Ranking the Best Pixel Art Game of 2018

The Best Pixel Art Game of 2018

Some people define the quality of a game entirely on the incredible realism of its graphics. There have been absolutely monumental breakthroughs in the appearance of games with the haunting motion capture of Hellblade, to the epic beard of Kratos in God of War. Games of less than top of the line graphics are sometimes critiqued for their “inferiority” but the creative decision to use other techniques is often done to compliment the game and its narrative. Similarly, games reverting to the classic pixel art style we grew up with not only pay homage to that great time of gaming innovation, but using the technology we have now to recreate and improve while still being faithful to that classic style has produced some of the most memorable games of the year. With that in mind, we here at COGconnected have voted on what we feel are the best of the best Pixel Art games of 2018. Check out our video below to see who won.

Although the runners up – and really every nominee – was absolutely outstanding, it was the Switch exclusive Octopath Traveler that stole the show. Square Enix dug back into its routes from some of the most legendary games produced on NES and SNES for inspiration to create what is now an iconic exclusive title. In Octopath Traveler, players will follow the story of all eight main characters – each with unique abilities we haven’t seen before in games – as they come together for an epic adventure. Using very similar sprite-style graphics from the early Final Fantasy games and the miracle of modern technology, Octopath Traveler creates a visual experience truly without rival.

Octopath Traveler

Have you already played Octopath Traveler? Is it on your list of games to play? Do you think another game should have won? Let us know all about it on Facebook, Twitter, or the Comments section below, and be sure to check out the rest of 2018’s COG Awards on YouTube, across social media, and of course on our own official website.