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.

The 15 Most Beautiful Games of 2023
2023 has had a superb year for video games in general with the art direction and graphical fidelity of many games deserving of commendation.
Animal Well
Check Out Animal Well on OpenCritic
Easily one of the most visually distinct games of 2024, Animal Well is a lucid fever dream of eerie, surrealist pixel art and warped animal illustrations. How Animal Well illuminates darkness is dazzling as the 2D Metroidvania indulges in a sensory overload of mesmerizing effects to stimulate every environment.

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- Top Critic Rating: 89/100 Critics Recommend: 98%
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Released
- May 9, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Shared Memory
- Publisher(s)
- Bigmode
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 7 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Astro Bot
Read Game Rant’s Astro Bot Review
Astro Bot took home The Game Awards’ coveted ‘Game of the Year’ award, and while it didn’t win for ‘Best Art Direction’ its nomination wasn’t misplaced. Essentially a colossal advertisement for the PlayStation 5 and its DualSense pad, Astro Bot endearingly represents iconic PlayStation mascots as adorable bots amid vivid colors and a minimalist black, blue, and white theme.

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- Top Critic Rating: 95/100 Critics Recommend: 99%
- Franchise
- Astro Bot
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
- Released
- September 6, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Team Asobi
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Black Myth: Wukong
Read Game Rant’s Black Myth: Wukong Review???????
Black Myth: Wukong is 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, cementing Black Myth: Wukong as a grand journey with boss fights galore.

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- Top Critic Rating: 82/100 Critics Recommend: 80%
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- Released
- August 20, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Game Science
- Publisher(s)
- Game Science
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 39 hours
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Read Game Rant’???????s Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review???????
Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes 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 allows Dragon Age: The Veilguard to look picture-esque while being illustrative enough to denote its pocket of whimsical fantasy.




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