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Best Graphics
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
The Assassin’s Creed series has always had fairly solid graphics. However, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey wins our category for best graphics because, in all fairness, the game is simply stunning. From its luscious landscapes to its underwater treasure coves, there’s always something catching your eye while exploring the world. There aren’t too many games out there in which you can be a tiny speck on a massive statue’s butt and have it still look amazing.
Some of my favourite parts of exploring Greece were moments where I was synchronizing the areas around me and just breathing in the general surroundings. It’s clear Ubisoft put a lot of effort into ensuring that its assets looked amazing both up close and from a distance. The character models have the same level of detail as the gorgeous world, as Kassandra looks like a Greek goddess as she thwarts baddies around the battlefield. Even animals have an amazing sense of realism up close. It’s for these reasons and many more I have yet to mention that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey wins our best graphics award.
There’s a lot to say about Dragon Quest XI, but the conversation could easily start with how gorgeous the game is. With its vibrant palette, even the dark and oppressive dungeons are bursting with life. There’s no mistaking the art style as anything but Akira Toriyama and his designs likely won’t find a better presentation in the gaming media for a while. There are some minor hitches, like water against a rock being ever so slightly pixelated at the edges, but you really have to look to find the flaws. Series fans will love the graphics, and the art in this game will definitely be looked back on as a step forward for Japanese RPGs.
When Ni no Kuni was being shown off, the one thing everyone couldn’t get over was how great the graphics were. They said it was like playing a Ghibli movie and there wasn’t much arguing the point. Well, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom really took that and ran with it. Everything about it is colourful, with life bursting out of every nook and cranny. With flashy combat and fluid animation, the game one-upped the first and is about as true to the Ghibli experience as you’re going to find in gaming.
by Sam Wachter and Robert Sinclair
These awards are dedicated to the memory of our friend Michael A. Cunningham. Mac started at RPGamer in 2006 and would go on to become the long-running Editor-in-Chief. While Mac loved RPGs, he especially loved handheld games, founding the #TeamHandheld hashtag as well as running a personal project site, Pocket Console, where you can read more of his musings on portable games.
You can see Michael’s top games, which is to a Google Document because Mac loved organizing lists in spreadsheets, a tradition continued with our speadsheet-based awards voting form. You can also read the tributes to Michael from the community as well as a list of our favorite works by Mac as well as Francis Gayon’s musical tribute based on Mac’s favourite game, Final Fantasy IV. Also, a special thanks to our friends at RPGFan who dedicated their recent Top 25 Nintendo 3DS Games and Top 20 PlayStation Vita Games features to Michael’s memory.
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