Video games are beautiful and unique, and the foremost reason for that is a really good artstyle. Surely, story and gameplay are important aspects that make a game whole. But sometimes if the artstyle is a letdown, then the whole thing might come crashing down.
We have seen this happen over the years with titles such as Capcom’s Marvel vs Capcom Infinite fighting game. Not even the popularity of the IP could save the game because the artstyle did not have a sense of direction.
In the list below, let us look at some of the many video games that boast beautiful and unique artstyle.
Beautiful and Unique Artstyle in Video Games
Okami
Okami is a video game that is dear to many, even to this day. It was created by Capcom’s subsidiary Clover Studio with the help of legendary game director Hideki Kamiya. The game follows players taking control of Shinto Goddess Amaterusa in the form of a Wolf.
The game is considered one of the few titles from the PlayStation 2 era that still holds up in art style. Okami is set in a fictional medieval Japanese fantasy world, and it uses the beautiful artstyle of sumi-e paintings.
It blends the traditional elements with a unique cel-shading style. Okami is loved by many, and Capcom noticed that recently, so it’s great news to see the franchise return.
Gris
Gris is one of the lesser-known indie games, but it has a beautiful and unique artstyle. It’s a game published by Digital Devolver and was developed by Nomada Studio. You play a girl who finds herself waking in a crumbling world.
Made with beautiful hand-drawn 2D artstyle Gris is a platformer that anyone can pick up and appreciate. In interviews, the developers did confirm that getting the artstyle right was one of the biggest challenges.
Gris takes inspiration from the Japanese Iwagumi rock formation aquariums. Originally, the main character was supposed to have various colorful outfits. That would change, but it proved too difficult to implement. Regardless, they still knocked it out of the park because the game looks gorgeous.
Cuphead
This was a game that had been in development for quite a while. But it was eventually released in 2017, and it did so with a blast. Cuphead is a platformer-shooter designed by Studio MDHR. It became an indie game sensation from the moment it dropped.
The title is notorious for being one of the hardest games around and sometimes gets compared to the Dark Souls series. However, the actual gameplay is nothing like the Souls games.
But difficulty aside, the game has been heavily praised for it’s artsyle, which keeps bringing people back to it. In an era of pixel art games that try to capture nostalgia, Cuphead did something different. It uses beautiful animation styles from the 1930s era of MGM cartoons.
Guilty Gear STRIVE
Fighting games are one of the hardest genres to master, but insanely fun to play once you get into them. Once upon a time, due to the decline of arcade culture, these types of games were vanishing away. Until the release of Street Fighter 4 in the late 2000s.
Following that up to the current date, fighting games are thriving with thousands of people participating in international tournaments. One of these super popular games of the current period is Guilty Gear STRIVE.
It is a fighting game that is developed by the legendary fighting game studio, Arc System Works. They are known for masterfully blending a 2D anime style look with 3D character models. Something a lot of animation studios have tried time and time again but failed.
Guilty Gear STRIVE’s artstyle is the culmination of this achievement, and fans often praise it for this.
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Nintendo games are praised a lot for their incredible game design. One of their most praised franchise that is also recently won awards is The Legend of Zelda series. Nintendo struck gold with the Breath of the Wild game series, as it was heavily praised for its artstyle.
A lot of fans also compared the games to animated films from the legendary Studio Ghibli. Because of how serene and calming exploration can sometimes get in Breath of the Wild. But the credit actually goes to Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released in the early 2000s for the Nintendo GameCube.
The Wind Waker follows the adventures of child Link across seas to save his sister from Ganon. The game achieved a beautiful celshading artstyle and atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Ghibli films. It’s artstyle was the driving force behind the ever-popular Breath of the Wild.
Hyper Light Drifter
We have been talking about beautiful 2D hand-drawn animation in video games for a while. But we have not mentioned any pixel art games, so let’s change that. Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine is one of the games with a unique artstyle.
Hyper Light Drifter is an indie action RPG released in 2016 for the PC and then for consoles later. The gameplay uses an isometric view with beautifully drawn pixel art landscapes.
The plot is told in a cryptic manner similar to the Souls games, so it feels really intriguing to piece things together. Inspiration for the game comes from titles such as the old top-down Legend of Zelda games.
Gorogoa
When talking about video game genres, puzzle games usually don’t come to mind. This is unfortunate because sometimes the genre can have some hidden gems. Gorogoa is just that, a beautiful puzzle game that was released in 2017.
Published by the well-known Annapurna Game Studio and developed by Jason Roberts. Looking at the success of independent games such as Braid, Jason decided to use his love for art to make a game. Gorogoa is the unique title that came to his mind.
Gorogoa uses its beautiful artstyle to tell a story through puzzles that the players can solve. It is influenced by the art of David Roberts, Gustave Doré, and more.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Metroidvanias have become a beloved video game genre. It originated from games such as Castlevania and the Metroid series. These games were originally called the search-action genre video games.
In recent years, metroidvanias have gotten pretty big and have given rise to many indie games. One of the games is Ori and the Blind Forest, developed by Moon Studios. It is praised for its beautiful and unique artstyle.
According to the developers, the game was influenced by the works of Hayao Miyazaki as well as Disney movies like The Lion King. Ori and the Blind Forest has been considered by many as a title that pushes video games as an art form.
Hades
Hades is an action game developed by Supergiant Games that was released in 2020. The story of the game is set in Greek mythology, following the adventures of Zagreus. It is considered one of the best-looking games in the roguelike genre.
The gameplay has Zagreus venture across the underworld, which is incredibly designed with a unique artstyle. While travelling, he can come across various other Greek characters with beautiful and original designs.
Fans of the franchise praise these unique character portraits for having their own personality that is fully voice-acted. The game has won several awards so far and even got a sequel, which was released in recent years.
Blasphemous
Developed by the Spanish game studio, The Game Kitchen. Blasphemous could be one of the most meticulously crafted 2D metroidvania games released in recent years. The developers have taken inspiration from religious art and imagery for the game’s design.
The story of the game follows the players in the shoes of the Penitent One. In the backdrop of a dark fantasy Roman Catholic country. Most of it comes from the unique and beautiful styles found in the province of Seville, Spain.
The gameplay aspect of the video game takes inspiration from classic Metroidvania titles and the Souls series. But the reason this title is well praised and also won awards for will always remain due to it’s artstyle that sets it apart from other such games.
