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[pikachu17]

What do you think is the best artistic videogame, and what is the definition of Art you're judging it under?
I mean games that art, not games that you can make art with, but a game can be both.

[Yoink]

Drawception! I feel like most kinds of art can be produced there, but more importantly it forces the artist to flex their creative muscles and improvise.   

[pikachu17]

Drawception! I feel like most kinds of art can be produced there, but more importantly it forces the artist to flex their creative muscles and improvise.   

Is Drawception a videogame? If not, there was a failure to communicate there.

[Yoink]

Browser-based games still count as videogames, right?

[pikachu17]

Browser-based games still count as videogames, right?

Eh, I'll count it.

[Ozyton]

This is a tough one as I'm not really "into" art, if that makes sense.
I will say that there's a game called Rain World that is extremely niche and not many people would enjoy playing, but even so I strongly encourage people to experience it in one way or another. As far as I know the game was made by artists, and the ending was... quite something. I will warn that if you want to truly understand what's actually going on you'd have to consult outside sources unless you like carrying items all over the world one at a time.
For a long time I've contemplated doing an LP of it that would act as a sort of guided tour rather than a 100% blind playthrough, however that's probably way too much effort for how little I know about making video.

If you're talking 'artistic' as in you have to make your own stuff? Well, I would say something like LittleBIGplanet, or in more recent years Mario Maker. There's also a game called Dreams that's all about creating and sharing stuff and you can pretty much make any kind of game you want with it. Haven't heard anything about it in recent years though.

[nenjin]

I find the question a little ill-defined too.

To me, a game's playability and how artistic it is are often at odds. Like, people adore Shadow of the Colossus because it's an artistic game. For me, I got half way through it and quit because there was more art than substance to it. Yeah the boss fights were cool but they were mostly one note. Everyone was so hung up on the story and presentation but to me they weren't that lasting or memorable.

Similarly, people look at Dark Souls and see this gnarly RPG. I see and feel the artistry there, from the world design and story telling to the basic aesthetics of the visuals. But I wouldn't call Dark Souls an "artistic" game.

So to the question which is the best "artistic" video game, I can't really respond. Because games that go out of their way to be really artistic often aren't very good games in my book. Stuff like Journey and stuff may be really artistic, but since they aren't "game games" I don't play them. Which is why I don't play walking simulators. No matter how many vistas you show me, how much sad music you play or thoughtful considerations you try to present, at the end of the day there's just nothing to really grab on to for me.

[Iduno]

30 Flights of Loving, based on the story being told being more important than gameplay.

[ChairmanPoo]

Custer's Revenge

[pikachu17]

Custer's Revenge

First, I doubt that's serious; Second, you have to explain what you think Art is and how the game fits your definition.

[pikachu17]

I find the question a little ill-defined too.

-additional words-

You are to define what you think "artistic" is yourself when adding your example. Should I change the OP or change the thread name to better explain this?

EDIT:But I'm not meaning artistic as in games you make art with, I mean games that are art.
Also, changed the title and added a line to the OP.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

There are lots of ways to be artistic. I guess you could vaguely divide art in games into visuals, story, and engagement/sense-of-kinesthetics?

(in no particular order)
Visuals:
Journey
The Witcher 3
Red Dead Redemption I & II
Hyper Light Drifter

Story:
SW:TOR
God of War (2018)
KOTOR I & II
Halo 1, 2, & 3

Engagement:
Toribash
Mount & Blade: Warband

... to name a few, there are literally hundreds I could put into each/every category. I suppose its quite rare for a game to be un-artistic, even games without art are artistic. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure its possible for a game to lack artistry of some kind or another?

[itisnotlogical]

If we're talking about aesthetics, it's Overwatch for me. No question. I love the way that game looks and sounds, I love all the animatics and comics, I love the voice quips and musical stings, it's just a really neat-looking and -sounding experience.

If we're talking gameplay, it's harder because there's a lot of games I love for different reasons. I love the Touhou series for fast-paced shooter gameplay, I love Dwarf Fortress for its sheer innovation and scale, I love the Gold Box D&D series for their satisfying tactical combat, and so on.

I guess if I had to pick right now my favorite game for gameplay would be Fallout 4, specifically survival mode. If you look past the annoying radiant quests and dumbass companions it has a really satisfying loop of going out, finding resources, returning to base, building/upgrading, then back to the adventure. Survival adds a purpose for many of the items since you can't just savescum encounters, and exploring becomes a tense risk/reward situation since you can find a bed to save your progress, or stumble on a pack of legendary Super Mutants. The world also feels alive with groups moving around the world and fighting eachother, even if it usually is a vertibird being shot down by a raider with a pipe pistol.

[George_Chickens]

HellMOO

[Sime]

I can't distinguish art from nostalgia.   In my opinion, eighties and nineties games are generally more artistic, often as a result of technological constraints.