In a world where many games and graphics are attempting to get more and more realistic, it's always nice to play a throwback to the days of 8-bit and 16-bit visuals. Though the days of the and Sega Genesis are retro, that doesn't mean their graphics and art are stuck in the '90s.
Hundreds of modern games have gone back to using vintage-style graphics, and many of the best are on the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Switch. If you're looking for something like a modern throwback, have a look at these ten games with retro graphics scored by our friends at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metacritic.
Updated on April 12th, 2022 by Geoffrey Martin: The Nintendo Switch is a bastion for pixel art indie games, with new titles being released each and every month. These pixel art games that happen to be scored on Metacritic will fluctuate in terms of the review scores they receive, however, at the time of updating this article, the scores are up-to-date. A list like this could easily be expanded upon given the staggering number of Nintendo Switch games that feature the much-loved pixel art style, especially from the indie scene. Here then are a couple of extra games to help flesh this out.
12 𝓀 🔯 Dead Cells (89)
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead Cells is a top-notch pixel art indie game that centers around fluid movement, intense action combat, and fantastic progression, all wrapped up nicely in one of the best rogu🅠elike experiences on the Switch. Dead Cells tasks you to explore various macabr🐎e medieval settings while taking on devious foes and avoiding a plethora of traps.
Dead Cells' pixel art style is downright stunning, with colors popping off the screen at all times. For a game that moves at blazing speeds and with little downtime, it's simply amazing to see this level of artistry both in terms of the characters, backgrounds, foreground, and everything in between.
11 Enter The Gungeon (87) ༺
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Enter the Gungeon is another 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:𒉰roguel꧃ike experience on the Nintendo Switch but this one revolves around, as the game's name implies, a host of guns. Yes, Enter the Gungeon tasks players with exploring brutal dungeons while utilizing a host of bizarre and powerful weaponry. Heck, even the enemies are bullet and gun-themed.
Enter the Gungeon plays out from a more top-down, isometric perspective which helps set it apart from many other pixel art games on the Switch. Easily the highlights of this graphical style are the various weapon flourishes, lighting effects, and crazy, off-the-ꦑwall particle effects. This game will surely challenge you around every corner, however, it constantly rewards you with new weapons, upgrades, and ways to play.
10 The ♓Mummy: Demastered (75)
The term "Metroidvania" is one you're going to hear a lot on this list, so get ready. Where Most Metroidvania-type games rely on the more Metroid portion of the equation, this little gem from Wayforward Studios feels like a more balanced representation of the term. Think 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Castlevania-styled monsters with Metroid's gunplay.
Based on the remake of The Mummy, it turns out a ghastly movie can actually make a fun game. Players take the role of a Prodigium Agent and are sent into ruins, graveyards, and the London Underground to stop Princess Amunet and her army of the dead. The bosses might be bullet sponges, but it's still a decent zombie-blasting adventure.
9 Blasphemous (77) 🧸
Is it possible to be both beautiful and repulsive? Blasphemous says yes, it is. Gamers who want to take on this game might want to install a strong stomach. This action platformer features some 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dark Souls inspired combat and🍸 some horrifying visuals that look like something out of a Hieronyꦰmous Boch painting.
Blasphemous has players hack, slash, and explore their way through a grim and gruesome world inspired by Renaissance art and Gothic and religious ✅iconꦺography. The bosses are nothing short of nightmare fuel, and the combat is definitely gory for a 16-bit experience. If you're looking for a 2D equivalent of Dark Souls, this might be it.
8 𓄧 ♑ Octopath Traveler (83)
One thing that was ridiculously popular back in the days of the SNES was deep, enticing, and gripping JRPGs. When we look at titles like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Chrono Trigger, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy III, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Earthbound, we see adventures, characters, and worlds we want to get invested in. For the Switch, we have 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Octopath Traveler.
This game features a hybrid of both 2D sprite work and 3D backgrounds to create an immense fantasy world to explore. With eight different characters to choose from, Octopath Traveler certainly offers a deep and fascinating experience. It's no Chrono Trigger, but it's one of the best JRPGs on the Switch.
7 🅠 Katana Zero (83) ඣ
If you played Hotline Miami but thought it needed more samurai swords and less animal masks, have a look at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Katana Zero. Part action game, part stealth game, part crime noir, and part Kill Bill-inspired bloodb🎐ath, this game definitely has a lot of unique and distinct elements at work.
In this hack-and-⭕slash cyberpunk action title, you play a samurai warrior in a neon-drenched, crime-ridden city. You and your enemies both die with one hit, so your plan of attack needs to be perfect. You will die, ♔but at least it will be visually stimulating to watch.
6 ꦰ Sonic Mania (86) ꩵ
Though we're kind of cheating by using a character like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic the Hedgehog, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic Mania se🎶es the blue blur return to his roots in this fast-paced 2D platformer. Sonic speeds through classic environments like Green Hill Zone or Stardust Speedway to deliver a massive thrashing to Dr. Eggman and his robotic baddies.
If any of this is sounding familiar, you'd be correct. Sonic Mania is a love letter to how Sonic games should be. With the hedgehog's recent missteps in the third dimension, seeing him in a classic and familiar form is like a breath of fresh air.
5 🍌 The Messenger (86) 📖
With this action platformer, you essentially get two games for the price of one. And two species of pixel art graphics to boot! The Messenger is a retro platformer in more ways than one, and with its challenge and la🌳yout, it will definitely put your ninja skills to the test.
The first half is a standard, 8-bit platformer in the vein of the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ninja Gaiden, but after the midway point of the game, the formula turns things over to a 16-bit Metroidvania game. It's unique, challenging, and definitely gorgeous, believe us when we say message received.
4 🌠 Hyperlight Drifter (88) 💖
If A Link to the Past took place in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy fallout, it'd basically be Hyperlight Drifter. That's about as much detail as we can give you regarding what the game feels like. To explain what the game is actually about would take more than a few hours at best.
Hyperlight Drifter isn't just a sci-fi adventure, it's an experience. As the Drifter, you hack, slash, and shoot your way through this hostile planet and try to stop the evil force from consuming it all. There's no dialogue, no narration, no context. Everything you know about the world is left up to your interpretation.
3 Cave Story (88) 🃏
Take the explorative and slightly claustrophobic gameplay of and toss it in a blender with the charming characters and heartstring-tugging storytelling of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Undertale, the result will more than likely be Cave Story. 🌱This interesting little game will make you feel like a small fish in a big pond, but the platforming and story will keep you coming back for mo🌜re.
In a bizarre but engaging plot that involves abandoned robots, mad scientists, and a race of rabbit people, you must explore this subterranean world to uncover the full story. Armed with a blaster and your platforming skills, it's up to you to escape the labyrinth of caves and stop an evil doctor's scheme.