Epilogue’s Best Art Styles of 2017

Before we get into an in-depth conversation over the various nominees, it’s worth pointing out that this year has been a phenomenal one for unique art design. There was a lot of feedback that any list without Persona 5 isn’t one worth looking at (and perhaps that is for you to decide), or that Horizon Zero Dawn is too gorgeous not to include. It is such a loaded year for games with interesting and beautiful designs that we should be thrilled that no one list gets it completely right.

In terms of what Epilogue was looking for, we decided that our preference was to look for things that hadn’t been done before. Games that took a gamble on their art style and let it run parallel to their respective narrative and mechanics.  It is our belief that the following five games fit that prerequisite smugly.

Night in the Woods (via Dakota Trammell)

Night in the Woods is a game filled with nostalgia for growing up, and has been praised high and low for the game’s storytelling ability. What cements this story into the heart’s of many, is its simple and childlike art style. With its use of common shapes and flat colors for characters and backgrounds, minimalism has become this game’s calling card, becoming the center-point for its charm.

Lacking advanced rendering or hyper realism, this game grounds itself in a construction-paper style that would be reminiscent of something anyone could make in grade school with some scissors and glue. Night in the Woods uses basic shapes like triangles, circles and squares to build up its world and characters. It frames the theme by using flat colors that are often muted and dark to keep with the bleak cloud sitting over this falling towns head and the mysteries being kept hidden from plain sight. Only occasionally does the game use warm yellows and oranges and soft gradients to set the mood for heartfelt moments or rushes of nostalgia that the player themselves might find familiar in their own lives, such as when our main character “Mae” is on a field watching a sunset with her mom when reminiscing over the past.

Although the art is simple in nature, creators Alec Holowka and Scott Benson didn’t ignore the little details, keeping the animation smooth and seamless, even when it comes to the subtle platforming scattered throughout the game. From Mae’s wavering arms to keep steady on a phone wire, to how it bounces and reacts underneath her with each step or jump. Dynamic backgrounds play a role, too, with animals scattering behind buildings and people living their day-to-day lives. Littered with scenic views and heartwarming moments, Night in the Woods draws players in with a small town mystery and a familiar, childlike world art style.

West of Loathing

West of Loathing uses its pronounced black and white disposition to carve out a memorable experience on a low budget.The game notably uses stick figures for its characters, with animations right out of something you’d have been able to find on Ebaum’s World ten years ago.

While West of Loathing isn’t exquisitely put together in the same way its competition is, the game stays in theme with slapstick jokes and a western canvas. The art style never comes across as low effort – instead, it provides a surface from the narrative and gameplay to work from. From its stick-figure characters to its poorly drawn items, West of Loathing uses its art style to emphasize its theme.

Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 (via Marcos Carmona)

Perhaps the outlier among the rest of the titles on this list, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 makes its appearance with a visual design that both Daisuke Ishiwatari and Hidehiko Sakamura agreed to be both visually impacting and a compliment to the 2D sprites that had accompanied the series since its inception. The attention to detail and abundance of character Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 provides warrant the praise we hope to address.

Arc System Works made the decision to graduate from its traditional character sprites to using 3D cell-shaded graphics, including the game’s stages which are modeled for 360 degree movements due to dynamic attacks from various characters. Each match in Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 is one of the most visually appealing and grand treats you can gain from an anime fighter. At no point does the palate of Xrd Rev 2 feel bland, and there is a sort of heartbeat that echoes through each visual with all colors vibrantly conveying the setting of each match.

The presentation and production Arc System Works treated us with is a package that could only have been created with their 19-year romance with the fighting game genre.

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is a quietly beautiful game that utilizes subtle difference in textures as you progress through the game. Much like Sin City’s use of red against its dark backdrop, Hollow Knight uses light – which also functions as one of its core gameplay mechanics. Despite the dimly lit pathways, auras of light glisten just brightly enough to showcase the immense detail put into the game.

While its brooding environment is certainly at the core of its art style, Hollow Knight’s inspiration stems from insects – primarily beetles. It’s a magnificent surprise – as someone deathly afraid of beetles – how beautiful some of the characters look. All carefully designed, each character pairs its aesthetic with its character’s personality. Glum travelers sit with their shoulders slumped, while insects filled with bravado puff out their chest and stand tall.

Hollow Knight may have deserved a win in such a category any other year. Alas, this just happens to be on the same year Cuphead came out.

Staff Choice

Cuphead

Cuphead’s use of 1930’s steamboat surrealism has been documented as one of the more impressive stories of 2017. The animations, much like older cartoons, were hand drawn by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. Using watercolors for a vivid background, Cuphead might be the most lively game of the year.

One of the more interesting choices made by the Moldenhauer brothers was to animate the gameplay at a smooth 60 frames per second, while the background uses the film standard of 24 frames per second. Cuphead is littered with interesting decisions in regards to the art design, including a bright yellow palate that has a consistent presence from the beginning, cemented between a stark red and a light blue.

Most impressively, Cuphead often has dozens of different animations taking place at once. Some of them are more subdued, like a violent squid whose eyes roll into the back of its head once Cuphead has downed it. Others are more noticeable, like the incredible transformation from the beautiful, hip swaying mermaid to the angry and venomous Medusa. If there is a knock on the game, it’s that there is so much going on that sometimes it can be difficult to take it all in.

Luckily, if you’re like us, you’ll have dozens of attempts at each boss and level to fully appreciate it.