Game of the Year 2023 – Best Visual Design

Let’s be honest here, over the decades of video game history, there’s always been an awful lot of joystick wiggling over what game, what console and what graphics card can produce the best graphics.

But visual design is more than that. Yes, you have the wow factor of being on the cutting edge, but it’s about artistry as much as it is about pixel pushing and BVH bouncing. All of that combined is what leads us to our winner for Best Visual Design this year.

Remedy Entertainment are truly the masters of their own domain. The Northlight Engine that they first created for Quantum Break has grown and evolved through Control and onward to Alan Wake 2. With the current generation of consoles and newer GPUs, Remedy has been able to pack every scene, object and character with even more detail, but one of the engine’s real strengths has been in how it handles lighting. That has absolutely carried forward and been enhanced with more advanced ray tracing, global illumination and more, all marrying perfectly with Alan Wake 2’s steps into the survival horror genre.

All of this has enabled Remedy to really lean in on their film and TV inspirations, with Bright Falls and Cauldron Lake taking on even more of the vibe and feel of the classic 90s TV show Twin Peaks on Saga Anderson’s side of the story, while there’s the pre-2000s grime of New York City in Alan Wake’s side of the tale. Blend that with moments of live action video, artful overlays and more, and Alan Wake 2 is a real tour de force of artistic and technical vision.

– Stefan L

Hi-Fi Rush – Runner Up

Microsoft hasn’t had a raft of exclusive titles this year, but there’s certainly been a few highlights. Hi-Fi Rush strummed its way to the top of that small pile with surety and aplomb, bringing a raft of Wyld Stallion references to bear on what is easily one of the best-looking games of the year. Hi-Fi Rush is heavily influenced by Saturday morning cartoons of the 90s – think Biker Mice from Mars, Gargoyles and X-Men: The Animated Series – while sharing a lineage with cel-shaded classics like Jet Set Radio and Viewtiful Joe.

Hi-Fi Rush still manages to forge its own unique space within that hallowed company, with a world that is as full of life as the characters that inhabit it. Bright primary colours pop from the screen, looking all the while like a 3D comic book, while various elements of each level buzz, pulse and move in time with the exceptional music. The animation also sets Hi-Fi Rush apart, with a 15fps refresh rate during cutscenes lending each character a classic, hand-drawn quality, tying the whole production together exceptionally well. What Tango Softworks have created here can’t be under-estimated; Hi-Fi Rush is one of this year’s gameplay highlights, but few games have ever had such stunning and consistent visuals to match.

– Dom L

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd – Runner Up

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics are one of the most easily identifiable creations of the last twenty years, thanks entirely to Mignola’s stunning, idiosyncratic art. The franchise’s previous forays into video gaming have seen developers forgo any attempt to replicate their look, not least because it seemed an unforgiving and near impossible task, but Upstream Arcade have created a true proof of concept with Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, bringing the comics firmly, and convincingly, to life.

Hellboy’s look is often created by the use of deep and overwhelming black, a contrast to the vibrant red of the protagonist, and a means of creating danger, suspense and menace within a single panel. That contrast between light and dark is presumably a key part of why it hasn’t been attempted before, and yet, Upstream Arcade have taken Mignola’s artwork and turned in a 3D action game that could at any one moment be mistaken for a page of a book. It’s a phenomenal achievement, and if you’re a fan of the comics you will delight in a living Hellboy comic that you’re in control of.

– Dom L

Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

• Final Fantasy XVI
• A Highland Song
• Sea of Stars

Which games and their visual design really stood out for you this year? Let us know in the comments, and keep tabs on TheSixthAxis as we run through all the other awards we’re handing out.