I won't judge because of graphics until I see gameplay.

Howerer, many of you are right in the matter, that there are great indie games with pixel art, like the game, that is currently on sale: HUNTDOWN.

Yes, it is doable, but for this to materialize, one needs budget/people/time. And many developers cannot afford this holy trinity.

Paper Sorcerer is a game made mainly by one person. And despite having pretty simple graphics, it is good and looks really nice.

https://www.gog.com/game/paper_sorcerer

Freaking Ghost of a Tale is almost entirely a one man project (except for music), and it looks better than most AAA games. It's the best game of the last decade for me, and easily too.

oh is it ? nice it looks like a nice AA game , it doesn't look better than AAA games for sure
I have seen so many good looking pixelated games , this game just looks amateurish and lazy , just look at the main char every shot exact same stance
everything i see here is just ughh

It´s not the first time you talk wonders about that game. I´ll have to give it a try someday. :)

I find that to be like saying "why does anyone paint with oils when photoshop exists?". It has a different aesthetic quality, that's all. Pixel art is a different medium from high resolution sprites, which is a different medium from polygons etc. There's an impressionistic quality to good pixel art - it manages to suggest detail that isn't there in a way that makes your imagination fill in the gaps. Of course there's plenty of bad pixel art, but good pixel art is something I find aesthetically pleasing.

I think that´s kind of what abstract "artists" usually say to justify their... eh... "things". They present a banana and a broken glass and they say: Fill the gaps with your imagination, that´s art, it´s sugestive, makes you think, and this and that. All of it in a speech in which they put more work and effort, than in the crap they have perpetrated. (I´m not saying that What Lies in the Multiverse can be compared to a banana and a broken glass).

Don´t get me wrong, as I said in a previews message, I´m glad to have this kind of games on gog because I know there are customers who like them. I don´t usually do, though. And yes, some pixelated games look nice. Although I don´t think this is one of them.

Enjoy it. ;)

nice game , you should , you sneak with a mouse can get different cloth themes and lots of word info in the game

Again, most indies are hobbyists. Not all of them art talented in the art department or able to afford a good artist. Going for large detailed sprites can be time-consuming, perhaps too much depending on the situation and needs of the developer. There is a reason why small sprites with a simple art style are prevalent. The devs are simply working with what they have, regardless of whether or not it meets your approval.

There is no denying Ghost of a Tale is an impressive feat. However, this a film industry veteran and crowdfunded to boot. The majority of indies are amateurs with little or no funding from outside sources.

In general, sure, anyone can put anything on Itch, but of indies available on GOG I don't think that is true, at least not by any usual definition of hobbyist. Many that I've looked into are former large developer employees who decided to do their own thing after a number of years in the instustry. Others are programmers, artists, or occasionally musicians who saved up enough money to work full time on a game for several years. A few are hobbyists and some others start out that way before working on their game full time. Possibly if you mean indies in the strictest sense of being self-published, but even then I am doubtful that most self published games on GOG are by hobbyists.

I still agree with your overall point, not every developer has access to a good artist. More than that, I've often wished that developers who aren't themselves artists would first focus on making a fun game and then pay for fancy art for their next game if the first does well. Personally, I'd say the music is much more important than the art beyond a fairly low level that this game passes easily. CrossCode and Aground have huge stories that would need a large budget to do with nicer art. This one could possibly be aiming for the same kind of thing. 140 uses music in an excellent way and the basic art gives a nice disco ball effect.

I can see why point and click fans care about art since they have limited and usually rather awful gameplay but some games are fun to play and not just picture books that force you do to random things to turn the page (not that there is anything wrong with that if that is what you are looking for).

Just to clarify, I wasn't comparing good pixel art to abstract paintings but rather to impressionist paintings, e.g. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xof6MOUWUNE/Tg1LlEul2OI/AAAAAAAA1ag/F9GdKmLvsZI/s1600/Style___impressionism_3_by_monguz.jpg

Here's an example of what I consider to be especially nice pixel art:
https://mmo13.ru/download/content/202011/15/03/image_5fb07135760901.89078697.jpg

I don't think the game this thread is about is anywhere near on that level, but I do think it looks quite nice and characterful.

Don't worry, I'm not trying to change your mind. The eye likes what the eye likes. I just feel the need to defend pixel art as a valid technique and not just some retro gimmick.

Plot twist: In the end he's actually SPIDERMAN!

It reminds me of the bad old days when you needed to be a kid or someone with an imagination and a lack of options to enjoy old games for those reasons but most people are probably making these because its cheap and easy.

There could have been another game being made like this that was held up because the devs were working on a proper game engine but were beaten to the release because of other devs making a simplified version of it.