Oh wow, look at that graphic!

Visuals have been a focal point in gaming for decades. While that has sometimes been for the worse – with games being judged unfairly for less powerful graphics and unique art directions – there’s no denying the importance that visuals have to gaming. They’re as vital here as they are to animated films.

Though there were a few strong contenders in 2018, only one of them could boast the best visuals of the lot.

Winner: God of War

It seems I usually go for unique art directions when awarding Best Visuals any given year. But every so often, I go with the more ‘realistic’ looking games. Although Red Dead Redemption 2 put up some stiff competition in the realism department, I think the fact that God of War’s landscapes and human characters look just as realistic as Red Dead 2 while also including some memorable monster designs and otherworldly elements gives it a bit of an edge.

The journey of Kratos and Artreus is a visually captivating one, with beautiful locations at every turn, complimented by human characters whose likeness to reality is rivaled solely by Uncharted 4 and (once again) Red Dead Redemption 2 as far as gaming is concerned. Add in the Norse mythology aspect, and God of War is one of Playstation 4’s most consistently stunning games.

Runner-up: Red Dead Redemption 2

Past Winners

2014: Mario Kart 8*

2015: Yoshi’s Woolly World

2016: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

2017: Cuphead

*Retroactively awarded after further consideration

Author: themancalledscott

Born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining, the man called Scott is an ancient sorcerer from a long-forgotten realm. He’s more machine now than man, twisted and evil. Or, you know, he could just be some guy who loves video games, animations and cinema who just wanted to write about such things. View all posts by themancalledscott