Best-Looking Pixel Art Games – Investment Policy

Modern gaming looks incredible thanks to powerful PCs, the Xbox Series X/S, and the PlayStation 5. It’s amazing to think about how far we’ve come from simple games like Pong, especially when you see something visually stunning like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. However, even though big-budget AAA games are impressive, they can sometimes feel similar, which is why many gamers are drawn to unique and creative indie titles.

Indie games often take more risks with gameplay, and their smaller development teams have greater creative control over the worlds they build. These games, particularly those using pixel art, are visually stunning – the attention to detail in color, animation, and combat can be as impressive as anything found in 3D titles. They’re inspired by classic games, but thanks to passionate developers, they often exceed them in quality and innovation.

Sea Of Stars

Chrono Trigger’s Spiritual Successor

Sea of Stars is heavily inspired by classic 90s role-playing games such as Chrono Trigger, and it features some really impressive design choices. Despite having a small group of characters you control, the game world feels vibrant and full of life.

The game features beautifully designed characters and monsters, with appealing colors and smooth animations. The sound design is also excellent. Combat is engaging and dynamic, reminiscent of classic Mario RPGs, and the special attack animations are particularly impressive for a 2D game.

Shovel Knight Dig

Dig Deep

Shovel Knight is known for its beautiful retro style, reminiscent of the NES. Its follow-up, Shovel Knight Dig, aims for the more detailed look of the SNES. However, instead of the original’s side-scrolling action, Dig is a roguelike game where you dig downwards, exploring a constantly changing world.

In Shovel Knight Dig, players dig their way through levels, collecting gems to unlock temporary power-ups and improvements. They’ll also face challenging bosses in each area. While it might not be as famous as the first Shovel Knight game, Dig is a fantastic roguelike with fun digging gameplay and beautiful visuals.

Mullet Madjack

Anime Doom

Mullet Madjack is a fast-paced, first-person shooter inspired by 80s anime, and it’s played like a roguelike. A key part of the gameplay is managing your adrenaline – you have to keep it high, as indicated on your in-game phone, or you’ll lose. This means quick thinking and action are essential!

The game’s bright colors are almost overwhelming, and each room offers many inventive ways to defeat the big, cartoon-like enemies. You can attack them directly with shooting or slashing, but it’s much more enjoyable to experiment with the environment – like kicking enemies into fans, pushing them into electric walls, or throwing them into vending machines.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Who Smells Feet?

Tribute Games consistently delivers fantastic games with charming, sprite-based graphics, and all of their indie titles are worth checking out. Fans who grew up in the 80s will especially love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, which is arguably one of the best TMNT games released in the last few decades.

Players can select from a diverse cast of characters, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Master Splinter, and April O’Neil. All characters are beautifully animated during fights, with detailed movements and expressions. The game’s visuals are so strong that it feels like playing an interactive episode of the classic cartoon, despite being a sprite-based fighting game.

Eastward

EarthBound Plus Zelda

Inspired by the unique style of EarthBound, Eastward is an action-adventure game that plays more like a Zelda title. The story follows John, a miner, who discovers a young girl named Sam, and together they set out on a journey to uncover her origins.

Every village in Eastward is filled with unique and wonderfully detailed characters and backgrounds – the visuals are surprisingly high quality for an independent game. It’s the kind of game where every scene looks like a beautiful painting you’d want to hang on your wall.

Children Of Morta

A Family Business

Compared to many pixel art indie games, Children of Morta features simpler character designs. The developers chose a bolder, more stylized look instead. The game tells the story of the Bergson family, who are dedicated to defending the world from a dangerous evil hidden beneath their house.

This game is a fast-paced roguelike where you can play as different family members, each with a classic RPG role like ranger, warrior, or monk. It’s unique because of its smooth combat, special character abilities, and the heartwarming way it portrays family relationships.

Dead Cells

Fluid Animation

Dead Cells is a great roguelike game known for its smooth, lively animations. It uses a unique visual style, combining traditional sprite work with 3D models, which gives the characters a more dynamic and realistic feel.

This roguelike game emphasizes fast-paced action, and players will quickly learn to move between areas and fight enemies with ease. It also features a variety of art styles thanks to its many crossovers, including content from Castlevania.

Hyper Light Drifter

A Silent Zelda Clone

Hyper Light Drifter is a beautifully atmospheric, top-down adventure game inspired by classics like Zelda. What makes it unique is that no characters – not even the player – speak any spoken dialogue, immersing you in its desolate, post-apocalyptic world through visuals and music.

Instead of using words, players act out ideas, and the game allows for surprisingly effective storytelling through movement. The vibrant world looks like it’s been splashed with neon and acid, creating a visually striking experience on screen.

Blasphemous 2

2D Bloodborne

Blasphemous 2 shares similarities with Bloodborne, but in a 2D style. Though difficult, it’s more accurately described as a Metroidvania game rather than a Soulslike. The game’s dark and gothic world is unsettling yet creatively designed, motivating players to explore and face its bizarre bosses and characters.

The artists really enjoyed designing the game’s bizarre and striking imagery, from colossal figures shedding their skin to hands emerging from chests. While the first game had a strong visual style, Blasphemous 2 is ultimately a more compelling game to play.

Owlboy

Almost A Decade In The Making

It took D-Pad Studio nine years to create Owlboy, first announcing it in 2007 and finally releasing it in 2016. However, the lengthy development process resulted in a visually stunning game, with incredibly detailed characters and backgrounds.

Okay, so in Owlboy, you play as a character who isn’t really a fighter. It’s more about exploring and solving puzzles in these big, interconnected areas – think Zelda meets a Metroidvania. Instead of just battling everything, I found myself doing things like squeezing clouds to make water appear! Luckily, I could also carry around companions who would handle the fighting for me. Honestly, it’s a super unique game, I haven’t played anything quite like it.

2025-12-26 11:35