Best Art Direction of 2017

Best Art Direction of 2017 - Article

by Brandon J. Wysocki , posted on 06 January 2018 / 4,930 Views

From the colorful charm of the Mushroom Kingdom to the weathered and worn dystopias of City 17 and Rapture, along with their unique and interesting inhabitants, art direction breathes life and nuance into gaming worlds – elevating the experience to make it more convincing, engrossing, and/or enchanting.  Here are the games exhibiting the Best Art Direction of 2017.

 

The Shortlist:
 

Cuphead



The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
 


Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn


Persona 5

 



The Winner:


Cuphead

Cuphead wins!

Cuphead, with its 1930s inspired art style and animation, is truly something to behold.  Featuring a delightful variety in both character and world design, all brought to life with a distinct and bedazzling style, Cuphead stands out because of its terrific art direction, and is VGChartz's pick for Best Art Direction of 2017.


More Articles

18 Comments

ROCKY223
ROCKY223 (on 06 January 2018)

As much as i adore persona 5, the best art direction definitely goes to cuphead

  • +10
Darwinianevolution
Darwinianevolution (on 06 January 2018)

What a year for this category, all are so good! I agree with Cuphead, though. Just the time it must have taken draw each individual sprite for the animation to end up so fluid and lively.

  • +9
LuccaCardoso1
LuccaCardoso1 (on 06 January 2018)

I love Zelda's art style, but I have to agree. Cuphead's art direction is not just different, it's also beautifully executed.

  • +9
Luke888
Luke888 (on 06 January 2018)

Congrats to Cuphead ! deserved win, shout-out to ARMS, Zelda and Persona 5 though

  • +8
NoirSon
NoirSon (on 06 January 2018)

Watching some of the boss fights and how the bosses radically change or the animation alone, it is obvious Cuphead is the true winner in art direction. Various games looked great this year but Cuphead hate or love its difficulty is pretty much a masterpiece.

  • +2
WhatATimeToBeAlive
WhatATimeToBeAlive (on 06 January 2018)

I was positively surprised that Zelda didn't won even though this was decided by voting.

  • +2
KLAMarine
KLAMarine (on 06 January 2018)

Cuphead, hands down.

  • +1
chakkra
chakkra (on 06 January 2018)

After what happened with the Remaster/Remake award, Im actually surprised that BOTW didnt win.

  • +1
BraLoD
BraLoD (on 06 January 2018)

Any of those are worth it, so Kudos Cuphead

  • +1
Azzanation
Azzanation (on 06 January 2018)

This was a no brainer. Well done Cuphead. (Xbox has no games)

  • 0
Azuren
Azuren (on 06 January 2018)

I would call what HZD had to be anything worthy of an art direction award. I mean, it looked fantastic...ally normal. Great graphics, boring at direction. Zelda had a similar issue: we get it, you like cell shading. There was nothing else outstanding about it. This was pretty much a competition between Persona 5's UI and the entire game of Cuphead. While P5's UI was a breath of fresh air, Cuphead is just on another level.

  • 0
Heavenly_King
Heavenly_King (on 06 January 2018)

cuphead is 2D or 2.5D??

  • 0
LuccaCardoso1
LuccaCardoso1 (on 06 January 2018)

2D

  • +2
Oneeee-Chan!!!
Oneeee-Chan!!! (on 06 January 2018)

Splatoon 2 won !

  • 0
Masked_Muchaco
Masked_Muchaco (on 06 January 2018)

Nani?!

  • +1
Ka-pi96
Ka-pi96 (on 06 January 2018)

Think that's the one that looks the worst :O

  • -2
Zkuq
Zkuq (on 06 January 2018)

Ah, the age of downvoting differing opinions. I disagree with you yet I still couldn't possibly downvote.

  • +2
pokoko
pokoko (on 06 January 2018)

Yeah, this downvote thing only serves to push away anyone who disagrees with popular opinion.

  • +2