Cutscenes have become especially important to modern gaming. Back in the day, games could get away with janky-looking cutscenes because that was all anyone could really expect. With the advancement of technology, however, there came a much greater potential to truly impress players and deliver a jaw-dropping spectacle,emotional payoff, or even both.
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With this in mind, here are some games with some exceptionally great cutscene direction. Many of these games have something special going for them that makes them stand out, be it the style they invoke, or simply the technology used to capture them. Either way, these are moments players really don’t want to be skipping.
8Batman: Arkham Knight
The evolution in cutscene quality just from the firstArkhamgame is impressive on its own, butArkham Knightmanaged to surpass most of its peers as well when it was released in 2015. From the very first scene, the player is shown that this game isn’t screwing around and that they’re in for a much darker story, both visually and thematically than the game’s predecessors.
Arkham Knightdoes an excellent job of toying with the player’s perceptions as they combine somewhat surrealist sequences and imagery with the beautifully presented gothic-noir tone thatBatmanfans are familiar with.
7The Last of Us
One wouldn’t necessarily expect a game about a zombie apocalypse to be so beautiful, and yetThe Last of Usstill has some of the most strikingly gorgeous cutscene direction of any single-player game. The juxtaposition of nature overtaking the decayed remains of humanity while it grapples with extinction produced some of modern gaming’s most memorable scenes (and also some ofits most memeable).
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One can only hope that the upcomingHBO adaptation starring Pedro Pascalmatches the game’s sense of majesty as much as its propensity for physical and emotional brutality.
There are almost no games that look quite as lifelike when it came to the cutscenes.Red Dead Redemption 2represents a staggering achievement in gaming for many reasons, not the least of which being its advancements in using motion capture to help tell its grand narrative.
Characters likeArthur Morgan, John Marston, Sadie Adler, and more not only move incredibly realistically due to this, their physical expressions could not be more authentic, with the actor’s real emotions carrying each scene. Ranging from pulse-pounding spectacle to heart-wrenching emotion and everything in between,Red Dead Redemption 2’scutscenes compete with even some of the best cinematic Westerns.
5Halo 3: ODST
Though it’s not exactly the newest FPS out right now,Halo 3: ODSTis perhaps the most experimental Halo game there ever was in many areas, and that includes the cutscenes.ODSTattempts to mixHalo 3’scinematic beauty with a sort of Neill Blomkamp-inspired “fly on the wall” camera style. It was also the first game in the series to seriously utilize first-person vignettes, some of which resulted injaw-dropping sequences.
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Combined with a moody noir atmosphere,Halo 3: ODSTis perhaps the most visually appealing Halo game to date despite not being as graphically advanced as newer games in the series.
4God Of War (2018)
Much likeRed Dead Redemption 2,God of Waruses motion capture to enhance the emotional gravity of each cutscene, however, the game has more than one trick up its sleeve. Impressively, every cutscene inGod of Waris a one-take, meaning that there are no cuts at any point during the scene.
This direction style proved so popular that evenHalo: Infinitedecided to copy it wholesale for its campaign. ForKratos’latest adventure, it succeeded in grounding the player in each scene and letting the emotions breathe when they needed to. The game is also easily among the best-looking ever, with the cutscenes never failing to capture its desolate beauty and splendor.
3Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
While not every Cutscene inDBZ: Kakarotis fully animated, the more important moments of the story are almost always superbly animated, wonderfully colored, and shot in-engine recreations of iconic scenes from the show.Kakarotrepresents the first time that this has seriously been done since the release ofDragon Ball Z: Budokaiin 2002.
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Scenes such as Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan, Gohan’s awakening, Piccolo’s death at the hands of Nappa,or Vegeta’s sacrifice, are all brilliantly realized and in a more grandiose fashion than ever. Side note; For fans of the original Funimation dub of the show, there is a mod that replaces the Japanese score with Bruce Faulconer’s music from the American version of the show, which may enhance the experience for those of a more nostalgic persuasion.
2Until Dawn
Until Dawnis perhaps mostly one giant cutscene that allows for player interactivity when necessary. Stylized like a “Cabin-in-the-Woods-esque” teenaged-centric horror story,Until Dawn’scutscenes are dependent on the player’s choices at all times, which means they could see all new ones with each new playthrough attempt.
The cast of characters, all played by real actors such as Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek, whose actions and fate are player dependent also add quite a bit to each scene, helping to make the game feel like a truly interactive cinematic experience.
1Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 2was originally released in 1998 and if one were to play it today, that fact would become instantly noticeable (though this is obviously not real criticism). The remake, however, has all the benefits of modern technology, including brand new in-engine cutscenes.
These cutscenes not only translate the original story onto modern hardware, but they also do a great job of enhancing it, adding more horror and humanity to the game and characters respectively than was possible in 1998. It’s a visually striking remake that succeeds at being a jumping point for newer players who want to get into theResident Evilfranchise.
