4d ago

What games do you think have the most impressive art direction?

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is visually stunning. Every character, even the NPCs, feels lifelike while still having that striking, almost idealised beauty. The fashion design is stylish and distinct without being over the top like in many JRPGs. The environments are imaginative, varied, and colourful. I often pan the camera around as if I’m on a sightseeing trip.

Other games I admire for their art direction:

BioShock - the sheer Art Deco flair.
Shadow of the Colossus - one of the most atmospheric worlds ever created.
Chrono Trigger - pixel art at its absolute peak, with the character design of Akira Toriyama.

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Hey! Just found this comm... I was actually scratching my brain about expedition 33's art direction this week.
I haven't played the game myself, but I had a video on it playing as background while working a few days ago and while it didn't spoil the plot, I gathered that it's heavily tied to art . It even has a character named Renoir wich maybe is the main antagonist ( like, is he THE Renoir? Famous impressionist painter, or is that just a reference? )
Anyway. That kind of left me wondering...even if the game looks very beautiful, wouldn't it be nicer that it had a bit more visual character, Influenced by the era it references or takes inspiration from? As an art person, that would be an instant sell for me, I like the themes, but otherwise I'm unsure if the game is for me. I feel this is a real missed opportunity; I'm aware the game uses UE5, so maybe it's that. The results are very pretty, but a bit generic.
I don't want to sound like a broken record and just reply "Disco Elysium" to every question, but that post-impressionist (or as i heard someone else call it: "Pop Impressionist") style is just so pleasing, well executed and distinct.
Return of the Obra Dinn has an incredible art direction that is very unique, and manages to push 1-bit graphics in a way I had no idea was possible.
Grim Fandango remains an iconic example I always bring up of how art direction will always triumph over pure graphical fidelity.
Alan Wake 2 and Control both display complete mastery of distinct art direction from Remedy I think.
Finally - and this might be recency bias as I played it a few weeks ago - but GRIS is one of the most striking and beautiful games I've played, with every single scene being a piece of art.
- Great unique choices. We might never see something like Grim Fandango again, low-poly characters on top of low-resolution pre-rendered backgrounds, with unique use of colours and character design. I am terrible at point-and-click adventures, but I should probably give it a try.
  Somehow you just reminded me of Broken Sword 2, which I liked the art style:
  
  If you like unconventional choices I actually forgot maybe the best shout, simply because I haven't played myself yet: The Last Express. Beautiful use of rotoscoping you don't see often in games.
Gris, Sayonara Wild Hearts, The Last of Us Part 2, Elden Ring (most FS games, tbh), Control, Alan Wake 2. Those are the first I can think of.
- I did not enjoy the gameplay of Gris, but I do admire its beautiful art direction.
  
  It really is stunning. Music is great, too. Personally, I enjoyed the gameplay as well, but I suppose it may not be for everyone.
Hard to narrow down a top pick, but a few that immediately come to mind:
CrossCode
Guilty Gear Strive
Jet Set Radio
Katamari Damacy
Meteos
Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary
Skullgirls
Splatoon
Under Night In-Birth
The World Ends With You
- You seem to like Japanese or anime-inspired styles. Katamari Damacy is my favourite out of your list.
2d: Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood. Great visual aesthetics combined with very good characters, music and story.
3d: Outer Wilds. This game is my personal favorite 3d game of all times so no surprise here.
Most people likely will dismiss it but Moonring is a great example of minimalist pixel art done right. Colors of the UI are changing depending on the current location and moons cycle. It's very nice.
- I really liked the art style of moonring too!
- Just checked Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood on Steam. It looks unique. I like it when they design pixel art with actual art direction instead of just treating pixel art as a direction.
  That said, I don't have enough patience for visual novels, unless it has full voice acting so I don't feel like reading a book. Exception: I am okay with Ace Attorney because it has fun gameplay.
Warsim
- That's very impressive ASCII art.
  Do you actually play it?
  
  I do, sometimes, the gameplay takes a while to get used to but the humour is great. It's on Steam and itch
  
  It’s not just art, it’s procedurally generated so that every character has a unique face. Great game!
For me, I would definitely say Dishonored and Destiny. Additionally, the Horizon series is something I always marvel at.
- Horizon Zero Dawn looked impressive when it was released. But now it just feels average, most of the landscape looks "realistic" (in PS4 standard), but doesn't feel stylish. The characters and robots are quite cool, but it wouldn't be on my list for top art direction.
I personally really like the almost Saturday morning cartoon character art style, as some random person I saw on yt call it, in Brok The Investigator. The backgrounds also feel like they match just as well by giving off the feeling you aren't in the real world while also not being too cartoony, which I also really like. Makes me think of if you could actually play a cartoon like a video game ( without it being one of those 3D PS2 cash grab games ).
I personally find that kind of style more impressive than the hyper realism that triple AAA games tend to go for since I love animated shows more than live action. Bleeds into videos games for me as well, style wise.
- This?
  I never tried this game, but I like the style too.
  Do you like Cuphead? It has old-school cartoon art style.
  
  Yeah, that.
  I like the art style of Cuphead because I grew up watching reruns of old 60s Hannah Barbara cartoons, Looney Tunes, Tom And Jerry, etcetera, so it kinda feels nostalgic in a way, but ain't no way you'd be catching me playing it. Last thing I need is a rage induced heart attack.
My vote is Darkest Dungeon
- The art is okay, but I dislike that style of "animation". It is practically just wiggling parts of the image.

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