Ubisoft Games With The Best Art Style

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 is the 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.

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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.

8

Eagle Flight

A Forgotten VR Game With a Captivating Visual Style

• Released: October 18, 2016
• Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4
• Developer: Ubisoft
• Genre(s): Simulation, Racing

For anyone who, understandably, forgot about Eagle Flight, this is Ubisoft’s very first VR 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’s gameplay may have been a little lackluster, but the art direction more than helps to make up for it.

7

XIII

Players Feel Like They’re Part Of A Gore-Filled Comic Book When Playing Through XIII

XIII

Action

First-Person Shooter

Systems

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 of XIII, that applies to the art style. XIII presents like a 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.

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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.

6

I Am Alive

The Dark And Dreary Direction Of The Game’s Visuals Help To Convey A Feeling Of Hopelessness

Action-Adventure

Survival

Systems

Just as the name suggests, I Am Alive is a game about trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world against all odds. While this kind of setting and story has already been explored a million times before, what makes I Am Alive so 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 Alive is 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.

5

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Ubisoft Took Far Cry 3’s Gameplay And Gave It A Splash Of 80s Neon

While many of the Far Cry games will try to look as realistic and believable as possible, Blood Dragon, the standalone expansion to Far Cry 3, is a striking exception. Being heavily inspired by action movies of the 1980s, Blood Dragon borrows 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 in Far Cr 4: New Dawn, Blood Dragon is the one that many fans look back most fondly on when focusing solely on visuals.

4

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown

The Lost Crown Leans Heavily Into Its Anime-Inspired Art Style

Released

January 18, 2024

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Ubisoft made it clear in the lead-up to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown that 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.

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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 latest Prince of Persia entry, and it more than paid off given the game’s positive reception.

3

Child Of Light

Child Of Light Takes Some Notes Out Of Studio Ghibli’s Book

Released

April 30, 2014

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Though there admittedly wasn’t all that much hype leading up to the release of Child 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 took inspiration 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 looker Child of Light is visually.

2

Rayman Origins

Quirky 2D Cartoonish Art Style To Bring Its Characters To Life

Released

November 15, 2011

Most people associate Rayman with 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 in Origins. 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 navigating a dark and dreary castle. Needless to say, this jawdropping art direction helps to add so much variety to the overall experience.

1

Red Steel 2

A Gory Cel-Shaded Thrill Ride Where Players Assume The Role Of A Futuristic Samurai

Red Steel 2

First-Person Shooter

Beat ‘Em Up

Systems

While it felt like Ubisoft were playing it safe with the first Red 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 setting littered with samurai and 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.

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