I do consider Blizzard-art to be NPR, though that's still quite resource intensive. Take a game like Darksiders, I'm sure that's almost as much work as a Gears Of War (then again, GOW is pretty ridiculous when it comes to detailed artwork).

I'm thinking more about games like Mad World, Journey, Wind Waker, Okami, Sound Shapes, Viewtiful Joe, Jet Grind Radio...
Ugh, why are these all console titles? :(
I'm sure a lot of those actually are quite a bit of work, not mentioning R&D. But just saying, switching art styles might unlock faster workflows.

Like Necros, I'm not so keen on faux-nostalgia pre-1990 tech.

But is it always nostalgia? I'm not so sure.
Thing is, sometimes they do it so well it blows 90's stuff out of the water. Games like Retro City Rampage or Frogatto have levels of artwork that are almost nonexistent in 90's era games. I'm sure there's some nostalgia involved there. But there's also games that take the limitations to heart and make them an integral part of their philosophy. Back in the nineties everyone was busy trying to overcome these limitations. A game like Sword and Sorcery or Fez with their less-is-more minimalist art philosophy would never have existed in the nineties, I don't think those examples can be called nostalgic at all. There's also the aspect of tradition. I'm sure many of the guys making these things consider themselves part of a pixel art tradition that's worth preserving. In the same way I'm sure many of the people here think Quake's gameplay and atmosphere is something that's worth preserving. 

"Why are these all console titles?"
Because japan seems the only place where you can make big non-realistic games, and they mostly make console games.
And most of those games you mentioned are still really difficult to make yeah... 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1460250988/darkest-dungeon-by-red-hook-studios

Feels a bit like some boards games like Space Hulk and such. 

i never knew until now that the bird-face gas masks were a real thing from plague doctors. 

style is great but the gameplay looks a bit retarded imo 

And most of those games you mentioned are still really difficult to make yeah...

Yeah, I mean it's all relative. Still a lot of work regardless.

I guess it's hard to tell without going through the process, I just assume the asset creation process is less intensive. But there's always unexpected snags you bump into with each new workflow.

Oh another JP game: C21 online 

New game from the original L4D guys, same kind of idea as the versus in L4D, 4 humans players vs 1 big evolving monster player, could be fun maybe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFrZlEqMzLU 

Setting looks cool, is it PvP only tho? Didn't watch it all. 

Yeah so far it looks like PVP only, but still seems like it could be fun in the same way as L4D, even if you don't like PVP as much. 

Does look pretty good. The mechanics sound much cleaner and more refined than other 4-coop games. 

Haha, I've had that idea for a long time. It's not revolutionary but I've never seen anyone do it? Will keep my eye on it. Graphics look nice (except for those dark halos around certain stuff?). 

Hmmmm, I never liked Versus in L4D2, just not my vibe. But I can appreciate the idea I guess. 

Interesting looking stealth title


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyjVXu1ntfk 

I like the idea that the main character is so low to the ground and can sneak though small cracks / vents in the world. Nice touch that he is at the right height to take stuff off NPCs belts! :P 

I like the idea that the main character is a goblin to provide one tiny thing that is different to the Thief series.

Does look nice tho. 

I would expect killing to be an encouraged activity in Styx, whereas Thief should be done without murder. IMO

But yeah, it's pretty much Thief with a goblin, I'm ok with this. 

Any new top down shooters coming out?

I know about TBoI:Rebirth and HellDivers. 

comes to steam in 5 days. 

well someone else had to cash in on the likely popularity of thief. 

BTW I finished Borderlands today. Despite my moaning a week ago, it actually picked up a lot after that and became a pretty cool game. 8.5/10 and reviewed on my webby site.

I'll play the DLC's next week, then next on the list Dark Void and Darksiders I think, both of which look good. 

Dungeon Keeper is free for the next 48 hours, DK2 is 75% off!

This is apparently a good graphical mod for it as well. I have not tested it myself though. 

I paid almost full price XD

Thanks for the graphics link. 

KeeperFX isn't just a graphical mod, it's a complete re-writing of the game that makes it a lot more stable and fixes imbalanced stuff. 

 

Oh yes. You can also use higher resolutions.