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Yes yes, love this thread. I love aesthetics, naturally gameplay is highly more important to me, but visuals are something I feel add a great deal of immersion and depth to gaming.
First on my list, is one that springs to mind Bioshock Infinite
Probably one of the most fantastic, and beautiful games of this decade. Incredible art direction, with a perfect balance of light and dark thematics. The character design was flawless, with Booker and Elizabeth sharing this extreme visual bond that was so evident, even though you were playing a first person shooter. There hasn't been a game that does the up in the clouds theme so well at all. Zelda's Twilight Princess, is one that comes to mind that has done an area in the sky, but it went nowhere near the quality of Columbia in Infinite. It was a joy to actually explore the visuals, as much as play the game. That's rare for me.
The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker
Of course this was going to make it on my list. The Wind Waker is probably the most beautiful on the hardware it was released on. It has such clever design and aesthetics, and was so original for its time. It was a pivot point in TLoZ series for graphic style and art design. It brought games like Skyward Sword so forward it visual style, as well as many of their handheld games such as Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass. Beautiful game, I would argue that even now, the art style stands out ahead of modern games.
Borderlands 1 & 2
Borderlands was one of the first ever games to really achieve the cartoon comic book style. XIII did a good job at it much before, but Borderlands actually had such beautiful design on characters as well as the world they created. Not only was it visually appealing, simple, yet striking, but the way they created their world was so original in its time. It's hard to get players to want to play in a wasteland without making it look like Fallout 3, but Borderlands brought a dead world to life, and that was an incredible feat in their art department.
The Last of Us
It's thanks to the art department that this game felt so on point. While the pacing, and the story were fantastic, the visual style had a big part to play in the game. Creating an original and detailed looking post-apocalyptic world using old (PS3) hardware was not easy to do. Not only that, but they made their characters feel so real due to their design and relatable looks. They weren't overly striking, everyone looked like a real person who was suitably hardened by the end of the world. The creature design was also incredible, I imagine the art department had a lot of fun working on Clickers...let's face it, one of the scariest damn things in gaming, ever.
Limbo
One of the more simplistic looking games on this list, however their eye for design is impeccable. The dark, and flat art style of the game really led to the uneasiness of the whole experience. It's such a pretty game though, it's so simple, yet so beautiful thanks to the art department shipping that one out just right. Certainly a worthy mention on this list.
First on my list, is one that springs to mind Bioshock Infinite
Probably one of the most fantastic, and beautiful games of this decade. Incredible art direction, with a perfect balance of light and dark thematics. The character design was flawless, with Booker and Elizabeth sharing this extreme visual bond that was so evident, even though you were playing a first person shooter. There hasn't been a game that does the up in the clouds theme so well at all. Zelda's Twilight Princess, is one that comes to mind that has done an area in the sky, but it went nowhere near the quality of Columbia in Infinite. It was a joy to actually explore the visuals, as much as play the game. That's rare for me.
The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker
Of course this was going to make it on my list. The Wind Waker is probably the most beautiful on the hardware it was released on. It has such clever design and aesthetics, and was so original for its time. It was a pivot point in TLoZ series for graphic style and art design. It brought games like Skyward Sword so forward it visual style, as well as many of their handheld games such as Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass. Beautiful game, I would argue that even now, the art style stands out ahead of modern games.
Borderlands 1 & 2
Borderlands was one of the first ever games to really achieve the cartoon comic book style. XIII did a good job at it much before, but Borderlands actually had such beautiful design on characters as well as the world they created. Not only was it visually appealing, simple, yet striking, but the way they created their world was so original in its time. It's hard to get players to want to play in a wasteland without making it look like Fallout 3, but Borderlands brought a dead world to life, and that was an incredible feat in their art department.
The Last of Us
It's thanks to the art department that this game felt so on point. While the pacing, and the story were fantastic, the visual style had a big part to play in the game. Creating an original and detailed looking post-apocalyptic world using old (PS3) hardware was not easy to do. Not only that, but they made their characters feel so real due to their design and relatable looks. They weren't overly striking, everyone looked like a real person who was suitably hardened by the end of the world. The creature design was also incredible, I imagine the art department had a lot of fun working on Clickers...let's face it, one of the scariest damn things in gaming, ever.
Limbo
One of the more simplistic looking games on this list, however their eye for design is impeccable. The dark, and flat art style of the game really led to the uneasiness of the whole experience. It's such a pretty game though, it's so simple, yet so beautiful thanks to the art department shipping that one out just right. Certainly a worthy mention on this list.
