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[BlackTron]

Three times video games exceeded my expectations: when I rented Mario RPG and got the 3D isometric viewpoint, and then again in 1996 seeing Mario 64. The last time video games exceeded my expectations was 1999 with Dreamcast's graphics. Since then graphics have evolved in marginal little steps while game design has gone backwards.

As cool as VR is I can't say it surpassed my ideas 20 years ago of how it would feel having a contemporary game world in a headset.

 

[Muffdraul]

I have no imagination, so 15 years ago or so when I played some free first person Light Cycle game inspired by Tron (which hit theaters when I was 13,) that was it for me.

 

[RodriGames40]

Yeah, easily. Who the hell would have imagined we'd go from GTA3 to RDR2... Anyone with a minimum of perspective would find that mindblowing in retrospect, and that's without getting in the generations prior to 3D.

 

[ReBurn]

When I was a kid I thought that the pinnacle of gaming evolution would be games that looked and animated like cartoons. There were a lot that came close over the years but I think Cuphead was the actual realization of that idea for me.

 

[March Climber]

What I've tried of VR/Half Life Alyx comes close.

 

[Astral Dog]

in terms of visuals, young me never imagine what videogames would look like on HD era, back then on Xbox 360.
the demos at launch but also games like Gears of War was like looking into the future, and even Lost Planet looked impressive with its frozen atmosphere

 

[NeverYouMind]

No. It is amazing that some late PS2 era games had realistic likenesses while nowadays the CG faces are obvious. Also, game worlds have lost the element of being lived in if that makes sense. I have thought games would be moving closer to reality but they have done the opposite.

 

[Saturn Dragon]

Games so bloated now that I don't even feel like gaming

 

[jufonuk]

Having grown up on Atari 2600 and arcades, modern games have far surpassed what I could’ve imagined back then.

This is same for me. Had my son tell me the other day that SNES games look old fashioned.

Especially with TV sizes now a days I sometimes play a retro game and it’s like I’m in my own arcade

Luigi’s mansion 3 also looks like a 3D animated movie come to life for me sometimes.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Sometimes i wonder what 12 year old me would say if he saw something like GT7. When GT3 came out my jaw was on the floor, lmao.

But stuff like Red Dead Redemption 2 or TLOU2 just looked like something i never even imagined back in the day.

I remember wanting my videogames to look like CGI cutscenes i saw on games like Final Fantasy or Tomb Raider 2/3/TLR/Chronicles and we have far surpassed all that.

 

[Quasicat]

I played so much SimCity for the SNES in middle/high school. What I wanted was a model city where I could control every aspect of it and even go down to the street level to admire the six and scope of my city.
City Skylines does this and so much more.

 

[TheChumpNation]

Baldur's Gate 3 was a level of quality I always knew was possible in an RPG, but something I worried I'd never see because generally games seem to get more funding the more they dumb themselves down.

 

[chokotoureiki]

Matrix Awakens blew my mind more than anything out there. I couldn't even tell when the cinematic intro had transitioned into gameplay, that's how real it looked.

Also, the motorcycle chase scene in Metal Gear Solid 4 at the time had me rubbing my eyes like, "whoa is that actually gameplay?" It really felt like a next gen game.

 

[Azelover]

I remember vividly looking at pictures in a magazine, of a car demo supposedly running on M2 hardware. The text said it looked fantastic, but the shots looked pretty bland to me. So I imagined the floor was wet and there were reflections on the cars and the wet floor. Basically ray tracing. That was around 1995, and I was 11. It only took about 25 years to become reality..

 

[Dynasty8]

Part of the reason why I liked FFVII Remake + Rebirth is how well they nailed the look of the game, specifically the world and characters after almost 30 years. I always imagined as a kid how cool Midgar, Gold Saucer, Junon would look like in next gen/HD. They nailed that aspect perfectly.

But other aspects I wasn't a fan of (making the game more light hearted made the story less impactful for me). That goes for many modern games as well. Just a personal preference, but games in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s felt more mature I guess. Thankfully we still have some mature games nowadays though, RDR2, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, Witcher, BG3, etc.

 

[ap_puff]

Some VR games are legit mindblowing. The only problem is getting VR legs really sucks and there's not enough content on the platform that really pushes beyond tech demo status.

 

[EverydayBeast]

PS3 did a great part of breaking expectations for gaming, producing high level of graphics (uncharted 2), player count (128 MAG), and day to day features (web browser, chat menus, ps home etc.) Sony pushed the importance of entertainment in one machine on the PS3.

 

[Deerock71]

Any game?

Even the most lazy cash grab they release today is NASA tier for GenXers.

I was going to say Goldeneye, the The Witcher 3 did it for me.