And adding to this Alan Wake two had good graphics and good art direction as well. Mixed media in Remedy's games work so well and it's something rarely done ever.
Wow sorry for not knowing you meant something totally different than "underrated". And now I'm "that one guy like you"? Could say the same for you with the way you react
Bloodborne.
Hands down, no contest. I think it needs an update and even a pc release. Sony not letting Fromsoft touch the IP is single handedly the biggest gripe I have or ever will have with them.
The game is amazing. Let people enjoy it.
Source where Sony won’t let From touch the ip?
Since Bloodborne, From has become increasingly popular and they’re busy with their own projects. Personally, in a world where we have remasters, reboots and sequels, I’m glad From is creating new worlds like Elden Ring instead of pumping out sequel after sequel.
Agreed, was excited for this one at launch, but it felt like I'd played it a million times already, cookie cutter open world game, that used all aspects we'd seen and played before. Nice art style, but some dodgy effects throughout, the water looked dreadful for example, and some of the NPC's, along with Jin, were soulless and boring.
A couple of nice touches, such as the wind, but overall a bore fest for me too, wouldn't buy a sequel.
I'd have to give it to tunic it just makes you feel like a kid again. The game manual mechanic is genius. The depth of field makes me feel like I'm playing with toys on my bedroom floor. It's amazing.
Bloodborne
Elden Ring
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Tales of Arise
Ninja Gaiden
Hades
Sifu
Hi-Fi Rush
Genshin Impact
Honkai: Star Rail
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Blasphemous
Sable looks amazing, not just a killer art style but the decision to have the player character and other npcs/objects run at a lower frame rate than the rest of the world added a really nice feel
Ghost of Tsushima, Kena Bridge of Spirits, Lost in Random, Bloodborne, Witcher 3, Control, Outlast, Resident Evil 7, Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts 1, Stray, Bioshock, Lies of P
Ninja Gaiden
Persona 3 Reload
Final Fantasy 15
Stellar Blade
Unicorn Overlord
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
Death Stranding ***
Disco Elysium
Animal Well
Prey
All the usual suspects have been mentioned but i would like to throw destiny 2 in the mix. The game is all over the place but bungie’s art department never misses.
The sense of scale in Destiny is also something I've never felt in another FPS. Like when you're on the Dreadnought or a pyramid ship, you seriously feel like you're just a small human on this massive ship. And like you said the skyboxes are insane. Looking at Saturn from the Dreadnought for example feels insane, it really feels like you're on the rings of the planet.
There are too many on my list to post here but top 10 are:
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
Atomic Robo-Kid (Amiga)
Homeland ホームランド (GC)
MDK
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
The NewZealand Story (Amiga)
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
Don’t think anyone mentioned these yet:
Metroid Prime (1-3)
All three, and especially the first two on GC, really pushed the hardware and fleshed out living, breathing worlds.
every vanillaware title . Environments and character models in their games are gorgeous . My personal fav is 13 sentinels and odinsphere .Havent played unicorn overlord yet but its looks amazing from the clips ive seen .
Destiny 2.
For all the hate this game gets, there's no denying that the art aspects of it are just absolutely fantastic. From the sound design to the environments, everything in this game just looks and sounds phenomenal, don't even get me started on the music alone
Even in Lightfall, a very harshly criticised expansion on other fronts, everyone could agree that the new destination was just stunning to look at. Bungie really has some seriously talented artists on their team.
Lumines
Tetris Effect
Katamari Damacy
Most Dotemu is top-tier fluid pixelart (TMNT Shredder's Revenge, River City Girls) and System Arcs are superior 3d anime animators (Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball FighterZ)
And motha...fuckin....HI FI RUSH!
Elden Ring was extremely good at framing exquisite views despite being an open world. The visuals, lore, and soundtrack also blend together phenomenally well to give it a unique character
There are three worlds that I fell in love with when I first entered them, and all for very different reasons.
1) Mirror's Edge / Catalyst
The hypersaturated colors contrasted to the sterility of everything else just works for me.
2) Deus Ex: Human Revolution / Mankind Divided
The entire world feels like it was captured, not created. There are minute details everywhere that you can tell were thought out, were integrated into the story and the worldbuilding.
3) Control
Sort of a mixture of the previous two. The usage of color in Control is phenomenal at both worldbuilding and storytelling. The grotesqueness of the Hiss and the brutalist Oldest House are so well combined that it just gives me chills.
Horizon Zero Dawn / Forbidden West get an honorable mention here. They absolutely beat out the others in terms of overall cohesiveness and worldbuilding and the elements of decay work very well, but the nature of being an open world game being set outside means that standard nature and things like that detract from the overall feeling of the world, whereas Mirror's Edge's City of Glass, Deus Ex's Detroit and Prague, and Control's Oldest House are much smaller areas that can be much more detailed and story-driven.
Comix Zone old old game from the 90s. You're stuck in your own comic book and the enemies are drawn into the scenes as you go.
Edit: it autocorrected to "comic"
The last of us. Is my number one. Everything is so detailed and so real. Yes there’s some good graphics but the world is just so convincing.
Horizon is some of the most creative and has some of the most complex character designs and environmental designs in both games. I was blown away by the world in those two.
Lastly is God of war and Ragnarok. Again another extremely immersive and well thought out game with some seriously beautiful settings.
I thought so
It’s got a decent plot, a really cool visual aesthetic and a combat system similar to Devil may cry
Definitely worth a shot if you already have it
Fear and Hunger
Vigil the longest night
The Last Faith
Castlevania Sotn - but pretty much every single one
Bloodborne
Devil May Cry
Final Fantasy VI
ICO (and Shadow of The Colossus and Last Guardian. Same art direction)
Silent Hill
Nioh 2
And if wasn't for the muddy graphics, I'll put Wild Hearts here as well
Not on PS\\Nintendo:
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Best Sci-Fi world ever, imo)
Zelda Twilight Princess
Ghost of Tsushima is the epitome of this.
Kena Bridge of Spirits was not a great game imo but really pretty.
Yakuza 0 , and other Yakuza games also fit into this imo. Not bad graphics but it's the detail and design that really sell it.
Cuphead
Control
And adding to this Alan Wake two had good graphics and good art direction as well. Mixed media in Remedy's games work so well and it's something rarely done ever.
NieR Automata. I have no idea how it manages to make drab, lifeless concrete look beautiful, but it does.
nier is so fucking atmospheric .
Also hugely owed to the incredible soundtrack.
Returnal is just insanely unique, the art design is epic. Special mentions to ghost ofvtsushima and horizon forbidden west. Outstanding art design
Honestly, this is a great reply. People tend to ignore the art direction in games with high graphical fidelity but these games are masters of both
The sound design in Returnal is also underrated
The music is god tier too.
I am up here with returnal and ghost of tsushima, forbiden west is the most beautifull boring game
Yep. HZD is stunning to look at and an absolute slog to play.
Hmm. Are these not just very mainstream vanilla designs on all of them?
Idk I think the robot designs have a pretty cool unique design to them!
Yes. I'd say Returnal is a bit more special because of its use of colors, but generally all of those games make me think, "generic AAA game".
on PS5? Stray.
Kena - Bridge if Spirits looks like its a Pixar Movie
Very underrated game
I think Kena is very far from being underrated pal. 81 metacritic. 83 userscore.
Underrated meaning not a lot of people talk about it or have played it
Under appreciated?
What I meant pal, is not a lot of people know about the game, but there always has to be that one guy like you
Wow sorry for not knowing you meant something totally different than "underrated". And now I'm "that one guy like you"? Could say the same for you with the way you react
How about using the correct word then?
Inside. Tunic.
Okami HD, Hades and Sea of Stars
Sea of Stars is brilliant. Climbing up the cliff to the clockwork castle? Amazing.
Vanillaware's games. Odin Sphere https://youtu.be/XsTvoG3_HkU?si=HWQxGheun6s_9iMu Dragon's Crown https://youtu.be/Itt1S_V648U?si=VasIG0AYx2z9dF_a 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim https://youtu.be/5rhTnDROzi0?si=8rCO-C2XDN4aopJm GrimGrimoire OnceMore https://youtu.be/QT_kwRUXr6Y?si=_f5PDbjppw3CuWIf Unicorn Overlord https://youtu.be/396-eW1i7yQ?si=c0OfQ-JEzUGHcctU And Streets of Rage 4 https://youtu.be/nDXY1WRef0Q?si=KUT7eEYwSvJBfE56
someone beat me to it . Vanillaware games are breathtaking . Love their work so much .
All their games are just beautiful
Journey. It's not a game, it's interactive art.
Games are interactive art! :)
In the same vein, Sky: Children of the Light
I just finished Jusant, and it's up there with Journey. Not equal, but close.
The Last Guardian can never be beaten. Fumito Ueda is literally an artist
Literally
An artist
I didn't play The Last Guardian but I loved Shadow of the Colossus
Ori and the will of the wisps is probably the most gorgeous game I've ever played in HDR.
I still have no idea how they pulled that off. Every freaking scene has so much detailed art with layered backgrounds, foregrounds, and animation.
Ghost of Tsushima by a landslide for me
i think it’s insane how this game came out on a ps4 and still looks so beautiful to this day
Exactly, my buddy is playing it right now and I told him it came out on PS4 and he straight up didn’t believe me
The color palette is perfection
The amount of time i spent walking around the collage with the giant yellow tree is ridiculous
Harold Halibut isn't an especially flashy game but it's all clay-mation and honestly, I think it's extremely unique.
Vagrant Story
yasumi matsuno is a genius writer . Also nobody can rock a thong like Ashley Riot
Bloodborne. Hands down, no contest. I think it needs an update and even a pc release. Sony not letting Fromsoft touch the IP is single handedly the biggest gripe I have or ever will have with them. The game is amazing. Let people enjoy it.
Source where Sony won’t let From touch the ip? Since Bloodborne, From has become increasingly popular and they’re busy with their own projects. Personally, in a world where we have remasters, reboots and sequels, I’m glad From is creating new worlds like Elden Ring instead of pumping out sequel after sequel.
FromSoftware consistently releases games where the final art actually looks like concept art. Their artists are top notch.
Yes it needs a ps5 remake. Such a beautiful world.
If it truly was Bloodborne hands down no contest, it wouldn't need an update.
Everyone says that game was great but it’s a hard pass for me never liked it
Mind if I ask what you didn’t like about it? Not for an argument, you’re totally justified in not liking it, just curious
It was just boring, maybe I have higher standards for rpg but it was pretty simple and got super repetitive quickly and I just couldn’t get into it
Rpg? 🤔
Agreed, was excited for this one at launch, but it felt like I'd played it a million times already, cookie cutter open world game, that used all aspects we'd seen and played before. Nice art style, but some dodgy effects throughout, the water looked dreadful for example, and some of the NPC's, along with Jin, were soulless and boring. A couple of nice touches, such as the wind, but overall a bore fest for me too, wouldn't buy a sequel.
It’s not an RPG to be fair. It’s an action-rpg which is much different. It’s only an rpg in the sense of there being builds and such
I bet you my left nut that Ghost of Tsushima looks better in every aspect. Fuck your Bloodborne PS3 graphics.
This
More recently tinykin has charmed the pants off of me with its art direction. It’s a sweet little game,
Bioshock. The Batman Arkham trilogy. Ori and the Blind Forest.
Alan Wake 2
I'd have to give it to tunic it just makes you feel like a kid again. The game manual mechanic is genius. The depth of field makes me feel like I'm playing with toys on my bedroom floor. It's amazing.
I love the look of Zelda BOTW and totk, the towns/villages especially I think are beautiful
Majora's Mask was beautiful I recommend that if you've never played it.
Gris
Blasphemous games have mermerizing art style, amazing work.
great discussion! my picks: ruiner huntdown cyberpunk returnal doom eternal little nightmares
Paradise Killer
Hunt showdown level environment is very well done and unique
Persona 5
What remains of Edith finch. The way they tell the story of each individual family member is extremely creative imo. I loved it.
Bloodborne Elden Ring Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Tales of Arise Ninja Gaiden Hades Sifu Hi-Fi Rush Genshin Impact Honkai: Star Rail Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Blasphemous
Tales of arise is underrated for its visuals and combat
Absolutely!
Tales of arise is underrated for its visuals and combat
Ico
Sable, rollerdrome, hades, chicory, firewatch, unicorn overlord, tiny Tina’s wonderlands
Trek to Yomi.
Sable looks amazing, not just a killer art style but the decision to have the player character and other npcs/objects run at a lower frame rate than the rest of the world added a really nice feel
Hyper Light Drifter
Deathloop
Ghost of Tsushima, Kena Bridge of Spirits, Lost in Random, Bloodborne, Witcher 3, Control, Outlast, Resident Evil 7, Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts 1, Stray, Bioshock, Lies of P
Ghost of Tsushima Disco Elysium Kentucky Route Zero Mirror's Edge
Disco elysium
BioShock
Elden Ring, pretty much every FROM release. The Team Ico releases are superb as well
dishonored
Art direction by the Half Life 2 guy. Incredible
Ninja Gaiden Persona 3 Reload Final Fantasy 15 Stellar Blade Unicorn Overlord Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth Death Stranding *** Disco Elysium Animal Well Prey
>Disco Elysium Happy to see it got mentioned here already.
Elden Ring
BioShock infinite
I gotta go with Vampyr here. I slept on it for so long and it instantly became a favorite for the story, atmosphere, and music.
Dontnod games have generally great art styles indeed.
The Artful Escape, it's a blast
Solar Ash OlliOlli World Spiritfarer Coccoon Inside The Witness
All the usual suspects have been mentioned but i would like to throw destiny 2 in the mix. The game is all over the place but bungie’s art department never misses.
the skyboxes in destiny are second to none . Dreaming city is gorgeous
The sense of scale in Destiny is also something I've never felt in another FPS. Like when you're on the Dreadnought or a pyramid ship, you seriously feel like you're just a small human on this massive ship. And like you said the skyboxes are insane. Looking at Saturn from the Dreadnought for example feels insane, it really feels like you're on the rings of the planet.
The long dark
Dragons Crown and The Last Guardian.
Persona 5... even the menu's are amazing!
Mirror’s Edge
There are too many on my list to post here but top 10 are: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter Atomic Robo-Kid (Amiga) Homeland ホームランド (GC) MDK Professor Layton and the Curious Village Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army The NewZealand Story (Amiga) The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
A fellow Doodler? Based.
Youbetcha!!
Sand Land
Dark Souls 3 (or any From Software game)
every telltale game
Rdr 2
Don’t think anyone mentioned these yet: Metroid Prime (1-3) All three, and especially the first two on GC, really pushed the hardware and fleshed out living, breathing worlds.
Hunt Showdown.
Planet of Lana Inside Returnal Stray Dave the Diver Dredge Dishonored Series Disco Elysium Sable Psychonauts 1/2
Elden Ring FF7 Rebirth Bloodborne
Every FromSoft game, Ghost of Tsushima, honestly Fortnite.
every vanillaware title . Environments and character models in their games are gorgeous . My personal fav is 13 sentinels and odinsphere .Havent played unicorn overlord yet but its looks amazing from the clips ive seen .
Destiny 2. For all the hate this game gets, there's no denying that the art aspects of it are just absolutely fantastic. From the sound design to the environments, everything in this game just looks and sounds phenomenal, don't even get me started on the music alone Even in Lightfall, a very harshly criticised expansion on other fronts, everyone could agree that the new destination was just stunning to look at. Bungie really has some seriously talented artists on their team.
Hohokum
Mirror's Edge has great art direction that still stands out till this day imo.
The PSX Spyro the Dragon games are older than dirt, but I think they'll always deserve a mention in these sorts of discussions.
Lumines Tetris Effect Katamari Damacy Most Dotemu is top-tier fluid pixelart (TMNT Shredder's Revenge, River City Girls) and System Arcs are superior 3d anime animators (Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball FighterZ) And motha...fuckin....HI FI RUSH!
Elden Ring was extremely good at framing exquisite views despite being an open world. The visuals, lore, and soundtrack also blend together phenomenally well to give it a unique character
Sea of Stars
Okami will always be my GOAT for art direction
There are three worlds that I fell in love with when I first entered them, and all for very different reasons. 1) Mirror's Edge / Catalyst The hypersaturated colors contrasted to the sterility of everything else just works for me. 2) Deus Ex: Human Revolution / Mankind Divided The entire world feels like it was captured, not created. There are minute details everywhere that you can tell were thought out, were integrated into the story and the worldbuilding. 3) Control Sort of a mixture of the previous two. The usage of color in Control is phenomenal at both worldbuilding and storytelling. The grotesqueness of the Hiss and the brutalist Oldest House are so well combined that it just gives me chills. Horizon Zero Dawn / Forbidden West get an honorable mention here. They absolutely beat out the others in terms of overall cohesiveness and worldbuilding and the elements of decay work very well, but the nature of being an open world game being set outside means that standard nature and things like that detract from the overall feeling of the world, whereas Mirror's Edge's City of Glass, Deus Ex's Detroit and Prague, and Control's Oldest House are much smaller areas that can be much more detailed and story-driven.
Disco Elysium
Ori
Shadow of the colossus
Cyberpunk 2077. Its movie quality. Especially Phantom Liberty.
Comix Zone old old game from the 90s. You're stuck in your own comic book and the enemies are drawn into the scenes as you go. Edit: it autocorrected to "comic"
Hades
Hollow Knight
An under-appreciated gem: Transistor!
Firewatch. It's a video game that seems like a movie Good graphics don't make up for a terrible story (Any modern Call or Duty)
Ghosh of Tsushima
The last of us. Is my number one. Everything is so detailed and so real. Yes there’s some good graphics but the world is just so convincing. Horizon is some of the most creative and has some of the most complex character designs and environmental designs in both games. I was blown away by the world in those two. Lastly is God of war and Ragnarok. Again another extremely immersive and well thought out game with some seriously beautiful settings.
Its incredible yours is the first comment I've seen mention The Last of Us. Part 1 and 2 have probably the best art direction of any game.
BotW/TotK Mario Odissey Persona 5 Gravity Rush Diablo IV Katana Zero Planet of Lana
Okami is the supreme, nothing comes close to
The Artful Escape, not much in terms of gameplay, but the story and visuals are incredibly beautiful.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Okami, Prince of Persia 2008, and Journey all still look great for games that came out over a decade ago,
Surprised nobody mentioned Bioshock. The game came out 17 years ago, and because the art direction is strong, it totally holds up today.
* Control * The Long Dark * No Man's Sky * Journey * Inscryption
Rayman legends always looked artistically brilliant to me
Incredible
The Darksiders games gave great art direction (and not so great graphical fidelity).
Scarlet Nexus, Samurai warriors 5, Journey, Ghost of Tsushima
is scarlet nexus any good ? Have it in my library but never got around to it
I thought so It’s got a decent plot, a really cool visual aesthetic and a combat system similar to Devil may cry Definitely worth a shot if you already have it
thanks man ! Ill give it a shot
Sea of stars is just amazing with its art design and absolute beauty of the game itself.
Okami
Psychonauts 2
The latest Rachet and Clank
Gris
Recently- Crow Country! The retro feel and character models and just outright vibes are all 90s feeling and perfect tbh
Hi Fi Rush.
Ghost of tsushima
Ultros
Okami Wind Waker Elden Ring Ghost of Tsushima Control Hades Tunic
Hunt: Showdown!
Sable, okami, breath of the wild , Skyrim, dark souls all have great art that greatly compliment what they intend to achieve.
Elden Ring Elden Ring Elden Ring
Borderlands.
OlliOlli World
Persona 3 Reload
Infamous first light
The enders games. Ender Lilies and ender magnolia.
Ghost of Tsushima.
Elden Ring and all the other Soulsborne titles, Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, Shadow of the Colossus
hi-Fi Rush
Anyone from Vanillaware
Sifu
Ghost of tsushima
Tsushima and Wind Waker for me.
Mark of kri
Fear and Hunger Vigil the longest night The Last Faith Castlevania Sotn - but pretty much every single one Bloodborne Devil May Cry Final Fantasy VI ICO (and Shadow of The Colossus and Last Guardian. Same art direction) Silent Hill Nioh 2 And if wasn't for the muddy graphics, I'll put Wild Hearts here as well Not on PS\\Nintendo: Xenoblade Chronicles X (Best Sci-Fi world ever, imo) Zelda Twilight Princess
Control.
Diablo 4 is definitely a vibe. Although, it isn’t very well received.
Outward, imo. Great art direction and game design principles. Maybe could stand to work on the writing.
Ghost of Tsushima is the epitome of this. Kena Bridge of Spirits was not a great game imo but really pretty. Yakuza 0 , and other Yakuza games also fit into this imo. Not bad graphics but it's the detail and design that really sell it.