Summary
- Some games like Okami focus on drawing as a tool for interaction rather than creative expression.
- Kirby: Canvas Curse actively involves drawing paths for gameplay, unlike leisure drawing.
- Jackbox Party Pack includes minigames that encourage player creativity through drawing.
Drawing something by hand well is a valuable talent even in the modern day where computers are in charge of everything. The video games below understand this well since they all include some type of drawing mechanic. Some of them encourage players to unleash their inner artist and put their imagination into the game, while others use it to activate abilities.
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They all deserve special praise for coming up with ingenious ways for players to interact with them. Fortunately, these are all great games outside of the drawing mechanic too, even if the drawing is a central feature of the adventure.
These games are ranked based on their drawing mechanics and not the quality of the rest of the game.
7
Okami
The Celestial Brush
- Released
-
September 19, 2006
- ESRB
-
T For Teen due to Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
-
Capcom, Clover Studio
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Okami’s graphics already look like one is playing within a painting. It makes sense for the main mechanic to be the Celestial Brush. There are a few select moments where players actually make a design to put somewhere, but the majority of its utility is interacting with the game world to solve puzzles or reach certain areas.
Players draw certain patterns to activate an ability, and they unlock more as they progress. It is a lot like the Ocarina or the Windwaker from the respective Zelda games. Okami is an incredible game that still holds up today, but its drawing mechanic is more of a tool than a creative outlet, which is why it places so high on the list.
With Okami 2 officially announced, one can only imagine what use the Celestial Brush will have.
6
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Draw Paths For Kirby To Follow
- Released
-
June 13, 2005
- ESRB
-
e
Kirby is no stranger to entire games dedicated to a unique mechanic. The Game Boy Advance had Tilt n’ Tumble where players physically tilted the console to move the titular character around. Canvas Curse on the Nintendo DS similarly utilizes the touchpad.
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Players draw paths for Kirby to move forward, taking care to avoid hazards. There are also puzzles that involve drawing to some extent. Canvas Curse executes its premise well and does not overstay its welcome. Unlike a lot of the games on this list, drawing is an active part of the game and not a leisure activity.
5
Jackbox Party Pack
Plenty Of Minigames Have Players Draw Something
- Released
-
October 20, 2022
- ESRB
-
T For Teen Due To Crude Humor, Drug Reference, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violent References
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
The Jackbox series is perhaps the best party game around since it can be played with phones as controllers. The games are also perfectly understandable to non-gamers. Lastly, Many of the games encourage participants to be creative in some way, like the popular Quiplash.
A handful of games require players to draw. Drawfull Animate has players make two-frame animations, Tee-KO is all about absurd T-shirt designs, and Weapons Drawn tasks players with hiding a letter within a drawing.
The main goal of the Jackbox games is to have a good time, so players can have plenty of fun even if they are not naturally gifted artists.
4
Graffiti Kingdom
Make Your Own Party Members
Graffiti Kingdom
Graffiti Kingdom is not just any ordinary action-adventure game. In this title, players craft monsters from scratch to use in battle. It starts with drawing individual body parts and then giving them unique moves and characteristics.
This is still a video game with a progression system, so not all the creative tools are available from the start. The actual gameplay is not quite up to the standards of the best action-adventure games of the day, but the title is still worth one’s time for the creation mechanic alone.
3
Drawn To Life
Use The DS To Draw The Protagonists
Drawn to Life
- Released
-
September 10, 2007
Drawing mechanics basically invent themselves on the Nintendo DS thanks to its stylus and touchscreen. While many games utilize the stylus, Drawn to Life lets players create their own playable characters from scratch.
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Drawing is not done once the main characters are given life, however. Players also get to draw weapons and additional in-game items. Drawing is a central mechanic in the game and not just something players do in the beginning before an entirely different game starts.
2
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Painting Is The Main Mechanic And The Story Is About Art
- Released
-
June 10, 2021
- ESRB
-
E For Everyone Due To Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Greg Lobanov
- Publisher(s)
-
Finji
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Chicory is one of those unique adventure games that manages to craft a compelling adventure without any combat. The only real battles occur during bosses, and those are skippable.
Instead, Chicory is about exploring a colorless world and solving puzzles using a painting mechanic. Drawing plays a role in solving most puzzles, and more abilities are revealed as the game goes on. It is not specifically about creating something from the imagination, but artistry and being an artist are important themes of the story.
1
Dreams
The Only Limit Is Your Imagination
- Released
-
February 14, 2020
- ESRB
-
T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Language
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Developer Media Molecule took their ideas of letting players edit their own levels to the extreme with Dreams. Unlike the established format and aesthetic of Little Big Planet, Dreams is essentially a gamified form of a game engine. This also includes the ability to make and mold characters either in 2D or 3D. The best thing about Dreams is not the game-like experiences.
It is the smaller projects that feel more like pieces of art than video games, whether they be interactive or not. The game did not take off like it should have and is no longer supported with updates, but players can still make and share levels and play other people’s creations. The editor in Dreams was not the simplest tool, but its flexibility makes it one of the best tools for drawing in a video game.
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