Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Judging a book by its cover is frowned upon when that’s the sole measurement of a piece of entertainment media, and yet for a video game it is commonly a huge consideration regarding whether one game might appeal to someone and not others. With so many unique and novel visuals, there’s a high likelihood that players were introduced to immersive and interactive experiences they might not have been attentive to otherwise.
Indeed, this year saw a world-class celebration of art direction, especially in terms of the variety of striking art styles that were implemented and iterated on in the most beautiful games of 2024,presented in alphabetical order.
Animal Well
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Easily one of the most visually distinct games of 2024,Animal Wellis a lucid fever dreamof eerie, surrealist pixel art and warped animal illustrations. HowAnimal Wellilluminates darkness is dazzling as the 2D Metroidvania indulges in a sensory overload of mesmerizing effects to stimulate every environment.
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukongis a pillar in cinematic fantasy and carves out an untapped niche for ancient Chinese mythology. That said, it initially garnered curiosity due to its ingenious character design and epic sense of scale as depicted in its earliest teaser trailers, cementingBlack Myth: Wukongas a grand journey with boss fights galore.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguardtakes a much more stylized and colorful approach to its art direction as opposed to previous games in the franchise and it’s clear how massive of a step forward in graphics it is for BioWare. Punctuated by a purple hue,BioWare’s chosen art style allowsDragon Age: The Veilguardto look picture-esquewhile being illustrative enough to denote its pocket of whimsical fantasy.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
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FromSoftware’s indelible and sublime art direction has been proven time and time again since it basically rewrote the book on dark fantasy withDark Souls.Elden Ringbehaves as somewhat of an extension of that vision, now incorporating high fantasy into its atmosphere, and theShadow of the Erdtree DLC is only further evidence that FromSoftware is a master in the industrywhen it comes to level, character, and boss design, milking every ounce out of rich fantasy tropes and imaginative lore it can.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7’s remake and its recent sequel,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, evoke the series’ prevailing art direction: scenic realism and astonishing lighting married with stylized character design. Blurring the lines between remake, sequel, and reinterpretation,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthexcels in its responsibility ofportraying nostalgic elements of the originalFinal Fantasy 7, let alone settings such as the Nibel, Junon, and Corel regions.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circlesells the cinematic adaptation of its movie source material, taking place not long afterRaiders of the Lost Ark, and its hyperrealistic graphical fidelity would’ve been impressive enough if it was solely implemented into beautifully rendering Harrison Ford’s likeness as the swashbuckling archaeology professor. However, this tremendous fidelity extends to every corner of the game to capture wonderful vistas and indulge in the rich real-world history thatIndiana Jones and the Great Circleembeds itself into between Peru, the Vatican, Gizeh, the Himalayas, Shanghai, Sukhothai, and Ur in 1937.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
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The Legend of Zeldais as artistically dynamic and unpredictable as any decades-long series, andEchoes of Wisdomis an odd case of an entry dipping back into its recent past to recycle a beloved art style. Indeed,Echoes of Wisdomdoubles down onLink’s Awakening’s approach of cherubic characters and miniature-like environmentsin its isometric camera angles.The Legend of Zeldahas always balanced whimsical, child-like wonder with demonstrably dark undertones, butEchoes of Wisdomis proof that the former’s aesthetic and atmosphere continue to predominantly be where the franchise’s heart lies.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Atlus is no stranger to fantasy and yet to see Studio Zero transplantPersonaandShin Megami Tensei’s bones into an immersive fantasy world is fantastic with poignant art direction throughout the Kingdom of Euchronia’s broad paint strokes. Not unlike the games that reinforce and influence it,Metaphor: ReFantazio’s artistic UX and menu presentationare unmatched, with evenMetaphor’s director Katsura Hashino admitting how herculean of a feat it is to achieve.
Neva
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Descending from an experience as gorgeous asGris, Nomada’sNevabasks in stunningly colorful, warm gradients.Neva’s emotional storytellingis reflected in its progression of seasons and each visual tone is wielded as a means to amplify every nuanced beat.
