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What is the most beautiful game?

S

sn00zer

Member
So this doesnt just boil down into arguments about "art style" vs. "visual design" definitions, what to you is THE most beautiful game currently available
Also post pics you monsters, this is a thread of beauty

3D: Journey
2204681-vlcsnap_2012_05_11_19h58m37s41.png

Obvious pick, but seriously i see it as almost unrivaled

2D: Rayman Legends
Rayman-Legends-Gets-New-Trailer-and-Screenshots-5.jpg

Jesus just look at all dat pretty

Runner Up: Bioshock Infinite
 
K

Kabouter

Member
Pictures are great, but just preemptively this time, can we please avoid posting 60MB worth of GIFs in one post? If you want to show that much of a game, a still in this thread + a youtube link suffices.
 
B

botty

Banned
Kingdom Hearts. Beauty is more than just one thing, and Kingdom Hearts is really the only series to showcase this fact. At anyone point when playing, your heart is being tugged by impressive visuals, remarkable music, and a touching story.

7m89Zox.jpg
Click to expand...
 
T

Twin Tails

Member
Halo 4, the campaign specifically, some of those sky boxes are just Stunning and the interiors of some buildings made me walking around and just take it all in.
 
HORRORSHØW

HORRORSHØW

Member
165226-ico_original.jpg


Ico will always be one of the most beautiful games for me, and not just from an aesthetics point of view. The game was artistically striking, to be sure, but I think the overall atmosphere was more impressive. To convey emotions with something more substantial than mere language was poetic; Ico and Yorda's reciprocative relationship was a thing of beauty. The music, too, lends to the beautifully haunting experience.
 
D

Dog Problems

Banned
As far as 3D goes I would also go with Journey. But for 2D, the most beautiful game to me is Sword & Sworcery. I love its use of colors throughout the game as well as it's overall design.

ilNoEME.jpg


Wh3x7hW.jpg
Click to expand...

Proteus is another one that I would consider as one of the most beautiful games but I know I'm definitely in the minority with that one.
 
M

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
botty said:
Kingdom Hearts. Beauty is more than just one thing, and Kingdom Hearts is really the only series to showcase this fact. At anyone point when playing, your heart is being tugged by impressive visuals, remarkable music, and a touching story.
Click to expand...

I'll give you the rest, but Kingdom Hearts' story is bog standard JRPG tripe. That series is all art design, Disney nostalgia, and brilliant music choices.
 
S

ShineALight

Member
These aren't my all-time picks or anything, but having beaten The Last of Us and Pikmin 3 in the past week, I'm going to throw those both out there. Of course they both suffer from some of the usual issues with console games, like less-than-perfect IQ, but they both also supplied a near-constant stream of wow moments.

They're also two of the only games I've played through on my ST60, so that might have something to do with /brag
 
N

NullPointer

Member
Beautiful in terms of wanting to frame a screenshot on my wall to give me inspiration and warm fuzzies whenever I looked upon it?

Journey, Skyrim and Bioshock Infinite, with a bit of Red Dead Redemption on the side.
 
Andrew Korenchkin

Andrew Korenchkin

Member
For me, BioShock Infinite. The imagery in there is so beautiful that it gives most "visually stunning" directors a run for their own money. Del Toro was right when he said the series is one of the best in terms of visuals in any medium, period.
 
M

Metzhara

Member
Dog Problems said:
Proteus is another one that I would consider as one of the most beautiful games but I know I'm definitely in the minority with that one.
Click to expand...

Minority, perhaps, but you are not alone. I believe that game is in my top 10. The "emotive" quality was among the most beautiful I have experienced in interactive media. -Adam
 
Z

Zoator

Member
Xenoblade has to take the cake for me. The novel structure of the world, combined with the superb art direction, led to some spectacular results. Each new environment dropped my jaw more than the last.

Here's a 14 minute environment porn video from the game (minor spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYBui5ghJ0

This is one game that I would really, really like to see remastered in HD.
 
M

_machine

Member
Trine 2 comes to mind immediately; no game has matched it's fairytale-esque graphics and atmosphere and it has gorgeous colors, lighting and variety. Though for some reasons it doesn't look half as good in screenshots as it does in motion.
 
T

ThatsMytrunks

Member
Big Jeffrey said:
Halo 4, the campaign specifically, some of those sky boxes are just Stunning and the interiors of some buildings made me walking around and just take it all in.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, one of the prettiest looking games ever released on a console. Hard to beat Journey, though. That game just oozes gorgeous.
 
B

botty

Banned
MattKeil said:
I'll give you the rest, but Kingdom Hearts' story is bog standard JRPG tripe. That series is all art design, Disney nostalgia, and brilliant music choices.
Click to expand...

Excluding the last game in the series, the story is actually quite compelling. No other video game series has held onto it's fanbase this long with such a beefy storyline. And this is about beauty, so no matter how messy some people may view the story as, it still touches the hearts of thousands, and even millions of people all around the world. That's true beauty.
 
R

rosaceadude2112

Member
i could just look at kane and lynch 2 for hours. i don't know if it really fits the op's definition of beautiful, but its a game that's really capable of saying so much just in how it looks.

half life 2 uses visual design in such smart ways, its really a step ahead of the bioshocks of the world. those games are pretty, but they provide a relatively flat image. something striking when you walk into the room, but its secretly hoping you don't look too closely 'cause that's all there is. hl2 invites you to look around, and rewards you for it. a shadowy figure in a doorway, something going on just out of sight through a crack in the wall, mysterious gaunt specters inside the alien citadel... there's more memorable imagery in the first half hour of hl2 than the entirety of most games.

I'm in love with dishonored's character models and environments. everything's done with broad strokes, like its still being sketched out.

the stalker games always manage to strike a fine balance between the unsettling and the serene. a beautiful and tempting place that you won't wanna leave, but also won't let you relax.
 
S

SatoAilDarko

Member
Zoator said:
Xenoblade has to take the cake for me. The novel structure of the world, combined with the superb art direction, led to some spectacular results. Each new environment dropped my jaw more than the last.

Here's a 14 minute environment porn video from the game (minor spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYBui5ghJ0



This is one game that I would really, really like to see remastered in HD.
Click to expand...

Second this. I couldn't believe that video when I first saw it. It was so good. The large world and it's varied design is something I could just sit back and take in. Also while it isn't my prettiest game I really loved the way the Mario Galaxy games looked.
 
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