GOTY 17: Design

Old Man's Journey - Few games have the simple beauty of Old Man's Journey, which is a delicate painting brought to life, where you have to interact with the art itself to progress the story. This wonderful little mobile game is simply a joy to play, and that's in large part due to the quality of the game's visual design, which marries functionality and elegant simplicity to create a unique and engaging experience. Sometimes it's not just about the fine details, but about the big picture, and lucky for us Old Man's Journey nails both as part of it's colourful world.

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Link's latest foray into Hyrule is his most stunning yet from a design perspective. The open-world setting is expansive and deliberately constructed, and a stunning vista is only over the next hill. The hardware that houses this watercolour world mightn't be the most powerful, but Nintendo has still managed to make the most of it, in the process painting a picture of a vivid world full of strange creatures and wonderful discoveries. The whole thing comes together thanks to an exceptional soundtrack, with a collection of musical arrangements that also proves that sometimes less can be more.

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Persona 5 - Everything from the character design and the UI through to the cutscenes and the music in Persona 5 simply oozes class, and Atlus has delivered one of the slickest experiences of the year. Thanks to its blend of stylish visuals and catchy tunes, this is a game that's greater than the sum of its parts, where a cohesive overall vision wins out to create a spectacular visual feast that constantly impresses. To call it stylish would be the understatement of the century, as Atlus' artistic vision is nailed everywhere you look. There isn't a game that looks quite like it out there, and we can't imagine there ever will be.

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Horizon: Zero Dawn - The combination of science fiction and something more primal, perhaps even tribal, made Horizon: Zero Dawn an utterly unique experience. From the mechanical creatures that Aloy hunts and hides from, detailed with intricate mechanisms if you get close enough to look, through to the design of the clothes on the backs of the people she meets along the way, everything has been carefully and thoughtfully designed. It's also one of (if not) the most stunning games ever made, especially if you've got the screen to show it off.

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Cuphead - Was there ever any doubt that Cuphead would win this particular category? Studio MDHR has, with its debut release no less, built a game with unparalleled artistic vision. The hand-crafted assets in this 1930s cartoon-inspired shoot 'em up are simply a joy to behold, and we'd challenge anyone not to be impressed by the constant stream of innovative new enemy designs and creative levels. But let's be honest, all of the games in this category look great, and so it's the soundtrack, which is just as reverent and authentic as the visuals, that ends up making the difference. Cuphead stands alone as 2017's most aesthetically satisfying game, and if you prize audio-visual splendour above all else, then you owe it to yourself to check it out.