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I'd say Killer 7, Okami, and Alice: Madness Returns.

MDK 2's art too stood out for its time.
It depends on what you mean by aesthetically pleasing.

If you are looking for graphic fidelity and overall good looks, then I would say that games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, God of War (2018), Assiassins Creed: Valhalla, Far Cry 5, Horizon: Zero dawn, Forza Motorsport and Talos Prinicple 2 are beautiful games.

But then you can fo into more art games, so the beauty is from style more than fidelity. I wouls ay here is games like Gris, Child of Light, Inside, Glass Masquerade, Gorogoa, Jusant, Dredge, or Lost Ember are very beautiful
Hmm, I'm also a bit puzzled as to the exact meaning of aesthetically beautiful. The literal definition seems to correlate to graphical fidelity. In that case, I'd say that Control and Quantum Break are at the top for me. Particularly the latter seems to capture the human aspect of its characters. Helps that they used real and famous actors for mocap and voice overs. The recent RoboCop: Rogue City is also an absolute banger and could be my top contender.

If we're talking about artistic nature of games, then I'm a sucker for the old-school Blizzard cartoony look of their Warcraft series. Pixel shaded games like Borderlands are also really cool and I enjoyed my brief dive into XIII not long ago. Almost seems like a comic book come to life.

Finally, with a good dose of nostalgia, I have a special place in my heart for the aesthetics of low-poly shooters. The ones with flat faces and all that. Things like Goldeneye and Turok are absolutely pleasing on the eyes for me. Doom and Quake where you see those low-poly enemies are great! That is not to say that the resolution/frame rate should be low, but rather the enemy model composition.
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Devyatovskiy: Doom and Quake where you see those low-poly enemies are great!
Doom and low-poly enemies? Last I checked, the game was using sprites :P
Post edited December 05, 2023 by idbeholdME
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idbeholdME: Doom and low-poly enemies? Last I checked, the game was using sprites :P
I guess Devy is talking about Doom 64.
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LegoDnD: I guess Devy is talking about Doom 64.
still has sprites
That's a very subjective question... if I had to think of a game I go back to just to "rinse my eyes" with what I consider beautiful and artful graphics, ones that give you that "I'm sitting by the fire with a blanket on and I'm cozy" feeling, for me that game would undoubtedly be Heroes of Might & Magic 2.

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Devyatovskiy: The literal definition seems to correlate to graphical fidelity.
Couldn't be further from the truth. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some eyes like "unreal" vistas more than others. Realism doesn't equate to beauty, never has (at least not necessarily).
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Strijkbout: On the other side of the spectrum there is X2, which I'm playing at the moment, the graphics still look very good in my opinion.
X2: The Threat? Well... that's the first game that introduced me to the X series, and I have to say, while I still have fond memories of it, the graphics in X3(:AP) are a big step forward in almost every regard. So much so that I don't see myself ever playing it again. The weapon effects in particular are rather hard to bear in comparison.
Post edited December 05, 2023 by WinterSnowfall
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Devyatovskiy: The literal definition seems to correlate to graphical fidelity.
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WinterSnowfall: Couldn't be further from the truth. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some eyes like "unreal" vistas more than others. Realism doesn't equate to beauty, never has (at least not necessarily).
Right, except I didn't say anything about beauty or real versus unreal. I said graphical fidelity as in the difference between the original Deus Ex and something recent in the series like Human Revolution. Doesn't have to be realistic for it to be absolutely aesthetically pleasing. Everspace 1/2 is a good example of that.
Post edited December 13, 2023 by Devyatovskiy
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Devyatovskiy: Doesn't have to be realistic for it to be absolutely aesthetically pleasing.
Correct. My apologies, I think I read it the wrong way then. I interpreted "fidelity" as the quality or state of being faithful (to reality), not as the more advanced rendering capabilities of a graphics engine.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition

Also, honourable mention to A Link to The Past.
Kayak VR
Have to add...

King's Quest: A Knight to Remember

trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krEV9a3dQ0U