Art Style in video games

[Luck]

My bad twocows brah, I just didn't see another thread like this. Feel free to close it if it breaks VG rules, not that you need my approval anyways.

Art Style is a very important thing in video games. It can make or break an experience and directly affects how immersive the game is. Some art styles are breathtakingly beautiful while others are just horrid.

So, what are some art styles that you really thought were great? How about some awful ones?
(Please, nothing about graphics, they are not the same as art style.)

Personally, Killzone 2 and Okami have amazing art styles. Killzone 2 is extremely gritty but it happens to make itself stick out because it fits the universe so well. The urban cities are in shambles due to war and the people live in horrible conditions while the rich live in great architectural structures, and it shows the clear division between the two classes.

Okami…I've never really played the game, but it has a polish that very few games can claim. The cel shaded graphics just make it look fantastic overall.

 

[Archer]

On the note of Cell-Shading, I love Wind Waker's style. They did what a lot of the Gamecube's titles did: create a more colourful, soft environment so that the textures did not look muddy.

EDIT: What a pathetic attempt at my 3000th post. Ah well.

 

[razzbat]

My bad twocows brah, I just didn't see another thread like this. Feel free to close it if it breaks VG rules, not that you need my approval anyways.

Art Style is a very important thing in video games. It can make or break an experience and directly affects how immersive the game is. Some art styles are breathtakingly beautiful while others are just horrid.

So, what are some art styles that you really thought were great? How about some awful ones?
(Please, nothing about graphics, they are not the same as art style.)

Personally, Killzone 2 and Okami have amazing art styles. Killzone 2 is extremely gritty but it happens to make itself stick out because it fits the universe so well. The urban cities are in shambles due to war and the people live in horrible conditions while the rich live in great architectural structures, and it shows the clear division between the two classes.

Okami…I've never really played the game, but it has a polish that very few games can claim. The cel shaded graphics just make it look fantastic overall.

okami defs. it fitted perfectly with the game. there isn't many adventure games where i just enjoyed running around. :)
another game that stands out is katamari TRIBUTE. after you beat a level, you could go back to it and select what sort of style you want, sketchy, cartoony etc.
I've always loved the final fantasy style. it's always so clean and beautiful. :)
one that i don't really like is gta4. the game is still pretty fun and the towns can look good but i really don't like the lighting and shading on the people. It can be kind of disturbing.

 

[A Pixy]

I just adore cel-shading, and, personally, I think Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit does this pretty darn well. It doesn't give up technical beauty for aesthetic beauty. Any place where they squeeze in detail that isn't covered by cel-shading, they'll do it. Really pretty game.

I can't really think of any art-style I dislike, I'll probably edit this post once I think of something. o3o

 

[TRIFORCE89]

The Wind Waker looked better than I think everyone expected. But, Okami took that concept to a whole other (terrific) level.

The look of the Katamari series fits well for the game. The Beatles: Rock Band has a terrific art style and presentation.

Going back a little bit, I was very impressed when Paper Mario first came out on the N64.

I also like the Professor Layton series. It's like French anime XD

 

[Sydian]

Okami and Paper Mario come to mind here. :) And Kirby's Epic Yarn. All very unique art styles, and my eyes like to stare at them. Aaaaand Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY (even though I've never played it, lol)

 

[Cello]

Seriously? No mention of the Team Ico games yet?
Get it together guys! :]
SotC is usually the first thing mentioned in these threads.

But yeah, Okami is pretty gorgeous.

 

[Captain Fabio]

I am not a fan of dull, grey & brown games like Gears of War.

Things like 'Flower' from the PSN store are just beautiful. Cell Shaded games are always nice to look at, even though I wasn't overly keen on Wind Waker, I still enjoyed the graphics because it was a break from the whole 'trying to be realistic' thing.

 

[Asrodrig]

I do love Okami as well. As far as cel-shading goes, there are few better than Redsteel2 imo.

 

[Time Guardian]

The thing with Okami is that is really fitted the game itself as well, yes it's cel-shaded but it was also made to look like the traditional Japanese woodblock art as well. If it was done in a cel-shading among the lines of, let's say...Wind Waker it just wouldn't look the same at all.

Also Viewtiful Joe, the cel-shaded style really fits VERY well with the movie universe in the game itself. to me that game just wouldn't be the same with a different style, it would just actually lose most of it's charm instead.

Even though the style isn't as prevalent in the games themselves as opposed to the other games brought up (considering that a majority of them are sprite-based) I adore the style that is seen in the official art in all the Castlevania games that Ayami Kojima were a part of. A lot of her full illustrations for the games were done using traditional methods which is a bit of a surprise considering that most official and concept art for games now-a-days use digital means to draw it.

 

[Guren]

Some of the best art styles in video games would have to be Okami, Okamiden, Paper Mario, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and I really liked the overall style of Monster Hunter Tri, although may just be getting confused with the impressive graphics.

 

[Ravecat]

Wind Waker will always have a place in my heart, and I feel it looks gorgeous. In my opinion cel-shading is not always done well, and often looks trashy, but this game was absolutely stunning.
The Paper Mario series, especially the second just look great for what they are, and they're certainly an interesting style.
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, in my opinion, has some of the nicest pixel-work I've ever seen in a game, and I wish more games had stunning spriting styles such as MLSS.
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun captures the image of a desolate wasteland perfectly, and while the graphics might be dated in this day and age they will always be an impressive use of style as atmosphere.

 

[Alistair]

Many of the styles mentioned are ones I really like (Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joe, The World Ends With You, Okami, Paper Mario). A few others I really liked were Costume Quest, Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest, Jet Set Radio, Limbo, Dust: an Elysian Tail (Note: not released yet), Frogatto, and the 3D Dragon Quest games.

For one, I love cel shading. It just provides a pop and sense immersion without trying to be too gritty. As for Cubivore, I love what they did by making almost everything cubic. Cubism FTW. Limbo, well, I'm just a sucker for black and white. For Dust, one of the draws for me is that everything is hand painted and detailed. I know, Braid was done similarly, but the style that Jonathan Blow used was just... bad in my opinion. For Frogatto, I love pixel art, and this game has some amazing pixel art in it.