but the art is so laughably bad
The art's a subjective take. Some might not mind it, others do mind. Depends on one's personal tastes. Obviously can't compare to the likes of Eternum or Desert Stalker in the artistic department. Albeit, I personally think its fine, but I can understand where you're coming from. Something about the art at first struck me as being too "comical" in its appeal when I first started playing through the game.
But it ending up growing on me after a while if I'm being honest.
At least the scenes more than make up for the generic art IMHO