The 7 art styles that have shaped the look of video games

Game art styles have multiplied dramatically in my lifetime. From the 256×192-pixel resolution and 15 colours I remember on the ZX Spectrum to 3D graphics that look almost indistinguishable from the real world, art styles have developed in response to the possibilities that hardware and software have allowed at any given time.

This means that today there’s a rich variety of game art styles to choose from, with infinite sub genres popping up along the way. What’s the best game art style for your game? Nobody can say since it depends entirely on your idea, but below I’ll sum up the most popular game art styles in use today to provide some ideas and inspiration. I’ll also suggest what software you might use for each, although you might also want to see our guides to the best game dev software and the best laptops for game dev.

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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.