As video games have become more advanced, developers around the world have been able to createexperiences that are more than just jaggy polygons and strong gameplay loops.
Even though entertainment remains a core part of the industry, more elements partake in the crafting of a good title,many of them related to the visual aspect.
From design concepts to art style, aesthetics are now key to a game’s success. This is especially true for 2D platformers, a genre widely recognized for its distinctive graphical approaches.
Thus, in compliance with the above, we honor the most artistic jump ‘n’ run games in ourranked list of the ten most beautiful 2D platformers.
10Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Wonderful Indeed
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Regarded as one of thebest platformers of 2023,Super Mario Bros. Wonderis the most recent and distinguished example of Nintendo being masters of visual excellence.
Being the franchise’s first traditional 2D side-scrolling game in the last ten years, this entry encapsulates everything we treasure about Mario,including a colorful design full of creativity and imagination.
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder feels and looks like a dream, with neat animations, backgrounds, shapes, and platforms that easily draw you into its bright world—an expressive, smooth, and atmospheric world, which partly explains why the game belongs to thebest modern platformers for Nintendo Switch.
Timeless Beauty
Many years have passed sinceBraid, the indie pioneer, arrived for the first time, but its age hasn’t harmed the magnificent visuals that characterize its experience.
Above all, Jonathan Blow’s creation possessesan evocative and painterly art style, which shows off a color pallet so delicate and perfectly elaborated that it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with it.
Using visuals as a contrast to its dark story,Braid’s radiant presence shined so brilliantly that it helped to create an entire portion of the medium, and that’s more than enough to be on this list.
8Rayman Legends
Moving Painting
Rayman Legends
From 1995 to today,Raymanhas always been a series with innovative creativity, but it found its maximum refinement whenRayman Legendsgraced our screens.
The latest game in the franchise isn’t only one of the most celebrated platformers of all time, but also an explosive burst of astonishing colors within a vast mythology full of unique ideas.
Each particle, character, animation, environment, and, quite frankly, everything elseis beautifully arranged to form what feels like a painting in motion, a living artwork that is there to amaze us with every brushstroke.
Sky High Production Value
Though it isn’t as popular as its counterparts,Owlboyis often valued as one of the most detailed and unexpected love letters to pixel art in the indie scene, and it’s really easy to see why.
The title’s fantasy setting is superb. It showcases engaging folklore that manifests itself through genuinely fascinating areas and characters, overflowing with imagination in every single fragment.
The game almost makes you feel like a child by mesmerizing you with its inventiveness, so if you ever see a comparison between it and Studio Ghibli’s outstanding works, you may now understand the reason behind it.Owlboy looks that good.
6Shovel Knight
8-bit Perfection
Shovel Knight
Unlike the aforementioned titles,Shovel Knightresorts to the classic 8-bit style to present one of the most iconic, spotless, and charming aesthetics of the past few years.
The visual expression of Yacht Club Games' masterpiece is unmistakable, with a personality and identity so well-crafted that it closes the gap between yesterday’s nostalgia and today’s multilayered designs.
With the versatility and fluidity of its sharp pixels, Shovel Knight is visually rich, meticulously detailed, and comfortable to watch for hours on end, making it one of thebest platformers for Steam Deck.
Brutally Gorgeous
WhileCelestehas a reputation for being among thehardest platforming adventuresin games' history, we can’t deny that Madeleine’s climbing experience is a marvelous-looking challenge.
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Chances are, you will be too focused on its tightly designed platforms to realize that, in the background, one of the most exquisite, thorough, and captivating views of all gaming lies.
Celeste’s ambiance ranges from lush groves to snowy peaks, from dark temples to molten cores, from forgotten cities to the stars, and it always presents a delightful scenery that perfectly accompanies the journey.A true homage to two-dimensional beauty.
A Watercolor Wonder
Despite only being released mere days ago at the time of writing,Neva does more than enough to earn its spot and the praise that comes with it, as it delivers ravishing aesthetics glorious enough to make you cry.
Alba’s moving tale almost feels like a sacred creation, an odyssey so gracefully composed that talking about it without superlative adjectives seems insulting.
Every description below ‘divine’ isn’t sufficient to capture what this game makes you visually witness.
It may sound excessive, but the title is so pretty that emotions flow inside you just by watching its display. Even if there are better works of art,what I felt while playing Neva can’t be compared to anything else.
3Ori and the Will of the Wisps
The Ultimate Fantasy World
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Though it was expected thatOri and the Blind Forestcouldn’t be topped visually,Ori and the Will of the Wispsarrived to leave all players speechless.
Its corrupt yet pure depiction of nature is unmatched. It conveys a myriad of sensations at every step and lures you into its world as it shows you the dichotomy of its beauty.
With the brightest lights and the darkest shadows, the sequel knows how to transmit deep emotions through colors and effects, raising the message of Ori’s voyageto the heights of the most memorable and significant indie games of recent times.
2Hollow Knight
Beautifully Bleak
Hollow Knight (Dupe)
It’s no coincidence that, when discussing thebest platformers, metroidvanias, soulslikes, or indies in general,Hollow Knightalways comes up in the conversation, and it is also not a coincidence that Team Cherry’s magnum opus is on this list.
The ruined kingdom of Hallownest offersmany of the most exciting visual stamps of 2D video games, with a distinct plethora of biomes, bosses, enemies, and wildlife that nourish the vitality of its spaces to contrast the decay of its world.
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Reaching the White Palace, accessing Godhome, fighting Radiance, flying through Crystal Peak, dashing across Greenpath, meeting the Dreamers.
Hollow Knight has abundant occasions that compel you to stand up and start clapping, even if it’s the seventh time you experience them.
A Life-changing Piece Of Art
WhileNevaapproaches art through maximalism,GRISdoes it through minimalism. Nomada Studio took two opposite routes with great results, but the latter is just something else.
It may have to do with its theme,portraying lossas no other title has done, or with its design, which traverses the path of “less is more”, but GRIS visuals hit differently.
The use of colors, the contrasts of its shapes, the presence through the absence, and the display of perspectives—GRIS communicates one of the most heart-wrenching stories of gaming mainly through aesthetics, transcending to a realm of godhood that few others have visited.
In the end, the title of the most beautiful 2D platformer can be relegated to subjectivity, butwhat GRIS does and represents is an achievement for video games as a whole.
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