With the current generation of consoles in full force this year games were looking especially amazing on our televisions. Gone are the days of shoddy, polygonal graphics and in are the days of more photo realistic games. Every developer is trying their hardest to one up the last developers game and it shows. The editors and writers of BagoGames sat down and decided which games looked the best to them this year. Here are our games, in no particular order that we believe had the best or most unique visuals this year.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky has taken a lot of heat due to some performance failures, as of late Hello Games has given the game some Viagra and it has gotten considerably better. I got my copy about two weeks after release, and the patches took overnight to download, so I’m pretty sure I was given a different game experience than first adopters. I was excited for this game when I had first heard about it due to the fact that the visuals reminded me of the late 50’s and early 60’s comic book and sci-fi art I had seen. My childhood was filled with old science fiction comic books like Solar: Man of the Atom and such, and they all had that pastel feel. Playing the game took me back to my youth when I was flipping through old Gold Key and DELL comic books and I loved it for that. It may have had many flaws, but the design and overall look of the game was not one of them.
Runner Up: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
-Jerry Dobracki
The Last Guardian
The Last Guardian wins this category for it’s art that is a blend of mystical and historical architecture and nature scenes. When the trailer was released at E3 this June, it took viewers’ breath away. The open sky hanging high about the ancient city filled with scenes of heartbreak, tension and happiness is a memory many journalists will remember for a long time. Within the game itself, the art takes the lead and tells the story visually. Everything from the inside caves deep within the earth to the sweet green grass practically emits the scents of deep earth and growing plants. The Last Guardian’s music reaches into your soul and invokes feeling of ethereal magic that has been lying dormant and unmoving in the earth’s surface which further enhances the beauty that the game’s art has already created.
-Eleni DiCarlo
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
What can I say; Nathan Drake’s latest adventure is simply stunning in every possible way. From the character models, dynamic lighting, textures and the structure to the world is breath taking. It’s been a long time since a game made me stop and appreciate the views at hand. Naughty Dog have outdone themselves in advancing the visual presentation and making players feel the sense of adventure even more than before. This game clearly shows the power of the PS4 and what we might expect from the Last of Us Part II in its graphical representation. Jaw dropping and eye watering, Uncharted 4 has clearly set the bar high for others to follow.
-Patrick Kennedy
Tyranny
A good RPG environment offers different environments that piece together in a manner that is both beautiful and has a large amount of cohesive variation. Both of which Tyranny nails to the fridge with a railroad spike perfectly. It doesn’t quite do anything particularly unique here, but sometimes you don’t need an original take to find it mesmerizing.
-Kailan May
ABZU
A brand new adventure game that came from some of the folks behind Journey, well it goes without saying that there were some high expectations for the game. ABZU in general can easily be compared to Journey, in how it plays out, but the biggest standout for me were the visuals and environments. The amount of detail in the oceanic environments was stellar, and I would spend a fair amount of time just swimming around and exploring, and meditating and looking at the various species of marine life. As you venture further into the game and you are introduced to the encroachment of technology in the marine world, the differences really stand out. I’ve revisited ABZU a couple times since I beat it, and the colors and environments still stand out, and really help to establish a world that just begs to be explored.
Runner Up: Overwatch
-Zac LaRocque-Walker
Those are some of the most beautiful games that we’ve had this year, what do you think faithful readers? Did we miss a game a two? Maybe we missed your favorite? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @BagoGames!