The Video Game Art Style That Divides EVERY Gamer

Gameplay Over Graphics?

Nintendo fans will probably be familiar with the classic argument of gameplay versus graphics.

The company has often demonstrated that it has no interest in engaging in the specs and performance contest that’s often seen between fans of Sony and Microsoft’s consoles. Instead, innovative gameplay and experimentation with ways to play has been Nintendo’s focus.

Of course, this approach hasn’t always worked out for the Japanese giant. The likes of the Virtual Boy and Wii U have shown that pushing the boundaries can fail as much as the Nintendo DS and Switch succeeded. It’s telling of certain lingering attitudes in the gaming community, though, that the House of Mario is often derided for being ‘for children’; for being ‘inferior’ to its rivals.

It’s this perspective that, in part, contributes to a gamer’s attitude towards pixel art visuals. Those who would turn their noses up at, say, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Switch port for being a visual/performance downgrade may also consider this ‘simplistic’ art style bland and basic.

Of course, graphics and performance aren’t one and the same, but they can feed into each other. By the same token, gameplay and graphics aren’t mutually exclusive, but there’s often considered to be an impasse between creative and unique new IPs and cookie cutter FPS titles, open world games and such.

Minecraft exploded into pop culture fame and made it clear that super-realistic and stunning visuals weren’t necessary for a game to be considered truly great.