15 Best-Looking Video Games Of The Decade

15. Octopath Traveller

octopath traveller
Square Enix

Octopath Traveller was supposed to be Square Enix's attempt to embrace the company's older RPG sensibilities, to the point where the art style was made to mimic something ripped straight from the PS1. The inventive character designs bare all the blemishes of the graphics from that era, leaving elements to your imagination but remaining detailed enough to establish a cohesive visual style.

The pixelated 2D sprites and simple backdrops evoke an older (arguably simpler) time for the genre, but it's not just nostalgia that makes Octopath Traveller so damn visually appealing - it's the way these throwback sensibilities have been updated to work with modern game design.

The RPG is what you remember older RPGs looking like through rose-tinted glasses, and that's not something easily accomplished.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.