Throughout my gaming experience there have always been certain games that have attracted me more than others, games that stand out more for their breathtaking artistic visuals than for gameplay or graphic excellence. Unfortunately most of these games seem to be shrugged off by the general gaming community for various reasons, but I have always felt it a pity that these games did not achieve the fame they deserved.
So I have put together a list of the 7 most visually stunning games that never went mainstream in order to give them some of the attention that they rightfully deserve!
7. Flower
The concept of Flower is quite basic, and yet the game is so visually stimulating that you forget how simplistic the gameplay is. You start the game off on a windowsill with a selection of flowers, and having selected your specific flower you then proceed into the “dream” of that flower. You then control the wind blowing a single petal, slowly sweeping across the landscape collecting more petals as you go. By changing direction and wind speed you achieve various different consequences and make changes to the landscape surrounding you. It is one of those games that you just can’t help looking at.
Check out the trailer.
6. Marumasa: The Demon Blade
Marumasa follows the story of Kisuke, a renegade ninja with no memory, and Momohime, a possessed Princess. The game art is striking with its painted backgrounds blending perfectly with the character animations. If you are a fan of Asian culture you will appreciate the detail in the backgrounds, the gorgeous calligraphy and minute detail that combine to make this a truly beautiful game.
Check out the trailer.
5. ICO
ICO is the tale of a young boy (Ico) born with a pair of horns, which his villagers see as a bad omen. He is left at an abandoned fortress where he encounters Yorda. The basic idea of the game is to try and escape the fortress while assisting the somewhat helpless (and terminally irritating) Yorda in navigating the various puzzles and obstacles. Making sure that Yorda continues to follow you, and keeping her from falling into the clutches of the shadow-like creatures attempting to capture her, is a constant and sometimes difficult chore. But though the story line can occasionally leave you frustrated, the visuals more than make up for this slight irritation. With breathtaking backgrounds, intricate detail and wide angled displays of all this gaming art perfection ICO is definitely one of the most beautiful games ever made.
Check out the trailer.
4. El Shaddai: Ascent of the Metatron
The plot of El Shaddai: Ascent of the Metatron is loosely based on the apocryphal Book of Enoch and follows a priest named Enoch as he travels seeking seven fallen angels. The anime themed aesthetics of this game are both sophisticated and visually arresting. The backgrounds are often surreal and beautiful and the battle scenes have a beauty all their own. Its visuals draw inspiration from such animation greats as Studio Ghibli and boasts the talents of developer Takeyasu Sawaki (who was one of the character designers behind another game on this list, Okami).
Check out the trailer.
3. Shadow of the Colossus
Another brilliant masterpiece from team ICO. In Shadow of the Colossus you play as a young boy named Wander who must defeat 16 massive colossi in order to restore the life of a young woman named Mono. The game gets quite interesting the first time you actually see one of the colossi, mostly due to the fact that you are approximately the size of a malnourished flea in comparison to these walking mountains. Once you have located your colossus you then proceed to figure out where its weak spots are and how to attack them. This is easier said than done, as very often the weak points are located on a particularly difficult to reach body part of the colossus. Add to that the fact that the colossus is in constant motion as you attempt to scale its craggy exterior, and you are in for one hell of a bumpy ride. The visuals in Shadow of the Colossus are mostly wide open expanses, but again in the same artistic style that made its predecessor (ICO) one of the most beautiful games of all time. The game even won several awards, amongst them “Best Visual arts”.
Check out the trailer.
2. Okami
In Okami you play as the goddess Amaterasu who has taken the form of a white wolf in order to save the world from evil. This is honestly one of the most entertaining, as well as beautiful, games I have ever played. Accompanied by the wandering artist Issun (a.k.a annoying little green bug), you travel throughout the countryside banishing evil monsters and restoring nature. After every glorious transformation scene, my sister would always sit back and sigh and say “I did that”. You just can’t help getting caught up in the transformation of a bleak, sickly countryside into a green, blossoming field. And it is thanks to the woodcut and watercolour styles of this game that you become so personally involved. The animation looks similar to japanese ink-illustrations (sumi-e) which give them a rich oriental feeling. This will always be one of my all time favourite games.
Check out the trailer (its all in japanese, but you only need the visuals to get the idea).
Unfortunately the game itself is no longer available from normal retail, but you can buy the DS version (Okamiden) which features a super cute chibi Amaterasu and is just as much fun as the original version!
1. The Last Guardian
The Last Guardian is the latest (and possibly final) game from team ICO. The game is still in development but it has been revealed that the storyline will surround the developing relationship between a young boy and a huge gryphon like creature. The trailer released at E3 displays the best yet visuals from the team that brought you both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.
I can’t speak for the rest of the gaming community, but I personally cannot wait to see how these characters develop. If the trend follows then it is possible that this game will also not make it into mainstream gaming, but only time will tell. Unfortunately there is still no release date for The Last Guardian as its development has been plagued by a series of misfortunes, the latest of which is the departure of the game’s creator Fumito Ueda from Sony. Although he has been working on the game as a contractor it is still unclear how his leaving will affect the completion of the game.
Keep an eye on Exclusives.co.za for updates regarding the eventual release of this game.
Check out the trailer.
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