4 Most Beautiful Games of July 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Final Fantasy XIV has come on leaps and bounds since its inception. Not just in the story and writing, but in the way the game actually looks as well.

FFXIV has consistently looked better with each expansion, thanks in no small part to the art design and new environments. Shadowbringers is probably the best-looking expansion yet, featuring seriously gorgeous zones that are way more varied than the dusty sands of Stormblood from a couple years ago.

It’s not just the environments either, as character animations have gotten a pretty nice upgrade. The player character actually gets a couple of new facial expressions and model actions to properly convey what they’re feeling at any given point in time.

Sea of Solitude

While Sea of Solitude doesn’t exactly break any new ground story-wise, there’s no denying that this is easily one of the most beautiful games we got to check out in July 2019.

It’s clearly heavily inspired by games like Journey and Abzu in terms of gameplay and narrative elements, and it also features some seriously breathtaking levels for exploration. The cel-shaded water is completely gorgeous, and made even better by the game’s ‘sinking’ vibe where everything seems to be just partially submerged in the ocean.

The art direction for Sea of Solitude is definitely on point, and we certainly wouldn’t mind playing even more games that look like this one.

Dragon Quest Builders 2

From a gameplay perspective, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is already leagues ahead of its predecessor. And it looks damn good too.

Once again, Dragon Quest Builders 2 isn’t exactly the most graphically intensive game around; it’s a voxel-based Minecraft-like RPG where you collect materials and build towns, but the whole world just looks so freaking charming.

It’s largely thanks to the art direction and the vibrant color palette, which makes the game just pop with life and color splashes everywhere. The different maps and zones are all beautifully unique in their own way, and there’s never a visually dull moment in the game.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Not only is it the most ambitious RPG of the year, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is also the best-looking entry in the series, thanks to the Nintendo Switch hardware.

All the characters have full-sized models that actively interact with each other during cutscenes and support conversations, and the maps and environments themselves look pretty nice too. The most impressive part of the game has to be the fact that you can zoom all the way into a character while on the battlefield and control them that way, turning the game into a pseudo third-person action game.

While the game’s performance does take a bit of a hit when playing in handheld mode, Fire Emblem: Three Houses runs well most of the time, with very few compromises.

And those are our picks for the most beautiful games we got to check out in July 2019. Let us know in the comments down below if you feel like we’re missing anything.