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If you want to see some of the most groundbreaking modern art, just spend an afternoon playing video games with your teenage cousin. Given the increasing capacities of digital technology, video games are well on their way to becoming not just one of the most entertaining industries out there, but also one of the most artistically innovative. Blending objectives, aesthetics and storytelling into one seamless package, game designers provide players with the opportunity to explore fascinating, incredibly intricate new worlds.
Okami
Originally released as a PS2 game in 2006, Okami has been revamped for Nintendo and re-released in 2012 for the PS3. The story is compelling and lengthy, enough to keep any player entertained for quite a while.
Source: Kotaku
What’s unique about Okami is how the entire world resembles an ancient Japanese painting, except for the fact that it’s been gloriously rendered in 3D.
Bioshock Infinite
Source:Sweaters And Digital Ink
BioShock Infinite’s main location is the floating, failed utopian city of Columbia that hovers over North America. It was built in a neoclassical style and was meant to be a monument to both religious and political ideals.
Source:Bioshock Infinite
Elizabeth, one of the main characters from Bioshock, sneaks into Fink Manufacturing – Columbia’s largest and most corrupt business. This massive feat of architecture one very large secret about Elizabeth’s past.
Source: Buzzfeed
The city of Rapture existed fictionally in the 1940s, and is an art-deco enthusiast’s dream. Here, the prosperous guests unknowingly look out over a city that will soon be war-ravished and torn apart.
Pikmin
Source: Wikia
Pikmin is a romp through a whimsical world where realism and cartoon stylization meet. Most characters are only an inch tall; this includes plant-animal hybrids rounded up and commanded by a small extra-terrestrial named Olimar. The eye-popping environments of Pikmin are one of Nintendo’s hallmark gaming achievements.
Following the immensely popular Elder Scrolls series, a lot of hype surrounded Skyrim. And for good reason: Skyrim is one of the most open-ended RPG games released in the past five years. A story does exist, but there’s almost zero obligation to follow it. Just rambling around this vast environment is intriguing enough on its own.
Source: Buzzfeed
Source: Buzzfeed
A medieval times setting makes for some pretty dark and gritty scenes, but venture further and you’ll find lush forests and lovely hazy skies. The location of one of the final fights feels like a special moment, because even though the game features beautiful locations everywhere, this scene has some of the most enchanting coloration in the entire game.
Source: Buzzfeed
Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda series is known for being one of the first video games to experiment with open-ended worlds and RPGs. They’re like the founding fathers of world design. Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker lets the player explore the open seas in search of the triforce. Everything is decisively stylized and it fits with the overall mood of the game.
Source:The Average Gamer
Source: Wikia
As the player, you travel to all sorts of quaint coastal towns that bring their own unique flavor to the genre.
Source:Zelda Dungeon
Windwaker was very recently re-released in HD for the Nintendo WiiU. The seas have become that much more vivid.
Skyward Sword
Another Legend of Zelda game is Skyward Sword. One area stands out as particularly beautiful: Skyloft. It’s a town floating above the clouds, where Link and Zelda are raised.
Source: Buzzfeed
Source: Buzzfeed
Source: Buzzfeed
Mirror’s Edge bears sharp contrast to the utopian scenes in Skyloft. This world is filled with severe angles, giant skyscrapers, and other big city trappings.
