Summary
While the gameplay and story of any video game are obviously the most important aspects to focus on for a developer, another area that can help draw eyes to a new release isthe art style. Gamers are all too familiar with the ultra-realistic and grounded aesthetic that many AAA developers will decide to go with nowadays, and while this certainly applies to Ubisoft, they also aren’t shy about experimenting with other unique art directions to make the visuals of their games pop.
Sure, Ubisoft may be most well known for their gorgeous open worlds that are designed to be as realistic as possible, but it tends to be with their smaller budget titles where they get a little more ambitious with their art direction. With that being said, it’s time to look at the Ubisoft games that provide a unique style and aesthetic for players to admire while enjoying the core gameplay.
8Eagle Flight
A Forgotten VR Game With a Captivating Visual Style
For anyone who, understandably, forgot aboutEagle Flight, this is Ubisoft’s very firstVR game, allowing players to take to the skies as they soar through the beautiful city of Paris. However, while a lot of work went into ensuring the layout of Paris is as similar to real-life as possible, the city itself has been decorated with a cel-shaded art style, allowing the buildings, and even the eagles themselves, to appear more cartoonish and stylized.
Speaking of the eagles, during a match, each of them will have black outlines covering their bodies, not only to help them standout from the backdrop, but also so players can spot other players from afar quickly and easily.Eagle Flight’sgameplay may have been a little lackluster, but the art direction more than helps to make up for it.
For an FPS game to stand out, it needs to have something about it that separates it from what gamers have already grown accustomed to, and in the case ofXIII, that applies to the art style.XIIIpresents likea comic book, so if players are to shoot an enemy, for example, not only will they see onomatopoetic phrases popping up on the screen, but there will even sometimes be comic strips at the top if it’s an extra flashy kill.
Additionally, the lighting and detail on the environments and weapons have also been tailored towards a more comic book aesthetic, making for an incredibly unique FPS experience. If anything, the quirky art style masks just how gory the game truly is, which is a testament to just how effectively it has been incorporated into the experience.
Just as the name suggests,I Am Aliveis a game about trying to survive in apost-apocalyptic worldagainst all odds. While this kind of setting and story has already been explored a million times before, what makesI Am Aliveso unique is the visuals. The game uses a gray overlay that is complimented by bright whites and dark browns, giving it this feeling of dread and hopelessness to convey the tragic state of the world players find themselves in.
As a result, the game features essentially no bright colors, which ensures that the bleak tone remains consistent throughout the entire playthrough.I Am Aliveis a prime example of how a game doesn’t need to be too over-the-top or flashy with its visuals to stand out; sometimes all it takes is some playing around with the colors to invoke emotion out of the player.
While many of theFar Crygames will try to look as realistic and believable as possible,Blood Dragon, the standalone expansion toFar Cry 3, is a striking exception. Being heavily inspired byaction movies of the 1980s,Blood Dragonborrows the bright neon aesthetic of that period and splashes it across the game’s environments, enemies, and even the weapons.
As a result, players' eyes will constantly be drawn to the bright glowing colors that surround them while partaking in intense gunfights, making for a downright gorgeous game to look at. While Ubisoft did later experiment with a brighter art direction inFar Cr 4: New Dawn,Blood Dragonis the one that many fans look back most fondly on when focusing solely on visuals.
Ubisoft made it clear in the lead-up toPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownthat they would be going with a very stylistic anime-like aesthetic for the latest entry in this iconic series, and it’s fair to say that it’s truly a marvel to look at. While the world itself is already captivating visually, where this style really goes into high gear is during the combat sections, where players can slice and dice their opponents to pieces in explosions of blues and purples.
During the Prince’s finishing moves, for example, the background will completely change in order to amplify the strength and intensity of the moment, and this occurs at many points throughout the game. Ubisoft decided to leave behind the realism of the past games to go for something a little more creative and memorable for the latestPrince of Persiaentry, and it more than paid off given the game’s positive reception.
Though there admittedly wasn’t all that much hype leading up to the release ofChild of Light, the game ended up blowing many players away with its impressive RPG mechanics, tricky gameplay segments, and breathtaking art style. It has been said that the game’s design team tookinspiration from Studio Ghibli, which is very clear to see through the characters and environments, and the dedication to creating them all by hand.
The game also features some astonishingly beautiful backdrops, which tend to look like oil paintings that are covered in a medley of bright colors and shading to help them stand out. In all honesty, it can be hard to stay focused on the actual gameplay itself at times, given how much of a lookerChild of Lightis visually.
Most people associateRaymanwith the 3D space, considering this is where he got his start, but due to how exuberant and animated the characters are, many fans agree that they feel much more expressive with the art style seen inOrigins. While the game uses a classic 2D template, the art direction is also extremely energetic and vibrant, with characters being able to create all kinds of weird and wacky poses and expressions, as if they were thrown into a Saturday morning cartoon.
Aside from the actual characters themselves, the color palette used for the game also adds to its beauty. One moment, Rayman and Globox will be venturing through a bright green forest decorated with pink flowers and a clear blue sky, while the next, they’ll be skiing down an icy tundra, or even navigatinga dark and dreary castle. Needless to say, this jawdropping art direction helps to add so much variety to the overall experience.
While it felt like Ubisoft were playing it safe with the firstRed Steel, not just in terms of gameplay but also the setting and aesthetic, they decided to let their creativity run wild for the sequel. Not only is the game based in a futuristic settinglittered with samuraiand cowboys, but the art style has also been completely reworked, with the cel-shading allowing every enemy to pop out of the screen when they show up to battle the player.
This new aesthetic also allows the player’s weapons to be as eye-catching as possible when in use, such as the giant thick lines that appear after a sword slash, or the comic-esque explosions coming out of a machine gun barrel when being fired. It helps to make each and every attack feel just a little extra powerful, which is hugely important in a game as action-packed as this one.
