Video game developers are always looking for now innovative ways to make their games unique, and perhaps one of the most endearing is that of the hand-painted art style. This human touch in a digital world allows us to appreciate the true craftsmanship that goes into every stage of the development process, from animation and modeling to texture painting and background design.
When executed with enough skill, dedication and good taste, this technique can elevate even a mundane gameplay experience into a masterful work of art, and allows players to appreciate their gaming experience across a range of different dimensions. Some games manage to strike the perfect balance between artistic flair, an engaging story and enjoyable gameplay, but all of these games excel in their use of hand-painted design.
9 11-11 Memories Retold
11-11 Memories Retold is a story-heavy World War 1 game developed by Bandai Namco Europe in conjunction with Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run) and features a cast of voice actors including Elijah Wood and Sebastian Koch.
The unique frame-by-frame oil painting style of the game is really its greatest feature, and gives the feeling of a PTSD stricken veteran's fragmented and distorted memories of a bygone time. The story focuses on two men, each on opposing sides in the conflict, and their personal struggles on the final day of The Great War.
8 Deponia
Daedalic Entertainment's point-and-click adventure game Deponia sees players inhabiting a world overrun by junk and detritus thanks to excessive consumerism and over-production. While the gameplay may be relatively simple, the game excels with its great storyline and even better background designs.
Every setting has been carefully hand-painted and could easily stand on its own as a framed piece. From the Geiger-esque tangled wreckages sprawled around the junkyard to the careful placement of light sources and distribution - each setting features a well-designed composition and attention to detail that is often missing in similar games of this genre.
7 Dordogne
Dordogne is a highly-creative upcoming game from Focus Entertainment, Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and UMAnimation. Billed as a wholesome exploration and adventure game, players will explore a stylized watercolor landscape with an astounding level of detail and technical proficiency as they take photos and try to uncover the lost family history of Mimi, the game's female protagonist.
Though the game has not officially released yet, the breathtaking French style of this work has us intrigued and already stands as an example of incomparably unique visual storytelling.
6 Okami
Originally released in 2006 for the Playstation 2, Okami is a Japanese adventure game from Capcom and Clover Studio. The game has often been compared to the Legend Of Zelda series, and features an art styler reminiscent of old Japanese wood-block paintings, such as those of Katsushika Hokusai.
So inspired by painting was this game, that it even features a 'Celestial Brush' gameplay mechanic in which players can interact with the world in a variety of ways such as drawing lines through enemies and fixing things by repainting them. The game has aged incredibly well and is now considered something of a cult-classic.
5 Dredge
Black Salt Games' recent indie release Dredge sees players take command of a small fishing boat in a relaxing exploration game with a Lovecraftian twist. What may at first seem like a tranquil environment quickly gives way to horrors, mutations and hallucinations with every nightfall.
The game features a low-poly, hand-painted art style - with every texture from trees to fish to the water itself showing evidence of a human touch. The game has proven extremely popular since its release, proving that games don't need an abundance of complex game mechanics and photo-realistic graphics in order to be a great success.
4 Hoa
Zatu Games' Hoa is an indie puzzle-platformer with beautifully rendered hand-painted textures reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli movie. Inspired by Vietnamese mythology, the story centers around a fairy and her quest to revitalize her homeland after a tragic disaster.
Due to the simplistic and relaxing nature of the gameplay, there is no need for a cumbersome HUD to block players vision - enabling them to fully soak up the immensely rich and detailed landscape that has been carefully hand-painted and shines through as one of the best-looking platformers of this style.
3 Gris
Devolver Digital and Nomada Studios' Gris is truly one of the most unique-looking games in modern times. A beautiful, surreal and hand-painted art style makes this game almost immediately recognisable to anyone who has played it.
From deserts to forests to underwater areas, players can explore a wonderfully diverse set of environments, all the while retaining the elegance and precision which makes Gris such a wonderfully artistic game. The ethereal nature of the story and the game's protagonist makes it feel like a spiritual adventure, and every frame is truly a painting in this brilliant work of art.
2 Book Of Travels
Developers Might and Delight are known for their impressive hand-painted visual style across many games, but arguably the pinnacle of their artistic accomplishments lies in Book Of Travels an excellently crafted, hand-painted game in the style of a slightly impressionist watercolor artist.
Players will explore the land of Braided Stone, with every brushstroke working towards creating an atmosphere in which players will truly feel as though they are exploring a painted world. From mountaintops and vast lakes to dense forests and underground passages, players will explore an array of incredible locations, each filled to the brim with supreme artistic merit.
1 Ori And The Blind Forest
Releasing back in 2015 and conjured by the combined efforts of Moon Studios and Microsoft Studios, Ori And The Blind Forest, along with its sequel Ori And The Will Of The Wisps, are two of the most beautifully designed and decorated platformers ever created.
Much like Hoa, the games have a Studio Ghibli-style aesthetic with a focus on rich and luscious natural environments. The character design is equally good in the Ori series, and some of the darker, swampy areas of the game along with the eldritch enemies inhabiting them provide great contrast to the serene and summery atmosphere of the games' beginnings.