imgur.com/tGeqkLv.png
XIII
http://i.imgur.com/73jteem.png
http://i.imgur.com/tbHcfUO.png
Antichamber
http://i.imgur.com/tGeqkLv.png
XIII
http://i.imgur.com/73jteem.png
For me both in terms of design, and visuals it would be Zelda: Wind Waker. Both the original and HD version are just beautiful games to me. It's one of the game worlds I can just play around in and have fun with it.
Hm,
Mirror's Edge. A very clean, neat style that still looks "realistic". I prefer it over Portal's minimalism. The bit in the large stormdrain was fantastic.
Deus Ex: HR: Again a very good looking and consistent art style. Some people complained about the overuse of yellow, but that was never an issue for me.
Honourable mentions go to Civilization IV and V. Although they aren't "beautiful" in the way FPSes usually are, they have a very clean and easy-to-read look with a very nice user interface.
Mirror's Edge. A very clean, neat style that still looks "realistic". I prefer it over Portal's minimalism. The bit in the large stormdrain was fantastic.
Deus Ex: HR: Again a very good looking and consistent art style. Some people complained about the overuse of yellow, but that was never an issue for me.
Honourable mentions go to Civilization IV and V. Although they aren't "beautiful" in the way FPSes usually are, they have a very clean and easy-to-read look with a very nice user interface.
Dust: An Elysian Tail. It's so gorgeous I fell in love with the first pictures I saw, then I got to play it and oh Cthulhu was I sold.
Mirror's Edge:
A dystopia that doesn't utilize black or shades of grey and brown as its main colour pallet? Hell yes the white city with its glass facades, bright neon coloured features and fair weather was a nice change of pace.
It doesn't have the best effects nor the most complex models or whatever but it turned this "weakness" into a strength by depicting a super clean high-tech future that doesn't intimidate via dark visuals but sinister implications.
Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-:
Technically speaking this game isn't out yet. However I am blown away by Arc System Works ability to put the IMO very best anime style cell-shading on display to date.
Even the cinematics which look like an anime sequences were actually in engine rendered.
Cell-shading has been around for quite some time and while some games like Tales of Vesperia, Valkyria Chronicles or Ni no Kuni do a pretty good job I feel like Xrd is simply on a whole different level.
Gran Turismo 5:
I don't like GT5. I think it is boring. But there is one thing I can't deny: The premium car models and used shaders and materials are amongst the best to ever have been used in a racing game.
These cars just look like real cars.
It is a pity that the environments can't hold up to that and the game is a snore fest and void of any evolution or innovation.
Tomb Raider (2013):
It may have problems with Lugoscababib Discobiscuits but to be honest I couldn?t care less. I enjoyed it a lot and it looked simply gorgeous.
I could have also picked a Uncharted, The Last of Us, Max Payne 3, a Assassins Creed or a Crysis here. It is simply my ?generic? good looking game choice since it doesn?t really do something special aside from maybe the TressFX hair.
I just think the scenes as a whole look pretty good.
A dystopia that doesn't utilize black or shades of grey and brown as its main colour pallet? Hell yes the white city with its glass facades, bright neon coloured features and fair weather was a nice change of pace.
It doesn't have the best effects nor the most complex models or whatever but it turned this "weakness" into a strength by depicting a super clean high-tech future that doesn't intimidate via dark visuals but sinister implications.
Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-:
Technically speaking this game isn't out yet. However I am blown away by Arc System Works ability to put the IMO very best anime style cell-shading on display to date.
Even the cinematics which look like an anime sequences were actually in engine rendered.
Cell-shading has been around for quite some time and while some games like Tales of Vesperia, Valkyria Chronicles or Ni no Kuni do a pretty good job I feel like Xrd is simply on a whole different level.
Gran Turismo 5:
I don't like GT5. I think it is boring. But there is one thing I can't deny: The premium car models and used shaders and materials are amongst the best to ever have been used in a racing game.
These cars just look like real cars.
It is a pity that the environments can't hold up to that and the game is a snore fest and void of any evolution or innovation.
Tomb Raider (2013):
It may have problems with Lugoscababib Discobiscuits but to be honest I couldn?t care less. I enjoyed it a lot and it looked simply gorgeous.
I could have also picked a Uncharted, The Last of Us, Max Payne 3, a Assassins Creed or a Crysis here. It is simply my ?generic? good looking game choice since it doesn?t really do something special aside from maybe the TressFX hair.
I just think the scenes as a whole look pretty good.
Since Journey has been mentioned:
Dear Esther
It's one of the most faithful explorations of 'games as art'. And naturally as with every other time this game is brought up in conversation, it will devolve into a discussion of whether or not it can actually be called a game. To my mind games are not just a mixture or hybridization of gameplay and story. A game with hardly any gameplay is just as much a game as a game with hardly any story, and there are plenty of those. But that really is beside the point, Dear Esther is one of the most beautiful experiences I have had with any form of entertainment, and it deserves a mention here.
Dear Esther
It's one of the most faithful explorations of 'games as art'. And naturally as with every other time this game is brought up in conversation, it will devolve into a discussion of whether or not it can actually be called a game. To my mind games are not just a mixture or hybridization of gameplay and story. A game with hardly any gameplay is just as much a game as a game with hardly any story, and there are plenty of those. But that really is beside the point, Dear Esther is one of the most beautiful experiences I have had with any form of entertainment, and it deserves a mention here.
This is interesting. I'd say Beyond Good & Evil, Final Fantasy 6, Hotline Miami, Sword and Sworcery, Klei's stuff, The Stanley Parable HDR with the museum/second narrator ending in particular, and Darksiders when it feels like showing off its environments.
Wind Waker.
Not the HD version, just the default one.
It's just so colourful and lively I find it hard not to love.
Not the HD version, just the default one.
It's just so colourful and lively I find it hard not to love.
I love Wind Waker as much as the next person, but I'd actually have to say Braid is my all-time favourite for artistic styling.
Far Cry 3 was such a vibrant beautiful place to explore, it was the perfect game to play after the splurge of brown/grey games I had played before it.
Right now GTAV certainly gets on my list, it's not so much a 'pretty' game in the traditional sense (though it has many a moment) as it is an incredibly detailed one which actually feels alive, you can imagine the world existing without you and the sheer amount of things you can suddenly notice and appreciate is incredible.
Always found the Halo games stunning when they came out, especially Halo 3. It was such an interesting world and the multiplayer levels were full of detail. Very aesthetically pleasing at the time.
Bit of a strange one this, but if anyone remembers it XIII was a gorgeous game which just recently became a decade old.
Right now GTAV certainly gets on my list, it's not so much a 'pretty' game in the traditional sense (though it has many a moment) as it is an incredibly detailed one which actually feels alive, you can imagine the world existing without you and the sheer amount of things you can suddenly notice and appreciate is incredible.
Always found the Halo games stunning when they came out, especially Halo 3. It was such an interesting world and the multiplayer levels were full of detail. Very aesthetically pleasing at the time.
Bit of a strange one this, but if anyone remembers it XIII was a gorgeous game which just recently became a decade old.