What is the most beautiful game you've ever played? Thread

I'm not talking about graphics, gameplay, or how fun a game was. I'm talking about how 'beautiful' a game was; that could mean its art, story, music, or those things altogether - or maybe a different aspect. It may not even necessarily mean aesthetics - unless those particular visuals were done extremely well and may affect the audience in more than one way. Also, sometimes something like a gameplay style could invoke 'beauty' in a game, but that is usually a rare case.

Mind that I'm not talking about 'beauty' in the sense as a feat of technology or something of the sort. I loosely say 'beauty' meaning something that may emotionally affect the audience or awestruck them.

Which game has really impacted you and you felt it was 'beautiful'? Or maybe certain parts of games you thought were the most beautiful?

An easy game example I can bring up is Journey - everyone may not agree, but I felt it was a rather great blend of story, art, and music.

Edited by: Warner

Silent Hill

The shear scale of Kerbal Space Program. The seamless-ness of everything is one thing. The fact that everything is realistically sized and distant from each other quite another.

Not to mention the fact that it's the best realism-focused space sim (rather than a more sci-fi one like Vendetta Online) I've ever played.

dark void and tomb raider

as well the kingdom heart games

Probably Deus Ex and Halo 1.

Dear Ester is a really beautiful game.

The path

Zelda Ocarina of Time, this game had everything.

System Shock 2

Final Fantasy VIII. I've really enjoyed it and felt like I was really there, fighting monsters and becoming a highly ranked SeeD. There's a lot of criticism about that game but I tend to disregard that and focus on the great time I had with it.

Planescape Torment. Both in purely graphical terms (prerendered landscapes are still my favourite choice of graphics) and setting/story-wise.

Probably The Wind Waker for the visual style, story, and atmosphere. The story is even better in Link's Awakening though.
Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy X for the soundtracks.
Also Homeworld had some really beautiful scenery.

Tetris.

Portal 1&2. Everything there from the characters to the gameplay to the music just mixed together perfectly to create one of the greatest games of all time.

Oh, and OoT, obviously

Edited by: ANumberSquared

I love becoming immersed in the world of The Elder Scrolls. I really love how World of Warcraft feels as well. I had to run around every capital city five times each before I could move on.

"So here we are again,
it's always such a pleasure.
Remember when you tried
to kill me twice?"
-Portal 2 song during credits

Warcraft III.
Its replay value increases by the hundreds if you join Battle.Net to play custom maps, some of which have great concepts; every time I play them I feel like remaking them as standalone games (such as has been done with DotA for instance).

Edited by: RNavega

Obscure II: The Aftermath. There's a scene in the game when your best friend Kenny, a protagonist from the first game becomes a huge monster and the boss for the rest of the game, crashes through the ceiling, throws you onto a steal pipe and then subdues your girlfriend May. As you the character starts to struggle trying to get free to save May, Kenny throws her to the ground and steps on her. as he's talking to you about changing the world, destroying the human race etc. He's literally crushing May. You can hear her bones breaking, flesh squishing. They pan down to May, Blood is coming out of eyes like tears and then you hear the big squish. Your other friends come to the rescue and chase Kenny away one of them being Kenny's sister, Shannon. Corey (You) gets free and holds May's lifeless body while the song "Evergreen" plays in the background.

I don't think this will make sense to everyone but there's a beauty in darkness. You were relating to this awesome Punk kid and his equally awesome Girlfriend only to have one of them taken away and the other one an emotional wreck. The Beautiful part may be the emotional relation between the player and the characters, how the game executed this relation. Or it could be how the game plays on one of mans deepest darkest instincts, Revenge. For the rest of the game the only thing you want is to see Kenny dead. This game is amazing lol

Edited by: GameSomniac™

Any of the metroid prime's. So much detail for such a weak console, so much to investigate, so much eye candy, excellent controls, etc. I doubt I'll ever be as amazed by a game in my adult life again.

Portal 1 and 2, and Knights of the Old Republic come to mind. Simply amazing games...

Oh, and of course Marshmallow Duel

For me: Heavy Rain. Though depressing, it was so damn emotional, and it really made me feel TERRIBLE when I killed somebody, which I think is great!

I wouldn't play it every day, but I'd never let the game go.

Shenmue on the Dreamcast or The Last Express on the PC.

Music and attention to detail plays a big part in both but what really sets them apart are the stories.

imo
Youtube.com

Warner wrote: An easy game example I can bring up is Journey - everyone may not agree, but I felt it was a rather great blend of story, art, and music.

That pretty much describes it (and by that I mean a beatiful game(experience?) not Journey in particular, which I haven't played yet).

I really enjoyed Guild Wars 1. The music, story and art style made the game very unique. It's not just one aspect but rather the combination of those three things which is making a game beautiful (at least for me).

World of Warcraft. The Grizzly Hills is one of my absolute favorite game experiences. I don't play the game anymore, but I'll never ever forget the music in it: Youtube.com

The Spellforce series was nice. It was (AFAIK) one of the first games with an Soundtrack played by an real orchestra. The music was unique and very different. I even enjoyed the waiting in front of the loading screen, how rare is that?

Knights of the Old Republic II. Buggy but totally worth it. Letting your character develop into either a sith or a jedi was a very cool and new experience at that time.

Tomb Raider 1-3, Crash Bandicoot, Star Wars Battlefront, Dear Esther... the list goes on.

Edited by: ComposerGuy

Resident Evil 2.

That scene where you first enter the police station... as close to perfect I can think of.

That said, I think the question of beauty that excludes gameplay and graphics is, well, odd. It's like asking what the best film is while ignoring story, acting and direction. A game is a game and is meant to be played.

It's the old art game argument of "a game has to make you cry/have an emotional connection/whatever to be art", but I don't get that from arty games. The first 2 Modern Warfare games had a strong impact, as did Resident Evil 2. In Xcom, I'm devistated when a high ranking soldier dies. In something like One Chance when your wife dies, I think "What a stupid, forced, hackneyed scene.".

I think I'm going to have to agree with journey, that game is amazing.
I might have to add homeworld and eve online in there though.