Wait, is Ubisoft the last AAA company that consistently push visuals?

Gaiff

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Sony used to be among those, but their offerings just aren't impressive anymore. GOY, DS2, and Spider-Man 2 get outdone by games that are years old.

- CDPR has released one game in the last 5 years and TW4 is still very far away.

- Rockstar releases one game every 8 years, so no.

- Crytek is MIA.

- DICE has foregone advanced visual features in BF6 to appeal to a broader spectrum of machines.

The only one other one I see with an argument is Remedy with Control in 2018 and Alan Wake 2 in 2023, and presumably another game coming up within the next 3 years.

Otherwise, Ubisoft has:

2025: Assassin's Creed Shadows
2024: Star Wars Outlaws
2023: Frontiers of Pandora

There's also a rumor of a Black Flag remaster/remake coming out in the first half of 2026.

So, are they the only big devs regularly releasing AAA games that push graphics forward? It doesn't change the fact that their games aren't good, but we have to give credit to their technical/graphics engineers and visual artists.
 
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If by "visuals" you mean a screenshot of a game, then probably. If you mean a game in motion, then you're short changing a few studios.
 
Loomy said:
If by "visuals" you mean a screenshot of a game, then probably. If you mean a game in motion, then you're short changing a few studios.
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Aside from Game Science with Black Myth Wukong, what other studios from Asia regularly release games with impressive visuals?
Loomy said:
If by "visuals" you mean a screenshot of a game, then probably. If you mean a game in motion, then you're short changing a few studios.
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Their games look great in motion too.
 
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Add what March Climber March Climber says and that pretty much sums it up nicely. Although there are some really nice UE5 games on occasion, they almost always require modding the effects to look good.

Now, if only Ubi games were as fun and good as they look, thatd be great.
 
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For recent or upcoming ones, Tides of Annihilation looks amazing graphic/animation wise from the East and Space Marine 2 also looked amazing in graphics and animation from the West.
 
People shit on Ubisoft a lot, and in most cases rightfully so. But their in-house tech is usally pretty good. Also apparently pretty good to work with. I know that people like to point at Unity as a negative example, which was true at launch. But after the patches, it is still a very pretty game. And it's 11 years old...
 
March Climber said:
If you mean western, probably yes. However you are missing the recent Chinese and Korean dev projects.
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Theyre just using UE5 with basic stuff. Hardware raytracing on UE5 is a massive dud still, haven't played a game with it that didnt stutter like a bitch, Wukong included.

Gaiff said:
Crytek is MIA
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Sure, but KCD2 is using cryengine and it looks/performs really well even if it doesnt push the graphics to next-gen.

Gaiff said:
TW4 is still very far away.
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Will be using UE5, I have big doubts about their future projects despite their games being my favorite games of all time.

So...yeah...Massive and Ubisoft despite making okay games, have indeed pushed their visuals to the next level.
 
You don't consider Id Tech with their implementation of hardware accelerated RTGI into their engine pushing visuals? Indiana Jones and Doom: The Dark Ages look pretty good. I know Machine Games made Indy but they are all under the same Bethesda/Microsoft umbrella.
 
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Crytek's most recent offering were the Crysis Remasters and they are currently developing Crysis 4.

In terms of graphics, how could you forget id and Machine Games? The new Dooms and Wolfenstein's look incredible and have crazy performance optimization.
 
The Cockatrice said:
Theyre just using UE5 with basic stuff. Hardware raytracing on UE5 is a massive dud still, haven't played a game with it that didnt stutter like a bitch, Wukong included.


Sure, but KCD2 is using cryengine and it looks/performs really well even if it doesnt push the graphics to next-gen.



Will be using UE5, I have big doubts about their future projects despite their games being my favorite games of all time.

So...yeah...Massive and Ubisoft despite making okay games, have indeed pushed their visuals to the next level.
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I mean...if we're going to instantly disqualify any UE5 project then there's even less of a point to this thread.

Might as well be merged with this one:

 
Cutting-edge graphics are Sony's specialty; Intergalactic will be incredible and will only be surpassed by another Sony game, perhaps on the PS6.
Outside of Sony, you're dependent on multiplatform games like those from Ubisoft and Remedy.
 
Varteras said:
OH SHIIIIIIT! IT'S TIME FOR A SHOT-OFF! POST THEM SCREENS, BOYS!!! *

* - Posting in all caps doesn't make you look cool. You look like a tool. Use it sparingly, kids.
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No cherry picked glamour shots. Post video. Otherwise it just becomes an Uncharted 4 "Drakes House" situation.
 
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Varteras said:
OH SHIIIIIIT! IT'S TIME FOR A SHOT-OFF! POST THEM SCREENS, BOYS!!! *

* - Posting in all caps doesn't make you look cool. You look like a tool. Use it sparingly, kids.
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Pi4RsFaNVJtm2bRO.jpeg
 
I was going to push back on this... but actually I think you're right.

  • Remedy pushes visuals but they aren't an AAA company as far as size and sales targets go
  • Same can be said for Ninja Theory
  • Same can be said for MachineGames
  • Same can be said for ID Software

The only other devs that might qualify are Insomniac (arguably not pushing the bar any more but we'll see with Wolverine), Naughty Dog (Intergalactic hasn't impressed but Naughty Dog has always come through), and Guerilla (this is probably the closest match to what you're describing).
 
Ribi said:
Push visuals? They went BACKWARDS from AC unity.
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AC Unity was the best-looking AC games up until Shadows supplanted it. It was just not possible to have this quality of lighting with the map sizes of subsequent games and dynamic day/night cycles and weather. Shadows with RTGI surpasses Unity when it comes to lighting and everything else such as the weather, foliage, particles, snow, material quality, etc, are far beyond Unity.
Ribi said:
You want visuals look at PC only studios
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Those still exist?
 
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Their technical prowess is completely wasted on the games they produce. But yes, they seem to push out great visuals on a consistent basis.

I even considered getting Pandora for the visuals alone at some point, but then my sanity came back to me.
 
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Didn't Crytek develop (and continues to develop) Hunt: Showdown?

You seem to be defining "pushing visuals" as photorealism. I think that sort of dour aesthetic is falling out of favor, and for good reason. If people wanted "real life" they wouldn't be playing video games.
 
Gaiff said:
Sony used to be among those, but their offerings just aren't impressive anymore. GOY, DS2, and Spider-Man 2 get outdone by games that are years old.

- CDPR has released on game in the last 5 years and TW4 is still very far away.

- Rockstar releases one game every 8 years, so no.

- Crytek is MIA.

- DICE has foregone advanced visual features in BF6 to appeal to a broader spectrum of machines.

The only one other one I see with an argument is Remedy with Control in 2018 and Alan Wake 2 in 2023, and presumably another game coming up within the next 3 years.

Otherwise, Ubisoft has:

2025: Assassin's Creed Shadows
2024: Star Wars Outlaws
2023: Frontiers of Pandora

There's also a rumor of a Black Flag remaster/remake coming out in the first half of 2026.

So, are they the only big devs regularly releasing AAA games that push graphics forward? It doesn't change the fact that their games aren't good, but we have to give credit to their technical/graphics engineers and visual artists.
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Yes, on a technical side Ubisoft have always been up there. AC Unity was still one of the best looking games last gen too. Where Ubisoft sometimes lacks is in polish.
 
lastmessiah said:
Didn't Crytek develop (and continues to develop) Hunt: Showdown?

You seem to be defining "pushing visuals" as photorealism. I think that sort of dour aesthetic is falling out of favor, and for good reason. If people wanted "real life" they wouldn't be playing video games.
Click to expand...

This isn't an artstyle appreciation thread. Every single game posted in here is attempting to look photo realistic.
 
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Gaiff said:
Sony used to be among those, but their offerings just aren't impressive anymore. GOY, DS2, and Spider-Man 2 get outdone by games that are years old.
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What the fuck?

What do you find unimpressive about them?

Ubisoft games have been rather mid visually and usually have bad performance on top of that. The Sony games (SM2 and The Last of Us PC excluded. they run poorly) have excellent visuals and superb performance.

I don't know what you are smoking.
 
Assassins Creed Shadows only looks great at 30fps on consoles (even the Pro). Compare the 60fps modes of HFW and DS2 and it can't compete. Screenshot warriors be damned.

R&C and Spider-Man 2 are also far more impressive at 60fps on console.
 
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What???? I don't know what alternate dimension this thread is from, but right now there's literally nothing, not even on PC:that looks better graphically than Death Stranding 2 on the PS5 Pro.
Even on the base PS5 it's already impressive. And this is coming from someone who owns a high-end PC.
 
xanaum said:
What???? I don't know what alternate dimension this thread is from, but right now there's literally nothing, not even on PC:that looks better graphically than Death Stranding 2 on the PS5 Pro.
Even on the base PS5 it's already impressive. And this is coming from someone who owns a high-end PC.
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Cant See Cheech Marin GIF
 
Visuals I rarely doubt Ubisoft studios.
SnowDrop and Anvil almost always look amazing.
Dunia hasnt impressed me since I think FC4.
Disrupt in Legion looked good but not so much in WatchDogs 2.

GoldenEye98 said:
Outlaws is "pushing visuals"?
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Outlaws at full tilt is absolutely stunning.
It was one of the first games to actually use RTXDI.

 
You got a point. Their Snowdrop engine specially is really impressive

To bad all Ubi actual games are total ass.. so personally I dont really count them
 
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