Hellblade 2 vs Horizon Forbidden West

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Lol. Not even close to a generational difference. Darker and less colorful doesn't automatically mean better graphics.

Some of the LOD and texture work is more complex but that is about it. Ninja Theory have some great artists but the UE5 Metahuman, mocap, and photogrammetry tools are doing a lot of the heavy lifting in Hellblade 2.

From a technical perspective, this version of the Decima engine is more advanced than what we saw in Death Stranding. Horizon 2 could have produced dark and more realistic lighting if Guerrilla had been interested it but it wouldn't have matched the aesthetic of a tropical dinosaur combat adventure game.
RT is more advanced than rasterized and Lumen is a RT implementation afaik.

But I wouldn't put anything Horizon in any realistic art style comparison, game is to stylished, it's not bad just different, at least in that regard.
 
Some of the LOD and texture work is more complex but that is about it. Ninja Theory have some great artists but the UE5 Metahuman, mocap, and photogrammetry tools are doing a lot of the heavy lifting in Hellblade 2.

Meaning GIF



Not sure why you're saying it like some kind of a negative, as they're all part of the tech.

Regardless, Forbidden West uses Metahuman, mocap and photogrammetry as well.

The original article that mentions HFW's Metahuman is not accessible anymore but a complete copy of the article is linked above from an unsavory source.

One year an hour, for a pushing up simulator.

Tom Hardy Thumbs Up GIF
 
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graphics ≠ as art direction
I know pal, for me Xenoblade 3 is the best looking game of the forever, what I mean is that Horizon graphics aren't designed to look realistic but "good", and for me it doesn't even look good, something in the lighting being so "poster perfect" or whatever look too off and unnatural, for which HB2 just looks miles ahead. If you want to compare an actual realistic Sony game I'd take Days Gone maxed out on PC instead.
 
Diminishing returns in full swing. We've long reached a point where people look like people and rocks look like rocks, pushing fidelity further just takes too much time for little gain.
 
Why?

Why are we comparing them?
People on X have been unhingely trying to downplay HB2 graphics comparing them to whatever Sony, when the only comparable game is AW2 so far and even for everything else but characters, I'd put Jedi Survivor
 
The Coalition's work is probably going to be good insight into this.

Agreed although from what I've seen Death Stranding 2 is the most impressive game to not yet release and looks more impressive than HB2, especially given the scale and the fact that it will have normal gameplay constraints and isn't just mostly a cutscene
 
I really don't see the point of the comparison.
Forbidden West is pretty and full of detail put is flat like shit.
There are open worlds with better and more modern lighting systems.
 
I know pal, for me Xenoblade 3 is the best looking game of the forever, what I mean is that Horizon graphics aren't designed to look realistic but "good", and for me it doesn't even look good, something in the lighting being so "poster perfect" or whatever look too off and unnatural, for which HB2 just looks miles ahead. If you want to compare an actual realistic Sony game I'd take Days Gone maxed out on PC instead.
how do you define "graphics", then?
 
If Hellblade 2 is "finally" next-gen - again, four years of work (at least) for four or five hours of gameplay, total lack of interactivity, game probably cost $200 million to make... Then next-gen is never going to happen. It's just not workable. Obviously I'm not breaking new ground here but I think this release makes it crystal clear.
 
Agreed although from what I've seen Death Stranding 2 is the most impressive game to not yet release and looks more impressive than HB2, especially given the scale and the fact that it will have normal gameplay constraints and isn't just mostly a cutscene

If you want to use pre-release media, GTA VI looks better but we have no idea how either will look a/ at release and during game-play and B/ if there's gonna be any downgrades. We haven't seen game play from either game yet.


If Hellblade 2 is "finally" next-gen - again, four years of work (at least) for four or five hours of gameplay, total lack of interactivity, game probably cost $200 million to make... Then next-gen is never going to happen. It's just not workable. Obviously I'm not breaking new ground here but I think this release makes it crystal clear.

I clearly said visuals in my post, not sure how you misread it so poorly. A company can release a game of just 3 rooms and if it's extremely photo-realistic, that'll then be the new graphical benchmark.

Don't think I ever said HD2 was breaking any new grounds in terms of interactivity or open worlds.
 
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If you want to use pre-release media, GTA VI looks better but we have no idea how either will look a/ at release and during game-play and B/ if there's gonna be any downgrades. We haven't seen game play from either game yet.

I don't think GTA6 looks better based on pre-release footage, but it's close. I just don't think the GTA6 trailer will be as representative of gameplay as DS2's more gameplay oriented segments

DS2 has the nanite type detail that you see in HB2, GTA6 doesn't have that same sort of look - more cartoony/stylized
 
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Both games represents different views.

Hell blade 2 entire giz is to make you depressed with mental ilness. So the graphics represents that feelings. Horizon utilizes higher graphics to represent the world.

Its great to compare them, but both would have different angles for their graphics. Neither is better than the other.
Long roundabout way to say HB2 looks better
 
Well, the point is the word "overall". There are other engines who may do better on selected things, but OVERALL, there's no other engine which is capable to do all the features that UE% does together, and nothing at all that is able to manage geometry and GI like it and at low cost. Plus it's flexible like nothing else, capable to allow the greatest level of fine detail and the widest open world management, with also an already full-speed-ssd-capable streaming, and much more. Heck, it's even voxel-capable, and with its physics engine and destruction system. The modular plug-ins, moreover, allow to do basically every thing that can be calculated, if the power grunt is enough. It's basically a future proof engine which is just starting to be used.
 
Agreed although from what I've seen Death Stranding 2 is the most impressive game to not yet release and looks more impressive than HB2, especially given the scale and the fact that it will have normal gameplay constraints and isn't just mostly a cutscene
It's a dogshit.

Until you have the real product, it's pointless to glorify it. Never trust a product from it's showcase. That is a general rule for day 1 games.

Forspoken was deemed as a great showcase only for it come out as a downgrade.
 
I don't think GTA6 looks better based on pre-release footage, but it's close. I just don't think the GTA6 trailer will be as representative of gameplay as DS2's more gameplay oriented segments

DS2 has the nanite type detail that you see in HB2, GTA6 doesn't have that same sort of look - more cartoony/stylized
I think you are confusing CGI parts and gameplay sections in DS2 trailer.

There is a stark difference between the two.
 
It's a dogshit.

Until you have the real product, it's pointless to glorify it. Never trust a product from it's showcase. That is a general rule for day 1 games.

Forspoken was deemed as a great showcase only for it come out as a downgrade.
I'm actually curious to know what it is exactly that you're doubting here. Death Stranding 2 is a sequel that already has a base to work from, so it's not like any gameplay shown will be completely fake. We've also seen the first game match the visuals of it's first in-game cutscene trailers. Kojima has had a track record of releasing great video games, to the point where even his weakest video game was a solid video game. I'm not sure what's left to have the take that 'it's dogshit'.

It's why I feel these 'never' or 'always' rules that some follow here when looking at games, don't quite work.
 
Sure when it comes to graphics Hellblade 2 is clearly better, but it's not really comparable. One is a game and one is a tech demo.
 
Meaning GIF



Not sure why you're saying it like some kind of a negative, as they're all part of the tech.

Regardless, Forbidden West uses Metahuman, mocap and photogrammetry as well.

Because there is barely a game here. I'm just not impressed by a 3rd party tools showcase when the 1st party systems and scale on display here are as limited as they are. The Matrix tech demo was much more interesting than what amounts to a high-tech visual novel.
 
It's a dogshit.

Until you have the real product, it's pointless to glorify it. Never trust a product from it's showcase. That is a general rule for day 1 games.

Forspoken was deemed as a great showcase only for it come out as a downgrade.

For the rest of your nihilism fey, I do agree with the bolded. Forspoken was revealed as Project Athia with a fantastic trailer that showed faked gameplay, the final game had a notable visual downgrade over that. Very Ubisoft-like.


Because there is barely a game here. I'm just not impressed by a 3rd party tools showcase when the 1st party systems and scale on display here are as limited as they are. The Matrix tech demo was much more interesting than what amounts to a high-tech visual novel.

Tools being first or third party makes no difference, I already gave you links on how the same visual techniques plugins are used by many of them anyway. GTA VI will be on third party tools when it releases next gen and even a year+ before its release, it's been called shit like 'the last hope for next gen visuals' on GAF and other places.

I also disagree with your 'there's barely a game here' comment, there's as much game, if not more, than a typical Quantic Dream game. Detroit looked fantastic, it being an interactive movie didn't change that. If you check the HB2 review topic, the average completion time seems to hover around the ~9 hour mark for the few people who've posted it (Topher, Mr. Moose etc). I'd say that's a pretty decent chunk of game there.
 
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Horizon is (imo) ultimately more impressive considering what it's doing under the hood and how many systems are working within the game, including a day/night system, real-time wind and weather, and a full open world with complete underwater environments and sky with volumetric clouds filled with dozens of npcs, and wildlife.



Sure, a game can technically look slightly better when it isn't doing any of these other things and is working within very small (by comparison) hubs and linear spaces.
 
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Forbidden West's stage lighting has never really been my cup of tea, and it's art design is laughable, but I appreciate that GG went for digital clarity: make the game as crystal clear as possible in everything they put on screen.
Hellblade 2's lighting and designs make Forbidden West's look like a fucking cartoon in comparison, but it's slathered in a film stock filter designed to look like a beaten up movie reel. It's softer image is far more cinematic, sure, but its "dirty image" doesn't hold much appeal for me.
It's a bit of a wash, they're trying for different things. In terms of sheer realism, though, Hellblade 2 wipes the floor with Forbidden West. No content.
 
Hfw is an open world so it's really impressive even though I hate aloy

And there are more thing happenings and running in the open world as well
 
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If Hellblade 2 is "finally" next-gen - again, four years of work (at least) for four or five hours of gameplay, total lack of interactivity, game probably cost $200 million to make... Then next-gen is never going to happen. It's just not workable. Obviously I'm not breaking new ground here but I think this release makes it crystal clear.

$200 million for a game made by 80 people, from a studio reputed for doing much with less? 🤣

The downside of all this warring here is you have people on an enthusiast gaming forum with layman takes like this.
 
Nothing looks better than HB2 in the middle of combat, absolutely nothing. This shit was like playing The Northman.

look at this thing.



the animations, lighting, facial expressions, etc on the NPC's are all next level. they take the combat to a whole new level of visceral. Improved graphics really make you feel that shit

As I said in the graphics thread, we need a 1 VS 1 mortal kombat with these visuals.
 
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Nothing looks better than HB2 in the middle of combat, absolutely nothing. This shit was like playing The Northman.

look at this thing.



the animations, lighting, facial expressions, etc on the NPC's are all next level. they take the combat to a whole new level of visceral. Improved graphics really make you feel that shit



Agreed.

The 'set-dressing' on some of the later fights feels very similar. All that months of mo-cap work goes a long way making it all animate convincingly on top of looking the part.


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Senua-s-Saga-Hellblade-II-2024-05-22-23-58-54.png
 
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What are people talking about Horizon is mega open world game with lots going on the other is empty linear.Lets make the comparison when an linear PlayStation exclusive comes out
 
Kind of a pointless comparison.

Reminds me of VFXVeteran claiming the announcement trailer of HFW was CGI and HB2 reveal trailer was real-time. Lol
 
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This is the Kratos looking motherfucker from the start of HB2. Just an incidental NPC that's only on screen for a few moments.

HB2 has spoiled graphics for other games for me.



GOWoKwdXsAE6TBW
 
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