15 Video Games With Incredible Art Style
Video games have never looked better than they do now. While AAA studios are pushing graphic fidelity even further, other developers are realizing their creative worlds with expressive art styles such as pixel art, cel shading, and hand-drawn animation that impress in their own unique way.
To celebrate the visual diversity of video games, we’ve compiled a list of games with amazing art style. This list could easily include hundreds of great games, but we’ve narrowed it down to 15 games that can be played on today’s platforms. Whether you’re playing on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation or Xbox, this list will help you find a great new game to enjoy.
While we’ve focused on games with unique art for this list, we also have a list of games with the most impressive graphics if you’re after a photo-realistic experience rather than a stylized one.
13 Guardians: Rim of the Aegis
Vanillaworks games are known for their amazing style of 2D graphics that look like moving paintings. Each of the studio’s releases deserves a spot on this list, but we give credit to their latest title, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim . This story-driven adventure features amazing characters, backgrounds and giant robots, all done in the iconic Vanillaworks style.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PS4 .
Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends
Rayman Origins and its sequel Rayman Legends are built on Ubisoft’s powerful 2D game engine, the Ubiart Framework. This art-focused engine made it easy for the development team to create and edit visuals when creating levels, giving these 2D platformers a handcrafted visual style.
Rayman Legends is available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS4 , Xbox One .
Rayman Origins is available on PC , Xbox 360 . (Backwards compatible on Xbox One/Series X.)
Okami HD
Okami is a cel-shaded adventure game inspired by Japanese sumi-e painting. Although the game first debuted on the PlayStation 2 back in 2006, it’s just as great decades later. Sure, the HD port freshened up the game for modern consoles, but aside from sharper resolution and small changes, the game’s timeless visual style has remained intact.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS4 , Xbox One .
Prodeus
Prodeus is a fast-paced sci-fi shooter with a retro-inspired visual style: 3D models look like 2D sprites, textures are pixelated and blocky, and dynamic lighting, HD resolution, and smooth operation meet today’s expectations. . This art direction gives the game a unique feel that feels both nostalgic and modern at the same time.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Cuphead
Many games use a hand-drawn art style, but Cuphead is one of the few games that actually looks and animates like a cartoon. This game is notorious for its challenging levels and relentless bosses, but it’s hard to be disappointed when everything on screen is so damn charming.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , Xbox One .
hollow knight
Hollow Knight is a beautiful 2D Metroidvania that proves the power of a cohesive art direction. At first glance, Hollow Knight is drawn in a relatively simple style; everything is represented by bold shapes and only one of two colors. However, this simplicity is important. Each character is easily recognizable at a glance due to their unique silhouettes, while lighting and other effects add depth to the background and foreground elements. The result is an expressive and beautiful game that combines detail and readability.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Return
The Return is clearly inspired by the Alien movie franchise. Strange extraterrestrial ruins and grotesque monsters in the game are borrowed from G.R. Geiger, and even Selena’s space suit looks like it was designed by Weyland-Yuanti engineers. However, Returnal complements this design inspiration with unique effects, such as the neon flares from enemy projectiles and the digitized effects of the ancient technology Selene discovers, that elevate it above the derivative sci-fi horror and make it one of the most beautiful PS5 games ever made.
Nobody’s sky
No Man’s Sky features a vast galaxy filled with billions of planets for players to discover and explore. But instead of a vast void filled with distant stars and barren rocky spheres, No Man’s Sky presents space as a vibrant place filled with lush alien worlds. Each planet you explore is highlighted in color, and many hide imaginary wildlife to document or eye-catching alien structures to explore.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Hades
Every game from Super Giant Games exudes style, but the studio’s latest game, Hades , is their most beautiful release yet. In a fast-paced, combat-focused RPG, the attack animations and monster movements are flawless, while the graphic novel-inspired character designs and environments feature vibrant colors and harsh black shadows.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Ori and the blind forest and Ori and the will of the lights
Some video game fans have the (erroneous) belief that 2D games are “obsolete” and can’t deliver the immersive feeling you get from fully 3D games. The Ori series proves that this notion is false. These 2D action-platformers are a lot of fun, thanks in large part to the hand-drawn visuals that bring the lush, side-scrolling forest you explore in these games to life.
Ori and the Blind Forest is available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The size and scope of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its recent sequel , Tears of the Kingdom , is a staggering achievement. The fact that both games run on a weaker console like the Nintendo Switch is all the more impressive. The Nintendo EPD team created stylized characters, scenery and scenery with eye-catching color schemes and a simple shading art style that work well on the Switch’s limited hardware specs.
Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch .
Breath of the Wild available on: Nintendo Switch , Wii U.
Metroid Prime Remastered
The original Metroid Prime was one of the most beautiful games on the GameCube, and Metroid Prime Remastered is one of the most beautiful games on the Nintendo Switch. While some video game remasters may lose the spirit of the original game upon transition, Metroid Prime Remastered is a rare exception that not only retains the GameCube game’s amazing art direction, but enhances it. This is a testament to how strong art direction and immersive atmosphere can make up for technical limitations.
Available on: Nintendo Switch .
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal claims to be the most stylish role-playing game ever made. The character design, combat animations and menus are revealed with a personality befitting a game about a gang of supernatural thieves who pull off heists against criminals and corrupt leaders by infiltrating their subconscious realms.
Available on: Nintendo Switch , PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
Guilty Gear
At first glance , Guilty Gear Strive looks like a 2D anime action movie until the camera pans for a special move and you realize it’s actually a 3D game. Arc System Works has experimented with this artificial 2D representation in previous games, most notably Dragon Ball FighterZ , but Guilty Gear Strive is the best implementation of this style. Even if you’re not a fan of fighting games, watch a few matches to see how great Guilty Gear Strive looks in motion.
Available on: PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .
ancient ring
FromSoftware games are well known for their excellent art, but Elden Ring is on another level. Every inch of this vast open world is filled with breathtaking sights and tiny imaginary details. The rocks are walls of gigantic headstones and skulls; cities are built on the roots of trees the size of mountains; spiders are disembodied ten-fingered hands. While other games impress with their photorealistic graphics, Elden Ring impresses with creative design hidden around every corner.
Available on: PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox One .