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4[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_522122_4835.jpg]]]]
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6SceneryPorn in Video Games.
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8* The early-nineties point-and-click adventure game ''VideoGame/{{Universe}}'' had amazing, hand-drawn, pastel-colored background graphics. This was especially noteworthy for the Amiga version of the game, which had to work around the machine's color limit and still look good.
9* The ''[[VideoGame/DotHackGuGames .hack//]]'' video game series has some very gorgeous plot-important set areas. ''.hack//GU'' pushed the video graphics capability of the [=PS2=] to its very limit: cathedral floors so polished you can see the character's reflection, giant ancient god-killer weapons in the background of the less impressive (but still pretty) playing fields... In fact, several characters in-game remarked how they just like to stand around and admire the view.
10* ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'' has the stunning vista of Gaiuss Tower/Atmos Ring/Wild Card, a brilliantly lit cityscape at night with a towering skyscraper in the centre. For being on the PSP with its small screen, it easily puts some of the towns and cities from the [=PS2=] titles (I'm looking at you, San Salvacion) to shame.
11* In ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfLomax'', the backgrounds and overall looks of the levels are quite pretty for their time.
12* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfWillyBeamish'' has been given lots of attention for its backgrounds drawn by former Disney artists, and it shows. Play the game on VGA and you will see a very high level of detail and color, and it still holds up today.
13* ''VideoGame/{{Aion}}'' was already a pretty game to begin with, but the 2.5 update turned this up to eleven. [[http://static.uk.aiononline.com/powerbook/aion/74/69/dde696c7966392a60d2a592d.jpg Behold.]]
14* ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' has some very useful camera angles whilst playing to show the mountains and forests around you. During cutscenes it'll also show you all the beautiful [[http://heyitsthatdog.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/alan-wake-scenery.jpg sights.]]
15* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' (the sequel to ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'') has this in droves. From the first level onward, Wonderland looks breathtaking. (The real world, not so much.) Even the more terrible and dark areas still have a sort of macabre beauty to them. [[http://www.ea.com/alice/images/ac676902287c9210VgnVCM2000001165140aRCRD Here are]] [[http://www.ea.com/alice/images/screenshot-2 a few]] screenshots.
16* ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredator2'' had a scene where you, as a predator, reach a cliff with an awesome look while a scripted spaceship flies low over your head. Beautiful.
17* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': There are breathtakingly beautiful PostCyberpunk environments to explore, one particular moment shows a entire scenery shot of [[NeonCity Noctis City]] to establish the well-circumstantial art.
18* ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}''. A [[BeautifulVoid vast, nearly empty, gorgeous]] [[UnderTheSea oceanic world]] that is as much a work of art as it is a video game.
19* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''
20** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'': everytime you ascend to one of the viewpoints in a city you get a cinematic panorama of the surrounding area. Also, some of the highest Leaps of Faith from these points are positively breathtaking. This is combined with [[ShownTheirWork Did The Research]], as the designers spent months poring over maps of 12th century Holy Land cities to get the designs right. When you're looking at Jerusalem, you're looking at Jerusalem with every major piece of architecture blown up to 10 times its real size for extra effect and some slight anachronistic touches (like the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock) just so it'd look super awesome.
21** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' does the same, with sweeping panoramic shots of the Italian architecture with the same attention to detail. It's absolutely gorgeous, even when everything's dark and gray. Venice in particular is absolutely breathtaking.
22** ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' also does this. Just try climbing up on top of the Colosseum, or maybe the villa in Monterigioni and take a look at the scenery. It. Is. Beautiful. And in the final part of ''Brotherhood'', the sequence at Colosseum is actually based on how Colosseum looks today, with some slight tweaks (such as a giant vault underneath, where a Piece of Eden is hidden. It's highly doubted that ''that'' exists).
23** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' is continuing the tradition, only this time with the frontier. Just running through the trees alongside cliffs and rivers whilst various forms of wildlife pass underneath you is just beautiful [[https://nutroniks.com]]
24** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'': took the series to an all new level of beauty by taking the player back to Ancient Greece. The game can looking astonishingly pretty when the weather clears up, and then the first expansion pack takes The ''Misthios'' to [[spoiler: Elysium ]], which looks even more attractive.
25** The [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008 2008 game]] takes the scenery porn from ''Assassin's Creed'', slaps on some cel-shading, and goes to 11. Sure, you're only fighting a few named enemies, plus a few {{Mooks}}, but you just don't give a damn. It helps that the game is platformer at heart, and ''uses'' that to enhance the Scenery Porn; levels frequently end at the top of really tall towers to show off the landscape.
26** The ''Sands of Time'' trilogy does this as well; as you head through the games, you'll probably gawk at a lot of environments. The beginning of the final level stands out well: you're on a bridge in front of a ''really'' tall tower. Then you begin climbing it...
27* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' combines this with TheWorldIsJustAwesome a lot. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRF9kXwkaHQ The beginning of the game]] has this shining example. In fact, ''Asura's Wrath'' is considered to be up there with ''Uncharted'' as one of the best looking games of the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/XBox360 console generation.
28%%ZCE * This is the main selling point of the game ''VideoGame/BallpointUniverseInfinite''.
29* The two ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' games. Yeah, the whole FloatingContinent shtick has been done before, but this takes it to a new level. All the islands have their own unique visual style; Diadem is made out of dark pink and purple clouds, Anuenue is a beautiful, lush jungle, Alfard has a steampunk city and a ruined mining town (that manages to make RealIsBrown ''not'' boring), and Mira...
30** The throne room in Wazn in the first game is a particularly JustForFun/{{Egregious}} example. It certainly looks impressive, but serves absolutely no purpose other than to look really, really, ''really'' pretty (there aren't even any cutscenes in there.)
31* ''[[VideoGame/BatmanSunsoft Batman: Return of the Joker]]'' boasted with some of the finest graphics done for the NES system. Virtually every stage contained few special effects to show off what can be done with that primitive system, if tried hard enough.
32* Just about ''every'' location in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' is this, especially when you walk into Paradiso. Then again, it ''is'' {{heaven}}.
33** ''Creator/PlatinumGames'' in general have a tendency to put this into lots of games they make. In addition to Bayonetta's example above, Vanquish- set in a space colony- gives you views of the entire colony whenever you're outside, and nearly all of it's in ludicrously detailed 3D. Even handheld titles such as ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace'' have detail up the wazoo, even in the DS's 2D and limited 3D.
34* ''VideoGame/BioShock''
35** ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' could both, in their entirety, be considered ''Architecture Porn''. If you're a fan of architecture... you will love these games. The sequel also has beautiful underwater walks, which contrast a lot to the UnderwaterCity's closed [[SceneryGorn and dilapidated]] spaces.
36** The cinematic trailer for ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' opens with the unfortunate viewpoint character getting thrown from a dimly-lit room through a window... whereupon the viewer is smacked in the face by glorious blue skies, impossible flying buildings covered in brightly-coloured posters, and green fields below reaching forever. It just gets prettier as it goes on, culminating in the character floating gently through a cloud of rose petals to reach the woman saving him. Part 2 of the DLC, ''Burial at Sea'', provides gratuitous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bZWq9te9ys amounts]] of Scenery Porn.
37* ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'' picked up the sceneries from ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' and ran with them to the much higher capabilities of the Source engine. Of particular note is the final chapter, Xen, which in the original game was infamously a bit of a let-down due to (among other issues) being a collection of barren and mostly [[RealIsBrown brown]] {{Floating Island}}s of varying sizes hanging out in a skybox with some SpaceClouds. The ''Black Mesa'' version, on the other hand... Well, Magazine/PCGamer helpfully provides a side-by-side comparison video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqyW2pjfSAA here.]]
38* ''{{VideoGame/Borderlands2}}'' provides quite an unexpected example. The levels of the previous game were mostly SceneryGorn, abandoned industrial sites, giant piles of flaming garbage, desert wastes, and barren cliffs. The second game doesn't start all that much better, taking place mostly in glacier and tundra, then a bit of desert to make things slightly different. However, then you get to the Highlands, green hills and mountains interspersed with rushing streams and waterfalls.
39* The visuals of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' are some of the finest for a 2D game.
40* ''VideoGame/BritannicPatronessOfTheMediterranean'' shows Britannic in her full glory, both as the Ocean Liner she should have been, and as the Hospital Ship she was. And the night time exterior exploration tour is absolutely ''gorgeous''.
41* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend''. You can pause the action anywhere and be assured that you're in a location that looks like it belongs on a HeavyMetal album cover. To further accentuate this, handy tourist-binocular things are scattered around the map, to give you a nice sweeping view of anything the devs thought you would really want to look at.
42* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series is well-known for boasting some damn fine two-dimensional visuals.
43** ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' was considered both a visual and technical tour de force of the SNES's graphical capability and its Mode 7 effects. Each stage features lush, forbodding environments, MalevolentArchitecture, and parallox scrolling set to a killer soundtrack.
44** In particular, ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'''s Castle Entrance.
45** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' combines 3D graphics and 2D graphics, like the later titles. It is stunning, though later games all have gratuitous scenery porn -- even ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance Harmony of Dissonance]]'' for the GBA, which ended up ''sacrificing sound quality'' for it! This was because they got the less expensive cartridge which lacked space.
46** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow Lords of Shadow]]''. One of the most notable examples is when Gabriel enters Pan's temple: The camera {{pan}}s over the area and shows a path spiralling up the inside of a hollowed-out tree decorated with glyphs and lush vines and water falling from above. Yes, the "scenery" is just the inside of a tree and you can literally get through this area in 5-10 seconds, but the amount of work that went into it? It's breath taking. And the camera pan feels much like the game designers knew this and wanted to show off their work.
47* The ''VideoGame/CarolReedMysteries'' consist of beautifully shot photographs of locations in Sweden. It almost feels like you're on vacation at times.
48* ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'' is not only powered by the same engine that brought us the SceneryPorn shown in ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'', but also has an art style that lends to a presentation not unlike a moving picture book, leading to some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuDaxVfe12o absolutely breathtaking visuals and scenery]].
49* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' has the Shadow Shard, with rocks suspended in midair, waterfalls that make you forget who you are, and multicolored gases flowing around you. Just standing there in a safe area (if you can find one) is a treat.
50* ''VideoGame/{{Croc}}'' and ''Croc 2''; Both games, maybe more so with the former, are incredibly gorgeous to look at. The design and graphics were simple yet pleasant, especially when mountains and nightsky were involved. The perfect music blend brought it home.
51* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''. ''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]]'' praised the graphics ; coming from someone who says things like, "It's incredibly good-looking, but what isn't these days?" and "Can we just agree that modern games are looking plenty realistic already?" for other games, and who is an AccentuateTheNegative critic in general, this carries extraordinary weight -- if only for how beautiful it has to be.
52* ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'', although it is regarded as a subpar ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', had some damn good artwork. Seriously, being able to render Hell in that kind of gruesome, disgusting, revolting detail is just strangely beautiful. The way it smoothly intertwines 3D-rendered graphics with 2D animation in the cutscenes is enough to make a gamer realize just how much artistic focus went into this game's development.
53* ''VideoGame/DarkMessiah of Might and Magic'' had several examples, the arrival at Stonehelm, Skull island and the exterior of the Necropolis as the sun is setting.
54* The PC game series ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' is exquisitely rendered and filled with color. Being inspired by classic fairy tales, the games are designed to make the player feel as though they really have stepped into a magical, almost dreamlike realm.
55* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' tends to have gorgeous scenery outside [[SceneryGorn the underground areas]]. Just look at [[http://geeksweat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Anor-Londo1.jpg Anor Londo]]!
56** [[VideoGame/DarkSouls2 Its sequel]] ups the ante to a significant extent. Majula, the main hub of the game, is situated on coastal bluffs. Choppy water buffets the coastline beneath a cloudy sky with [[Main/MemeticMutation glorious incandescence]] streaming through the gaps. And that's only the first of many gorgeous vistas. There's a reason "amazing view" is one of the choices of phrases for writing messages.
57** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' is no slouch in this department either. Lothric Castle is notable for its sheer size, especially since you actually get to explore all of it, but the biggest example would have to be Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. A beautifully detailed victorian city where snow perpetually falls lit by pale moonlight. The grandour of it all hits so much harder as the player just emerged from the Catacombs of Carthus, and their first sight upon emerging from the dark and dreary underground is ''[[http://i.imgur.com/TbtPFBP.jpg this!]]''
58* ''VideoGame/DearEsther'' is literally nothing ''but'' SceneryPorn. The only purpose is to explore your surroundings and enjoy the gorgeous scenery. It gives you by far one of the nicest deserted islands in gaming.
59* Some arenas in ''VideoGame/{{Demigod}}'' are breathtaking beautiful to look at. In [[http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2519/demigod2009041703305863.jpg Exile]] you fight on the body of a gigantic statue of a snake struggling with a gigantic statue of a man... in SPACE! Then [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/demigod/images/e/ec/Map_thebrothers_preview.png The Brothers]] is in an arena held on the titanic swords of 4 matching sized skeletons who look like they murdered each other at the same time. Then there's [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/demigod/images/3/3c/Map_leviathan_preview.png Levithian]], which is fought on some kind of ornate pool area, on top of a gigantic oyster, surrounded by two water spitting fish statues, inside a glass globe... in the bottom of an ocean. [[http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5788/screenshot210618.jpg Cataract]] is on a structure atop a huge aqueduct, high in the clouds. [[http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/875/demigod011709111pngjpgc.jpg Zigurat]] is on the top of an immense, well, zigurat, in the middle of a jungle. Finally, [[http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3752/demigod2008082709074317.jpg Mandala]] is on an intricate mandala chained to huge columns atop ice-white mountains.
60* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' is brimming with this. Any look towards the sky rewards the player with gorgeous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi5GpC03veY moving clouds]] and distant space battles. Outside landscapes are vast and highly detailed, only rivaled by inside areas that are quite often beautifully futuristic and sleek. Anything that isn't full on spectacular is still easy on the eyes, albeit a bit [[SceneryGorn grimier]].
61* The ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' games have a few such shots show up. It helps that most of the locales are distinctly gothic in nature.
62* ''VideoGame/{{The Dig|1995}}'', pixelated or not, is absolutely glorious to look at ([[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic and listen to]]). What's that? You want me to explore this salivatingly gorgeous alien planet? Oh, twist my arm!
63* For the older generations, the 8-bit (256 color) pictures such as in Mark Ferrari's [[http://markferrari.com/art/8bit-game-art/ Digital Game Art Gallery]] can really evoke emotions.
64* There's a little known game for the Platform/PlayStation2 called ''VideoGame/DogsLife'', where you [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin play as a dog]]. The backgrounds are quite nice, especially for a game made as a project. You'll probably spend more time trotting around the areas instead of playing the storyline, which isn't hard since it's a WideOpenSandBox Action game.
65* All of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' looks fantastic, but the biggest jaw-dropper has to be the end of the first level, where ''the sun sets''. The sky turns red, and the green palm trees turn a shade of dark blue, and then black as the entire level goes dark. In 1994, this looked ''stunning'' and the series' popularity at least partially stemmed by how amazing the graphics looked. ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' is an even more beautiful follow-up. Details such as the ocean, areas that look like they are merely in the background that you will be shot to in a few seconds, flying through the forest in barrel cannons, the volcano... it's all just fantastic. And then there are the silhouette levels. ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' takes it even further with the unique landscapes and areas found in every island, with special mention going to Autumn Heights and Sea Breeze Cove.
66* ''Franchise/DragonAge'' has quite a bit of this, one (Ostagar) in just the beginning of the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins first game]]. Seriously, how many of its players ''didn't'' go "Whoa!" when they first saw it? (Even though Ostagar has a tendency to become the [[ThatOneLevel Scrappy Level]] in repeat playthroughs, the combination of music with the opening visuals tends to hit players going through it again with a flood of wonder for the first few seconds.) After ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' took a step back, ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' came in and managed to one up the original, with even more diverse environments that are all enormous and ''gorgeous'' to look at.
67* Its counterpart series, ''Franchise/DragonQuest'', started out with an elegant simplicity, then over the next few games proceeded to do things that didn't seem to care that they only had 8 bits to work with.
68** Some of the later dungeons of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' were almost SNES-worthy. Though it tends to be a little more loose and understated on the whole than ''Final Fantasy'', the series regularly shows that it has taste in set pieces every bit as loving as its sister series -- [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100906052449/dragonquest/images/7/7a/DQ9_ObservatoryFV.png even if it's on a handheld with limited graphical power.]]
69** Go up to a high point in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' and look around. Go on, do it. [[http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/667/667148/dragon-quest-viii-game-tour-part-2-20051117031306716-000.jpg Simply]] [[http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/550/550769/dragon-warrior-viii-20040924001523694_640w.jpg breathtaking.]]
70* Not only there's actual porn in ''VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder'' and it sequel ''re:Connect'', but the backgrounds and locations are ''gorgeously'' drawn. [[http://imgur.com/wv1bvAW Case]] [[http://imgur.com/a/fPD1O in]] [[http://imgur.com/O0VXuuM point]].
71* ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'' excels at this trope: you know the game's graphics are great when the environments look as good as the cars do. This [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=935041 Photo mode]] thread has pictures of many users showing what the [=PS4=] is capable of.
72* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' pulled off gratuitous scenery back in ''16 bits''. ''Defender of the Future'', two generations later, even more so.
73* ''[[VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo ef: A Tale of Memories]]'' plays this trope to sometimes absurd levels, often [[RuleOfCool abandoning realism totally for its backgrounds]].
74* A staple of ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series following its [[VideoGame3DLeap 3D Leap]] with ''Morrowind''. Each game tends to have some of the best scenery graphics by the standards of when it was released, and each new one significantly ups the ante from the previous installment. The [[GameMod modding community]] further contributes with their own graphics upgrades.
75** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' does an excellent job displaying Vvardenfell's alien landscape. It's certainly not coincidence that the very first thing you see after exiting the Imperial Prison Ship at the start of the game is a Silt Strider against the backdrop of one of the greener areas of the island. Further, for a game released in 2002, the night sky is awe-invoking and wouldn't look out of place in a much more recent game. Mods such as the Morrowind Graphics Extender take this even further.
76** Likewise, in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', one could simply wander around the land for days admiring the beautiful fields and stately architecture without even ''touching'' the main {{plot}} of the game. Although ''Oblivion'' is impressive enough in its own right, the real jaw dropping does not come until you play through the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion. The improved graphical technology of ''Oblivion'', combined with the originality of ''Morrowind'', is positively incredible.
77** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' continue this tradition. The titular land of the [[HornyVikings Nords]] is absolutely '''gorgeous'''. If that picture at the top of the page didn't convince you, check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASXAHmXRk0 this]] video. And this doesn't even take [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels Blackreach and]] [[spoiler:[[Awesome/VideoGameLevels Sovngarde]], the Nordic WarriorHeaven,]] into account.
78*** The [[Videogame/TheElderScrollsArena first]] [[Videogame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall two]] games were not too bad, either. Arena had a detail scaler for slower computers and Daggerfall was one of the first games to be in fully 3D.
79* ''VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest'' (based on the 400 years old book ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''). Here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcWuwrubLP8 Scenery trailer]] and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SmpHfCd4IE Main game Trailer]]
80* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'', especially the third game. Parts like the Desert and the Snowland are prime examples. The fourth game is no slouch either, especially the Jungle, Crystal Caves, Ruins, Cloud Ruins area, etc. An
81* ''VideoGame/EspRaDe'' has some absolutely incredible sprite art and scaling/Mode 7, including such highlights as a fully ornamented Christmas tree only visible in one character's intro for about two seconds, a private high school with detailed buildings, and [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/ESP_Ra.De.png one of the coolest bomb animations ever.]]
82* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' must have spent over half its budget on coding gorgeous 3D scenery. And of course, every time you walk into a new part of the world, it shows it off. But that's nothing compared to the ''second {{cutscene}}'', where you have the narrator telling us all about Tenuto. Not to mention that the game has the prettiest ''sewers'' I've ever seen.
83* ''VideoGame/EuroTruckSimulator'' is all about showing off the natural beauty of the European countryside. The game's rendition of the road from Oslo to Bergen, Norway is truly a sight to behold. Other particularly scenic routes can be seen between Torino and Nice, Zürich and Innsbruck, Amsterdam and Groningen, and between Olsztyn and Bialystok.
84* ''VideoGame/EVEOnline'' is LOADED with this. From legendary sites such as the EVE gate, to little things like a gas giant with visible lightning flashes on the night side. And now think that you can see the scale to see the details in the eyes in your captains quarters, look at your 1km long ship in the hanger, thats also incredible detailed, now undock in said ship on a station that is like a hundred times bigger than your ship, and now zoom out to the planet or moon that station is orbiting, again with incredible scenery porn as far SingleBiomePlanet goes... and we are not even done now you can look at the space background, thats looking a bit different in each system, and even zoom out once more to see the whole galaxy. And beside the last two steps for systems and the whole galaxy, each zoom level is incredible detailed.\
85CCP recently redid the galactic backdrops with the release of the ''Crucible'' expansion, substituting generic backgrounds randomized throughout each system with incredibly-detailed nebulae that realistically move as you progress through the different regions, and each region has its own unique nebula (the four main empires even have nebulae that match that faction's main colors). The effect is mind-boggling, and really drives home the feeling that you're moving lightyears with every passing jump gate.
86* ''VideoGame/{{EVERSPACE}}'' has beautiful space visuals thanks to the Unreal engine. Everything is eye-catching and pleasant to watch: nebulae, stars, rock formations, gas giants, planets, electric storms.
87* The maps of ''Videogame/{{Evolve}}'' fit this with their spectacular mix of man-made structures with natural wilderness, all of which is highly detailed. Special note goes to Aviary, which contains an artificial swamp/forest within a climate dome and artic areas outside.
88* The RTS game ''VideoGame/ExecutiveAssault'' accomplishes this trope in the sense of being able to experience a typical ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation''-esque RTS from a first-person view alongside the usual RTS view. This extend to not only being able to wander around the interior of your base, but also to experiencing battles from right on the battlefield through the eyes of an individual unit.
89* ''{{Franchise/Fallout}}'':
90** ''{{VideoGame/Fallout 3}}'' basically recreates the feeling from ''Unreal'', only with a lot less cheerful color. It starts you off in an underground vault, where everything looks nice but nothing makes your jaw drop. Then you finally escape the place and find yourself on a small hill, overlooking the beautifully rendered Capital Wasteland with a skyline of destroyed buildings in the background. From the smallest houses to the big buildings, from the destroyed roads to the broken highway bridges, from the streets looking at what once was Washington DC to the top of the Washington Monument looking down at the ruined city, everything in the game gives the feeling that the designers wanted the players to continuously have their jaw welded to the floor. Make no mistake: ''Fallout 3'' '''is''' Scenery Porn. The gag was, directly at the edge of the hill you're standing on is a blue crooked sign with white letters: "scenic overview". Screw the fourth wall.
91** ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' continues this trend:
92*** From the look out of an abandoned gas station to the nearby town below, to standing on hundred foot high mountains and observing a herd of deathclaws move across an area, if you get more than 20 feet above the ground, you're likely to see something aesthetically pleasing. And that's to say nothing of the glowing lights of the city itself lighting up the night sky, visible from all over the map.
93*** ''Old World Blues'' is to New Vegas what Blackreach is to ''Skyrim''. Normally it would be impossible to make a ground zero nuclear blast site a eyegasm, but the Big Empty looks like something out of a acid trip.
94** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' puts the stamp right on the package with the new engine, and ''boy'', does it provide. So much that you get the most ''breathtaking'' view of the post-apocalyptic world [[spoiler:after completing the Hunter/Hunted quest, in which you track down and kill a [[OneManArmy Synth Courser]].]]
95* ''Franchise/FarCry''
96** The [[VideoGame/FarCry1 first game]] has a ton of Scenery Porn moments. Since it uses an earlier version of the engine that also powers ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' (see above), this is not surprising. Just ''pretty''.
97** ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' does this every five minutes or so, but especially so upon reaching paraglider locations. If you don't stop and gawk for minutes on end before strapping in and flying off, then you're doing it wrong.
98** Even more so on the Rook Islands of ''VideoGame/FarCry3''. The place is the very definition of island paradise, with gorgeous beaches and breathtaking vistas, especially on top of radio towers. In between fighting off the murderous animals and pirates, you can't help but just admire the beauty of it all.
99* ''VideoGame/{{Fez}}'' [[http://rhapsodistreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/fez2.jpg is a]] [[http://www.hardcoregamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/FezPS4ReviewImage1.jpg gold mine]] [[http://dualanalog.com/sites/default/files/Fez2.jpg for this]], [[spoiler: and it gets even better after the game's first-person look mode is unlocked, which allows the player to view each level in 3D.]]
100* Let's count the ways from the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series!
101** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': the crystal floor section of the Lunar Subterrane. It looked awesome even on the SNES.
102** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': the opening cutscene of the sweeping view over the city still looks breathtaking, even if the human models don't match up.
103** Much better graphics and CGI allows for this in the later Compilation entries. For example, the various cutscenes in the games ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' and ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', and the movie ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
104** From ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the scenery for the epic sparring match between Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal on top of the Junon Cannon, as well the game's intro and final cutscenes which both mirror the original game's intro cutscene.
105** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' had a number of these, from exterior shots of Balamb and Galbadia Garden, Deling City, the town of Balamb, to Esthar, the gorgeously futuristic city that appeared out of nowhere (well, out from behind a giant video screen camouflage) in the middle of a giant dry lakebed. Fisherman's Horizon: combine SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic with an environment where the ocean and technology mingles perfectly, the rust on the buildings adds more of a charm to it, so much that one would wish they could live there.
106** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had a lot of fun with the scenery: Alexandria's crystal-obelisked palace; the SteamPunk industrial metropolis of Lindblum; the eldritch branches of the Iifa Tree; Kuja's desert palace in all its stained-glass glory, the most extraordinary are Terra (alien landscape with otherworldly blue sky dotted with mushrooms like skyscrapers) and Memoria (tangle of different environments and architecture manifested from the collective memory of the entire planet).
107** When Square (now Squeenix) upgraded to Platform/PlayStation2 hardware, they ''really'' spent a lot of time making sure anyone playing ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' spent the start of every new area smacking their gob, over and over. Even the blasted ruins of [[spoiler:Zanarkand]], abandoned for a thousand years save for monsters and the occasional questing summoner, somehow manage to look pretty.
108** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. Everything looks stunning, even the monsters that kill you horribly.
109** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' also does this constantly, having multiple epic entrances to areas which serve practically no other purpose, as well as beautiful cutscenes of areas the first time you enter them. Occasionally, the cutscenes are pre-rendered FMV.
110** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is Scenery Porn from start to finish. As with the seventh and tenth installments, Square Enix showed off the new hardware by creating a highly linear but astoundingly beautiful game.
111** Every single area in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'' qualifies.
112* Plenty in ''VideoGame/TheFloorIsJelly'', with autumn leaves drifting across the screen to fireflies floating around a midnight scene, as well as the glow of sunsets. Also, even background objects such as trees and bushes individually sway around as the jelly-like ground beneath them bends and warps around.
113* ''VideoGame/{{Flower}}'' is built on this. No enemies, no {{game over}}s - just you, the wind, and miles of beautiful virtual scenery.
114* ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' featured some absolutely gorgeous environments, particularly Kashyyyk and Felucia. Unfortunately, the second time you visit, both Kashyyk and Felucia have been despoiled by the Empire (and the Dark Side). One of the final cutscenes also has Starkiller falling through the interior of the Death Star, which makes for a terrific visual.
115* Despite having its share of SceneryGorn due to its post-apocalyptic setting, ''VideoGame/FragileDreamsFarewellRuinsOfTheMoon'' manages this trope, such as an aurora borealis effect in the dim-lit sky at the top of the abandoned hotel area.
116* ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'' indulged in this hard enough to make its graphics not look dated even though the game is from 2003.
117* ''VideoGame/FromDust'' pretty much exists for the whole purpose of showing beautiful landscapes and the effects of the elements on them. Particularly beautiful are any of its lava-centric stages, and the shimmering expanses of water. Pretty much everything in the game is designed to blow your mind from its sheer beauty.
118* ''VideoGame/FZeroGX''. From the thunderstorm darkening the skies of the ever-familiar Mute City to the lush foliage of [[GreenHillZone Green Plant]] to the endless dunes and high-tech archeological dig site of [[ShiftingSandLand Sand Ocean]] to the industrial backdrops of [[PalmtreePanic Big Blue]] to the geysers of lava erupting next to the [[NoOSHACompliance rickety, half-finished raceways]] of [[LethalLavaLand Fire Field]], everything is ''gorgeous'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kk4WghEbmc here]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLLCcnDaq6I are]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9R3z7VfX_Q but]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYbUfqF7LTg a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTNVPrcf1_w few]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxGWSH23kug examples]]). It's a crying shame that you're bound to be focusing on winning/surviving the ''1000 km/h+'' race instead of sightseeing (unless you're racing in the [[MarathonLevel AX Cup]]) because these racetracks are ''truly'' sights to behold. The best part? All of this comes from a game released for the Platform/NintendoGameCube back in '''2003'''.
119* ''VideoGame/GatlingGears''. The game takes place on a FloatingContinent, and you will see ''many'' dynamic, breathtaking backgrounds such as the terrain crumbling away and falling down, especially in Chapter 1. Becomes SceneryGorn in the last two sets of levels.
120* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and the sequel. Are they [[RealIsBrown grim and dark]]? Yes, but the city ruins have a definite air of majesty and beauty, somewhat emphasized by their destroyed state. ''Gears of War 2'' adds in a lot of very beautiful scenes, particularly distant background art.
121* ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' (2009) has the ghost-world version of the UsefulNotes/{{New York|City}} Public Library. While the actual level you travel through is very linear with the only variation being a few turns in the path, the structure you are in is '''HUGE''', with numerous ghost portals like the ones you pass through to progress visible in the distance, but never accessed. If you look extremely closely though at just the right time, you might see Ray or Egon on a path connected to one. The bookshelves that stretch to the terrifying orange sky over your head while inside the building itself are enough, but the final platform you stand on before leaving the self-destructing area is by far the greatest example of this in the game as you can look back and see [[TheRuinsICaused the]] ''[[TheRuinsICaused entire]]'' [[TheRuinsICaused behemoth structure in the distance while bits of it drift off into space]]. The game doesn't force you to look back at it, but it dominates your view if you turn around at the portal and is accompanied by a dramatic music cue from the first movie -- clearly meant to be noticed thoroughly.
122* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''
123** ''God of War'' has ''extremely'' impressive vistas whenever you enter a new area, with an appropriate surge in music while this happens.
124** ''VideoGame/GodOfWar 2'', one of the last games made for the [=PS2=] and with a team that had an excellent knowledge of the machine, takes this further; hell, you could even count the Colossus of Rhodes as a Scenery Porn ''Boss''.
125* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games frequently have unique locations and beautiful scenery in their pseudo-3D style... on the Platform/GameBoyAdvance when it was still new, which is a pretty impressive feat.
126** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', having moved to the Platform/NintendoDS and shifted to cel-shaded true 3D rather than sprites, managed to up the ante here [[SoOkayItsAverage despite falling flat in other categories]]. The camera even tilts and moves around in some locations so you can enjoy the view.
127* ''VideoGame/{{Gorogoa}}'': The game developer, James Roberts, was also its illustrator and his impeccable skill shows in how natural and detailed the scenery is. Even [[spoiler:the carnage the protagonist's town suffers]] is lavishly detailed and leaves no corner cut.
128* ''{{VideoGame/Gothic}}''[='=]s main selling point was its open world, and significant parts of that world seem to exist for no reason other than to be explored and look beautiful doing it. The changeable weather and rising and setting sun make the experience even better. A couple of characters in ''Gothic II'' seem to spend about half the game just gazing out to sea, and it's not hard to see why.
129* ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'' features beautiful scenery in the race courses. They're so '''amazingly''' detailed that one of the series' selling points wasn't just its humongous selection of [[CoolCar cars]], but this trope. Look at Monaco (called Côte d'Azur in the series), Circuit de la Sarthe, and Nürburgring for example. If they don't scream SceneryPorn to you, it'd be a travesty of justice. Even the first game had impressive graphics for its time (it was released in 1998 for [=PS1=]). The only rival to the scenery is the cars themselves, especially in later games. Brand Central, where players go to purchase cars, shows off just how much detail went into painstakingly recreating them, from the hood ornaments and grilles to the wood grain and leather stitching on the interiors, going hand-in-hand with the realistic driving physics. For many players, the actual racing is just a means to the end of collecting and ogling the games' cars.
130* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series from III onwards. As consoles and [=PC=]s became more powerful, so Rockstar was able to cram more and more detail into the urban - and rural - environments depicted in these games, to the point where many players don't even bother starting the main gameplay until they've spent hours - sometimes days and weeks - simply sight-seeing locales such as Liberty City and Los Santos, especially in the more recent games which eliminated the need to complete certain missions before unlocking areas of the map. In ''[=GTAV=]'', players can explore the entire region from the very start of the game.
131** VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV has taken the scenery porn up to new levels. Go up to the top of Mt. Chiliad at sunset or go on the roller coaster or Ferris wheel at Del Perro Pier at dusk as all the lights in Los Santos turn on.
132* TV advertisements for ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity GTA Vice City]]'' tended to focus on the scenic beauty of the game environment as much as on gameplay. The extraordinarily long driving sequences between cities in the sequel ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas GTA San Andreas]]'' may be motivated by a desire to show Scenery Porn as much as by realism.
133* ''VideoGame/GuildWars''
134** Just about anywhere in it. Best of all, the graphics specs were meant to be highly scalable from the start, so even without all the fancy lighting and effects, you can enjoy the distinctive terrain, features, and monuments in each area. And unlike some examples of this trope, the [[CostumePorn character and creature designs]] are equally elaborate and detailed, making for some truly exquisite screenshots.
135** ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is heading that way as well. Watch a trailer. Any trailer. The first trailer, showing an artwork of Divinity's reach turning into a real sight of the in-game city, was particularly stunning.
136** The sequel also has little points called "vistas", sometimes just standing on the edge of a cliff/structure you walk past, usually with some form of jumping/wall-[[FifteenPuzzle sliding puzzle]] involved. Click it, and not only do you get a nice little serving of XP and one step closer to HundredPercentCompletion, but you get a short, panning shot of the surrounding area.
137* Several scenes in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' qualify. In the commentaries, the developers explicitly call these "vistas" rewards for the player. Perhaps the best example of this are the several long-range shots of [[spoiler:the destroyed citadel]] from the radio tower in Episode 2.
138* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
139** A good chunk of the rendered parts of the map are specifically designed to awe, and every map of every game has at least one vast backdrop setting that range from merely good to awe-inspiring. They particularly enjoy playing with objects of mind-buggering scale in the backdrop, with one great example in ''{{VideoGame/Halo 3}}'' where, on closer inspection, the little glowy dot at the middle of the vast construct you're on the edge of is a STAR.
140** In ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''[='s=] famous opening, after the player navigates through a cramped corridor, they leave into a lush jungle, and the horizons just goes up, and up, and up, as the player realizes that the planet they're on is a Halo ring. In the final game of the trilogy, you start off again in a lush jungle, this time beautifully animated. The [[UpdatedRerelease Anniversary Edition]] takes the campaign and adds more Scenery Porn than ever before, along with the option to toggle the new graphics on and off.
141** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'':
142*** A memorable example is the "Regret" level, with its ancient-looking pyramidal temples on the lake.
143*** "Gravemind" in both the original and Anniversary look absolutely stunning, with the skybox in particular showing the massive city and bright lights, giving a huge sense of scale.
144*** "Uprising[=/=]The Great Journey". The serene music in the former goes well with the scenery.
145** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d during the ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' scene in which one of the marines accompanying Master Chief points out that the ''Milky Way Galaxy'' is hanging in the sky above you, and Sergeant Johnson basically tells him, "Yeah, yeah, it's pretty. Now pay attention to the aliens who want to kill you."
146** One scene in ''Halo 3'' stands out. At the end of "The Covenant", you are on a balcony looking out over a vast pit filled with white clouds. And no, not the "vast" you're thinking of: this thing is the diameter of ''earth''. And out of the pit, accompanied with the most beautiful video game music ever produced, rises the most majestic, breath-taking super-weapon of ultra-mass destruction ever made: ''Halo''.
147** The season 4 DVD of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', a machinima based on ''Halo'', devoted one of its extras just on the scenery.
148** ''[[VideoGame/Halo3ODST ODST]]''. Sure, you spend most of the game walking around a destroyed city at night. But the two levels "NMPD HQ" and "Coastal Highway"? Let's elaborate: "NMPD". What parts of it that aren't in the interior of the building take place on balconies outside that overlook a panoramic view of high towers, bathed in the setting sun. Coastal Highway? When you get out of the tunnels and come to the view of New Mombasa in the morning...
149** Scenery porn is said to be a design requirement for ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', because [[spoiler:everyone already knows the planet's going to get fried from the orbit.]] This is particularly evident in Forge World, despite the map being on a Halo ring, not Reach. Parodied in [[http://roosterteeth.com/comics/strip.php?id=1717 this]] ''Creator/RoosterTeeth'' comic.
150** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' was designed to evoke memories of the original ''Halo'' and to that end, is full of sweeping and grand landscapes and beautiful scenes. The game world is utterly mesmerizing the first time you explore it.
151* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'': Everything. Quantic Dream developed new technologies to get the most out of the [=PS3=] console, truly matching the realism and detail to match the characters' fulfilment of the {{Uncanny Valley}} concept.
152* ''{{VideoGame/Homeworld}}'' successfully has Scenery Porn [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]!
153* Empyrean put a lot of work into detailing the streets outside the houses in ''VideoGame/HouseFlipper'', especially considering the player is incapable of leaving their own yard. The cyberpunk skyline outside the Hacker Loft is especially cool, and of course there's the moonscape from the House on the Moon.
154* ''{{VideoGame/ICO}}'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', full stop. Both games feature breathtakingly beautiful, large environments for the player to explore, often with the camera zooming all over the place to give players the best possible view of the scene. In the latter, the ENEMIES are this trope.
155* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has extremely detailed backgrounds. And with the camera revolving around Endou or Tachimukai whenever either of them uses God Hand, the shots are redone with a new background every time it's used in a new location.
156* Since ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'' and ''VideoGame/TheDarkMeadow'' run on Unreal Engine 3, these iPhone action games take the opportunity to showboat their graphic capabilities in the settings. And boy, do they look awesome.
157* ''VideoGame/InfinityTheQuestForEarth'' '''lives''' on this trope. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dn76lJ082I These]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ex1ESJfPw videos]] (skip to about 2 minutes in in the second video) are rather stunning, and these are from early in development, without fauna or elaborate texturing.
158* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' has a lot of very nice ancient East Asia-esque environments - [[TheLostWoods a forest]], a Tibetan monastery, a sprawling city and so on. Nicest looking, however, is the village of [[DoomedHometown Two Rivers]]. [[SceneryGorn It doesn't last]].
159* The ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series puts a lot of thought into its landscapes. In the second and third games the most prominent examples were the palace and KG war factory respectively, which allowed you to see the entire of Haven city and it's surroundings beneath you. In the first game, a sufficiently high point would let you see the most prominent landmarks of other levels in the distance, and from the summit of the last level it was possible to see all the way back to the distant coastline where you started.
160* A prime reason for much of ''VideoGame/JettRocket''[='s=] existence is for Shin'en Multimedia to show off its [[SugarWiki/GeniusProgramming programming chops]] and demonstrate how to give a 40 MB game highly accurate surface reflection and lighting effects. But when you gaze at the distant snowy peaks, stare into the rainy sky over the jungle, and zoom across the ocean at sunset, it's hard to say it didn't pay off in being ''gorgeous''. Their other Platform/WiiWare game, ''Art of Balance'', does this too -- it's the prettiest bowl of water in front of soothing bamboo plants you'll ever look at. There's also ''Iridion 3D'' - a polygonal 3D shooter on the ''Platform/GameBoyAdvance''.
161* ''VideoGame/JustCause2'', full stop. The draw distance is astounding, the environment colorful, and just wait until you get a view from the summit of the highest mountain in the game.
162* ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' has some really gorgeous backgrounds, specially a certain country field in Hokkaido [[spoiler: where Lilly and Hisao have their LoveConfession.]]
163* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
164** The dream sequence tutorial in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]] almost does this with using stain glass rose windows of the princesses as the floor.
165** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': Every world has a unique art style for starters, but the best is The World That Never Was: It's a dark world filled with shadow, subdued blues, and glaring whites with the artificial Kingdom Hearts moon hanging overhead along with the enemy's stronghold and, as you advance, reality seems to warp as the "moon" becomes smaller while the castle grows larger. The castle is also a wonderful visual sight being mostly a white that'll blur your vision and blend in with the enemies with the occasional splash of metallic grey and black.
166** Special mention to the openings for each of the above, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', and ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance''. The CGI is so flowing, beautiful, and perfectly set to Sanctuary/Passion or Simple and Clean/Hikari. Don't even get me started on the detail in EVERYTHING...
167** Special note must be given to the Symphony of Sorcery in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3dDreamDropDistance'', with its gorgeous colorful scenery based on fantasia.
168** All the beautiful scenery throughout ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' culminates in the final world, ''Scala ad Caelum'' - a massive hilled city covered in pristine white buildings and architecture, tons of windmills and cabled gondolas, all beneath a pristine clear blue sky. [[spoiler:Things shift into SceneryGorn territory as the place is gradually torn apart by the final battle between Sora and Master Xehanort]].
169* Many ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' games have highly detailed backgrounds, since they're often produced later in a system's lifespan than Nintendo's KillerApp. [[http://www.google.it/search?q=kirby+backgrounds+site%3Aspriters-resource.com&hl=it&gbv=2&rlz=1R2ACAW_it&um=1&tbm=isch&tab=wi&oq=kirby+backgrounds+site%3Aspriters-resource.com&gs_l=img.3...7438.14844.0.15156.35.31.4.0.0.0.250.4562.0j24j2.26.0...0.0...1c.1.tmFD6QmhYqU You're welcome.]]
170** ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' has one of the most extensive color palette for the NES games and game demonstrating it constantly. This game had its own special effects too.
171** ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'' is one of the best examples in 3D. It managed to hide relatively low polygon count of fifth generation video games under bright colors and visual presentation.
172** ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' uses stylistic solutions more than other games in the series with everything looking like it's made from products bought from a fabric store.
173** ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamland'' has some fancy backgrounds for a 2D sidescroller Wii game. [[http://cdn2.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/kirby6-589x332.jpg Just look at this image.]]
174** The backgrounds in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheRainbowCurse'' look like something straight out of a claymation production.
175** ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'' shows off a variety of [[http://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_advance/kirbyandtheamazingmirror/sheet/40118/ colourful backgrounds]] in every level.
176* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has amazing visual direction and sweeping vistas everywhere you look. Manaan gets special mention. The perfect pristine condition of the city, its sterile grey and the ocean view are just absolutely breathtaking. Then of course there's the underwater segment [[PrimalFear at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by sharks with a giant one looming above you]], but that just adds to the contrast of how beautiful surface Manaan simply is.
177* ''VideoGame/{{Kolibri}}'' was, in part, meant to show off what the Platform/Sega32X could do, and ''does it ever'' - the game is filled with gorgeous, lush backgrounds.
178* When playing ''VideoGame/LANoire'', it's quite obvious how much effort the developers put in order to recreate L.A. in the late 1940's. Particularly lovely when the sun sets in-game.
179* In ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade'', just pick any stage from any of the two games. The best example is the "Fire at Wadamaya" from the second game.
180* A custom map in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', Death Aboard 2, has STUNNING visuals towards the finale. It takes place on a beach with a lighthouse and you wait for a hot-air balloon to pick you up.
181* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'': For an 8-bit game, some of the backdrops are quite picturesque. The castle to the left of the dungeon entrance. Many of the vistas in the dungeon with silhouettes of castles and towers and the volcano in Lyll's area. The boss rooms tend to lean towards Scenery Gorn.
182* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
183** The opening of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' has a flyby scene showing off the first playable area, fitting its status as the first [=3D=] ''Zelda'' game.
184** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' is still considered one of the best-looking games of all time, due to its unique use of cel-shading together with realistic elements. Sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, as well as the intermittent rainstorms that occur in the ocean.
185*** One dungeon is located within an inactive but still hot volcano. The main magma chamber features gigantic fire fountains that ''that actually make the game lag'' when one magnifies the image with the Telescope item. Add to that the fact that the image distortion caused by the intense volcanic heat ''actually rises and falls'' according to whether a fire fountain is spouting or not. The dungeon also includes outdoor areas with beautiful panoramas of the surrounding ocean. The highest outdoor rooms of the dungeon are ''above the cloud layer''.
186*** If you thought the [[http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/the-legend-of-zelda-wind-waker/thumb/4/47/Comparison_1.png/468px-Comparison_1.png original version]] on the Nintendo Gamecube looked pretty, just look at the [[http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/the-legend-of-zelda-wind-waker/thumb/1/14/Comparison_1_-_HD.jpg/468px-Comparison_1_-_HD.jpg HD version]] on the Wii U.
187** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' has often been compared to ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', due to its imagery and its locales. From the open expanse of the Eldin Province of Hyrule Field, the majesty of Lake Hylia, to a dungeon that is an ancient City in the Sky - nearly every scene offers breathtaking vistas.
188** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' takes full advantage of the impressionist-inspired graphical style. The aforementioned fly-bys return and are more jaw-dropping than ever. Take a look at [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/File:SS_Scenery_.jpg this,]] for example.
189** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' sets a new standard for the series, with visuals, character designs, and animation worthy of [[Creator/HayaoMiyazaki a Miyazaki]] [[Creator/StudioGhibli Film.]] The launch trailer was so awe-inspiring, that some viewers were literally [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH_Re_4uEKc moved to tears.]]
190* In a VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame, the scenery that isn't BuiltWithLego is often awesome-looking. [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Especially Middle-earth.]]
191* ''VideoGame/LEGOMinifiguresOnline'' has ''beautiful'' environments in screenshots and trailers.
192* Creator/Level5 puts intricate amounts of detail into just about every game they make:
193** The ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' games: Just look at [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110314032525/layton/images/thumb/9/92/Folsense_3.png/231px-Folsense_3.png Folsense]] or [[http://images.wikia.com/professor-layton/images/4/4b/St_Mystere.png St. Mystere]]. Their [[http://layton.neoseeker.com/w/i/layton/f/f6/London.jpg London]] is pretty spectacular, as well. In fact, one of the first animated sections of the second and third games feature some gorgeous views of London.
194** They actually collaborated with Creator/StudioGhibli for ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni''. Just look at some of these [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyAhNuG8DZY preview]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyAhNuG8DZY trailers]].
195** The ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' games have quite detailed 3D textured models for every locale in the game plus 2D vistas of every region in the overworld map, all crammed onto a little DS card. Take, for example, [[http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xeex3H%2BJL.jpg Nara]] from the second game. And Level-5 has outdone themselves with ''Inazuma Eleven GO'' on the 3DS - just watch the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ndNGA-7w90 trailer]].
196* ''VideoGame/LBXLittleBattlersExperience'' is led by the same team (Creator/Level5 with OLM) as ''Inazuma Eleven'' and it shows, although the CGI is a bit more conspicuous (likely an intentional stylistic choice, since it's a futuristic sci-fi series).
197* ''VideoGame/LittleSamson'' included some backgrounds that were breathtakingly detailed for a NES game.
198* ''VideoGame/LogicalJourneyOfTheZoombinis'' has some truly stunning scenery for most of the puzzles. The visuals in the Allergic Cliffs puzzle, for instance really does give you the feeling of being thousands of feet above the valley below.
199* Both ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'' and ''{{VideoGame/Dreamfall|TheLongestJourney}}'' contain amazing scenery to go along with the twisted plot and unusually intelligent dialogue. [[http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/25/dreamfall.jpg See for yourself]].
200* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' has stunning, detailed scenery everywhere you go, whether it be the lush hills of the Shire or the barren wastes of the Lone Lands. The buildings and [=NPCs=] are also well-done.
201* ''VideoGame/TheLostCrown'' features gorgeous grey-scale landscapes and backgrounds, made slightly more haunting by use of color on selected objects.
202* ''VideoGame/LuminoCity'' is a ''stunning'' puzzle game that's literally built by hand out of paper, cardboard and various bits and bobs of mixed media. Only the characters appear to be CGI.
203* Both ''VideoGame/{{Lunar}}'' remakes on Playstation have breathtaking scenery both in the in-game sprite graphics and traditionally animated cutscenes. [[VideoGame/LunarSilverStarStory For the first game]], special mention goes to the spritework for Dyne's monument and the spring in-game and the hills dotted with villagers, farmland, and rivers in the opening animation. [[VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue As for the second game]], special mention goes to the very first cutscene, which featured gorgeous handpainted murals and various rocks and crystals layered over multiple cels for a pseudo-3d effect. The "Making Of" documentary bundled with the English version showed the entire process of creating the scene and seeing how it was made makes it even more impressive.
204* The MMORPG ''{{VideoGame/Mabinogi}}''. Good heaven, Mabinogi! An anime-style, completely explorable and beautiful universe with (usually) sparsely populated towns with absolutely gigantic stretches of wild in between, and then that scale gets even grander in later-added continents, one region even having no sentient life at all save for a dragon or two. Even areas that are totally useless in-story or only used for waypoints and travel have exceedingly beautiful scenery for an MMO. One of the best examples of an otherwise-useless area is [[http://wiki.mabinogiworld.com/images/c/c5/CorribValley.jpg Corrib Valley.]] Oh, and its awesome [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dwh1OyGCh4 Soundtrack.]]
205* ''VideoGame/{{Machinarium}}'' won the Excellence in Visual Art Award at the 2009 Indie Game Festival, and there's no surprise why. Not only does it harken back to the old days of 2D point-and click adventure gaming, but it does so with breath-taking depth and detail. And it's Flash-based too, made with a meager budget of $1000.
206* For a Platform/GameBoyColor game and a pretty heavily stylized one to boot, ''VideoGame/MagiNation'' has some ''surprising'' amount of detail put into the backgrounds. Despite a few bland areas (like a few of the Shadow Geysers...except the third.) the game really does look beautiful given the huge limitations.
207* ''VideoGame/MarioKart8''. Take a peek at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYBz6HWBw3A this trailer]] and try to keep your jaw off the floor while taking in all the details of the settings, animation, and the game's soundtrack. Special mention goes to the visual updates to the Mario Super Circuit, Toad's Turnpike, and [[spoiler: Rainbow Road]].
208* ''VideoGame/MarsupilamiHoobadventure'' has a ton of this, partly due to being a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series (Especially the ''Creator/RetroStudios'' entries), as well as being based on [[{{ComicBook/Marsupilami}} a comic]] with a lush jungle setting. [[{{Prehistoria}} The hidden world]], in particular, has a ton of prehistoric scenery and creatures in the background that make the background feel alive.
209* In the first ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'', the Mandarin's palace is by far the most detailed level in the game, with intricate Chinese designs all over the place and the appropriate music to go with it. It's easy to get distracted taking in everything while getting your ass kicked by mooks...
210* ''Franchise/MassEffect''
211** ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' had quite some of those. The first time you are in the Citadel, you'll probably just stand there and look around, especially on the PC version with the prettier graphics.
212** Then there's ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Even when they TrashTheSet, the trashed set looks ''stunning''.
213** Lampshaded with the page's quote in the DLC ''Operation Overlord''.
214** In the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC, the view from [[spoiler:the hull of the Broker's ship in the middle of an eternal lightning storm]] definitely counts. Liara even makes a few remarks, like the developers wanted to make sure you looked around.
215** ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:'' Pretty much ''everywhere'' is gorgeous to look at (okay, [[SceneryGorn H-407 not so much]]). Several times while wandering the maps, the characters will note the scenery.
216* ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' positively revels in its obscenely detailed levels (it runs on [[Videogame/{{Crysis}} CryEngine 2.5]], after all). Altay takes place on a lush, ultra-detailed tropical coast, with coral reefs, waterfalls, and copious amounts of wildlife flying, crawling, and swimming around. Extremity takes place on a spinning asteroid inside an AsteroidThicket, where the rotation causes the environment to freeze as the sun sets and melt when it rises. The various [[BloodSport Solaris Arenas]] have massive fireworks displays [[AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield that light up the sky]]. Combat enhances the scenery porn, as [[BeamSpam pulse lasers]] rip through the night slicing apart [[HumongousMecha BattleMech]] armor, while missiles soar through the sky.
217* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' (2010): It really is a shame that Afghanistan has been ravaged by war for so long, because the place looks absolutely ''gorgeous'', particularly in the missions that have you in the gunner seat of an Apache attack helicopter.
218* The VideoGame/MetalGear series have gone into this sometimes. Particular examples are [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'s breathtaking final boss' area, and [[http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110928072853/metalgear/images/3/3a/Betta.jpg Big Shell]] during the [[EscortMission Escort Mission]] with Emma in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear Solid 2]].
219* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'':
220** In the first game, right at the beginning of the first stage, you have a wrecked sub with some ruins in the background. After the jungle portion, you reach a large waterfall with a huge ship in the background.
221** Then on the second stage, after you beat the midboss, you proceed over the rooftops of Ronbertburg City, with a full view of the city in the background.
222** In the second game, you start at an arabian desert, then enter a huge arabian market.
223** In the third stage, you take a ride on a train, with the scenery changing as you advance through the level. As you get the Slug Flyer, a city can be seen in the background, and as you reach the boss, a huge building block your view. As it passes by, the city is now entirely in flames!
224*** The final stage in the fifth game has a similar burning city.
225* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
226** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' gives it a damn good go, especially right when you land on Zebes when it rains and head to the old Tourian. Often overlaps with SceneryGorn.
227** The first ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' isn't without its Scenery Porn; try climbing up to the top platform in the first open area of Phendrana Drifts and looking down at the environment. The music helps too.
228** Torvus Bog from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', which can rival Phenandra Drifts in both beauty and amazing music. Its theme, like that of Phenandra Drifts, does an excellent job of giving an idea of the climate of the area. Who knew so much tangible information could be conveyed through a song? Then there's Sanctuary Fortress, a massive blue city in the sky. It's every bit as gorgeous as it sounds.
229** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' has about 2/3rds of its game worlds as Scenery Porn. There's Bryyo, a planet where bits of the planet are literally ''chained'' to the surface. [[HumongousMecha Giant war machines]] made entirely of stone litter the landscape; a brutal reminder of an ancient war that ''broke the planet''. Elysia is almost quaint by comparison. Well, it would be if it weren't a [[FloatingContinent gigantic city floating high about the planet's surface]], filled with artwork and {{Steampunk}} machinery. Buildings drift on the wind, held aloft by large engines under them, and connected by tram systems. The scale of the view is absolutely incredible; you can actually go to buildings that, from a previous vantage point, looked like they were miles away.
230* As each game in the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' series came out, the animators went bigger and fancier with the backgrounds. The games may run on an ExcusePlot, but the detail in what goes on while the player character is running around killing things really add depth to the story.
231** The same could be said of the SequelSeries. Most of the locales in later ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX X]]'' titles, Area Zero in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 4'', and Area A from ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' are standout cases (among many, ''many'' others).
232* ''VideoGame/MidnightClub'' definitely fits this category. All of the cities are incredibly detailed- especially the renditions of Tokyo and L.A.
233* ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' and its random level generator can make scenery porn like no other, however, [[http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/10/sept/mine4/mine41big.jpg this]] is quite a great example.
234** Minecraft is unique in that despite its famous pixelated blocky graphics, it can still create some truly breathtaking scenery. And the nature of the game basically makes it a do-it-yourself scenery porn generator. Just type "minecraft scenery" or "minecraft creations" into a Google Image search and see what you get.
235*** Check out some of [[https://www.youtube.com/user/Vareide/videos?view=0&sort=da&flow=grid Vareide]]'s early videos for good natural and artificial examples.
236*** Many entries in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKfZIoXRSOM&list=ELijLTKdkGOPY&index=12 Best Minecraft Creations]] series qualify for this. Everything past the first in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAaYGY1MfIw this video]] are some of the best examples ever. See also [[http://techland.time.com/2013/05/23/the-15-best-minecraft-creations-and-wildest-destinations/ here]], and [[http://mashable.com/2013/02/13/amazing-minecraft-creations/#_ here]].
237** Plenty of adventure maps are loaded with this. Just look at the trailers for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OC7a2uk_4qY Survival]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8gLS7Sr2S0c Games]], for example. The sweeping vistas of ''VideoGame/TheWizardBurgmund'', the awe-inspiring architecture of ''VideoGame/ThePharaohsCurse2'', the labyrinthine interior of the vast castle from ''VideoGame/MonarchOfMadness'', the eerily beautiful ruined city from ''VideoGame/{{Chronotide}}''... any adventure map worth its salt has at least some of this.
238*** If you're playing one of the ''VideoGame/SuperHostile'' maps and you're not busy [[NintendoHard dying]], it's because your busy gawking at the gorgeous landscapes. Even the maps designed to resemble ''Hell'' look beautiful.
239*** The Temple from ''VideoGame/TheRedmurkMystery'' is a brilliant example, especially when you first see it (skip to about 11:30 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkPMIVDTM7U this video]]). It only gets better from there. Similarly, seeing ''The Sunken Island'' for the first time as you topple over the edge of a cliff is an extraordinary sight.
240*** ''VideoGame/{{The Fall of Gondolin|Minecraft}}''. ''The whole thing''. It's based on ''Lord Of The Rings'', so what did you expect?
241*** Many maps are entirely made of Scenery Porn, such as ''VideoGame/{{The Tourist|Minecraft}}'', ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheRebellion'', and OH MY GOD ''VideoGame/{{DEEP SPACE TURTLE CHASE}}''.
242*** ''VideoGame/HerobrinesReturn'' deserves special mention for turning [[FireAndBrimstoneHell the Nether]] into [[http://img.youtube.com/vi/aqjzWQ_lXxg/hqdefault.jpg Scenery Porn]].
243** Many mods deserve mention as well, such as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2EFU55eXTBs#! Twilight]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yMSAq6dFFME Forest]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QSse8vCEo4 the Aether]].
244** ''Lord Of The Rings'' has Scenery Porn. ''Minecraft'' has Scenery Porn. Put them together and you get [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4lSMzN1i5Q this]].
245** Finally, absolutely everything the Creator/VoxelBox team has made. Ever.
246* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' combines this with a DesignStudentsOrgasm .[[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mirrorsedgegreen_9679.jpg Clean, simple, yet stunning.]] The Trailer begins with the on-screen caption "The following is all in-game footage."
247* The ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series is absolutely full of this. ''[[VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland Secret]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge LeChuck's Revenge]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland Curse]]'' all have lovingly drawn and detailed art in the SCUMM MediaNotes/GameEngine, while ''{{VideoGame/Escape|FromMonkeyIsland}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/Tales|OfMonkeyIsland}}'' have some colorful worlds drawn in 3D.
248* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter''
249** Those familiar with the series will recall that with the first trip to any locale, there is a lovely moment of Scenery Porn to allow you a moment to get a feel for where you will be adventuring, touched off with the area intro tune. Those who have played the ''Platform/{{P|layStation2}}S2'' version, then the ''PSP'' upgrade port, have often been floored at how intact the Scenery Porn remained, in transition. Those who have played the Japan Only import {{sequel}} could say doubly the same for the later ''PSP'' upgrade/port of that game, as well.
250** Additionally, three different fights against dragons are lead into with Scenery Porn featuring the unique areas in which you fight them. Especially noteworthy when in the case of one particular battle out of those two: if you manage to successfully slay the monster, part of your victorious [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moment Of Awesome]] is an especially epic shot of the Fort you are defending... and watching the dragon die an Oscar-equivalent-worthy death. The first time you witness it, you will be awestruck.
251** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'' jacked that level up a notch by giving you scenery porn... underwater. Indeed it is not just reminiscent of the reefs' structures but you have to fight giant dragons while getting distracted by the underwater madness. The opening movie sealed the deal when it tracks the Rathalos from the sealine all the way across a plain, up a mountain and finally into the great beyond. This isn't scenery porn. This is a scenery orgy.
252* ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'', the {{spiritual successor}} to the above, is equally stunning.
253* Every scene in ''{{VideoGame/Myst}}'' was lovingly hand modelled in [=StrataStudio=] Pro, packed onto CD, and then given a beautiful, haunting redbook soundtrack. Much of its sales were even rumored to come from people who bought their first CD-ROM drive just to marvel at the [[http://mysterium.ch/myst/pictures/myst_02.jpg game's stunning visuals]] rather than actually playing it. When ''Riven'' rolled around, they'd upgraded from Mac [=IIs=] to Indigos, and the [[http://riven.patchallel.com/riven_tn.htm sheer detail of its environment]] is ''still'' amazing.
254** When it was first released, Myst almost instantly became ''The'' KillerApp for CD-ROM.
255** The gameplay design in ''Riven'' was also specifically tailored to lovers of scenery porn. In ''{{VideoGame/Myst}}'', you have to play the game or you'll never get off Myst island so you won't see most of the scenery. In ''Riven'', you can reach 4 out of 5 islands without solving any of the game's major puzzles.
256** ''Exile''. J'nanin's tusk-towers are beautiful, but the Lesson Ages themselves are just stunning: Voltaic is a giant power station built on red stone cliffs, Amateria is a giant roller coaster (which is mostly built over the ocean) in an Age when it's permanently sunset and there's a storm about to arrive, and Edanna is a 200+ feet tall tree... that grows ''inward''. It's a jungle in a natural tower. The rest of the games continue this trend, all successfully (except for ''End of Ages'', which disappoints by comparison and is around maybe ''Myst''-level quality.) ''Revelation'', in particular, is practically about having impressive vistas and incredible immersion elements ''everywhere'' -- including blurring the foreground when the background is in focus and vice versa -- despite the actual locations being [[http://mysterium.ch/revelation/pictures/revelation_23.jpg shipwrecked lagoons]] and [[http://www.travel.ag.ru/tours/myst4/09.jpg pointy mountain ruins]] [[spoiler: [[http://www.travel.ag.ru/tours/myst4/35.jpg orbiting stars.]]]]
257* The ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' computer games do this, with most of the games taking place in old mansions, Orient Express style trains, ancient castles and the like, and have others take place in real life Scenery Porn Locations, such as New Orleans, Paris, Venice, and Hawaii. [[http://herinteractive.com/index.php Check out their website, they have pictures.]]
258* ''VideoGame/NexusTheJupiterIncident'' has several levels with extremely detailed backgrounds. The prize takes the last level, where the player's ship is in [[spoiler:Hyperspace, which looks absolutely awesome, especially the effect it has on the camera.]]
259* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'''s strongest asset is arguably it gorgeous, vibrant, and colorful environments.
260** [[http://www.gizorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/No-Mans-Sky.jpg Here]] [[http://psmedia.playstation.com/is/image/psmedia/no-mans-sky-screenshot-06-ps4-us-24jun14?$MediaCarousel_Original$ are]] [[http://media.edge-online.com/wp-content/uploads/edgeonline/2014/01/No-Mans-Sky-concept-3.jpg some]] [[http://cloud.attackofthefanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/no-mans-sky.jpg examples.]]
261* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Unreal Engine 4 allows the game to be set in absolutely breathtaking 3D environments while using 16-bit spritework at the same time.
262* ''[[VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus]]'' feature beautifully rendered backgrounds to its platforming gameplay. They're rather high quality for Platform/PlayStation games.
263** New n Tasty and Soulstorm continue the trend, both games featuring very stunning HD vistas to compliment the 2.5D gameplay.
264* Nicklas "Creator/{{Nifflas}}" Nygren's games (not to mention most of the well-designed levels for ''VideoGame/KnyttStories'') have their fair share of eye-catching landscapes, combined with almost entirely ambient soundtracks and unobtrusive sound effects.
265* Considering that ''VideoGame/NightmareNed'' is over a decade old, the backgrounds still look amazing, even with the SceneryGorn.
266* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' features beautiful 2-D environments with shiny, shimmering things and organic backdrops aplenty, giving the whole game a warm and very appropriate storybook feel. The aurora seen in the mountain level is especially stunning.
267* ''{{VideoGame/Okami}}'', especially apparent in the scenes showing the restoration of cursed zones.
268* ''{{VideoGame/Outcast}}'' was the ''{{VideoGame/Crysis}}'' of its day. A commercial failure because most [=PC=]s weren't powerful enough to handle it, it boasts beautiful open worlds with massive viewing range, realtime shadows, gorgeous explosion effects, ''reflective and refracting water surfaces with realistic waves''... did we mention it was released in 1999? So why couldn't 1999-era computers run it very well? The terrain was voxel-based, rendering it incompatible with 3D accelerator cards made to push polygons, which were becoming very popular after the releases of ''[[{{VideoGame/Quake}} GLQuake]]'' and ''{{VideoGame/Unreal}}''. Thus, a software renderer had to be used, taking a heavy toll on the [=CPUs=] of the time.
269* ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}''. Seriously, just play through it and you'll know what I mean. Some of the jaw-dropping settings include a cathedral, a fancy opera house, a castle, a Turkish-style palace, a Venice-like city on the water, a modern dockyard with towering cranes, a hilltop monastery, and an absolutely vertigo-inducing snowy bridge level.
270* ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon Orta''. When it was new, if reviewers used a 1-10 point scale, most of them wanted to give the graphics an 11. Two standout levels are "Altered Genos" and "Eternal Glacies", but even the decimated areas like "The Fallen Ground" look stunning, and don't get me started on "Forbidden Memories", which takes place inside a giant computer known as Sestren.
271* This was one of the major selling points of ''VideoGame/PerfectWorld'' at its release apart from the ridiculously extensive character model sliders. The developers implemented (optionally, of course) various high end rendering technologies that hadn't been used on a Massively Multiplayer game before, then added free flight and a relatively insane LOS distance. For a while it was the only MMO that people would use as a PC benchmark.
272* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' in its online version has some of the most stunning scenery, in places meant for the players to stay, chat and form parties.'
273* [[http://hydra-images.cursecdn.com/eternitywiki.com/f/f5/PE-TempleEntrance01-1920x1080.jpeg Here]] we have the first development screenshot from ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity''. One would be hard-pressed not to think it's a painting at lower resolutions.
274* VideoGame/{{Pirate101}} manages to take the slightly cartoony style that began in it's [[VideoGame/Wizard101 sister game]] and age it up, smooth it out and add a loot of detail creating a [[https://kingsisle.hs.llnwd.net/e2/image/free/Pirate/Images/Worlds/MooShu/mooshu2.jpg?v=1 beautiful]], [[http://blogs-images.forbes.com/davidewalt/files/2012/04/pirate-101-h.jpg robust]], and [[https://kingsisle.hs.llnwd.net/e2/image/free/Pirate/Images/armada-marine.gif?v=1 elegant]] world.
275* A minimalist variant in ''VideoGame/PixelJunkEden''. The curving flora and trippy backgrounds are gorgeous.
276* ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}''
277** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald]]'' has scenery porn for its cities; one city was built around in the curves of an extinct volcano's crater. [[TreeTopTown Fortree City]] and the [[UnderTheSea Dive areas]] are quite pretty, too. The remakes make said SceneryPorn better by showcasing it in a 3D artstyle that resembles a cross between the artstyle of ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' and the artstyle of the original Gameboy Advance games.
278** In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Platinum]]'', there doesn't seem to be any reason for the BreatherLevel Distortion World (well, except for capturing the [[OlympusMons Eldritch dragon]] {{mascot}} Giratina and having the final confrontation with the game's BigBad) other than the Creator/MCEscher-inspired scenery and the experimentation with camera angles. Hell, they even zoom out so you can see more of the area.
279** And they're doing it again in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Among the most breathtaking examples is Skyarrow Bridge (which includes a breathtaking shot of Castelia City's skyline). Also, N's Castle.
280*** ''All'' of the bridges are very pretty, and include pull-back shots so you can get better views of them. Castelia City itself is also notable for being one of the biggest and most detailed cities in the series.
281** In ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'', the top of the Bell Tower (Tin Tower in the original games) looks magnificent if you go up there in the evening, which is approximately between 4:00-8:00pm. It looks even better if you're playing [=HeartGold=] Version, and you happen to be going up there to face Ho-Oh with the Kimono Girls doing all their stuff.
282*** [=SoulSilver=]'s equivalent scene where the Kimono Girls summon Lugia in Whirl Islands also counts.
283** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', you get to watch ocean-dwelling Water-type Pokémon swimming around you as you walk between two cities. It looks especially awesome in the daytime, when you run the chance of seeing the gargantuan 45-foot-long Wailord.
284** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', being the first main series installment in 3D, takes this up even more. You'll probably spend quite a bit of time just gawking at (and getting lost in) Lumiose City your first time playing. The Elite Four rooms in particular are ''breathtaking'' and include some SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome when you first enter, like [[spoiler: the Dragon-type specialist being revealed by a pair of stone dragon wings and a stone dragon head opening with pillars of smoke rising as you approach her or the Water-type specialist having churning gears and clanking wheels unleashing bursts of water which come down to cascade down the walls and over the floor as you battle him]].
285** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' has even more detailed graphics, and it shows. In particular is Po Town, a rainswept, run-down town in which you could see the place's GloryDays before Team Skull took it over. Then again, perhaps that may fall under SceneryGorn. Another case is the majestic view of Mt. Lanakila from the lookout post at Hokulani Observatory (which itself is quite scenic).
286*** ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' add more to this in your trips into Ultra Space. The standout example is the [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ultra_Desert Ultra Desert]], an otherworldly, but very bright and clean looking place, with cyan TronLines running through the pure white sand. It makes sense, after all, as this is the homeland of Pheromosa, an Ultra Beast renowned in-universe for its beauty.
287* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'' has lovely visuals as well, taking you to scenes of giant waterfalls, to colorful fountains of lakes, to ice mountains, and to hidden ruins. The visuals were quite breathtaking for the Nintendo DS.
288* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'' is the first 3D entry in the series, and easily has some of nicest visuals out of any game in the franchise, whether it be the dungeons themselves, or the places you travel through between them. The game's introduction and ending both do an excellent job of emphasizing them.
289* Nowadays it looks blocky and outdated, but when ''{{VideoGame/Pilotwings}} 64'' originally came out it looked simply gorgeous. Half the fun was taking the vehicles out for a spin to look at all the different islands. The final hidden vehicle is just a Birdman outfit so the player can fly around without any restrictions.
290* ''{{VideoGame/Portal 2}}'' (and to a lesser extent its predecessor) has some heavy scenery porn going on. You're often treated to breathtaking shots of the vast, practically infinite underground Aperture Laboratories and even the smaller "in-between" areas have a ridiculous amount of detail to them. And for the most part, it is just there for looks. Sure, you can pick up a few things here and there and if you're incredibly lucky, open a door, but everything else is static. And don't even think of trying to explore those vast reaches. Step off the guided path even a little and it's usually instant death.
291* Perhaps ''{{VideoGame/Primal}}'''s main motivation. King Herne of the first level is a stunning character model, especially for a non-player character in what is essentially a bit part.
292* ''{{VideoGame/Psychonauts}}'' has some very lovingly-designed levels, but... just get the first eyeful of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnueGSD_2ZQ=related Black Velvetopia.]] The [[http://www.nostalgiaforinfinity.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/psych3-railslide.jpg Suburbia]] level is also notable for this trope. While perhaps not as technically good looking as some other examples on this list, it is guaranteed to make you stop and gawk for at least a few moments.
293* ''VideoGame/QuantumRedshift'' is an unfortunate side effect to this sort of thing. The graphics are probably the best on the Xbox, but it seems that they spent a lot of time on them compared to the game mechanics.
294* ''VideoGame/RadiationIsland'' really motivates you to explore with its gorgeous landscape. To really take it all in, you can craft a spyglass, climb a mountain, and enjoy a 360 degree view. If you get bored with that you can just watch the sky. The developers have really ShownTheirWork when it comes to the behavior of the day/night cycle. The first part of sunrise and the last part of sunset are still incredibly dark, and require torchlight to see by. Sunrise and sunset also have "golden hours" that would be prized by photographers in the real world. The movement of the "sun" across the sky is consistent enough to function as a clock inside the game. At night, the stars flicker and move across the sky; at random intervals you can spot a shooting star.
295* ''Videogame/{{Raji An Ancient Epic}}'' was partly designed to represent the Pahari paintings and the scenery and architecture of medieval Rajasthan, so the entire game consists of huge, lonvingly-crafted environments, with the camera positioned to show them in the best possible light.
296* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' has this in spades as well. ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'' is particularly notable; the page quote tells you everything you need to know:
297--> "The first game to truly deliver the long-sought 'You are playing a Pixar movie' experience."
298* ''{{VideoGame/Rayman}}''
299** The first game is full of colorful, detailed artwork, from the opening cutscene to the world map.
300** The third game can definitely not be blamed for not looking nice, but special mention goes to the Land of the Livid Dead. The place is just a continuous buildup of self-surpassing scenery porn, from the just kind of nice tower, to the beautiful glowing enchanted tower to the underwater dive and the fight with the mechanical squid in the gorgeously designed arena under the bright, pure [[color:blue:water]] all the way to the oceanside view near the end.
301** The in-house developed UbiArt Framework used in ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' was specifically built to allow artists and designs to focus on the art while not having to worry about technical difficulties within the game. And ''hot damn,'' [[http://www.ariablarg.tv/asset/uploads/2011/12/Rayman_OriginsPyramidTeam.jpg it definitely shows]]. SequelEscalation occured for the sequel ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'', as the engine was further developed to allow dynamic lighting and the use of 3D models and [[http://wiiudaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/rayman-legends-wallpaper-3.jpg the artstyle was tweaked to look like oil paintings]].
302* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' does a damn fine job of reproducing the frontier: every single inch of explorable land can be seen for miles, without any loss in quality.
303* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''
304** Done for ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles The Darkside Chronicles]]'' in one level. Leon and Jack are walking along the side of a dam and get a gorgeous view of the South American landscape. This, combined with the utter lack of monsters for the whole time you're outside, could be considered to be RelaxOVision.
305** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' did it first with a very lush representation of the African landscape. Too bad you were busy fending off another potential ZombieApocalypse to be able to enjoy it.
306** "Lost in Nightmares" is really beautiful and brings back nice old school RE to the current gen consoles.
307* ''{{VideoGame/Rez}}'', full stop. Really, are the insides of real computer networks ''that'' pretty? On top of that, the game would lose 95% of its charm without them. The sequel ''Child of Eden'' is even more beautiful.
308* Piranha Bytes's next game series, ''{{VideoGame/Risen}}'', continues Gothic's tradition in grand style. Going to the Monastery gates in the first game, at about sunset time, and looking down on the valley below can be a jaw-dropping experience. By the third game, the scenery porn becomes so ludicrous it's entirely possible to forget about your quests and just wander about taking in the scenery.
309* While the first ''VideoGame/RockOfAges'' is a wonderful-looking game in its own right, ''Rock of Ages 2'' and ''3'' absolutely blow it out of the park in terms of the beauty and magnificence of their scenery. Each level of the game is based on European art movements (''2'') or historical artstyles of other culture, like the Ancient Chinese or Aztecs (''3''). Highlights include:
310** The ''[[https://www.rockofages2.com/images/screen/Screenshots/ROA2_Screen_Impressionist.jpg Impressionist Fields]]'' level from ''2'', which, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies]], is based on (post-)impressionism, especially Creator/VincentVanGogh (your opponent in the level). Through some impressive visual effects, the level feels like it is composed of individual, thick strokes of a painting brush.
311** [[https://www.rockofages2.com/images/screen/Screenshots/ROA2_Screen_Greek.jpg The Ancient Greek levels]] from ''2'' and ''3'', which manage to perfectly mimic black- and red-figure pottery, with their sharp black-and-orange colour scheme.
312** [[https://modusgames.com/rock-of-ages-3/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/RoA3_SS_01-BoulderSmash.jpg The Ancient China levels]] from ''3'', which emulate beautiful landscape art wonderfully.
313* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures''' graphics are often brought up as what a Genesis' graphics hardware is capable of despite being more limited than the [=SNES=] or [=TG16=]. It was just that gorgeous for it's time.
314* One of the main draws to ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'', along with its [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic soundtrack]], is just how absolutely beautiful the backgrounds are. The final battle gets special mention, what with being above the clouds at dawn and whatnot.
315* ''VideoGame/RType Final'''s [[MultipleEndings (Default)]] final stage takes this trope a bit too literally as it features a blurry but still obviously visible man and woman in the "act of love".
316* The scenery of ''VideoGame/{{Ryzom}}'' is incredibly breathtaking, from the steamy, serene jungles, to the hot, sandy deserts, and every area in-between. Even the Prime Roots get in on the beauty!
317* ''VideoGame/{{Sable}}'' takes place on a desert planet lovingly rendered in a faux watercolor style. Most of the gameplay involves exploring the vast landscape on a motorbike, giving the player ample opportunity to take in the game's numerous rocky spires and desert expanses.
318* Track 3 of ''[[VideoGame/SanFranciscoRush Rush 2049]]'' had an uphill climb to a gorgeous view of a futuristic San Fransisco skyline.
319* ''VideoGame/{{Scratches}}'' (despite the mystery/horror theme) takes place in a painstakingly detailed [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian mansion]], where you can spend hours exploring and gazing at beautifully detailed renderings of real world paintings and other works of art.
320* Adventure game ''VideoGam1e/SecretsOfRaetikon'' uses a strange geometric 2D art style for its environments and creatures, which makes exploring it and the ecosystem within all much more pleasant.
321* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'': All the maps show incredible amounts of detail. Grass waves as you walk through it, and sunlight, fog, and rain changes depending on the time of day. Fog, slime on the ground, gurgling from ponds, scum on water pools, snow on the ground, and desert sand under a baking sun are detailed enough to make you guess how it might smell, and what the weather feels like. For good measure, the wonderfully-detailed realistic settings- from the Templars' palatial headquarters in London to the lonely Caparthian mountains- are supplemented by a great many supernatural landscapes: the sprite-haunted lake and looming willow tree around which Anastasia and her wagon like to hang out; the mountain temple-settlement of Shambala where you and three other Secret Worlders duke it out [[spoiler: over a stolen magical artifact]]; the monumental City of the Sun God, with it's imposing statues and temples surmounted by Akhenaten's Black Pyramid and the Sentinels keeping the sole occupant from escaping; the world of the Gaia Engines, a perpetually midnight beach dotted with giant hovering cubes [[spoiler: and glowing ethereal prisons for {{Eldritch Abomination}}s]]... Even the way of reaching these places involves visiting a beautiful setting- [[HollowWorld Agartha, the Hollow Earth]], a glowing gold nexus level in which the portals to other areas are reached by travelling along the branches of TheWorldTree.
322* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', renowned for its high quality matte paintings, is fitted with some [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=9272&fullsize=1 pretty]] [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=9255&fullsize=1 stunning]] [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=29704&fullsize=1 landscapes]], from [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=8347&fullsize=1 buildings]] to [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=9676&fullsize=1 battlefields]], [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=8319&fullsize=1 trees]], [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=8939&fullsize=1 flowers]], [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=8029&fullsize=1 fire]], [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=29891&fullsize=1 the ocean]] and [[http://animay.net/gallery3/displayimage.php?pid=9465&fullsize=1 the sky]].
323* ''VideoGame/SimonTheSorcerer'':
324** The first game in the series had many, many locations that were completely empty and whose only purpose was to look gorgeous. Interestingly, at least in the first game, in the wilderness faces are everywhere. If there are cliffs, rock formations, or really anything made of stone. Expect to find at least one. This becomes more obvious as you enter the mountains, as the formations become more EldritchAbomination like in appearance.
325** While beautiful, making you feel like you've stepped straight into a parody of Middle Earth, the level of detail can work against the player. Some key items are obscured, like the fossil, [[GuideDangIt making them very easy to overlook and miss]].
326* It seems to be one of the reasons many people play ''VideoGame/TheSims'', and it generated tons of websites with personalized content. And, of course, ''The Sims 3'' takes it up to eleven, especially when the player decides to follow his avatar while driving.
327* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games on the [=PS2=] tend to provide scenery porn in the form of their final dungeons.
328* ''VideoGame/SliceOfSea'': The game consists of over a hundred locations, each drawn in exacting detail, against a vista of watercolor backgrounds stretching from the windswept mountains, to the city, to the [[spoiler: dried, ship graveyard seabed]].
329* The other Creator/SquareEnix games have their share of scenery porn, too:
330%%** ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''
331%%** ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''
332** ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier2''. The entire game - backgrounds, sprites, art, attack animations, text boxes, everything but the text itself - is done in an amazing watercolor style. Even the concept art is watercolor, which is the point of the game.
333** ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' is done in a similar art style. It still looks amazingly gorgeous.
334** The 2D ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games as a whole have the best tilesets, bar none. Load up ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' sometime, and just try to figure out where which tiles end and which begin.
335** ''VideoGame/UnlimitedSaga''. Amazing graphics and soundtrack are the only things that fans on both sides of the Pacific can agree on.
336* ''VideoGame/ShadowComplex''. For how little of the game takes place outside of the titular complex, it's breathtakingly beautiful. This includes the caves the player starts out in.
337* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast'', at last for its time when it was released. The most central root of its success was its then-gorgeous video game scenery that had never been accomplished with such rich detail before.
338* The Devil's Pit caverns and cliffs in ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour''. ''Wow.''
339* {{Creator/SNK}} 2D Fighting games. It doesnt matter if it is VideoGame/{{Fatal Fury}}, VideoGame/{{The King Of Fighters}}, VideoGame/{{Samurai Shodown}} or VideoGame/{{The Last Blade}}, every level is simply beautiful and bursting with life and detail. In fact when Kotaku recently picked their favorite 2D backgrounds from fighting games, only SNK levels made the list.
340* ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'' boasts some of the most awesome scenery on the DS. Whether it's the giant forest, a bustling city with traffic humming along in the background, or just the fact that {{Floating Continent}}s tend to make for pretty epic vistas, the game is gorgeous and not shy about flaunting it. Pair that with some SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic and...
341* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''. Many entries in the series, most notably the mainstream entries, have Scenery Porn:
342** The trend started in [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 the first game]] to show off what the graphical advantages the Genesis had over the SNES, and the series has only gotten better since. No wonder people want to make it better.
343** ''VideoGame/SonicCD'''s dreamlike yet incredibly detailed environments of Little Planet's zones are a joy to view, especially with the different interpretations of the zones as you [[Main/OurTimeTravelIsDifferent traveled through time]].
344** ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' has some of the most vibrant and stunning environments of its generation.
345** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' are filled with impressive landscapes for its time, showcasing the Dreamcast's greater capabilities in comparison with contemporary competitors. Special mention goes to the HubLevel Mystic Ruins, which the devs filled with scenery porn based on the Mesoamerican landscapes they witnessed during their recent trip to Central America.
346** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' had some gorgeous environments in the prerendered cutscenes.
347** ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' fell head-first into this trope. The environments are absolutely stunning, although you're normally going too fast or fighting too hard to notice. (In fact, the developers stated that this is the entire reason the Werehog existed -- they couldn't make miles upon miles of scenery for every stage and still reach the magic '60 hours of gameplay' mark, so they had to make a slower character.)
348** Following in the Genesis games's footsteps, ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4''. ''Episode I'' had some aesthetically pleasing zones, namely Lost Labyrinth and Mad Gear in particular, while ''Episode II'' upped the ante by ditching the pre-rendered 2D graphics in favor of true 3D graphics, resulting in gorgeous looking zones such as Sylvania Castle or White Park.
349** ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', with graphics comparable to the [=PS3/360=] version of ''Unleashed''. On a ''Platform/{{Wii}}''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeP0pd-Q5zE Have a look.]]
350** The main draw to ''[[http://sonicfanremix.com Sonic Fan Remix.]]''
351** And ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' is Sonic Team's way of displaying what they can do with the environments now compared to when each respective game was made. They showed what the Hedgehog Engine could do in ''Sonic Unleashed''; they showed that they've mastered it in ''Sonic Generations''. This is truly evident in the PC port of ''Generations'', which can run at 60fps in 1080p, as well as in 3D. Some more industrious fans have taken advantage of this and have actually managed to port the Day levels of ''Unleashed'' to the game, showing the levels in far higher detail than would have been possible on a console.
352* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': The stages have breathtaking backgrounds and artwork.
353* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'':
354** The first trilogy is noteworthy for the unique and detailed backdrop in each level. Almost every level has its own unique "sky", circling the entire horizontal and vertical axis of the level. Backgrounds often have [[GreenHillZone green hills]] or purple mountains or yellow (even acid green) sand dunes on the horizon, with the theme ranging from the a [[GreenHillZone sunny day]] to a brightly moonlit night to a vivid red sunset to an overcast, snowy morning to a black, stormy evening to fit the level's environment. Spyro 2 and 3 continued this trend with only a couple of levels using the same backdrop and a few appearing to be based off a level from the first game with a few enhancements.
355** ''VideoGame/SpyroEnterTheDragonfly'', though with less levels, also has impressive backdrops, and with the [=PS2=]'s updated graphics one level even has a lightning strike lighting up the green night sky on occasion.
356** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon'' is overloaded with this, especially on the Platform/XBox360 and Platform/{{P|layStation3}}S3. In particular, expect to spend several hours just flying around Twilight Falls and the Valley of Avalar, completely ignoring your objectives list while you gawk at the lush forests and roaring rivers and, in the case of Twilight Falls, the HUGE glowing planets up in the sky, surrounded by twinkling stars. Even the later levels, which feature a lot of fire and war, fit this trope -- the Burned Lands is comprised entirely of lava rivers and burned spires of rock but still manages to be highly visually impressive with the gigantic volcano looming over the level, and the Floating Islands are just gorgeous.
357** The ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' takes this up to an eleven; every level is so fleshed out and detailed it's easy to just play the game for the sake of the sights.
358* ''VideoGame/StarshipTitanic'': The title ship's interior is done in art deco style, and much of the graphics, while static, are photorealistic. Watching as the lift descends... Wow.
359* Every square inch of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' was lovingly handcrafted by the developers. From what we've seen so far, it shows. [[SceneryGorn Except when they don't want it to.]] A good example would be the western grazelands of Balmorra--they are so breath-taking, the genre savvy devs put them on [[http://swtor.wikia.com/wiki/File:Balmorra_Load_Screen_Artwork.jpg the planet's main loading screen]].
360* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' shows just how incredible the undersea world can be. It has several distinct biomes, each beautiful (or [[SceneryGorn beautifully terrifying]]) in its own way. Then night falls, and everything [[BioluminescenceIsCool lights up]]. It's a good thing the base-building kit includes windows.
361* ''VisualNovel/ASummersEndHongKong1986'' is set in Hong Kong and contains several very accurate settings, such as the seascapes of Sai Kung and [[NeonCity the streets of Mong Kok.]] [[https://www.asummersend.com/blog/set-design This blog post]] goes into the effort and research put into the set design of the game, and it shows.
362* ''Videogame/SunlessSkies'' has these in the form of Spectacles, visually impressive areas that either lower your terror (if they're of the Wonder sort; these include beautiful floating gardens and a monument to every [[TalkingAnimal Rattus Faber]] that died in the rush to the stars) or raise it (in the case of Horror spectacles, which include things like heavy SceneryGorn and the long-dead corpses of once-powerful star creatures).
363* The game design company [[http://www.superevilmegacorp.com/ Super Evil Megacorp]] has developed the E.V.I.L. Game Engine to boast console-quality graphics not possible with tablet [=SDK=]s, snd with Apple's brand new Metal graphics library (which is more optimized than [=OpenGL=]), their debut game, ''VideoGame/{{Vainglory}}'', aims to have more impressive graphics than other tablet games. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChOe6dIJHw Apple may claim they chose Super Evil Megacorp to demonstrate Metal based on their name alone, but they knew what they were doing.]]
364* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
365** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' takes advantage of the VideoGame3DLeap of the series by opening with a flyby of Peach's Castle.
366** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine''. Say what you want about the quality of the game, the scenery was stunning. Everything gave the player the feel of a tropical paradise.
367** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', which puts emphasis on the starry night backgrounds to fit the game's space theme.
368** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' has raised the bar even ''higher''. Notable examples would be the lush Wild Glide Galaxy and the ambient Slimy Spring Galaxy, the latter of which features an absolutely ''gorgeous'' sunrise.
369** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' has this in practically every kingdom. From the gigantic bustling metropolis that's the Metro Kingdom to the creepily desolate Ruined Kingdom or the amazing new look for Bowser's Kingdom, everything about the backgrounds just screams 'photo opportunity'. Heck, Nintendo themselves was likely aware of it based on the camera option added to the game.
370* ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall 2'' has incredibly intricate background scenery. The backgrounds are so elaborate that parts of them aren't even viewable in-game unless the player resorts to a cheating device that lets them float around the outer boundaries of the level. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UgNT1rLNRo World 6]] has HIDDEN TEMPLES in the background that are fully detailed even though they are completely obscured.
371%%* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Melee'' and ''Brawl'' indulged in this as well.
372* The developers of the Super Smash Bros. fangame ''VideoGame/SuperSmashFlash'' 2 have taken a lot of time spriting stages for the game, and it shows. Particularly noteworthy is [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Clock Town]].
373* The intro cutscene of ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' has a city that looks absolutely beautiful.
374* ''VideoGame/TailsNoir'': The dark cityscape is made in beautiful pixel art and using various shader techniques to make it feel even more alive. It's dark, but full of neon lights making for an amazing palette.
375* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''
376** It all began with ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' who managed to squeeze detailed (albeit 2D) scenery and effects into {{Platform/SNES}}. The reflection effect is especially incredible.
377** While ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' had awkward super-deformed character models and lots of bright colors, the dungeons were absolutely beautiful to look at, and the soundtrack is pure [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Crowning Music Of Awesome]] to the point of almost being able to classify as Scenery Porn itself.
378** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' had moments very detailed, very gorgeous cities and cutscenes. Even [[TheProtagonist the protagonist's]] house (complete with single parent) is beautiful, with lots of ivy climbing the exterior and a lot of potted flowers; the design is so well-done, you can even tell that [[TheHero the hero's]] second-story room (and his veranda) were added after the main part of the house was constructed.
379** The cities and towns in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' were astoundingly beautiful. They obviously put ''a lot'' of work into the scenery in this game.
380** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' top all the previous games in term of visual beauty. There's the beautiful city of Il Fan, Shan Du, etc. Both anime cutscenes and in game scenes are beautiful. It helps that [[Literature/TheGardenOfSinners ufotable]] is the one doing the anime cutscenes.
381* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'''s various Egyptian, Greek, and European locales often give way to stunning ruins and breathtaking vistas. The Messenger levels are just breathtaking, and the music there only makes it more so. That you can't simply run off from the puzzles and explore them (it's a computer simulation even in-universe, with the world glitching out if you do so) is as thematically fitting as it is often saddening.
382* ''VideoGame/{{Teslagrad}}'' is entirely hand-drawn, making everything in the game look lovely.
383* Even once the [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs Pixar-on-drugs]] novelty of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has worn off, some of its maps are truly gobsmacking to look at. Dangerously so, in fact: spending too much time taking in the likes of Sawmill, [=2Fort=], and Badlands is liable to get your head blown off. To make things worse, some of the newer maps also have a FunnyBackgroundEvent or two going on in the far distance.
384* As do later entries from ''{{VideoGame/Tekken}}''. If you talk about ''Tekken 5'', Moonlit Wilderness (an arena set in a field of flowers overlooking an abandoned castle at midnight) will probably be one of the first things to come to mind.
385* Creator/ThatGameCompany are noted for this. ''VideoGame/{{Flow}}'' is a trip into a gorgeous microscopic world; ''VideoGame/{{Flower}}'' was a sweeping ode to the beauty of nature, while ''VideoGame/Journey2012'' put a lot of efforts to make sand look as pretty as possible. It's most notable in the fourth level. Their next game ''VideoGame/SkyChildrenOfTheLight'' looks just as astounding as its predecessors.
386* ''VideoGame/{{Thumper}}'''s selling point is being set in some mix of space and hell. A new player is likely to die at least once for being distracted by the surroundings.
387* This is a major theme of the entire ''Franchise/TombRaider'' series where almost once per level you are shown an impressive ancient structure of staggering size. The detail and lighting is particularly impressive in ''Anniversary''.
388* Given its [[ShiftingSandLand desert setting]], ''VideoGame/TinyAndBig'''s [[http://tinyandbig.com/wordpants/wp-content/MicrositeTaB/screens_cliff_01.png environmental design]] is [[http://tinyandbig.com/wordpants/wp-content/MicrositeTaB/screens_pyr_02.png gorgeous]], mostly as a result of the game's comic-like art style.
389* For that matter ''VideoGame/Transformers2004'', especially the Amazon stages. When you finish climbing the mountain at the end of the first stage, and turn around and look back at the truly ''massive'' stage you have just gone through, and will still have to come back and search later.
390* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' is, for the most part, a very straightforward, linear third-person shooter with some interesting background design. And then, every once in a while, you'll come across a gaping hole in the orbiting space station that allows you to see Cybertron, or you'll be driving along the Iacon Speedway to the Decagon, or you'll be flying through the carnage caused by Trypticon Station's weapon... and you'll be stunned. They don't use the [[MediaNotes/GameEngine Unreal Engine 3]] for nothin'.
391* Like its predecessor ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'''s [[CityOfAdventure Cloudbank]] is a stupefyingly gorgeous place. Even destroyed or being assimilated by malevolent programs, it's beautiful.
392* The ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'' series is best known for two things. One is the [[WreakingHavok physics-based gameplay]]. The other is in the absolutely gorgeous levels.
393* ''VideoGame/{{Tsioque}}'' has hand-drawn backgrounds to go with its artistic style of being completely drawn by hand, complimenting the simplistic design of the 2D-characters with greatly designed backdrops.
394* ''VideoGame/TwinBlades'' sets itself apart by featuring utterly gorgeous Disney-animation-like backgrounds depicting a cozy small town. This is in stark contrast to the [[BloodyHilarious exploding zombies]] that tend to dominate the foreground. Becomes MalevolentArchitecture when, say, a(n insufficiently transparent) barrel or gravestone or tree intrudes in the extreme foreground and blocks your view of a rising zombie.
395* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' invokes this effect in some of the background art of locations within the novel's [=PS3=] port, notably the hidden mansion, Kuwadorian, the Ushiromiya estate and rose garden and the Golden Land, amongst others.
396* ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}: Drake's Fortune''. The whole damn game, and if something isn't this it's SceneryGorn.
397** Its sequel ''Among Thieves'' lives this, with ridiculously intricate and detailed environments. The train level in particular, in which you will see gorgeous scenery for about half a second or so before its whipped away by the motion of the train. Of course, you will probably be more busy with the helicopter, but it really is nice.
398** The third installment in the series, ''Drake's Deception'', turns it up to 11. How do you make a long, boring descent down a ladder interesting? [[spoiler:Have the camera pan away from the character to focus on an aerial view of the lost, forbidden city you just opened the giant doors to.]]
399** ''A Thief's End'' pushes the [=PlayStation=] 4 to new heights with its incredible picturesque vistas and nigh-on photorealistic character models. Naughty Dog didn't have to go to near as much effort to render things that the player can never visit or the fibers that make up Nathan Drake's hair but that's just how they roll. There's also a PhotoMode that pauses the game letting you move the camera around (as well as adjust the FOV, DepthOfField and the like) and take pictures using the Share button on the controller. You can even remove the characters from the scene to just take pictures of the backgrounds.
400* The views outside of the windows are very pretty, given the pixelated style of ''VideoGame/{{Unpacking}}''. The protagonist's childhood bedroom has a lovely late summer view of some trees and her boyfriend's apartment has a stunning view of the city.
401* ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' might be TropeMaker for {{First Person Shooter}}s. It starts you off in a crashed spaceship. After navigating through narrow corridors and smoky machine rooms, which were visually impressive but still just rooms, you'd emerge from the vessel, and your jaw would fall on the floor as you gazed at the most beautiful [[color:blue:water]]fall, replete with small lake, lush vegetation, local fauna hopping and flying about, and... my God, the sky... look at ''the sky!'' The clouds are ''moving''!!! This sudden, breathtaking change of scenery is enhanced further by the presence of a [[VariableMix change in background noise from malfunctioning machines to an ambient soundtrack.]]
402** ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'' ups the ante in a ''very'' impressive way. Highly detailed buildings, mountains and ground; beautiful lightning (bloom effect is ''awesome''), the air distorts whenever a strong heat source or energy is near (try it! Get your Stinger Minigun and look at the minigun's end while shooting some tarydium stings, or get your Orb, stand near a captured node and look at the node's base), and , of course, blowing up some vehicles with an [=AVRiL=] makes for some delicious explosions. Unfortunately, it also decided that RealIsBrown.
403%%* ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' is pretty much the prettiest [=PlayStation=] One game ever made. (Please share with us what areas make it beautiful)
404* ''VideoGame/{{Vectorman}}'' on the Genesis used special effects on backgrounds in almost every level with examples being waving flags, {{lens flare}}s, lightning flashes (looks cooler than it sounds), etc. In fact, it had better graphics than most of the Sega 32X games.
405* ''VideoGame/{{Vessel}}'' is almost as nice-looking as ''{{VideoGame/Braid}}''. The developers even threw in a balcony at the lab you can stand on to just admire the city.
406* ''VideoGame/{{Vexx}}'' does this frequently. Every level has its own separate aesthetic. There's even a sky full of [[FloatingContinent bits of world]], and a [[AbortedArc mysterious tower.]]
407* Creator/{{Vanillaware}} [[AuthorAppeal loves this sort of visual design.]] See also ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'' and their new game ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown''.
408* ''VideoGame/{{Venineth}}'' provides it in spades anywhere you go, no matter if you're in an orbital level, in an acid swamp or in a [[LethalLavaLand magma crevice]].
409* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: Rites of War'' is set on Davinuus, an Eldar maiden world, which is to say, a planet terraformed to be a verdant paradise, and the scenery is appropriately gorgeous. Of course, since this is 40K, that means you are going to end up [[MoodDissonance blowing everything in sight to smithereens]].
410* ''VideoGame/WarioLand Shake It'' has some absolutely fantastic graphics, some of which were actually designed by [[Creator/ProductionIG a studio]] used to working on various anime series. [[http://www.the-nextlevel.com/media/screens/wii/wario-land-shake-it/ The graphics shown here]] illustrate this pretty well, especially the snow and jungle level. Also to a degree, you could probably say the older games had some stunning scenery and backgrounds as well. Like ''Wario Land 4'' and how each and every single room seems to use a completely different, sometimes jawdropping background.
411* ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'' has amazing graphics for a casual game on the Wii. You can see it to its fullest extent in the Island Flyby, where you can enjoy the scenery of the island from any angle (and pop some balloons too!)
412* At its E3 2011 Press Conference, {{Creator/Nintendo}} showcased a tech demo for the Platform/WiiU that tracks a bird as it flies around a Japanese garden while the sakura trees bloom. It wasn't from an actual game, but it did a marvelous job at showing what the console is capable of. The "not a game, but still pretty" part also applies to the ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' tech demo also shown at the event, which shows how awesome the graphics from ''Twilight Princess'' would look if updated for the Wii U and also provides a convenient comparison-point for Wii and Wii U graphics.
413* ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/503833 William and Sly]]'', despite being a free flash game, pulls this off beautifully. The second one is even better.
414* ''{{VideoGame/Wipeout}} HD'' is one of the relatively few games to run at 1080p, 60 Frames-Per-Second High Definition; and it uses it to wonderful effect. The entire series has shades of this, as each game packs in an incredible amount of detailing into the backgrounds (this is even more impressive given the 3 [=PS1=] and 2 PSP titles in the series), to the point where Wip3out was one of the few games on the [=PS1=] to use it's high-resolution mode!
415* ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' series:
416** The first game in had mostly lackluster scenery, indulging in the DungAges version of RealIsBrown to a fair extent, yet also spots some gorgeous scenery (most of it appearing in Chapter 4 and involving Lake Vizima or the large fields of grain).
417** The second is filled with absolutely stunning vistas, from a riverboat dock deep in the forest with fog rising off the water, to a multi-tiered Dwarven town in a windswept mountain pass.
418** The third game has this all over. Especially the case for Kaer Morhen and the surrounding area. Skellige offers stunning scenes of boreal and alpine scenery. Even parts of Velen and the wilderness surrounding Novigrad, when it's not SceneryGorn ([[WarIsHell there's a war going on]]).
419* ''VideoGame/TheWitness'': The island has a very beautiful, stylized look to it. As soon as you open the gate in the tutorial area, you're able to climb up on the second level of the starting point and look out at all of it.
420* ''VideoGame/WorldOfGoo'' has some pretty tight visuals at times. However, it's still absolutely ''nothing'' compared to the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic music]].
421* ''{{VideoGame/World of Warcraft}}:''
422** Sure, the capital cities look pretty good. They ought to; they're a hub of activity. And then you go travelling and you get to see some really ''stunning'' vistas. Whether it's shadowy forests, vibrant jungles, tamed farmlands or open savannahs, the entire world looks gorgeous.
423** Scenery Porn is also the whole point of fan-made art replacement videos like [[https://www.youtube.com/user/baronsoosdon Baron Soosdon]]'s ''Unlimited Escapism'' series.
424** Just about every major flightpoint involves taking the scenic route in and out of wherever you are. Even just flying between the different levels of Wyrmrest Temple involves taking a spin or two around the tower before landing.
425** Exaggerated in ''Mists of Pandaria''. New graphics, new animation skeletons, and new dynamic lighting have made this a reinvention of the graphics style instead of just an upgrade.
426* ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Reunion]]'' certainly qualifies as this from the very first screen. Everything from the ship and station models to the planets and their moons that inhabit some sectors are jaw-dropping. And then ''X3: Terran Conflict'' turned the scenery porn up to 11. It's hard to fly around Uranus or Saturn without going slack-jawed.
427* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': The areas are as beautiful as they are massive, and there are several points in each area from which you can get a good look at the amazing scenery. What makes this more impressive is the fact that Tetsuya Takahashi, Monolith Soft's president, has stated that he has prioritized gameplay ''over graphics'' for this game.
428** One of the best examples is Satorl Marsh. In the daytime, it's an ordinary swampland. Nothing too special. But, at night? Shimmering curtains of lights silently rise from every surface, giving it the feel of walking into an aurora.
429** The Eryth Sea is likely to make you go [[{{jawdrop}} slackjawed]], due to its sheer scale, its pristine waters, and floating islands, while the area's poignant background music enhances the ambiance. And if you think it looks gorgeous during the day, just wait'll you see it ''at night''; especially if you're lucky enough to see it when there's shooting stars....
430** And then to one-up even that is the Valak Mountain, in the day it looks like your typical mountains that you would see in many current gen games, plus a bunch of crystals, giant crystal tower, random ledges and whatnot, and then the sun sets. Remember those crystals? Well, every single one of them lights up orange, and it is gorgeous! There are even multiple areas specifically designed for you to go up to and gawk at the scenery, and you even get a quest to seek out these places and tell the giver which place had a better view (from a Nopon of course, who considers this a science worth researching).
431* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' is no slouch in this regard, either. From the [[GhibliHills rolling green hills of Gormott]] to the [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Renaissance-esque architecture of Indol]], you'll be glad that the [[Platform/NintendoSwitch Nintendo Switch]] comes with a camera feature.
432* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' is well on its way to surpassing the original, as the amount of detail in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUK1b_ysTnI New Los Angeles]] alone is a vast improvement over either of the Colonies. And if you think that's awesome, just wait 'til you get ahold of your first SKELL and take in the landscape [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRBhInst8XQ during flight.]]
433* ''Videogame/XRebirth''. The space stations of yore are replaced by massive, dozen-kilometer wide space cities with hundreds or thousands of civilian ships moving between their sections. The [[HyperspaceLanes Super Highway system]] catapults ships through solar systems at the speed of light, passing by (or in the case of Albion, ''[[ShatteredWorld through]]'') planets, {{BigDumbObject}}s, nebula, and even a black hole in Omicron Lyrae.
434* ''VideoGame/ZenoClash''. One would guess that a significant portion of the sales came from people who bought it simply to gawk at how mindblowingly beautiful (and insane) the world they've created is. [[http://www.nofrag.com/images/00313c.jpg This picture]] is the very first result on Google, [[http://www.nofrag.com/images/0035e9.jpg and it only]] [[http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/ZenoClashInterview_screen1.jpg gets better]] [[http://www.zeden.net/img/2007-12//zenoclash_001.jpg from there.]] ''VideoGame/ZenoClash2'' ups the ante ever more by introducing a day/night cycle, and featuring breathtaking vistas such as the [[http://i.neoseeker.com/n/3/zenoclash2_screens_03.jpg Pink Tower]].

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