Lack of "Cartoony" graphics

[RCBH928]

I just have a thought that I would like to share...

We always lived with videogames having cartoony graphics like Mario and Sonic , we have seen "realistic" graphics probably with the PSX era. I will not lie , I always wanted games to be as real as it could and I guess I finally got my wish (COD? Last of US etc) , and I am happy with them .

I am upset though about lack of cartoonish games. It seems that those kind of graphics dont get much love outside the Nintendo franchises . I know they still exist but when was the last time we have seen a Triple A game with cartoony graphics?
I know they still exist with Braid, The Wonderful 101 , Castel Crushers ...

but would you like to see more of these games out or do you prefer the "real" graphics ?

I would like to see a balance personally, what is your opinion?

[Lodestar]

Ni No Kuni is a recent AAA game with ACTUAL cartoon/anime graphics, so it's not quite a relic of the past. When the novelty of photorealism fades, we'll start to see a return to imaginative design by way of mass exodus (okay, maybe not, but it'll become more common).

[muhanad]

I just have a thought that I would like
but would you like to see more of these games out or do you prefer the "real" graphics ?

I would like to see a balance personally, what is your opinion?

I think a balance is great, but i would also like to see more color in realistic games. Like Bioshock infinite. Alot of realistic games are so gray and boring colored.

[Violent By Design]

A good looking game is a good looking game, can't say I really care if the style is realistic or not.

[jfrost]

Rayman Origins. Rayman Legends.

[Pulsar_t]

Platformers have declined, ergo less cartoony graphics. However plenty of indie games on PC and even consoles have cartoony graphics. Those little shits nowadays prefer to play Cod of Dooty.

[Menegrothx]

I absolutely love cartoony and especially cartoony 2D graphics. Well done 2D simply has an appeal that 3D can never match. In fact "realistic" looking 2D simply looks better than real deal (no I'm not one of those people who are obsessed with anime girls )

One thing that I wish is that there would be more experimental 3D games. For instance Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 (less so) don't aim for realism so the characters are a bit (a lot in TF2's case) off. What I miss from earlier 3D games like Unreal, Quake, Alice and Thief the Dark Project is how the worlds looked and felt, they were strange and compelling. That allowed them to have cool architecture and unusual levels and game worlds with out any of that stuff looking out of place or immersion breaking. They weren't cartoony, but neither realistic. The Oddworld games on PS1 and the Donkey Kong Country games on SNES are good examples of the same thing done in a 2D world. I wish more modern games were like that.
Ultra realism serves a purpose and has it's place, but not nearly all genres or games need to go for that look. Many games would benefit from having an original, more artistic look. The games don't have to go full Banjo Kazooie either, some kind of inbetween state is what I'm talking about. Like Killer 7 (a very extreme example)

[3DSStrider]

I think, if we play games to get away from and forget reality, what's the point of making them so realistic?
I guess some games benefit from realism, but it still puzzles me.

[Pulsar_t]

ARMA and other simulations and survival games benefit from realistic texturing.

[BogusMeatFactory]

It is a shame that there isn't more of the cartoon and cell shaded style out there right now. There are some games, as previously mentioned and of course Nintendo working it with Wonderful 101 and Wind Waker HD. That era has passed it seems though. After the giant cell shaded craze brought on by Jet Grind Radio on Dreamcast back in the day, people just wanted violent, drab colors and "serious" gaming experiences.

Luckily, the indie world still embraces those vibrant, colorful, animated feeling graphics so there is always that realm to fall back into.

Plus Rayman looks brilliant! Probably one of the most beautiful games to be coming out soon!