Developer: Motion Twin
Animation studio: Bobby Prod
Technique: 2D frame-by-frame animation
If you are looking for a masterclass in animated game trailers, start with Dead Cells.
The game’s trailers take one of its most recognizable mechanics – the endless cycle of fighting, dying and trying again – and turn it into comedy. The protagonist gets into increasingly ridiculous situations, and the animation gives the character far more personality than a conventional gameplay trailer could.
Why it works: It takes a gameplay mechanic and turns it into a story.
Takeaway: If your game has one mechanic that defines the experience, consider making it the central idea of your trailer.
Developer: Massive Monster
Animation studio: Half Giant
Technique: 2D animation
Few games have a visual contradiction as immediately recognizable as Cult of the Lamb: adorable characters, cheerful colors and extremely dark subject matter. The animated trailers lean heavily into that contrast. Half Giant produced several trailers for the game, each with a slightly different focus. One explored the village-building side, another focused on characters and humor, while the release trailer pushed the combat and action. The studio specifically described using multiple trailers to explore different aspects of the game.
That is an important lesson for game marketing. You don’t always need one trailer that explains absolutely everything. You can have one trailer that sells the world, another that sells the characters, and another that sells the gameplay.
Why it works: The animation understands the game’s personality instead of simply reproducing its gameplay.
Takeaway: Find the contradiction that makes your game memorable and build your trailer around it.
Developer: Supergiant Games
Animation: The Line / Studio Grackle
Technique: 2D animation
Hades II proves that “indie” does not have to mean “small-looking.” The trailer combines expressive character animation, dramatic action, atmospheric environments and cinematic camera work to create something that feels much closer to an animated short film than a traditional game advertisement.
The trailer follows Melinoë through several distinct locations, using animation, effects, music and sound design to make each environment feel different. And that is one of the reasons it works so well: the trailer is not just showing characters doing things. It is creating a cinematic experience.
Why it works: Strong art direction, expressive animation and cinematic editing all reinforce the game’s visual identity.
Takeaway: Your trailer can exaggerate your game’s visual language without having to reproduce the gameplay literally.
Developer: Cellar Door Games
Animation studio: Half Giant
Technique: 2D animation
The central idea of Rogue Legacy 2 is wonderfully simple: you die, and your descendant continues the adventure. The animated trailer explores the game’s themes of inheritance and repetition rather than simply showing a collection of abilities. This approach makes the trailer easier to remember because it has an actual narrative idea behind it.
Why it works: The trailer communicates what makes the game different instead of simply listing its features.
Takeaway: Ask yourself: Can my game’s main mechanic become the plot of the trailer?
Developer: Thunder Lotus
Animation: Knights of the Light Table
Technique: 2D hand-drawn animation
Not every game trailer needs to make the audience excited.Sometimes you want them to feel something else. Spiritfarer is a game about friendship, grief and saying goodbye, and its animated trailer uses those themes rather than trying to turn the game into an action spectacle.
The production team paid particular attention to facial expressions, body language and color progression to communicate the emotional journey of the story. This is a great example of how character animation can carry a trailer. Sometimes those details communicate more than a dozen action shots.
Why it works: The trailer sells the emotional experience of the game, not just its features.
Takeaway: Before making a storyboard, decide what you want the audience to feel.
Developer: Mega Crit
Animation: WIZZ / CRCR
Technique: 2D/3D animated cinematic
How do you make a card-based roguelike look cinematic? You don’t explain the rules. You create a world people want to enter. The animated announcement trailer introduces the world and characters while leaving plenty unexplained. Instead of turning the trailer into a tutorial, it creates curiosity.
The approach worked: Mega Crit specifically highlighted the animated trailer as the way Slay the Spire 2 was introduced to the world.
Why it works: It understands that sometimes the purpose of a trailer is to make viewers ask questions.
Takeaway: You don’t have to explain everything. Give people a reason to want to find out more.
Developer: Studio MDHR
Technique: Traditional-animation-inspired 2D animation
Cuphead is a slightly different case, because its animation is already at the heart of the game itself.But that is exactly what makes it such a useful example. The 1930s-cartoon-inspired style is so distinctive that a few seconds of animation are enough to identify the game.There is no need to explain what makes it different.
Why it works: The visual language is instantly recognizable.
Takeaway: A strong animation style can become part of your game’s marketing identity.
Developer: Tarsier Studios
Technique: Stylized 3D animation
Little Nightmares proves that animated game trailers do not have to be 2D. Its dark, surreal world lends itself perfectly to cinematic animation, with exaggerated environments, unsettling characters and carefully controlled camera movement.
The trailer focuses heavily on atmosphere. Rather than explaining every gameplay system, it establishes the feeling of entering a strange and threatening world. That is particularly important for horror. You don’t want to show everything. You want to make people uncomfortable enough to keep watching.
Why it works: It creates atmosphere before it explains mechanics.
Takeaway: Horror, fantasy and mystery games can benefit enormously from trailers that prioritize mood over information.
Developer: Happy Juice Games
Animation studio: Half Giant
Technique: 2D character animation
Lost in Play is a great example of a smaller, stylized game using animation to emphasize its characters and sense of humor.
The game already has a strong illustrated look, but the trailer takes that visual language and makes the characters feel alive. Instead of relying on spectacle, it uses expressions, poses, timing and playful interactions. And this is where animation can have a huge advantage over static game art. A character may look cute in a screenshot. Give that character the right movement and timing, and suddenly they have a personality.
Why it works: Character acting becomes part of the game’s selling point.
Takeaway: If your game has memorable characters, don’t just show them. Let them perform.
Developer: Motion Twin
Animation studio: Bobby Prod
Technique: 2D frame-by-frame animation
Yes, Dead Cells appears twice – and there is a reason. The game’s DLC trailers are a great reminder that an animation style does not have to become repetitive just because the game stays the same.
Bobby Prod produced multiple animated trailers for Dead Cells, with different directors, storyboards, animation teams and visual approaches. The result is a useful case study in how a game can develop a recognizable animated language while still giving individual trailers their own identity.
Why it works: The production keeps the game’s personality consistent without making every trailer feel identical.
Takeaway: Once you establish a visual language, you can use it as a foundation for an entire series of trailers.
The examples above may look completely different, but they are built from many of the same animation techniques.If you want to dive deeper into the different approaches used in game trailer production, check out one of our previous articles.
Here are some of the most common approaches:
After watching these trailers, one thing becomes clear: The best animated game trailers are not necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the ones with the clearest ideas. You are not limited to showing what the game already looks like. You can take the personality, mechanics and visual identity of the game and turn them into a story. And for an indie studio trying to compete for attention, that can be much more valuable than simply making a bigger trailer. Because the goal isn’t just to show people your game. It’s to make them remember it.