Top Ten Most Stylish GamesJanuary 29th, 2008 by Suzie
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I adore the weird, the wonderful, and the bizarre. Occasionally games bore me - I have a “Oh look, I’m a secret agent with a gun and I get to shoot people. How about that?” attitude. The nice thing about video games, however, is that unlike Hollywood, even the mainstream games can be absolutely off-the-wall. With the possible exception of sport and racing games anyway - and even some of those franchises slide into the surreal and the odd.
With this in mind, I’m going to bring you my top ten most stylish games. Some of them are weird, and some of them are wonderful. They are all interesting. Before we get started, a disclaimer: these are only games I have played, and is not an exhaustive list. There are some notable games missing, so I encourage you to drop me a comment with a recommendation for your own twisted and fantastical favourite.
1. Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 3 has the most fucked up monsters I have ever seen. Those dogs - and the ‘numb body’! I mean seriously, whoever designed these creatures was a genius. The atmosphere helps of course, and the soundtrack ranks as one of my faves. All of the Silent Hills’ have a bizarre element to them (no kidding?), but I think Silent Hill 3 remains at the top of my list.
2. Monkey Island 4
I loved all the Monkey Island’s, with their intricate and mind-bending puzzles. How can you not love a game that has zombie pirates and spitting contests? Monkey Island 4, however, was the best of the bunch for the art style. As soon as the opening cinematic began and I saw those seashell-like clouds I was in love. MI4 is proof that you don’t need to go down the realism route to make a decent game. The quirky art matches up brilliantly with the irreverant story.
3. Final Fantasy IX
I love all the Final Fantasy games. My first was FF7, and I loved the dystopian city of Midgar. FF8 could have never matched my love of 7, but it was still beautifully designed. It was Final Fantasy 9, however, that really blew me away. The slightly more ‘cutesy’ style was right up my alley, but it was the airships and the cities that really made me happy. The design of the summons was equally good.
Final Fantasy X is also a good looking game, but by that time everything was just getting a bit too similar.
4. Bioshock
Bioshock deserves every inch of its success. Rapture is imaginatively realised, with the art deco styling, the graffiti, and that mix of luxury, decadence and ruin. The soundtrack is also up there, not quite beating out SH3, but pretty close. The Big Daddies, the Little Sisters, and even the Splicers are all just different enough to the usual zombie fare to make this game a definite contender.
5. Max Payne 1 & 2
Graphic Novels are vastly under appreciated. By choosing to mix up the film noir, graphic novel and classic FPS styles, Max Payne gained a unique look. I’m a sucker for box art, and the Max Payne box cover was what made me buy the game. I’m glad I did. I really like the approach they took to cut scenes.
6. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
A platformer-meets-puzzle game, Abe’s Oddysee casts you as a completely defenceless and rather ugly Mudokon slave in a very strangely designed meat packing plant. Distressingly tricky, especially if you decided to rescue all 100 of your fellow slaves, I loathed and loved this game in equal measures. It is one of the few that made me want to chew through the controller wires in frustration, but the feeling of sheer joy when you finally complete a section is better than drugs.
However, we’re talking style here, not gameplay. And Abe’s Oddysee has oodles of it. The alien creatures are weird and very scary, the environments are beautifully realised and atmospheric, and that meat packing plant still haunts my nightmares.
7. God of War
As previously mentioned, I hate button mashing games. God of War, however, somehow manages to escape my usual disgust, mostly through it’s awesome concept artwork, flashy and beautiful combat, and kick-ass mythological monsters. I die often, but I really don’t mind playing through different sections again and again since it’s not everyday you get to battle a hydra or a cyclops.
8. World of Warcraft
I couldn’t really leave this one off the list. I remember the first time I saw the screenshots of the Dwarf on a Gryphon, and how my immediate response was: I want this game!. I’ve always loved Blizzard’s cinematics, which were better directed than most films. The design of the races, the cities, the creatures … and yes, even that slightly cartoony style they have going on all contributes to make me love this game even more. I can live without the music, but riding into Stormwind always make me happy to be Alliance.
9. Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
Like most people, when I heard the words “Disney” and “Final Fantasy” in the same sentence I almost died laughing. And, like most people, I was wrong. Kingdom Hearts kicks ass. The Disney and Squaresoft styles ended up complimenting each other, the character designs were great, it was cute, it was funny, and I became very attached to the game. The addition of characters such as Chip ‘n’ Dale appealed to the five year old I once was, whilst throwing Nightmare Before Christmas into the mix meant my grown-up self was equally pleased.
10. Grim Fandango
A mash-up of Mexican folklore and real-estate scandal - who could not love it? This game was, hands-down, the best LucasArts adventure game ever. The art reflects it, with sexy paper-doll like skeleton characters and film-noir environments. You get to be the Grim Reaper, and that alone is worth the price of the game.
So there you have it - a quick guide to some of the more interesting titles kicking around. Not all of them have massive budgets and thousands of polygons to work with, but they all managed to impress me in one way or another.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I love the sceneries in World of Warcraft. I love a rainy day in WoW.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
It’s funny cause when WoW first came out, people bashed on the graphics immensely, but I always liked them. I loved the patch that brought weather effects in, too. Silent Hill 3 is also a great choice. I think if you’d played Indigo Prophecy you would have brought it up on your list too–get that game *nag*.
January 29th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Some good choices, I would have gone for The Curse of Monkey Island over Escape. I just don’t think that its half as good as the previous games. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee was a good choice as well. They have an artbook out for the series which is worth checking out.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
As I was reading this, I was hoping you’d get Grim Fandango in there =) That was truly an excellent game.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:26 am
No Mass Effect? I’ve heard playing it equated to playing through a SciFi novel which seems to fit pretty well.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I don’t think she owns a 360, otherwise I’m betting Mass Effect or Crysis would be up there. Bioshock is PC as well, so she probably just played it there
January 30th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Aww, no Team Fortress 2?
January 30th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
@Jigsaw - as Monique says, I don’t own a 360 (or any console ;;) so its a very skewed list.
Someday I will…
Both Mass Effect and Crysis are games I’d like to play though
@Daniel - I liked both Curse and Escape. Either way, definitely worth playing. And I will have to check out that artbook.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
@madlep - like the disclaimer says - only games I’ve played (yes, there are some MASSIVE holes in my gaming pedigree >P)
January 31st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Fair enough. Hard to include a 360 game when you don’t have a 360.
Although madlep has a good point about TF2.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
@Jigsaw - TF2 is on my list. Unfortunately my list at the moment is about 300 games long
January 31st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Love the fact that you included Silent Hill. Some of my favorite games! They’re just so delightfully haunting.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:55 am
Mass Effect should defnitely be on such a list.
It has some of the most awesome characters, clothes/armor, spaceship and environment designs I’ve ever seen on a game.
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:19 am
Awesome, I was hoping Grim would be there as well. Haven’t played MI 4 (big fan of one and two), but it It looks very pretty. I’d like to nominate No One Lives Forever (parts one and two as well
if you’re doing an update.
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
@Raquel - Mass Effect is definitely on my list.
I (think I) finally have a computer that can cope with it.
@Abhijit - I had not heard of No One Lives Forever, before, so I will *definitely* have to check that one out
February 4th, 2008 at 3:52 am
I disagree with this list, why is FF on there? its not revolutionary in any capacity, there are a million JRPGs just like it, plus Max payne might have an interesting story bridge but the actual graphics arent stylish by any means. i agree with others that TF2 and Mass effect both belong on the list. My personal beliefs are that:
Mario is one of the most stylistic because 8 bit graphics are all over the place even now.
Fallout had some amazing visuals and unique looks.
Darwinia and defcon both had unique and interesting visuals that were simple and head turning.
I think that this list could be revised a thousand times over.
February 4th, 2008 at 4:10 am
@R3unbreakable - You can disagree all you want. I didn’t write “here are ten games you have to play” or “here are the ten more stylish games of all time ever”. It was written to trigger discussion and suggestions, and I say right there at the top that it is not exhaustive, and is not meant to be. I haven’t played every single game ever made, and nor have you, but between the entire GDG readership we probably have a pretty vast experience!
FF9 is on the list because it broke from the trend of FF7/FF8 of ‘grown-up’ graphics, and referenced old school FF with up-to-date visuals. The character designs are spot on, They aren’t 100% original, but they are polished to a good degree, and post-FF9 the obsession with belts and floppy hair took over completely.
Mario is very stylistic, and I do admire what they managed to create within the limitations of what they had to work with. But I stuck with ten, and - like all lists ever written - that ten is a matter of opinion and circumstance.
Thanks for the pointers toward Darwinia and defcon!
February 4th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I would note that Crysis is on PC as well as 360, though the hardware requirements might put people off on the PC version. I’m able to play it fine with my 8600GTS on medium/high settings (mixture of both), so I would think most should be able to play it in some fashion.
As an addition: TimeShift, though I think the story stinks and doesn’t play out well, also the time ‘puzzles’ are simplistic and repetitive, has a pretty interesting style to the decayed and war-torn urban environment.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
@Justin - I’ve heard that Crysis is pretty hard on the system. I struggled somewhat with Bioshock on medium settings, so I’m steering clear of Crysis for the moment.
Time Shift, hm? You don’t seem to think much of it as a game
February 5th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
If you enjoyed Bioshock, might I recommend an older game for the PC called Fallout. It was a revolutionary game for it’s time. Several of the creators from the Fallout and Fallout 2 games went on to help make games like the Star Wars KOTOR games, Jade Empire, and yes Bioshock. The gameplay is different but it’s a very open ended game that has some great moments. I recommend it to everyone, just as my wife recommended it to me.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Justin, really glad to hear that you can play it. I have that card and I was curious. Gotta check it out sometime soon since you can run it
February 6th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
your so wrong!!!! a game is not Stylish be cause its got weird looking stuff. Silent Hill 3? come on try a real stylish game like….. shadow of colossus, bioshock maybe but its not really “stylish” its just set in a 1960 word, so try harder next time be fore you so this stuff, its better for people to think you a fool then to post this list and prove you are.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:09 am
@noun - To be stylish you have to be unique, have a signature atmosphere. I think SH3 qualifies, and Bioshock definitely does. It’s not just ‘1960’s’ it’s Art Deco, dystopian and underwater!
Anyway, I’ve got no problem with people thinking I’m a fool for something like my choice of games for a top ten list
It was meant to spark discussion, and get people to tell me what games I should be playing next 
February 7th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Grim Fandango remains the best adventure game of all time, in my opinion.
Bioshock, on the other hand, just stole the art deco styling off of Ayn Rand’s objectivist novels, which were also the source of most of the story’s themes. It was a unique path for a game, but there wasn’t much that was original in it that they didn’t take from other sources. On the other hand, Monkey Island and other games you have listed here were dreamed up completely from scratch.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I disagree with Mass Effect being extremely stylish, having spent the good part of 80 hours in the game I found much of the design to be relatively standard. I want to differentiate between the art direction and the overall presentation though, Mass Effect’s conversation system was extremely slick, it’s just that I didn’t feel anything in the art design stood out as stylish.
Compare with Team Fortress 2, a game that utterly oozes character and humor and, dare I say it, style.
Two related games also deserve mention, Ico and Shadows of the Colossus, between the two I have to say Shadows is the more stylish game.
February 8th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Suzie: Well, TimeShift is an ‘ok’ game. I was just disappointed that they didn’t do more with the gameplay elements and didn’t evolve the storyline more. Really the only story that you get is a relatively few flashbacks at certain loading areas that are just barely enough to let you see what happened to cause you to be where you are, and that’s about it. Maybe they were going for the ‘Leave them hungry for more’ route, I dunno, but it left me with more of an ‘errr….ok….’ feeling, especially the ending.
If we’re talking super-powered Nano-suit games, Crysis just walks all over TimeShift, but then again Crysis is very open-ended on the objective route whereas TimeShift is pretty linear. The only real choices you get are how or if you’re going to use your time-shifting powers to take out the next group of badguys as you’re almost guaranteed to have to use them to advance to the next area once they’re all dead because your path is going to be blocked by one of a handful of obstacles: Electrified water, Fire, machine moving things from one area into yours (have to reverse time to get it to go the other way), etc.
I mean, the ideas and the obstacles are neat to progress through…like slowing down time so you can run through a mine field, but after a bit I just started getting the “Oh this again” feeling. The AI has that natural intuitive knowledge of exactly where you’re at, even if you froze time and ran to a different area, which really takes a lot of the time suit fun out of it for me….I mean, you could lay some very evil traps with those abilities. Bad guy grabs you by the collar and is going to punch you…freeze time and put a grenade in the hand on your collar and the pin on his fist - Surprise!
About 99% of the time you’re going to be using the Time-Slow ability, as the other 2, freeze and reverse, either don’t last long enough to matter much most of the time, or leave you powerless to do anything regarding the enemy- reversing time you cannot attack or hurt anyone without stopping the reversion, so it really is only going to be used for the puzzle to get to the next area of the stage.
I will say that the weapons rock, like using a small crossbow with a sniper scope that has explosive darts is pretty sick…stick em anywhere and they go boom. Combine that with the Time-Slow, and you’re the best sniper in existence.
Anyway…the style of it is kind of hard to explain. It made me feel like the whole old-fashioned ‘World of Tomorrow’ theme if you know what I mean.
Monica: I can play Bioshock with all the goodies turned on and 1680×1050, so if you can do at least medium/high on Bio, then you should be fine to play Crysis somewhere around medium, maybe a little under. My 8600GTS is way OC’d by the manufacturer, so your mileage may vary.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:48 am
ern: I wish they still made games like Grim Fandango, damnit! Easily one of my fave. games.
I’ve heard the Bioshock is very ‘Ayn Rand’, but to me that doesn’t necessarily prevent it from being stylish. Originality is over-rated, to an extent. Taking something like that atmosphere and translating it into a game - and making it work - is quite a feat in itself. It would be like if someone could capture the atmosphere of the Gormenghast novels and turn that ‘feel’ into a game - that would rock, if done well. It wouldn’t be original, but it would be damn stylish
Mark: I have played Ico, but I didn’t get on with it, surprisingly. I’m not sure why… I know many people think it’s classic. I shall have to try it again sometime and see if I like it any better.
TF2 is obviously something I’ve missed out on
Justin: I see where you’re coming from with the Time Shift… it does bug me somewhat when an entire game revolves around one ‘ability’, whatever it may be. They can be awesome, but they should be kept short.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I have to say that i cannot find any reason as to why MI4 is better then the previous one’s…
I have to say that that was probably the worst one in the entire series. I am a huge fan off MI and i am really curious to reasons why you love it that much. Is it because it’s in 3d?
Gotta say tho great choice with Grim Fandango
I sure wished they still made games like that…. aaah the memories
Joey
February 15th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Wihtout any HL2 references or Portal this list is invalid. Please fix.
February 16th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Vinas: As stated above, she does not have a 360…so the Orange Box goodies are out for this particular list, since it’s just a personal opinion list by the author.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Justin: You dont consider PC as option? WTF?
February 18th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Dude, what about [insert game title here where I try to outsmart you even though this is obviously a subjective ranking showing your opinion and if I had any original thoughts in my head I would have my own website where I would have posted my own list already].
February 18th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I think I have a completely different definition of stylish than you. The games that immediately come to my mind when I think of stylish are: Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Killer 7, No More Heroes, Odin Sphere. I don’t know if you’ve played any of those, but even if you just watch some videos or look at some screenshots I think you might get a feel for what I mean.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Great List! I think people are confusing “Stylish” with “OMG MOST AWESOME GRAPHICS EVAR!!!”
Some people did bring up some interesting games which would belong on a list like this, but there are a few that were brought up that aren’t really “stylish”. Crysis… not stylish at all. Frickin amazing graphics, but pretty standard fare for an fps. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a great game, it just means it doesn’t belong on this list. Mass Effect is stylish, but it is pretty standard fare for a Space RPG as well (great game though… nay, excellent game).
Bioshock, while “stealing” its style from the 1960s, has more style than most of the games people were giving up as alternatives. How many games have you seen set in this type of a 1960s environment? How many games have the ambiance and overall style that Bioshock has? Not any that I have played… and trust me, I play a lot of games. Too many. I need a life.
All of the games you put on the list deserve to be on a list like this, and certainly there are more games that deserve to be on a list like this as well.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I love Bioshock. I have no idea what games Matt (the first commenter) is talking about, but I do think you have some weird choices. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t stylish. Thanks for the list though.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I agree with the previous Matt. You have to include Okami and Shadow of the Colossus. They are the two games that are constantly cited when you read industry discussions on “Games as Art”. These games are also, in my opinion, some of the best games ever made.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
great list!
February 25th, 2008 at 9:46 am
That’s a really good list. I remember the good ol’e days when I used to play Abe on the playstation 1. Good times. I’m tempted by WOW by I hear it is really addicting.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
XIII?
February 27th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I just stumbled upon this list and would like to mention that most of the list I agree with as it brought back some great memories. However, for those that seem to think The Orange Box is a 360 only game, please google better. =/. Valve would have quite the unhappy fan base if they marketed for consoles over PC.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:05 am
A constant, well defined style really helps make a game great. I love it when I am running around the world and you just have to stop and go, “wow, that’s cool”.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:29 am
I have only played a few of these, but I disagree with them entirely. Max Payne is the one exception. Max Payne is the only game on the list that I would say actually has style. It was unique in its presentation and had an intriguing story, coupled with amazing gameplay. Beyond that however, its all sub par.
Number 1, a sequel will never be more stylish than its predecessors, except in the event of a cataclysmic change, which changes the game so completely, to look at the two together one would not recognize them as kin. IE GTA 2 and GTA 3. Therefor, Silent Hill 3, while not a bad game, was not that different from Silent Hill 2, or 1. In the end, it is still a thriller zombie game, and frankly, there are enough of those.
Keeping in that tone with the Final Fantasy series, as a whole they are an extremely stylish, very well done series. I didn’t like 9 or 10. However, FF 8 holds a record in my house as having the most playthroughs of any game I have ever owned to date. (KOTOR 1 and 2, as well as Mass Effect are catching up though.) I wouldn’t put 9 on the list, but the entire library would hold at the very least an honorary position.
Frankly, I never could get in to Bioshock. It has a stunning intro, but beyond that, I was disinterested in the first few minutes. It never picked up for me. It is graphically stunning, but frankly, there are plenty of better games that meet that criteria and I wouldn’t put any of them on the list either. I understand the argument so many people make in favor of Bioshock, but its one of the games that I will never enjoy. Its just not my cup of tea.
WoW is the MMO of MMO’s, but its STILL an MMO. My inherent disgust for the genre automatically boots it from my list. My genuine distrust of Blizzard only adds to the effect. Certain aspects of the gameplay I can apreciate, but the addiction to the game itself stops the game from being fun, and turns it into an obsession. Games aren’t supposed to be about obsession, they’re entertainment. No more. They’re not supposed to consume any real part of your life, only add a factor of enjoyment to make your days seem a little less stressful. WoW is denied.
Anything with Disney is vetoed. End of story. Kingdom Hearts was yet another attempt by Eisner to franchise out what was already stretched thin. Mikey Mouse is more recognizable on Earth than any other figure. That includes the traditional concepts of Christian divinity, (IE Jesus) by the way. Anything with a name that big lacks style. There’s no more style left in anything Disney. Granted, FF brought some to the party, but not enough.
I haven’t played the others. I haven’t even heard of some of them. So I’ll leave them from my arguments. There are much better games out there, which I’ve mentioned. Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 are amazing. Fable has similar qualities and I would probably bump Kingdom Hearts in favor of Fable specifically. Mass Effect has an amazing dialog engine and some great gameplay. All of those games have a system the gauge your evil/good behavior and modifies your surroundings accordingly. Assassin’s Creed has the best open environment I’ve seen in a game yet.
But there is one game that I am ashamed NOT to see on this list. Or rather, a series of them. I’m actually surprised they aren’t even mentioned.
Zelda. How can you have a list of the most stylish games and not even wink at Zelda. The series has not only been iconic, but each addition is unique with a style of its own. Looking at Wind Waker and Twilight Princess you are looking at two entirely different games, with nothing more in common than a main character who shares a common name. On that note, even Mario deserves honorable mention. Now, if you haven’t played Super Mario Galaxy, or any of the Zelda games, I suggest you go out and aquire them immediately and play them through, so they may be added to your list in a proper fashion!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:21 am
@Wojo - “Before we get started, a disclaimer: these are only games I have played, and is not an exhaustive list. There are some notable games missing, so I encourage you to drop me a comment with a recommendation for your own twisted and fantastical favourite.”
Yes, I have not played Zelda. Throw me out of the school of game bloggers immediately!
However - just because you haven’t played or heard of some of the games on this list, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be on here. I wasn’t looking to make a list of the ‘ten best games ever’. These are stylish and weird and different. Mario, simply because of his own success spawned an entire generation of cheap imitations. Okay, so did Final Fantasy, but what appeals about 9 is the fact that went back and made a kind of ironic, playful game about their roots. FF9 is not my favourite - FF7 is - but I still believe they made a more stylish and imaginative game with 9. I think that one common theme about the games in this list is that none of them play with a straight face - with the exception of God of War, possibly.
The other intention with this list was to highlight games people overlook. Monkey Island, Abe’s Oddysee, these are some incredibly brilliant games. Everyone who was going to play Zelda, has played Zelda. They don’t need my recommendation, or to be told to play it because it’s ’stylish’.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Great list!
I have to say, though, I do agree with the above commenter about Portal and Half-Life 2. Both games are fairly “real-world” in their setting, but they do have some fantastic designs. HL2, of course, has the creepy and awesomely depicted alien-occupied Earth in Eastern Europe, while Portal has a very white-washed look, like a building designed by Apple. It is your list, of course, but I just wanted to make their case.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
2 Lucasarts adventure games in the same list. Haven’t seen that since 1995!! Great work (maybe consider undying for your next list)
May 11th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Psyconauts..
I adored that game.. weird style, visual, design, dialog.. that’s probably at the top of my list.
June 28th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Love it love it love it!! I think you put some great games on there.. and I agreed 100% with what you said on each one. It makes me want to play them all over again.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:16 pm
“Battle Realms” by Ubisoft in 2001– still one of my favorites. The music, the stylized fighting, the beautiful landscape, the awesome storyline…it should have been a lot more popular than it was. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already.