Why Hand-Drawn Games Feel So Special
Hand-drawn animation gives video games a sense of personality that’s hard to replicate with other visual styles. You can often feel the human touch in every frame, whether it’s through expressive character movement, textured backgrounds, or small imperfections that make the world feel alive. These games don’t just play well, they invite you to slow down and appreciate the artistry behind every scene.
1. Cuphead
Cuphead looks like a living, breathing cartoon pulled straight from the 1930s, complete with exaggerated expressions and fluid motion. Nearly every enemy and environment was hand-drawn frame by frame, which makes even the most frantic boss fights visually mesmerizing. You may get frustrated by the difficulty, but the animation almost makes every defeat worth watching.
2. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight uses plenty of hand-drawn animation to create a hauntingly beautiful underground kingdom. The subtle movements of enemies and the gentle sway of the environment add a quiet sense of life to an otherwise lonely world. As you explore, the art style reinforces the feeling that you’re uncovering something ancient and fragile.
3. Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest pairs hand-painted artwork with 2-D-style animation to create a beautiful 3-D game. Characters glide, leap, and fall in ways that make traversal feel expressive rather than mechanical. The visuals do a lot of emotional storytelling without needing much dialogue at all.
4. Child of Light
Child of Light feels like playing through a watercolor fairy tale. Its hand-drawn characters and backgrounds give the entire adventure a soft, dreamlike tone. Even combat sequences feel gentle thanks to the flowing animation style.
5. Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends bursts with energy through its playful hand-drawn animation. Characters stretch, bounce, and react in exaggerated ways that make every level feel lively. The game, which is largely 2-D and 2.5D, also includes 3D elements in bosses and lighting. This provides the game with a wonderful, fleshed-out feel.
Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA on Wikimedia
6. Gris
Gris uses entirely hand-drawn visuals to express emotion rather than tell a traditional story. It almost looks like one long watercolor painting, and the colors alone tell a story. As you journey through the game, you’ll watch as the character and the setting undergo several transformations that are positively beautiful and heartbreaking.
7. The Banner Saga
The Banner Saga features hand-drawn animation inspired by classic fantasy illustrations. Characters move with deliberate weight, giving battles a grounded and serious feel. Its visual style reinforces the sense that every decision carries long-lasting consequences.
8. Don’t Starve
Don’t Starve looks like a dark sketchbook brought to life. Its hand-drawn style gives the world a twisted charm that balances humor with unease. While the game is not actually hand-drawn, a lot of animation work went into the game to give it that coloring book feel.
9. Skullgirls
Skullgirls is often praised for its incredibly smooth hand-drawn fighting animations. Each character is animated with remarkable detail, making every move feel precise and expressive. Not to mention, the characters within the game are incredibly unique to the fighting genre. You can tell the artists are obsessed with every frame.
The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA on Wikimedia
10. Braid
Braid uses hand-drawn and hand-painted visuals, almost exclusively created in Photoshop. The soft backgrounds contrast with the game’s complex puzzles, creating a calm but reflective atmosphere. It’s the kind of game that encourages you to think and observe.
11. Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer’s hand-drawn animation gives it a warm and inviting look, which is perfect for the game’s heavy themes. The game has an almost cartoonish look, thanks to the creators incorporating a classic ink-and-line aesthetic.
12. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
This expansion continues Cuphead’s commitment to fully hand-drawn animation. New bosses and characters feel just as lively and expressive as the originals. It’s impressive how consistent and detailed the animation remains throughout.
Chad & Jared Moldenhauer on Wikimedia
13. Wuppo
Wuppo features quirky hand-drawn art that feels playful and unpredictable. Characters may look simple at first, but their animations give them tons of personality. The visuals make exploration feel lighthearted and fun.
14. Machinarium
Machinarium tells its story entirely through hand-drawn environments and visual cues. Each screen feels carefully illustrated, with small details rewarding curious players. The animation gives the mechanical world a surprisingly cozy atmosphere. It almost looks like a piece of paper has just popped onto your screen.
15. Neverending Nightmares
Neverending Nightmares uses rough, hand-drawn pencil-style animation that easily matches its horror element. From the moment you begin the game, you’ll see just how uncomfortable you feel by looking at these sketchbook-like designs.
16. Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse showcases vibrant hand-drawn sprites and expressive animations. The developers used frame-by-frame animation for attacks and transformations, but they didn’t stop there. Even the background is full of detailed artwork that beautifully depicts a tropical paradise.
17. Greak: Memories of Azur
Greak: Memories of Azur uses hand-drawn animation to build a rich fantasy setting. Characters move with a storybook quality that feels deliberate and warm. The visuals help pull you into its emotional journey.
18. The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile embraces a rough, aggressive hand-drawn style. Its animation matches the speed and intensity of combat perfectly. Everything feels raw, bold, and intentionally chaotic, and feels almost reminiscent of early 2000s cartoons like Invader Zim or comics like Pawn and Zee.
19. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Valiant Hearts uses fully hand-drawn animation to tell a deeply emotional story of war. The game looks very similar to games like Rayman Origins and Child of Light, and does an excellent job of balancing the child-like cartoon animation with the heavy historical story of World War I.
20. BattleBlock Theater
BattleBlock Theater was created fully by simple hand-drawn characters with exaggerated, comedic animation. The visuals lean heavily into absurd humor and slapstick timing. The game and the animations are simple, but they make the game visually gorgeous.
