Games have long evolved from the era of pixillated graphics, 8-bit music and the mechanics limited to platforming or combat. Now, there are games that come in as many genres and movies and books, with multiple styles of play that have expanded beyond the early, formulaic years of gaming.
And now in more recent years, there are games that don't pride themselves in their gameplay mechanics, but rather the fact they are more of an interactive art experience, placing their focus on the aesthetics of the game rather than the actual gameplay, such as the infamous walking simulators, or interactive movies, which are just pretty words to describe games with minimal input needed from the player.
8 Detroit: Become Human
Quantic Dream are a studio synonymous with the 'interactive movie' genre of video games, placing their focus on graphic fidelity and immersive stories rather than actual gameplay. Though earlier titles such as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls are starting to show their age graphic-wise, their most recent title Detroit: Become Human remains a visual masterpiece. But sadly, there is little else to praise.
Detroit: Become Human takes place in futuristic America where androids have become commonplace in roles of servitude to humanity. The story follows three such androids: the caretaker Kara, the police official Connor, and the art-assistant now revolutionist Markus. The gameplay is limited to simple QTE's and choices of dialogue, and the storyline which is a commentary on the race issues of the real world, particularly the era of slavery, is ham-fisted and sloppy, not handled with the care and respect it deserves.
7 Limbo
Limbo is a charming game that captured the hearts of many players thanks to its unique blend between platform and horror, as well as its artstyle. Limbo adheres to a fully monochromatic color scheme that serves the unsettling atmosphere, complete with macabre images such as hanging bodies and spider-like creatures, and an absence of ambient sounds to stifle players with silence.
It's a gorgeously gothic feast for the eyes, but with little gameplay outside of platforming and some puzzles-solving to complete levels, it is simple and somewhat lacking in mechanics. Though this could be said of most platformers, players looking for a more gameplay intensive experience should likely steer clear of Limbo, as well as all other platform titles.
6 Layers Of Fear
There are few that can deny the excellence behind Layers of Fear art style, featuring a never ending room of doors, rooms that melt and drip like wet pain to reveal a nightmarish alternate reality, and the painting of a woman that grows more distorted and grotesque as the game progresses. If Bloober had put as much effort into the mechanical side of things as they had the aesthetic, they would have a true masterpiece on their hands.
Unfortunately Layers of Fear is a dreaded walking simulator. The player controls a tortured artist that neglected his daughter and his wife, who once served as his muse, but lost her beauty to horrific burn scars. His neglect towards her drove her to commit suicide, leaving the main character as a tortured, mad husk stuck walking through a looping nightmare.
5 No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky was plagued with issues upon release, as it failed to deliver upon its ambitious promises. Players were told there would be an entire galaxy's worth of planets to explore, each one disparate from the rest. The reality unfortunately didn't live up to the dream, and players found themselves coasting through empty galaxy's with little much to do. The game lacked many of the promised features such as multiplayer, and the gameplay was repetitive and boring, and even the studio itself became the target of backlash.
No Man's Sky has since had multiple updates to improve upon the game, bringing more unique and procedurally generated planets for players to explore, boasting unique flora and fauna all wrapped in charming, almost cartoon-like graphics. Though for most fans, it's all too little too late, their trust broken from the games shaky release.
4 The Dark Pictures Anthology
Supermassive Games produced an entire anthology following the success of Until Dawn, titled the Dark Pictures Anthology. Each one featured a standalone story and a unique cast of characters the player can guide to the end safely, or fed to the bloody mechanisms throughout the games. Each features a signature twist in the story to reveal not everything is what it seems, in keeping with the formula of Until Dawn.
It features similar gameplay, that is, the minimal actions of pushing around the characters players assume the control of in each chapter, and execute a series of QTE's during scripted scenes to avoid certain peril, jump-scares popping up in the background to try and throw the player off. In a similar vein to Quantic Dreams, Supermassive Games boasts beautiful looking games with high-resolution models which is where their true strength lies.
3 Life Is Strange
The game that placed DONTNOD on the map, Life is Strange proved a smash hit among gamers, garnering fans with its watercolor paint-style aesthetic, coming of age story, colorful cast of characters, and for some, the dialogue. Though the latter proved divisive at times with some painfully embarrassing lines reading like a 40-year-old trying to masquerade as a teen, there were still enough redeeming qualities of the game to gather fans across the world and spawn several more titles within the universe.
While the story of Life is Strange comes gift wrapped in beautiful aesthetics, there really isn't much in the way of mechanics. While Max's power of reversing time is interesting and original, just holding down a button isn't stimulating gameplay, and gets rid of stakes when Max can rewind time to avoid perilous situations. Giving players a safety net such as that should be implemented with care, otherwise players will find themselves divested with no real danger present.
2 The Wolf Among Us
Telltale studio now spawns a multitude of games, some of which are based on existing IPs such as The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Wolf Among Us, based on the graphic novel series Fables. TWAU stands out among the rest for the recreation of fairy-tale favorites in the distinct Telltale style. With the bold black lines, the models look as though they are peeled from the pages of a graphic novel itself.
While the game maybe gorgeous to look at, the mechanics are simple button mashing, QTE's and dialogue trees for the players to control the lines of Bigby. While it does offer some gameplay to the player, its overly simple, and lacks any real challenge or excitement. The graphics, plot and characters are the saving graces for any Telltale game.
1 Bendy And The Ink Machine
Bendy and the Ink Machine rose to admirable heights in the world of gaming, garnering a base oF die-hard fans, and spawning a successful line of merchandise featuring the face of the games adorable mascots, reminiscent of early-day cartoons such as Betty Boop and the first Mickey Mouse cartoons. The aesthetic was a constant throughout the game, dappled in shades of sepia and black.
The developers clearly invested great effort into the art direction and character design, but it was at the expense of gameplay. The player navigates through the beautifully aesthetic hallways of the studio smothered by a tense atmosphere, and will occasionally repeatedly swing a melee weapon at enemies. The little gameplay there is in the Bendy series is repetitive and underwhelming.