With Cuphead's new Delicious Last Course DLC available for returning gamers to sate their appetites, players can once again be drawn into the beautiful and alluring artwork featured in the game. Cuphead utilizes a rubber hose style of animation that was popular back in the 1920s and 1930s with a heavy emphasis on watercolor for its backgrounds.
Achieving this art style is no small feat either as every frame of animation would have been hand-drawn on paper before being inked and put into the game. No doubt, games should be primarily assessed on their mechanics, narrative, and how much fun they offer. However, an apt art style that seamlessly melds with gameplay can significantly enhance the immersion and experience. Though having a distinct visual presentation, players should know that Cuphead is not the only critically acclaimed game that displays a dynamic hand-drawn aesthetic.
7 Child Of Light
Child of Light is a 2014 platforming RPG released by Ubisoft that takes place in a fantastical land called Lemuria. Revolving around several characters, the player must recover the sun, moon, and stars from the dreaded Queen of Night to be able to return home. The game was designed using the UbiArt Framework engine which allowed the design team to directly import their concept art.
The designers wanted players to feel like they were in an animated painting and to give the impression of being in an ‘underwater dream’. The game’s visuals employ watercolor elements and Ubisoft even collaborated with Cirque Du Soleil to give off a theatrical feel and inspire the costume design of the characters.
6 Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer is a management simulation where players take on the role of a spirit guide who must collect souls and aid them in reaching the afterlife. The theme of death is contrasted by Spiritfarer’s bright and beautiful hand-drawn character animations and drawings. Rich, tantalizing, and evocative, the game feels like being in a Hayao Miyazaki film at times as it fuses familiar cultures, a colorful cast of characters, and heartwarming intimacy.
Though not as flashy as games such as Cuphead. Spirtfarer’s unique art direction enhanced by the musical composition offers players a chance to personally connect with its memorable characters and story.
5 Indivisible
An action role-playing platform game, Indivisible presents an interesting pitch. The game melds Japanese-style animation with a Southeast Asian aesthetic and setting, a territory few mediums and games have been to. The game’s gorgeous and alluring art combined with its feisty action shine particularly well together as players.
On closer inspection, the game also goes beyond its original Indonesian-inspired aesthetics and incorporates the mythology and designs from other Southeast Asian and East Asian cultures and nations. This is reflected in the diverse cast of enemies that players get to fight as well including tusked ogres inspired by Burmese folklore and shamans that emulate African Animism.
4 Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Knights
Though quite a mouthful to say, Ender Lilies: Quietus of the knights is a 2D dark fantasy action RPG where players attempt to uncover the mysteries of a ruined kingdom. Players control Lily, a sole-surviving priestess who wakes up with some classic video game amnesia. The game appears to be inspired by aesthetics from the Metroidvania and Berserk franchises with its grimdark, brooding, and melancholic art style.
Although its color scheme and palette are muted compared to other titles on this list, like Cuphead, each animation frame, character, and landscape is drawn by hand. Players looking for an atmospheric but equally challenging game to complete should give this title a try.
3 Bastion
Though Supergiant Games is more well known for its most recent titles such as Hades and Pyre, Bastion was the game that started it all. The game frankly looks delightful despite being released more than 10 years ago. The game features striking yet gorgeous hand-painted 2D visuals as the designers intended to express beauty in a post-apocalyptic world.
According to the artists, the hand-painted style was to soften the sharpness as exhibited in other isometric games and depictions of devastated environments. Bright, lush, and equally haunting, Bastion also comes with an incredible soundtrack whilst being a visual treat that delivers a compelling and immersive story.
2 Wildermyth
Wildermyth is a charming party-based RPG that pays homage to classic tabletop dungeon crawlers. The game employs procedural storytelling, turn-based tactical combat, and choose-your-own-adventure mechanics that deliver a tantalizing fantasy ride. Wildermyth is also a visual delight that beckons players to embark on a classic fantasy adventure. With several scenarios and multiple paths to tread, the game has come a long way since its initial early access release back in 2019.
Utilizing a 2D art style seemingly inspired by paper-mache aesthetics and a story that is told using comic strips dubbed ‘the library of plays’, the game may initially appear casual but can offer players a unique and immersive fantasy experience.
1 The Banner Saga Trilogy
Whilst many games can be considered breathtaking, the Banner Saga Trilogy does so in a unique way that has captivated the gaming community. The game is set in a dying fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology where players must lead their convoy to safer pastures away from the horrors pursuing them.
Featuring turn-based tactical combat and branching narratives, the game is incredible to behold and is likely to immediately immerse players into the world and story. The game’s design and art are like something out of a fairy tale and give off a sense of wonder, particularly during cutscenes when player’s convoys encounter the various Godstones. Settling for a traditional style, the game’s art direction is deeply inspired by Eyvind Earle’s work from Disney’s classic Sleeping Beauty. Intricate, striking, and jaw-droppingly beautiful, the Banner Saga is a must-play for fans of the fantasy genre and video game connoisseurs.