" [W]e look at the pixel art — it's great — but when we think about 10-20 years in the future, we don't think it's going to be a viable art style or presentation for our players," Iizuka said ...

Sonic Superstars is an exciting return to the Blue Blur's 2D origins, but its new art style exists because its developers don't think the classic pixel art approach will be "viable" in future.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is the most important release for this art style since Ocotpath Traveler. It puts HD-2D right in the title and differentiates itself in clear ways.

Speaking to IGN, Kato admitted he likes the style but the 2D pixel art of the original has been retained instead. "No, we didn't think about making it HD-2D," he said.

Studio PICO, a two-man developer based in Japan, is currently in the early stages of development on Grand Exile, a pixel art 2D action and shooting game hybrid planned for release on Switch and PC.

Sonic Superstars, the new 2D Sonic platformer from Sega coming out later this year, looks a lot like a fresh take on the famous blue blur. It ditches pixel art for a cartoony new visual style that ...

By contrast, Sonic Superstars features 3D character models and environments in a 2D perspective. It's certainly a more elaborate visual style filled with modern effects, but pixel art still has ...