12 Best Looking Wii U Games

Breath of the Wild came out on March 3, 2017. It was the final Nintendo-published Wii U game and a launch game for the Switch on the same day. Nintendo spent five years on it after Skyward Sword. Monolith Soft, the team behind the Xenoblade games, helped design its landscapes. It won Game of the Year at the 2017 Game Awards. Reviewers loved the open world, though some criticized its technical performance.

Players call it gorgeous on the Wii U too. The soft, painted look hides a lot. You will forget about the frame rate the first time you climb a tower and see the whole of Hyrule spread out below you.

Twilight Princess HD is a remaster of the GameCube version, made by Tantalus Media with Nintendo and released for the Wii U in March 2016. Nintendo went to the Australian studio because most of the Zelda team was busy with Breath of the Wild. The artists hit a strange problem along the way: with sharper models, everything was too clear and the game lost its soft and delicate atmosphere. The original went darker and grittier on purpose. Nintendo of America had said the cartoon look of the previous Zelda made people think it was for young kids.

Players say it looks great in HD, and the new lighting gets most of the credit. Hyrule Field at sunset is the moment to put the controller down and stare.

Color Splash was made by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and came out worldwide in October 2016. Mario carries a paint hammer and uses it to solve colouring puzzles. The paint theme came from Atsushi Isano, the director at Intelligent Systems. When it was revealed, fans were not happy, mostly because it looked so much like Sticker Star. On release, critics praised its graphics and its funny writing. The combat was another story.

Players agree it is beautiful, whatever they think of the battles. Everything is made of cardboard and paper, and in HD you can almost see the fibres. It plays like a craft project you get to walk around in, with Mario as the glue.

Rayman Legends is the direct sequel to Rayman Origins. It started life as a Wii U exclusive, until the release was delayed again by six months and the game was made multi-platform. Fans were furious, because the developer had said the Wii U version was already finished, and over 11,000 people signed a petition to get it out on the original date. It did not work. Critics praised the game's visuals and level design anyway, and the wait at least gave Wii U owners a demo to play.

Players call it a beautiful game with a unique art style. Every level is hand-drawn art that moves like a cartoon, and on the Wii U it is as sharp as on any other console.

Child of Light was built on the UbiArt Framework engine, which had already been used for Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. The engine let the design team put concept art directly into the game, which gives it the look of an animated painting. You play Aurora, who only ages once in the whole game. The land she explores, Lemuria, is based on a supposedly lost continent. Reviewers gave particular praise to its visuals, and one found the rhyming dialogue slightly forced.

Players simply call it beautiful, and most of them mean the art first. It is an RPG you can recommend to someone who has never played one. Turn the lights down and play it on the big TV.

Nintendo revealed Mario Kart 8 in 2013 and released it in May 2014. The original version is the best-selling Wii U game at 8.46 million sold. Reviewers praised its gameplay and presentation, but the battle mode was criticized. Paid and free DLC followed, including additional tracks and a new difficulty setting. When the game came back on the Switch as Deluxe, critics praised its improved battle modes.

Players say it has some of the best visuals on the console, and that it runs smooth while doing it. Even with a full field of racers on screen, it never looks muddy. Watch a replay of a race and you will see how much is going on in the background.

Xenoblade Chronicles X brought back series creator Tetsuya Takahashi as executive director and co-writer. It was first announced in 2013 under the working title "X". The music was created by anime composer Hiroyuki Sawano. Critics praised its combat and world design but criticized its story. It is also one of the best releases on the Wii U, according to plenty of journalists, and a Definitive Edition finally reached the Switch in 2025.

Players call it one of the most gorgeous Wii U games, and they keep coming back to how big its world feels. The views get better the longer you play, and with this game that is a lot of playing.

Yoshi's Woolly World is the seventh main game in the Yoshi series and the first on a home console since 1997's Yoshi's Story. Like Kirby's Epic Yarn, it is set in a world where the characters and environment are made of yarn and cloth. Mellow Mode gives Yoshi a pair of wings, so less skilled players can fly over the hard parts. Some boxes came with a knitted Yarn Yoshi amiibo. Reviewers praised the art style and complained about the easy difficulty.

Players call it one of the best looking platformers around. In HD you can see the stitching on every hill and the fuzz on every cloud. It is the cosiest game on the Wii U, and it knows it.

Super Mario 3D World is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series and the sequel to Super Mario 3D Land. It was acclaimed for its level design and presentation, though some reviewers criticized its unreliable camera in the multiplayer mode. A spinoff, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, was released in November 2014. The game came back on the Switch as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury in February 2021, and the two versions have sold 19.36 million units.

Players call it a beautiful game, and some say it is the best looking game on the Wii U. Bright colours and clean shapes age well. This one still looks brand new.

Tropical Freeze is the fifth game in the Donkey Kong Country series and a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii. It came out in February 2014. Dixie Kong is back in the main series for the first time since 1996, and it is Cranky's first time as a main playable character. Reviewers praised its level design and soundtrack, while its high difficulty got mixed opinions.

Players call it visually stunning, and they rate its creative levels just as highly. The fur and the light through the trees look great in motion. The levels are pretty enough that you won't mind seeing them again after every death, and you will see them a lot.

Pikmin 3 is the sequel to the GameCube games Pikmin and Pikmin 2. It was released in Japan on July 13, 2013, and in all other regions the next month. Three Koppaite captains are sent to a strange planet to bring back the food that will save their own. Nintendo first planned it for the Wii U launch, but its release was later delayed until mid-2013. Most reviewers praised its well designed levels and high-quality graphics. A Deluxe port reached the Switch on October 30, 2020.

Players call it gorgeous and say it pushes the graphics of the Wii U. The fruit looks good enough to eat, which is a problem, since your tiny crew is the one hauling it home.

The Wind Waker HD is a high-definition remaster of the GameCube Zelda, released for the Wii U in September 2013. The team found it would take less than a year to remaster the entire game, and it features high definition graphics and improved lighting. Back on the GameCube, response to the cel-shaded design was divided, and Nintendo of America blamed it for weak North American sales. The remaster got a Metacritic score of 90, and sales of the Wii U console increased by 685% in the UK the week after it came out.

Players call it gorgeous and the most beautiful version of a classic Zelda adventure. Writers have since said its stylized look aged well, and in HD it looks like it was made for this console all along.