Our list of the best looking games of 2016 isn’t just a rundown of the year’s most glamorous eye-poppers. Technical breakthroughs are one way of thinking about graphics in any art form, but too much of it and you risk siloing thinking.
Focusing on the rendering prowess of a game can, for instance, lead to overlooking the accomplishments of something deceptively simple looking, like Burly Men at Sea, Brain&Brain’s folk-romp that uses visually minimalist pastels and geometric shapes to frame its charming vignettes.
Some on this list, like Giant Squid’s Abzû or Plastic’s Bound, immerse us in worlds brimming with kaleidoscopic colors and glittering alien geometry, while others, like Thekla’s The Witness or EA DICE’s Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, offer visions of otherworldly places that loosely resemble (and in the ways they differ, subtly comment on) aspects of our own.
After selecting games for this year’s list, TIME asked each studio’s art team to comment on their approach. You’ll see those quotes in the captions accompanying each image.
Abzû "We wanted to create an emotional narrative arc using rich visuals and sound alone to tell the story, and with that, create a connection to the foreign, often surreal ocean world that surrounds and connects all of us. We also wanted to capture the feeling of scuba diving without any of the standard trappings of equipment, gauges, or other simulation-style baggage by allowing the diver to move as freely and as gracefully as the abundant life that surrounds you. And we drew inspiration for all of that life directly from the life and environments in the ocean itself; there was never a need to look beyond reality to find the truly incredible."
- Matt Nava, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Giant Squid
Giant SquidBattlefield 1"Our goal was to challenge preconceptions and redefine the imagery of World War 1. We wanted to portray the era through a modern lens to make players feel like they were there as it happened, not like they were looking back at it in a history book. The team took this concept and applied it to all parts of the visual design and created a modern take on World War 1 that leverages both the expected and the unexpected within."
- Gustav Tilleby, Art Director, Battlefield 1
EA DICEForza Horizon 3 "Forza Horizon 3 features the tremendous diversity and stunning natural beauty of Australia, and recreating that world in the game has been a true labor of love. From lush tropical rain forests, to the arid, wide-open Outback, the goal is to give players a beautiful and exciting playground to explore and enjoy with their friends. That meant spending lots of time in Australia to study the richness of the country, including capturing real skies via a custom camera rig developed by the team. Whether you’re speeding under a canopy of stars or taking a moment to enjoy thunderheads rolling in over Byron Bay, every time you hit the highways and backroads in Forza Horizon 3, you’re driving under real Australian skies."
- Playground Games
Microsoft StudiosThe WitnessThe colorful, idealized art style was developed to create a pleasant, meditative space the player can really enjoy exploring. While the objects are simplified, they stay true to nature to create believable spaces. There is no excess detail to distract, every corner of the world is carefully arranged to preserve puzzle clarity, and the world is condensed for easy navigation."
- Orsolya Spanyol, Artist, Thekla, Inc.
Jonathan BlowThe Witcher 3: Blood and Wine In Blood and Wine, we set out to introduce players to a region of The Witcher universe visually unlike anything they’ve seen before in the series -- Toussaint, the land of love and wine. The scenery is full of vibrant landscapes inspired by French and Italian countrysides brimming with breathtaking vistas. We wanted to create a sense of scale and provide players with the freedom to go along with it, making Toussaint a joy to explore. Towering above the region and it sunny vineyards is Mount Gorgon, with Toussaint’s capital of Beauclair and its crown -- a majestic elven palace -- resting at the mountain’s foot. Using a vivid colour palette really allowed us to bring the land, along with its bright architecture and lush vegetation, to life in ways we weren’t able to in Wild Hunt and Hearts of Stone. And underneath all this beauty lies a dark and terrifying mystery, which serves for a really interesting contrast. The goal was to create something that’s new and exciting, but at the same time feels part of Geralt’s adventure, and I’m super proud of what the team managed to achieve."
- Kacper Niepokólczycki, Senior Environment Artist, CD PROJEKT RED
CD Projekt REDUncharted 4: A Thief's End Uncharted has always been about reimagining landscapes, both real and fictional. Our goal is to completely immerse the player in a world where every detail is not only meticulously hand-crafted, but also placed with the intention of providing rich layers of environmental storytelling. This holds true not only in urban landscapes, but also in the lush, natural environments. We love showcasing vistas, such as this cityscape of the ruins of Libertalia, teasing players of the vast distances they will travel to their goal, along with the potential that they can visit just about anywhere they see along the way."
- Erick Pangilinan, Art Director, Uncharted 4
Naughty DogRatchet & Clank "Visually, the Ratchet & Clank series is about fun sci-fi, where realistic natural lighting meets painted metal and alien plant life. Every character and environment uses logical construction, but pushed for appeal and interest--bolts connect almost everything! With Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 4, we finally had the processing bandwidth to realize our vision of exotic alien planets explored by our titular heroes--in all of their (respectively) furry and shiny glory."
- Chad Dezern, North Carolina Studio Director, Insomniac GamesSony Computer EntertainmentMirror's Edge Catalyst"With Mirror’s Edge Catalyst we set out to create a universe that felt recognizable but different, futuristic yet believable, an oppressed society that almost could be ours. With its pristine and minimalistic aesthetics, the team created something that became unique, distinct and bold. Something you’d never seen before."
- Jhony Ljungstedt, Art Director, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
EA DICEBound In Bound we were inspired by modern art and demoscene aesthetics. The game wouldn't work so well visually without our main character - a motion captured ballerina dancer. The players were given abstract, procedurally generated graphics and some photomode tools which resulted in stream of beautiful pictures that we haven't even imagined."
- PlasticPlastic StudiosBurly Men at Sea "Because of Burly Men at Sea’s setting, we envisioned a very Scandinavian aesthetic: minimal shapes, bold colors, and clean lines. This style lent itself perfectly to the storybook feel we hoped to achieve and really helped shape the game into a cohesive experience."
- Brooke Condolora, Artist, Brain&Brain
Brain & Brain
