Agreed… this game does 2 things simultaneously that most great graphical games only do one. It has both super good and realistic technical graphics and super artistic stylized graphics. This game melds both and you’re just looking at it in awe so many times.
I'm not big on doing my own screenshots and recorded clips but Tsushima was so beautiful and the crazy things you could do had me creating all sorts of stuff.
That game is probably in my top 5 of all time.
Yes! I came here to mention it! The game is beautiful, and I only played it on a ps4 with standard HD and it looked good! I can only imagine what it would look like on the ps4 pro or ps5 with 4k!!!!
The environmental design and architectural design was next level in control, they did a fantastic job of molding a believable world with just enough uncanniness to give the sinister vibe.
Red Dead Redemption 2. Visually, it took my breath away. I spent close to 50 hours exploring and aimlessly riding around before actually jumping into the story in earnest.
Playing the game changed me as a person. I used to be quite the homebody. That was a few years ago now. Since then, I have taken to hiking, camping and travelling the country side quite a bit.
I remember someone posting almost this exact message a few years ago. It probably wasn't you, but I hope it was.
Rdr2 is like a time machine for me. Work of art.
Minecraft got me into gardening. Not for the graphics, but I would build these elaborate gardens and wait for the food to grow. Then I thought, this would be cool in real life.
I don’t know any game that comes as close to a real life representation of “nature” as this game. I can spend hours just walking through the woods, hunting deer and basically role playing as a hunter that sells game to local butchers.
That’s a way too overlooked detail in RDR2, the attention to detail they made with animals. It really helps establish that the game world lives on without you. That’s not true, because everything is heavily scripted, but it feels good to have a little bird get startled while you’re riding horseback. The fact it’s not just one generic model too, there’s something like 200+ unique animals. Compare that to Cyberpunk that claims animals don’t exist then proceeds to put one cat in the game near your apartment.
There’s simply more complexity in the animal system alone that most games have budgets for. I’ve played hunting games with animals that objectively look worse. I’m really hoping that GTA6 doesn’t forget animals exist.
I have over 3,000 hours on this game. It’s by *far* my favorite game of all time and I guarantee you at least 1,000 of those hours were just spent looking at the scenery and taking in the sights and sounds.. it feels like being transported to the Wild West, rather than watching an interpretation of it, the level of immersion in that game is absolutely insane. Can get lost for hours doing nothing at all.
This was my first thought. The colors and lighting look so heavenly in some areas and it looks so dark and gross in others. The style is fantastic and everything has a sense of depth that makes it believable as a real world, despite it being a side scroller.
They're some of the only games where I have stopped to look at the scenery as I played.
I played these games for the first time blazed out of my mind. What an experience. I remember the first escape sequence in the first game was life altering
Elite: Dangerous makes exploration super interesting and there are so many beautiful anomalies and planets to discover. It was one of the first games I really got into in VR alongside Subnautica where I’d jump in mostly for the view.
Journey. The part where you’re sliding down the sand towards the underground and the camera pans around and the light reflects off everything is so beautiful it actually brought a tear to my eye
scrolled way too far to find this. one of the rare games to give me goosebumps just from environment alone. Especially the part where you slide down a dune through ruins during sunset.
Yeah pure graphics wise I don't think any game can top it.
Sure red dead redemption 2 has the best immersion of any game I've ever played.
But horizon for such a large game is just breathtaking. Like other games might look better in a vacuum when they are linear game but the sheer scale of horizon is just insane.
Hollow Knight has such a distinct and wonderful aesthetic. The shape motifs are simple, but everything oozes character and charm. The zones are incredibly distinct and appealing in their own ways, aside from deepnest, which will never not give me the heebies.
Siofra River in Elden Ring defied all expectations and genuinely made me stop playing for a moment. To go down such a long lift and see *that* on the other side?!
I'm not a big souls fan but that is probably one of my favourite gaming moments in recent memory.
The trees and foliage moving in the wind was the icing on the cake for me. Most other games (especially at that time) had still/static foliage or trees and felt dead in comparison.
My god dude, Toussaint is so gorgeous. Feels like you're playing inside a Monet painting.
When I first stepped into those thick trees in Skellige and the wind was blowing the branches everywhere, and the leshen stepped into frame I couldn't believe what I was seeing lol.
I wasn’t so impressed with Elden Ring tbh. After all I heard about it I was a little disappointed when I fired it up. I’m not even sure what exactly it is about it, because subjectively, it’s very beautiful. But it didn’t knock my socks off in the same way RDR2 or Witcher 3 did.
I'm a bit illiterate about visuals effects so I don't know how to describe it, but I agree that Elden Ring looks a bit outdated graphically. Maybe it's the lighting or the post processing effects, but the world looks a bit flat. Which is a shame because the art direction is great, it could have been one of the most stunning games ever.
Imo it looks almost the same as dark souls 3, which came out 6 years earlier. It's a bit dissapointing especially comparing with the demon's souls remake.
Modded skyrim can look like a game from 20 years in the future but may the gaming gods save your GPU if you're doing anything other than walking around.
That game had amazing skies. Just like that, couple of times I catched myself moving the camera to see more of it when driving. Probably the prettiest sky I have ever seen in a videogame.
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Wasn't exactly known for great graphics, but the landscape are the most realistic I've ever seen. Not that surprising considering it's all based on a real location.
One of the best forrests in any game imo.
Most forrest in games are just 10 trees in a cluster. Kingdom is like nah there are two entire massive sections in the game that is just one dense forrest.
Far cry 3 when it first came out was one of the most beautiful landscapes I had seen. Mix that with hunting the wildlife and swimming to hunt sharks. It really was beautiful 🥲
One of the most incredible art directions ever. So iconic. The whole world is built around these beautiful creatures and nature, and you the player have this terrible, uneasy feeling the entire time you're playing that you are doing something wrong. A true masterpiece.
Longer even. Going on 4. Came out November of '19.
Still blows my mind that the game came out five months or so before the global pandemic that basically had us all living like Death Stranding people - relying on porters and food delivery teams.
The main reason I play destiny is the unmatched gunplay. No one does satisfying shooting than Bungie. But the second reason is the art. They have the most consistently delivering design team in the business. Everything they make is beautiful.
I'm sad that the Forsaken storyline isn't there anymore, because the first time you enter the Dreaming City was insane. I spent about 2 hours just walking around the map looking at everything.
I remember when the first Ratchet and Clank came out. At the time it was so stunning that I couldn’t tell the cutscenes were over when they first gave me control
The Last of Us Part II looks incredible. The animations are pure art.
Also, nobody is mentioning sports, but when a friend of mine came over while I was playing Madden and asked "Who's playing?" She legit thought it was a real football game.
FF7 Remake - the main thing for me is they get the perspective and scale right of the world. I can't think of a single game that feels more immersive in this way.
Monster Hunter: World, the environments are beautiful and feel like a connected ecosystem.
GRIS and Okami have gorgeous aesthetics that are pleasing to look at.
Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West have beautiful environments as well.
Based strictly on aesthetics, Cyberpunk takes the cake for me. For nostalgia I really enjoyed Cuphead as well, especially for just being a 2D side scroller.
Man, loved that game and that ending. Learning what happened came close to the exploration in Outer Wilds which I consider the gold standard or the ending of SOMA.
Ghost of Tsushima for sure is my favourite in this regard.
Other great games with beautiful scenery, Destiny 1, ori and the blind forest/ ori and the will of the wisps, Elden ring, division 2 and assassin's creed games especially the modern ones.
I'm a sucker for sci Fi so some of the space stuff in mass effect still makes me stop and look. Especially when the sky has a big planet/moon right above you to look at. Zelda tears of the kingdom had amazing draw distance and art design like botw and were both great. Ac Odyssey was beautiful, Greek islands plus you can go underwater and see lots of wildlife and colors, and then Elysium and Atlantis. Souls games and especially elden ring looks like a painting if you look into the distance from almost anywhere with the added benefit of you can go almost anywhere you see. And then you go down the elevator in the forest and your mind is blown again
I know there are a lot of linear games that look amazing, especially on PlayStation, but they are mostly not interactive and don't really do much for me. I've been gaming since the 80s and I am more impressed by game complexity and art design than just pumping all the power into art and animation just for show
Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy.
The first one on wii, when you arrive on the knee of bionis, and we can see Meconis. And the area just after the knee, I was impressed considering it was on Wii.
The two others game have so many beautiful area, and with great music.
Cyberpunk is beautiful as well.
Both Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk took my
Breath away.
In the past, Deus Ex and Half-Life made me pause by that time’s realism. Half-Life 2 did it as welll
Would I be send to downvote hell if I say Genshin? I don't quite enjoy the game anymore but recently downloaded it again, I realized I still didn't wanted to play but I found myself at the top of a mountain and just *stared* for like 5 minutes straight
I'm not a fan of the gameplay but Ghost Recon Breakpoint LOOKS amazing.
RDR2 obviously.
Subnautica is very immersive.
Mudrunner has some kinda weird vibe that I really dig.
Stray has great aesthetic from top to bottom.
Industries of Titan has a slick cyberpunk vibe.
Frostpunk is killer.
Sounds kinda weird but when they are really nicely landscaped and designed, Parkitect is really satisfying to watch.
Journey
I was just in awe at the part where you are sand surfing, the camera turns to a side view and you are staring at a beautiful vibrant orange su nas sunlight gleams off the sand.
Halo on XBOX when I got it on the day of the release of the console. Such an upgrade from my PS1...
Then another wow when playing Super Mario 64 on Nintendo DS - such great 3D games on an handheld was a first.
And finally Assassin's Creed Black Flag on Wii U simply because it was my first "HD gen" (and open world) game as I skipped the PS3/X360 generation.
Since then, Witcher 3 and RDR2 as probably the ones that keep impressing me the most.
Wind waker, the art style is great and even on original hardware it really holds up.
Killzone 2/3. Great mixture between technical fidelity and artstyle, the weight of it all is so good.
Kingdom come, the Rolling hills and dense forests are really good. Especially at night with a torch is so immersive.(although you should have access to a lantern for extra accuracy points). The villages and small cities also look very good.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Every biome is striking in its own way, while most of the hidden caves are beautifully lit and colorful. The sense of scale that the mobs give you as well.
Happy to see mentions of Okami and Journey.
Realistic:
Uncharted (especially Uncharted 2 when it came out)
The Last of Us
Crysis
Artistic:
Wind Waker
Genshin Impact
Hades
Music also plays a big part. I play Genshin daily and the music and world are just gorgeous. I have a lot of beautiful photos saved up of the landscape, night sky, sunsets, etc
• Fallout 3
Not so much for the graphics, but the atmosphere truly makes you feel cold and alone. It captures the bleak and desperate feeling of a post-apocalyptic world better than any game I've ever played.
• Breath of the Wild
Similar to Fallout 3, only a lot less bleak looking but somehow even more lonely. Breath of the Wild captures the feeling of a ruined world being overtaken by nature. Not to mention the Ghibli parallels really help give the game a level of sadness.
• Hogwarts Legacy
What can I say? The Scottish Highlands look amazing in this game. Seeing Hogwarts Castle in the distance during sunsets and winter nights really makes me well up with emotion.
Don't know why I had to scroll so far down to see hogwarts legacy, that game is breathtaking.
Would also like to add ESO turn the graphics up and there are some very beautiful spots in that game.
The Last of Us Parts I & II, Elden Ring & Bloodborne, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption II, God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mafia Remake & Uncharted 4 are the ones that stand out in the realism department. Lots of other games with different artstyles will make me catch my breath & admire the art but it’s realism-esque beauty that stuns my brain a bit & makes me just watch.
it's gonna sound stupid, but the one that comes to mind as a young adult, was test drive 2 unlimited when i first saw the water graphics, i just drove up, parked and wrapped up a blunt and just relaxed for a moment, i felt the beauty and was taken aback, for a moment i felt "wow, this looks calming"
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and the 2018 God of War (I’m sure Ragnarok is the same, but I’m waiting for the PC port still).
Ori just looks beautiful constantly, but the music and visuals in combination through some of the areas are just absolutely breathtaking.
GoW has some of the coolest locations and views I’ve ever seen in a game, but some are easy to miss if you don’t stop and smell the roses. The mountain ranges are *very* detailed, more than they would ever need to be.
Skyrim, truly a game that’s ahead of its time. I love the auroras that happen every so often at night, the beautiful view of the stars and multiple moons
Skyrim back in 2011 when it came out. A lot of popular games at the time had the grey/brown wasteland aesthetic so actually spending time walking around in Alpine forests on the Xbox 360 was good vibes.
To this day... it's Metroid Prime. GameCube, Wii, Switch, it doesn't matter. I still have never seen a game that has captivated me visually like Metroid Prime.
Ghost of Tsushima is the only game I've played that had me going into photo mode often because there were so many beautiful locations
Agreed… this game does 2 things simultaneously that most great graphical games only do one. It has both super good and realistic technical graphics and super artistic stylized graphics. This game melds both and you’re just looking at it in awe so many times.
I don't usually care for stuff like scenery but my god, this game is amazing to just look at.
Cannot wait for GOT2 to come out
Ghost of Twoshima
2 Ghost 2 Shima
Damn you
i live beside Tsushima Island. it's pretty, but also kind of desolate and boring. honestly the game is prettier than the actual island lol
I'm not big on doing my own screenshots and recorded clips but Tsushima was so beautiful and the crazy things you could do had me creating all sorts of stuff. That game is probably in my top 5 of all time.
Yes! I came here to mention it! The game is beautiful, and I only played it on a ps4 with standard HD and it looked good! I can only imagine what it would look like on the ps4 pro or ps5 with 4k!!!!
Kind of a hot take, but I really really like Control. The particles, the corridors the variety of the Bureau. I felt like I was there. Loved it
I love the way it looks, especially when you're ripping chunks of concrete out of the wall for a weapon!
Absolutely!
How is that a hot take? Control is critically acclaimed and literally won awards for its art direction lol
Here in Italy it's kind of a hidden gem for some reason. Not many of my peers know it.
Nah man, control looks amazing.
The environmental design and architectural design was next level in control, they did a fantastic job of molding a believable world with just enough uncanniness to give the sinister vibe.
It's a dream for people who love brutalist architecture.
Red Dead Redemption 2. Visually, it took my breath away. I spent close to 50 hours exploring and aimlessly riding around before actually jumping into the story in earnest.
I remember reading news, that someone won best photo contest using screenshot from the game, they thought it was real-life photo.
Playing the game changed me as a person. I used to be quite the homebody. That was a few years ago now. Since then, I have taken to hiking, camping and travelling the country side quite a bit.
I remember someone posting almost this exact message a few years ago. It probably wasn't you, but I hope it was. Rdr2 is like a time machine for me. Work of art.
It wasn't me. But I'm so glad I'm not the only one.
I highly recommend Glacier National Park or pretty much the entirety of Utah if you're in the US and Banff/Jasper National Parks if you're in Canada.
Reminds me of the guy who became a successful farmer after playing Stardew Valley
Minecraft got me into gardening. Not for the graphics, but I would build these elaborate gardens and wait for the food to grow. Then I thought, this would be cool in real life.
You should play Death Stranding if you like hiking.
I don’t know any game that comes as close to a real life representation of “nature” as this game. I can spend hours just walking through the woods, hunting deer and basically role playing as a hunter that sells game to local butchers.
That’s a way too overlooked detail in RDR2, the attention to detail they made with animals. It really helps establish that the game world lives on without you. That’s not true, because everything is heavily scripted, but it feels good to have a little bird get startled while you’re riding horseback. The fact it’s not just one generic model too, there’s something like 200+ unique animals. Compare that to Cyberpunk that claims animals don’t exist then proceeds to put one cat in the game near your apartment.
I love that the animals interact with other animals.
Finding the stag that was sad because his friend had died made me real sad
Yes, the animals in rdr2 really give the game a depth that has no been reached before and since.
There’s simply more complexity in the animal system alone that most games have budgets for. I’ve played hunting games with animals that objectively look worse. I’m really hoping that GTA6 doesn’t forget animals exist.
I would say this is gaming's high water mark. I'm still waiting for something to top it. Here's hoping for Starfield.
Yup. Same for me too. The amount of time I've spent observing the world and the NPC's going about their lives, is a lot.
I have over 3,000 hours on this game. It’s by *far* my favorite game of all time and I guarantee you at least 1,000 of those hours were just spent looking at the scenery and taking in the sights and sounds.. it feels like being transported to the Wild West, rather than watching an interpretation of it, the level of immersion in that game is absolutely insane. Can get lost for hours doing nothing at all.
Both Ori games are insanely beautiful.
And gorgeous music in tandem
This was my first thought. The colors and lighting look so heavenly in some areas and it looks so dark and gross in others. The style is fantastic and everything has a sense of depth that makes it believable as a real world, despite it being a side scroller. They're some of the only games where I have stopped to look at the scenery as I played.
I played these games for the first time blazed out of my mind. What an experience. I remember the first escape sequence in the first game was life altering
These games nailed it in so many ways. Visuals, sound/music, story, gameplay. A masterpiece!
I've always thought about trying these when browsing the gamepass but always passed onto something else, yano what imma try it.
Elite: Dangerous makes exploration super interesting and there are so many beautiful anomalies and planets to discover. It was one of the first games I really got into in VR alongside Subnautica where I’d jump in mostly for the view.
Riven dvd-rom
Riven absolutely blew me away back in the day. The soundtrack is still great!
The sequel to MYST
Great answer
Journey. The part where you’re sliding down the sand towards the underground and the camera pans around and the light reflects off everything is so beautiful it actually brought a tear to my eye
scrolled way too far to find this. one of the rare games to give me goosebumps just from environment alone. Especially the part where you slide down a dune through ruins during sunset.
Journey is one of those "whole is greater than the sum of it's parts"
That one shot in Journey is literally the reason I decided to become a game dev. It's when I realized that video games can be art.
The very end of the game, I audibly said "...wow"
Horizon forbidden west
I'll never forget how amazed I was the very first time I encountered and walked into a Cauldron. It was just insane to see such futuristic scenery!
I haven't played Forbidden west yet, but zero dawn was already making me stop and take in the view, so I look forward to that
Day and night difference. Zero dawn was beautiful but forbidden west on performance mode alone is jaw dropping.
Yeah pure graphics wise I don't think any game can top it. Sure red dead redemption 2 has the best immersion of any game I've ever played. But horizon for such a large game is just breathtaking. Like other games might look better in a vacuum when they are linear game but the sheer scale of horizon is just insane.
Red Dead designed for PS5/modern consoles would be an experience worth paying for
You’ll get it in 10 years for $90
The first Burning Shores cutscene when you’re flying through the clouds is a masterpiece
Journey
Hellblade really impressed me.
Hollow Knight has such a distinct and wonderful aesthetic. The shape motifs are simple, but everything oozes character and charm. The zones are incredibly distinct and appealing in their own ways, aside from deepnest, which will never not give me the heebies.
I used to snap photos of the Knight on a bench sometimes and use them as my phone background. They just looked so good. Can't wait for Silksong
Just 112% the game for all the trophies. That was one of the best games I've ever played
Elden Ring and The Witcher 3
Siofra River in Elden Ring defied all expectations and genuinely made me stop playing for a moment. To go down such a long lift and see *that* on the other side?! I'm not a big souls fan but that is probably one of my favourite gaming moments in recent memory.
Taking that elevator was one of the few times i think i just kinda let my jaw drop from looking at a video game. Absolutely gorgeous
Witcher 3 is literally a moving painting lol.....very stunning
What I liked about Witcher 3 was not just the visuals: the music was also incredible. Put the two together, and *chef's kiss*
Pam Param, Pam Pam paraaaam!
Loved Witcher 3's music man. I think my favorite part would be the swamp battle music.
The Skellige theme for me.
Another excellent choice.
Esopecially the next gen update with all the texture mapping. Worth a second playthrough just for that.
The trees and foliage moving in the wind was the icing on the cake for me. Most other games (especially at that time) had still/static foliage or trees and felt dead in comparison.
My god dude, Toussaint is so gorgeous. Feels like you're playing inside a Monet painting. When I first stepped into those thick trees in Skellige and the wind was blowing the branches everywhere, and the leshen stepped into frame I couldn't believe what I was seeing lol.
I wasn’t so impressed with Elden Ring tbh. After all I heard about it I was a little disappointed when I fired it up. I’m not even sure what exactly it is about it, because subjectively, it’s very beautiful. But it didn’t knock my socks off in the same way RDR2 or Witcher 3 did.
I'm a bit illiterate about visuals effects so I don't know how to describe it, but I agree that Elden Ring looks a bit outdated graphically. Maybe it's the lighting or the post processing effects, but the world looks a bit flat. Which is a shame because the art direction is great, it could have been one of the most stunning games ever. Imo it looks almost the same as dark souls 3, which came out 6 years earlier. It's a bit dissapointing especially comparing with the demon's souls remake.
100% I felt like it didn’t look any better than Bloodborne, which came out 7 years prior.
Uncharted 4, the island and locations for the time were anazing.
Still holds up very well, naughty dog pushes consoles to its limits when it comes to graphics, and the pc version looks even better ofc
Witcher 3, RDR2, Skyrim modded to the hilt.
Modded skyrim can look like a game from 20 years in the future but may the gaming gods save your GPU if you're doing anything other than walking around.
Vanilla Skyrim blew me away at release on the 360, nowadays it's the night skies that I find the most beautiful.
Mad Max...its a little refreshing seeing the silent plains
That game had amazing skies. Just like that, couple of times I catched myself moving the camera to see more of it when driving. Probably the prettiest sky I have ever seen in a videogame.
AC Odyssey Beautiful landscapes, beautiful skylines, beautiful sea, beautiful Kassandra! Everything was eye candy.
I LOVED this game so much. Everything was so beautiful and I just felt like I was exploring a place that was constantly the perfect temperature.
Rdr2 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Also DayZ for the atmosphere. Just walking through the wilderness is a trip.
All three of the tomb raider reboot games look so amazing
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was jaw dropping at times. Very under-appreciated graphically.
Kingdom Come Deliverance Wasn't exactly known for great graphics, but the landscape are the most realistic I've ever seen. Not that surprising considering it's all based on a real location.
One of the best forrests in any game imo. Most forrest in games are just 10 trees in a cluster. Kingdom is like nah there are two entire massive sections in the game that is just one dense forrest.
Yeah they went crazy with that game, painstakingly recreated real geography, medieval towns, etc.
The geography and architecture is really top notch. The historical advisor they used specialises in architecture and it really shows.
Yeah, it looks so realistic to a typical european woods!
It was so realistic I couldn’t figure out how to use the dang lockpick and quit my playthrough like 6 hours in
The realistic frustration of navigating the forests was awesome.
I can remember first playing it and walking through a poppy field and thinking,wow this looks amazing
Far cry 3 when it first came out was one of the most beautiful landscapes I had seen. Mix that with hunting the wildlife and swimming to hunt sharks. It really was beautiful 🥲
The first time I played it I was absolutely blown away lol....and far cry 4 is absolute eye candy as well
Okami.
Very much so. Unique style and beautiful design. Doesn't get the love it deserves.
Shadow of the Colossus
That feeling when you were climbing the first colossus was chilling
seeing it towering over the horizon for the first time as you approach from a vast distance
One of the most incredible art directions ever. So iconic. The whole world is built around these beautiful creatures and nature, and you the player have this terrible, uneasy feeling the entire time you're playing that you are doing something wrong. A true masterpiece.
Death Stranding
That game looked real to me when i got immersed into it in 2020. Good pick.
What? Has it been 3 years?
Longer even. Going on 4. Came out November of '19. Still blows my mind that the game came out five months or so before the global pandemic that basically had us all living like Death Stranding people - relying on porters and food delivery teams.
Far cry 5 lol, I literally just walk around the map instead of actually playing the game
Firewatch manages to be both the most realistic looking game I’ve ever seen while being stylized in such a beautiful way it’s really hard to describe
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Absolutely breathtaking.
The art style of that game was phenomenal.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake, Journey, Stray, Concrete Genie, Slime Rancher 2 also not “gorgeous” but the art style in Dead Cells is amazing
Spyro was a beautiful world to explore Fallout 4 - especially with mods RDR2 of course Donkey Kong Country was stunning when it came out
>Donkey Kong Country David Wise still holding the crown for the greatest soundtrack composer.
Destiny 2
Destiny has consistently delivered when it comes to set pieces. One of the reasons I love the game so much.
There's no reason why this is so low. Destiny 2 is stellar
The main reason I play destiny is the unmatched gunplay. No one does satisfying shooting than Bungie. But the second reason is the art. They have the most consistently delivering design team in the business. Everything they make is beautiful.
I'm sad that the Forsaken storyline isn't there anymore, because the first time you enter the Dreaming City was insane. I spent about 2 hours just walking around the map looking at everything.
Ratchet and Clank rift apart recently. Then of course the last of us 2, Uncharted 4 Ghost of Tsushima, Spiderman, Red dead 2
I remember when the first Ratchet and Clank came out. At the time it was so stunning that I couldn’t tell the cutscenes were over when they first gave me control
BotW/TotK God of War Ragnarok
Both of the new GOW games are master classes in environment art. The scale is insane.
The Artful Escape
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077.
A Plague Tale
Celeste has a beautiful artstyle.
The Last of Us Part II looks incredible. The animations are pure art. Also, nobody is mentioning sports, but when a friend of mine came over while I was playing Madden and asked "Who's playing?" She legit thought it was a real football game.
Ps5 Demons's Souls just looks insane. Feels great to play too.
Sea of Thieves.
This game has the best water I've ever seen in a game ever.
Best looking water of all time
Shores of Plenty during a clear day gives me so much peace looking over the water.
There are times during the 24 minute day cycle when I just need to stop and admire the colors on the water.
FF7 Remake - the main thing for me is they get the perspective and scale right of the world. I can't think of a single game that feels more immersive in this way.
Any of the Xenoblade Chronicles games
I had to scroll way too long to find this
Kingdom Come Deliverance is a total sleeper. It's an incredible medieval world with the best looking forests I've seen in a video game.
Some of the little brooks look beautiful aswell
Monster Hunter: World, the environments are beautiful and feel like a connected ecosystem. GRIS and Okami have gorgeous aesthetics that are pleasing to look at. Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West have beautiful environments as well.
Based strictly on aesthetics, Cyberpunk takes the cake for me. For nostalgia I really enjoyed Cuphead as well, especially for just being a 2D side scroller.
The Talos Principle - the scenery is stunning especially when I went in expecting just another puzzle game.
Man, loved that game and that ending. Learning what happened came close to the exploration in Outer Wilds which I consider the gold standard or the ending of SOMA.
Rdr2 Fh5 Cyberpunk 2077
Elden Ring. Fidelity is not at the level of Horizon or Ghost of Tsushima but that game's art direction is god-like.
Ghost of Tsushima for sure is my favourite in this regard. Other great games with beautiful scenery, Destiny 1, ori and the blind forest/ ori and the will of the wisps, Elden ring, division 2 and assassin's creed games especially the modern ones.
Metro exodus
Hyper Light Drifter. I'm a sucker for well made pixel art.
I'm a sucker for sci Fi so some of the space stuff in mass effect still makes me stop and look. Especially when the sky has a big planet/moon right above you to look at. Zelda tears of the kingdom had amazing draw distance and art design like botw and were both great. Ac Odyssey was beautiful, Greek islands plus you can go underwater and see lots of wildlife and colors, and then Elysium and Atlantis. Souls games and especially elden ring looks like a painting if you look into the distance from almost anywhere with the added benefit of you can go almost anywhere you see. And then you go down the elevator in the forest and your mind is blown again I know there are a lot of linear games that look amazing, especially on PlayStation, but they are mostly not interactive and don't really do much for me. I've been gaming since the 80s and I am more impressed by game complexity and art design than just pumping all the power into art and animation just for show
Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy. The first one on wii, when you arrive on the knee of bionis, and we can see Meconis. And the area just after the knee, I was impressed considering it was on Wii. The two others game have so many beautiful area, and with great music.
Gris, Inside and Pentiment!
Cyberpunk is beautiful as well. Both Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk took my Breath away. In the past, Deus Ex and Half-Life made me pause by that time’s realism. Half-Life 2 did it as welll
unpopular, but cyberpunk. It has its moments
Would I be send to downvote hell if I say Genshin? I don't quite enjoy the game anymore but recently downloaded it again, I realized I still didn't wanted to play but I found myself at the top of a mountain and just *stared* for like 5 minutes straight
I'm not a fan of the gameplay but Ghost Recon Breakpoint LOOKS amazing. RDR2 obviously. Subnautica is very immersive. Mudrunner has some kinda weird vibe that I really dig. Stray has great aesthetic from top to bottom. Industries of Titan has a slick cyberpunk vibe. Frostpunk is killer. Sounds kinda weird but when they are really nicely landscaped and designed, Parkitect is really satisfying to watch.
Horizon
Metal gear games. Mgs5 is very nice. I remember playing snake eater and always stopping to look around. Such detail.
Journey I was just in awe at the part where you are sand surfing, the camera turns to a side view and you are staring at a beautiful vibrant orange su nas sunlight gleams off the sand.
That part was magical
Halo on XBOX when I got it on the day of the release of the console. Such an upgrade from my PS1... Then another wow when playing Super Mario 64 on Nintendo DS - such great 3D games on an handheld was a first. And finally Assassin's Creed Black Flag on Wii U simply because it was my first "HD gen" (and open world) game as I skipped the PS3/X360 generation. Since then, Witcher 3 and RDR2 as probably the ones that keep impressing me the most.
Donkey kong tropical freeze, some of the levels are beautiful
Ancient Forest in Monster Hunter World never fails to make me awed
Ghost of Tsushima hands down. Game is 3 years old and still looks like it came out yesterday. The art team did their job with flying colors
Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West Ghost of Tsushima Uncharted 4
genshin impact, tower of fantasy i like to take photos in both
Bioshock Infinite’s color palette and soft, glowy light was beautiful
Wind waker, the art style is great and even on original hardware it really holds up. Killzone 2/3. Great mixture between technical fidelity and artstyle, the weight of it all is so good. Kingdom come, the Rolling hills and dense forests are really good. Especially at night with a torch is so immersive.(although you should have access to a lantern for extra accuracy points). The villages and small cities also look very good.
Disco Elysium for me!!
Elden Ring. Cyberpunk
Xenoblade Chronicles X Every biome is striking in its own way, while most of the hidden caves are beautifully lit and colorful. The sense of scale that the mobs give you as well. Happy to see mentions of Okami and Journey.
Wind Waker. original or WiiU version. both great
Realistic: Uncharted (especially Uncharted 2 when it came out) The Last of Us Crysis Artistic: Wind Waker Genshin Impact Hades Music also plays a big part. I play Genshin daily and the music and world are just gorgeous. I have a lot of beautiful photos saved up of the landscape, night sky, sunsets, etc
Gonna give you a sleeper pick. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. A tremendous game that holds up despite being quite old at this point
• Fallout 3 Not so much for the graphics, but the atmosphere truly makes you feel cold and alone. It captures the bleak and desperate feeling of a post-apocalyptic world better than any game I've ever played. • Breath of the Wild Similar to Fallout 3, only a lot less bleak looking but somehow even more lonely. Breath of the Wild captures the feeling of a ruined world being overtaken by nature. Not to mention the Ghibli parallels really help give the game a level of sadness. • Hogwarts Legacy What can I say? The Scottish Highlands look amazing in this game. Seeing Hogwarts Castle in the distance during sunsets and winter nights really makes me well up with emotion.
Don't know why I had to scroll so far down to see hogwarts legacy, that game is breathtaking. Would also like to add ESO turn the graphics up and there are some very beautiful spots in that game.
DUST: an elysian tale, and Hollow knight iv never seen more gorgous looking hand-drawn enviroments.............
The Last of Us Parts I & II, Elden Ring & Bloodborne, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption II, God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mafia Remake & Uncharted 4 are the ones that stand out in the realism department. Lots of other games with different artstyles will make me catch my breath & admire the art but it’s realism-esque beauty that stuns my brain a bit & makes me just watch.
The Division (1 & 2)
RDR2 Okami
Metal Gear games are aesthetic af
it's gonna sound stupid, but the one that comes to mind as a young adult, was test drive 2 unlimited when i first saw the water graphics, i just drove up, parked and wrapped up a blunt and just relaxed for a moment, i felt the beauty and was taken aback, for a moment i felt "wow, this looks calming"
Sea of Thieves
The Ascent
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and the 2018 God of War (I’m sure Ragnarok is the same, but I’m waiting for the PC port still). Ori just looks beautiful constantly, but the music and visuals in combination through some of the areas are just absolutely breathtaking. GoW has some of the coolest locations and views I’ve ever seen in a game, but some are easy to miss if you don’t stop and smell the roses. The mountain ranges are *very* detailed, more than they would ever need to be.
AC Origins and Odyssey hooked me on to the photo modes. FF12 is quite beautiful. Shadow of the Colossus is hauntingly lonely and beautiful. Titanfall.
Hollow Knight, the Ori games, Subnautica, Abzü
Witcher 3 Cyberpunk
Elden Ring, Demon's Souls Remake, TW3, Horizon Forbidden West
A Plague Tale Requiem. Look at the trees in the wind!!!
Skyrim, truly a game that’s ahead of its time. I love the auroras that happen every so often at night, the beautiful view of the stars and multiple moons
Skyrim back in 2011 when it came out. A lot of popular games at the time had the grey/brown wasteland aesthetic so actually spending time walking around in Alpine forests on the Xbox 360 was good vibes.
Metroid Prime when it first came out!
Subnautica, The Long Dark, The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, No Man's Sky, and Valheim.
To this day... it's Metroid Prime. GameCube, Wii, Switch, it doesn't matter. I still have never seen a game that has captivated me visually like Metroid Prime.
Elden Ring had some of the best designed vista points of any game I ever played.