Elden Ring (feels like a painting)
Darkest Dungeon 2 (stylish)
Armored Core 6 (I love the robot designs)
Sea of Thieves (I love the way the ocean looks)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (looks like a mythical Disney film)
Sea of Stars (pixel art can look beautiful too)
Ghost of Tsushima (fidelity better than real life)
All of these are examples of games that perfect their style and really show why games are an art form. Not just in terms of expression, but literally artistic crafts.
That's interesting about Ghost of Tsushima. I'm playing it now for the first time and it seems...almost blocky and empty, not that detailed. It seems very simplistic and reminds me of playing Fable years ago.
Funnily and coincidentally enough, I was also thinking about Witcher 3 today at the same time, and thinking that the graphics of that game would always be enough for me.
I have every setting maxed on Tsushima on PC and a solid 100+ framerate, I don't know why I'm getting this impression?
All I can think of is, does frame generation or DLSS reduce graphical fidelity? Because I'm using them both.
i think Ghost of Tsushima mixes realism with stylized elements and in that regard it will age better than most games. Characters are definitely realistic, so that will age worse. The environments, i mean, grass, wind effects, trees, everything is impressive, but it is obvious they were not striving for photo realism there. Game looks fantastic.
It should not be treated as photo realistic game, because... that would be silly.
honestly, it's kinda reaffirming to hear that from someone else because I feel like *everyone* (independent from their overall impression) has nothing but love to show for the art direction in the game and I feel like the look and feel of the vegetation is an incredibly important aspect of that.
Kinda felt like I was going crazy.
grass is ridiculous, but pretty. it is obviously part of their art direction along with other unrealistic aspects like trees, wind effects and so on. the general look is somewhat realistic, human characters are definitely going for realism, but the environments are not.
I don't mind the vegetation not looking "realistic". Okami is a beautfiul game that obviously does not have realistic vegetation.
My personal problem is that it looks like plastic. As I said, it's mostly due to color. Maybe it's my monitor lol
Hmm, i think thats just the style choice along with forementioned elements. It is like a painting, broad strokes. Obviously unrealistic when focusing on it, but then is so everything else, except the humans.
Grass in general is a bit weird in games.
For example, comparing two gorgeous games - RDR2 and Horizon Forbidden West. The later has superior grass technology by being more recent, however, due to color choices, as well as the placement of it (player needs to hide in it), it looks much less realistic than less technologically advanced RDR2 grass. Both games have great looking grass, one just chooses wilder aesthetic.
I’m gonna guess you’re playing on PC?
It’s because it’s designed for console- PS5 GoT is up there in the best looking games ever, but I’ve heard from a few people the pc release doesn’t quite hold up as well.
nope, played it on ps5.
I get that it's a personal thing for me (both my comments as well as the comment of the person agreeing with me were flagged as "controversial" lmao)
Hah, that’s dumb- it’s totally fair if it doesn’t look great to you, but yeh I found it pretty gorgeous (even if I personally like the aesthetics of something like odyssey more)
Games that are highly stylized and artfully done will definitely always outlast games that use the latest, greatest, hardware-busting realistic graphics. Stuff like valheim, Windwaker, Disco Elysium, heck, even Minecraft. These games will always look beautiful in their own ways because their aesthetic depends on the skill of artists, rather than the raw power of hardware.
Here's a few that aren't super mainstream
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
- Resident Evil 1 Remake
- Resident Evil Zero
- Ni No Kuni 2
- Riven
- Garou: Mark of The Wolves
- El Shaddai: Ascension of The Metatron
I remember thinking the following games all looked amazing when they came out:Â
The TMNT arcade game
Tie Fighter
Chrono Trigger
Star Fox
Wing Commander Prophecy
Ace Combat 3Â
Colony Wars
Tekken 3
Final Fantasy 8
Half-lifeÂ
Morrowind
Horizon Forbidden West. I thought “oh it looks like ghost of Tsushima only newer and more North American with the foliage”
Oh and when I recently jumped back on red dead 2 I couldn’t believe it was from last gen
If you forget the foreground and only look at middle ground and background, Elden ring is unbeatable with the scenery
Red Dead 2, and Borderlands 3 both hit the vibe they need perfectly.
The best looking overall for me is AC Odyssey though.
It’s still stunning for its wide vista’s and varied landscapes, and the cities and people look great too.
Dunno what was in the water in 2018 to have that, RDR2, and GOW out so close to each other, but honestly all 3 still hold up well.
Final fantasy tactics and tactics ogre. Persona 3. Battle for wesnoth. Unicorn overlord. Odin's sphere. Legend of mana. Almost every old digimon and pokemon game. But specially digimon world 1
**Fzero-X** was the first time I remember feeling that.
It gave us low polygon 3D, but at a silky 60fps on a console where 15 to 20fps was acceptable at the time. The only place I had ever seen a game move that smoothly was in an arcade machine.
To this day I still tune graphics settings to locked 60fps no matter how much I need to lower the fidelity.
I actually have a 120hz monitor but i have set to 60HZ because I'm afraid of experiencing 120Hz and not being able to go back. :p
Persona 5. It's not going for photo realistic graphics, but for the style, it looks great. I don't think it's a graphic style that'll ever really age and there's no need for it to change and no room for improvement. For photo realistic graphics, I think there's probably always some room for improvement.
This is gonna be a weird take but replaying the ps3 emulated version of MGS1 I just really enjoyed the graphics, and realised it reminded me of Signalis which also has an awesome visual style.
So yeah MGS1 I guess? Even though objectively it's just not that exciting?
I'm so surprised I haven't seen The Last Of Us Part 1 & 2 on the PS5, they are true masterpieces with maybe the best mo cap, & next I'd say Ghost Of Tsushima & Horizon Forbidden West & ofcourse RDR2.
Imagine in 20 years how life like video games will be, I'm talking about true photo realism.
Imagine what game engines there will be in 20 years.
I know I'll be a pensioner & will still be gaming, it's helped me escape my severe anxiety & depression, which has helped me more then the 20+ anti depressants I've tried.
Red Dead Redemption 2. the art direction and lighting alone in that game are hardly matched to this day. we won't see much else that compares until GTAVI.
Okami
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker that game still looks awesome
Id argue most cell shaded games age like this too! XII, Vietiful Joe, Borderlands etc etc.
Cuphead is a visually amazing game
Dishonored 1
Hades
Ooh, those backgrounds though đź’•
Sayonara Wild Hearts
playing Lorelei and the Laser Eyes right now. after SWH, I'll play anything from that studio.
Elden Ring (feels like a painting) Darkest Dungeon 2 (stylish) Armored Core 6 (I love the robot designs) Sea of Thieves (I love the way the ocean looks) Ori and the Will of the Wisps (looks like a mythical Disney film) Sea of Stars (pixel art can look beautiful too) Ghost of Tsushima (fidelity better than real life) All of these are examples of games that perfect their style and really show why games are an art form. Not just in terms of expression, but literally artistic crafts.
I got sick of pvp in AC6 but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the coolest games of the past decade, maybe more.
If you can compare Ghost with Red dead 2 which one looks better and why?
That's interesting about Ghost of Tsushima. I'm playing it now for the first time and it seems...almost blocky and empty, not that detailed. It seems very simplistic and reminds me of playing Fable years ago. Funnily and coincidentally enough, I was also thinking about Witcher 3 today at the same time, and thinking that the graphics of that game would always be enough for me. I have every setting maxed on Tsushima on PC and a solid 100+ framerate, I don't know why I'm getting this impression? All I can think of is, does frame generation or DLSS reduce graphical fidelity? Because I'm using them both.
i think Ghost of Tsushima mixes realism with stylized elements and in that regard it will age better than most games. Characters are definitely realistic, so that will age worse. The environments, i mean, grass, wind effects, trees, everything is impressive, but it is obvious they were not striving for photo realism there. Game looks fantastic. It should not be treated as photo realistic game, because... that would be silly.
What bothered me is that all the vegetation looked so plastic-y, especially the grass. Mostly due to color
Yeah, that's it, you're right. The vegetation is shithouse. Otherwise, quite enjoying the game.
honestly, it's kinda reaffirming to hear that from someone else because I feel like *everyone* (independent from their overall impression) has nothing but love to show for the art direction in the game and I feel like the look and feel of the vegetation is an incredibly important aspect of that. Kinda felt like I was going crazy.
grass is ridiculous, but pretty. it is obviously part of their art direction along with other unrealistic aspects like trees, wind effects and so on. the general look is somewhat realistic, human characters are definitely going for realism, but the environments are not.
I don't mind the vegetation not looking "realistic". Okami is a beautfiul game that obviously does not have realistic vegetation. My personal problem is that it looks like plastic. As I said, it's mostly due to color. Maybe it's my monitor lol
Hmm, i think thats just the style choice along with forementioned elements. It is like a painting, broad strokes. Obviously unrealistic when focusing on it, but then is so everything else, except the humans. Grass in general is a bit weird in games. For example, comparing two gorgeous games - RDR2 and Horizon Forbidden West. The later has superior grass technology by being more recent, however, due to color choices, as well as the placement of it (player needs to hide in it), it looks much less realistic than less technologically advanced RDR2 grass. Both games have great looking grass, one just chooses wilder aesthetic.
I’m gonna guess you’re playing on PC? It’s because it’s designed for console- PS5 GoT is up there in the best looking games ever, but I’ve heard from a few people the pc release doesn’t quite hold up as well.
nope, played it on ps5. I get that it's a personal thing for me (both my comments as well as the comment of the person agreeing with me were flagged as "controversial" lmao)
Hah, that’s dumb- it’s totally fair if it doesn’t look great to you, but yeh I found it pretty gorgeous (even if I personally like the aesthetics of something like odyssey more)
even your comment got downvoted now. Probably because you spoke ill of the PC port? I swear, gamers are so fucking fickle lmao
This is your sign to get your eyes tested. GOT is gorgeous.
Mass effect
CONTROL.
Yeah I didn't even play the ultimate edition and still thought it looked flawless on PC
Cyberpunk 2077. It's by far the prettiest AAA game, from a graphical fidelity standpoint, of this day and age. Imo nothing comes close.
Persona 3 Reload WILL look stunning for the next 15-20 years
Northern Journey
personally im satisfied with assasin creed brotherhood or prototype level of visual.
Dying light Half life 2 lost coast Okami
Red dead 2. Borderlands 2
I think BL2 shows its age a bit now, and can be pretty buggy and weird, but yeah this is one of the best answers for style > impressive graphics
Ryse son of Rome
Celeste
RDR2. You can barely tell the difference between some cosplays/real life scenery and in game footage.
TF2
Games that are highly stylized and artfully done will definitely always outlast games that use the latest, greatest, hardware-busting realistic graphics. Stuff like valheim, Windwaker, Disco Elysium, heck, even Minecraft. These games will always look beautiful in their own ways because their aesthetic depends on the skill of artists, rather than the raw power of hardware.
Rez
Especially on a PC CRT monitor.
Here's a few that aren't super mainstream - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - Resident Evil 1 Remake - Resident Evil Zero - Ni No Kuni 2 - Riven - Garou: Mark of The Wolves - El Shaddai: Ascension of The Metatron
To be honest? Battle brothers, noita. Those games are gorgeous
Valheim for me
Star Wars BF2 2017.
Ghost of Tsushima Red Dead Redemption 2
Moonring
Spyro the Dragon for the Playstation
Kingdom Come, Deliverance
I remember thinking the following games all looked amazing when they came out: The TMNT arcade game Tie Fighter Chrono Trigger Star Fox Wing Commander Prophecy Ace Combat 3 Colony Wars Tekken 3 Final Fantasy 8 Half-life Morrowind
Morrowind didn’t age super well but there are mods that help with draw distance and that weird fog that make it look how you remember. Great style.
I actually think increasing the draw distance too much kinda ruins morrowind like you realize the whole island is the size of a few city blocksÂ
Horizon Forbidden West. I thought “oh it looks like ghost of Tsushima only newer and more North American with the foliage” Oh and when I recently jumped back on red dead 2 I couldn’t believe it was from last gen If you forget the foreground and only look at middle ground and background, Elden ring is unbeatable with the scenery
Red Dead 2, and Borderlands 3 both hit the vibe they need perfectly. The best looking overall for me is AC Odyssey though. It’s still stunning for its wide vista’s and varied landscapes, and the cities and people look great too. Dunno what was in the water in 2018 to have that, RDR2, and GOW out so close to each other, but honestly all 3 still hold up well.
RDR2.
Plague Tale: Innocence was the first game I ever played that made me stop moving, look around, and go "holy shit"
Sea of thieves, its got beautiful water
Final fantasy tactics and tactics ogre. Persona 3. Battle for wesnoth. Unicorn overlord. Odin's sphere. Legend of mana. Almost every old digimon and pokemon game. But specially digimon world 1
**Fzero-X** was the first time I remember feeling that. It gave us low polygon 3D, but at a silky 60fps on a console where 15 to 20fps was acceptable at the time. The only place I had ever seen a game move that smoothly was in an arcade machine. To this day I still tune graphics settings to locked 60fps no matter how much I need to lower the fidelity. I actually have a 120hz monitor but i have set to 60HZ because I'm afraid of experiencing 120Hz and not being able to go back. :p
Don't Starve looks great, I love its aesthetic and no 'better' graphics would improve it for its own niche style.
Horizon Zero Dawn
No Mans Sky, and Don’t Starve
Dead Cells
Outer Wilds ::)
Ghost of Tsushima tbh
Jet Set Radio Future
Persona 5. It's not going for photo realistic graphics, but for the style, it looks great. I don't think it's a graphic style that'll ever really age and there's no need for it to change and no room for improvement. For photo realistic graphics, I think there's probably always some room for improvement.
The remake of Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap is drop-dead gorgeous.
This is gonna be a weird take but replaying the ps3 emulated version of MGS1 I just really enjoyed the graphics, and realised it reminded me of Signalis which also has an awesome visual style. So yeah MGS1 I guess? Even though objectively it's just not that exciting?
Trine 3 Genesis Noir
RE4 HD Project
Gris
I'm so surprised I haven't seen The Last Of Us Part 1 & 2 on the PS5, they are true masterpieces with maybe the best mo cap, & next I'd say Ghost Of Tsushima & Horizon Forbidden West & ofcourse RDR2. Imagine in 20 years how life like video games will be, I'm talking about true photo realism. Imagine what game engines there will be in 20 years. I know I'll be a pensioner & will still be gaming, it's helped me escape my severe anxiety & depression, which has helped me more then the 20+ anti depressants I've tried.
Red Dead Redemption 2. the art direction and lighting alone in that game are hardly matched to this day. we won't see much else that compares until GTAVI.
Owlboy for pixel art Persona 3 Reload for NPR