What is the best looking game out so far?

tommib said:
As if anyone knew Returnal's resolution until DF came with their pixel counting. Returnal is still my go-to game if I want to get that next-gen feeling. Just the speed that you move through those rooms (sprint always on) with the thousands of particles exploding and the fluid simulations filling up the screen completely does it for me. Im always in awe.
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Biome 2 is muddy and low res. There are plenty of points where it looks closer to last gen than this one.

Particle effects are great and it's a good game, but it's nowhere close to the best looking game of this gen.
 
To be honest I'm still impressed with Doom 2016 and it's 6 years old.

Sadly, graphics don't seem to be much better than this:
HDfZqQl.jpg

s8WM9um.jpg

xDYtP3B.jpg


So far, everything in this thread looks comparable to a 6 year old game. They look like they belong from the same generation.
 
Ogbert said:
Biome 2 is muddy and low res. There are plenty of points where it looks closer to last gen than this one.

Particle effects are great and it's a good game, but it's nowhere close to the best looking game of this gen.
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I didn't say it was best-looking just that the technology behind it feels new or next-gen or whatever you want to call it. And I'm not alone. A lot of tech reviewers put Returnal last year on their list for top graphics. Including GAF's darlings DF.
 
remember_spinal said:
You didn't actually post anything interacting with the water though. The big waves in horizon look just as good, your user name suits you

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The jump in the way water looks and interacts between the original and fw felt massive to me. It was as if someone at GG got really upset with how they implemented water in the first game and spent the entire Dev cycle making it look this nice
 
tommib said:
I didn't say it was best-looking just that the technology behind it feels new or next-gen or whatever you want to call it. And I'm not alone. A lot of tech reviewers put Returnal last year on their list for top graphics. Including GAF's darlings DF.
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Fair enough.

There are certainly moments where it looks wonderful. And the particle technology can be mesmerising (just like Resogun).

I just found that for every moment where I said 'wow', there was another where I thought it looked a bit rough round the edges.
 
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Hobbygaming said:
Nice pics but I was only trying to show the density of the rock formations up close 😄

I have some ok shots

KkpbFAr.jpg
sep8NQ0.jpg
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You want rocks? You get rocks

f5rfIh2.png

eqKn5zb.png



Honestly whoever has doubts about hfw being at least top 3 doesn't need to go further than reeeeee photo topic for the game.
 
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It`s about time for RT to become the standard for GI, and AO at least.
Even something as highly praised as HFW looks like crap the moment there is no direct light. In motion CP2077 with cranked up RT settings looks a generation ahead of the competition despite its asset quality actually being lower in many instances.
 
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Haggard said:
It`s about time for RT to become the standard for GI, and AO at least.
Even something as highly praised as HFW looks like crap the moment there is no direct light. In motion CP2077 with cranked up RT settings looks a generation ahead of the competition despite its asset quality actually being lower in many instances.
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Nothing inside cyberpunk is a gen ahead of some pics in this very topic, cmon with the hyperbole dude.
 
OZ9000 said:
To be honest I'm still impressed with Doom 2016 and it's 6 years old.

Sadly, graphics don't seem to be much better than this:
HDfZqQl.jpg

s8WM9um.jpg

xDYtP3B.jpg


So far, everything in this thread looks comparable to a 6 year old game. They look like they belong from the same generation.
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Looks better than Eternal imo... and is better
 
Ogbert said:
Biome 2 is muddy and low res. There are plenty of points where it looks closer to last gen than this one.

Particle effects are great and it's a good game, but it's nowhere close to the best looking game of this gen.
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Yup. I'm a bit confused by all the mentions of Returnal. It's not bad looking but nowhere near the best ever IMO
It has cool particle effects and nice art direction but other than that it didn't really impress me with the visuals, specially for a next gen only $70 first party game. Parts like the second Biome look straight up like a AA game at times.
 
GymWolf said:
Nothing inside cyberpunk is a gen ahead of some pics in this very topic, cmon with the hyperbole dude.
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I explicitly stated "in motion" and I'm ofc talking about the PC version.
Still pictures might not look too special in comparisons, but the coherence in games without good RT lighting, including games like HFW, just falls apart the moment things move around and direct lighting is absent.
And it could easily take till next gen on consoles to have that kind of lighting as standard if combo-systems like lumen turn out to be too resource intensive after all.
So until ue5 or similar actually produces results on consoles in that regard I'll stand behind my words.
 
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Haggard said:
I explicitly stated "in motion" and I'm ofc talking about the PC version.
Still pictures might not look too special in comparisons, but the coherence in games without good RT lighting, including games like HFW, just falls apart the moment things move around and direct lighting is absent.
And it could easily take till next gen on consoles to have that kind of lighting as standard if combo-systems like lumen turn out to be too resource intensive after all.
So until ue5 or similar actually produces results on consoles in that regard I'll stand behind my words.
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I'm playing the pc version as we speak and the only thing i don't have turned on is rtx on psycho and the sun shadows, and no, the difference between him and something like hfw is not the same you can see between i don't know, infamous 2 and 3, a real generational difference.

And before you speak about diminishing returns, go see the latest nvidia demo and compare that with the most advanced rally game on the market...we are far from not being capable to see a generational difference in games...

So sorry but a single graphical aspect (rtx) being vastly better doesn't make a game a generation ahead, because if that is the case cyberpunk is pretty lacking on some graphical aspects like animations and most human models compared to the best stuff out there, but it doesn't make the game a gen behind, isn't?
 
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Hard to choose only one :pie_thinking:

Best stylised graphics:
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Best realistic / semi-realistic graphics:
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- The Last of Us: Part 1 & 2
- Cyberpunk 2077 (PC version) on second thought - mainly technically and some character models but overall I'm not very impressed by the way it looks.

Best graphics in a racing game:
- Gran Turismo 7 (on PS5)
- Forza Horizon 5 (on PC or Xbox Series X in 30fps mode)
 
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Tbh I don't understand why people think CP2077 is actually a good looking game. The best the game looked was in the intro (primarily because it was all indoor). Downhill after that I'm afraid.

It looks horrendous in the open world areas. It could really do with some better post processing. On occasions it very much like a last gen game. Texture work is god awful.
 
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Emet_bp said:
Hard to choose only one :pie_thinking:

Best stylised graphics:
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Best realistic / semi-realistic graphics:
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- The Last of Us: Part 1 & 2
- Cyberpunk 2077 (PC version)

Best graphics in a racing game:
- Gran Turismo 7 (on PS5)
- Forza Horizon 5 (on PC or Xbox Series X in 30fps mode)
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GT7 running at native 4K has been overlooked in this thread. The light diffusion is gorgeous and the ray-traced replays are jaw-dropping. There are breathtaking sunsets in that game and the night driving is quite something as well. There was a lot of downplaying even before the game launched and the narrative is still running wild.
 
GymWolf said:
I'm playing the pc version as we speak and the only thing i don't have turned on is rtx on psycho and the sun shadows, and no, the difference between him and something like hfw is not the same you can see between i don't know, infamous 2 and 3, a real generational difference.

And before you speak about diminishing returns, go see the latest nvidia demo and compare that with the most advanced rally game on the market...we are far from not being capable to see a generational difference in games...

So sorry but a single graphical aspect (rtx) being vastly better doesn't make a game a generation ahead, because if that is the case cyberpunk is pretty lacking on some graphical aspects like animations and most human models compared to the best stuff out there, but it doesn't make the game a gen behind, isn't?
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I´ll leave you to your semantics. Lighting is the single most important graphical aspect which makes or breaks the coherence of a CGI world, and we obviously have different opinions about the weight this has.
 
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tommib said:
GT7 running at native 4K has been overlooked in this thread. The light diffusion is gorgeous and the ray-traced replays are jaw-dropping. There are breathtaking sunsets in that game and the night driving is quite something as well. There was a lot of downplaying even before the game launched and the narrative is still running wild.
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Also second to none car models with best materials and transparent glass / plastic rendering (headlights, taillights etc.), especially noticable on the classic cars. Only game that tired to make it looking like in GT7 (well.. GT had it since the GTHD Demo on the PS3 but right now it's even more polished) was the DriveClub and at smaller degree NFS: HP made by Criterion Games.
 
Haggard said:
I´ll leave you to your semantics. Lighting is the single most important graphical aspect which makes or breaks the coherence of a picture, and we obviously have different opinions about the weight this has.
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I only use pointless semantics when i read pointless hyperboles.

Characters moving like robots or having subpar animations breaks the immersion in the same way for me, so yeah we put different weight in what actually break immersion\coherence or not.

Agree to disagree i guess.
 
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For Console - Forbidden West looks stunning.

On PC... honestly, I'd say Cyberpunk 2077. The Ray Tracing in that game is amazing given that neon is everywhere. It may not have the best textures, but it is a looker.
 
There are a lot. But from recent years if i pick one it would be Ghost of Tsushima. The art, the colors, everything together just create an incredible visual masterpiece.
 
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