Video games from our era are able to amaze users with stunning realism. Ray tracing technology, path tracing, AI upscaling, Unreal Engine 5 and other innovations in gaming help modern games create truly beautiful worlds, where everything looks natural and realistic.
Nevertheless, in addition to graphics, there are other elements that are equally important when talking about good games, namely performance and gameplay itself. But, if you are interested in playing some graphically impressive games, then we will recommend you several titles.
What Makes a Game’s Graphics Great?
Surely, to call game visuals impressive is not enough to use high-resolution textures. There are a lot of other technologies used by game developers.
The main aspects include:
Ray tracing for realistic lighting and reflections;
High-resolution textures with details;
Advanced physics and interactions;
Realistic animations based on motion capture technology;
Dynamic weather and day-night cycles;
Details faces of the characters;
Great draw distance without any pop-ins.
When all of these technologies are combined in one title, then player will be amazed by really beautiful game world.
Top Games with the Best Graphics
Cyberpunk 2077
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Thanks to years of updates, Cyberpunk 2077 became one of the best graphically impressive games.
Some of the key aspects of the visuals include:
Great Night City lit by neon lights;
Support of path tracing;
Highly detailed non-player characters;
Fantastic reflections;
Good HDR implementation;
Path tracing mode on the games, when played on a PC with high-end RTX graphics card, allows to see some of the most realistic lighting effects.
Alan Wake 2
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Alan Wake 2 demonstrates the potential of the modern graphical technologies.
Key advantages include:
Very movie-like character models;
Photorealistic forests;
Advanced volumetric fog;
Great lighting;
Realistic face animations;
The game atmosphere becomes even scarier because of the realistic reflections and lighting effects.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Developer: Rockstar Games
Even years after its release, the game is known for being one of the best-looking video games.
Key visual features include:
Realistic wildlife;
Amazing sunsets;
Dynamic weather;
Highly detailed towns;
Great horse animations;
Attention to the environmental details is amazing.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
This game offers one of the biggest and most realistic virtual worlds.
The main features include:
Recreation of the whole Earth;
Real time weather;
Satellite images;
Photogrammetry cities;
Dynamic clouds;
Flight above the famous places becomes indistinguishable from watching aerial videos.
Horizon Forbidden West
Guerrilla Games created one of the most colorful open worlds.
Visual highlights:
Dense forests;
Crystal-clear water;
Robotics creatures in the game with a lot of details;
Deserts with a lot of beauty;
Great face animations;
All the environments in the game look hand-made.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
The game uses Ubisoft’s Snowdrop Engine to recreate Pandora with great details.
Main features include:
Dense alien jungles;
Great vegetation;
Advanced global illumination;
Beautiful particle effects;
Great visuals during night time;
Vibrant colors make all the scenes alive.
Black Myth: Wukong
This game is one of the newest graphical showcases based on Unreal Engine 5.
Main features include:
Ultra-realistic environments;
Greatly detailed monsters;
Great lighting;
Smooth combat animations;
Chinese-style landscapes;
The game is considered as one of the best-looking games based on Unreal Engine 5.
Hellblade II
This game delivers cinematic visuals.
The main features include:
Extremely realistic face capture;
Advanced skin rendering;
Great environments;
Movie-like lighting;
Character detail;
Some of the scenes in the game resemble live-action movies.
The Last of Us Part I (PC & PS5)
This game was recreated with the modern graphics technologies.
Visual improvements include:
Enhanced lighting;
Improved textures;
Improved shadows;
Realistic facial expressions;
Highly detailed environments;
The remake is able to revive one of the best stories in the gaming industry.
Forza Horizon 5
If you love racing games, then few games are able to compete with Forza Horizon 5.
Visual features include:
Realistic cars;
Dynamic weather;
Beautiful landscapes of Mexico;
Advanced reflections;
Great photo mode;
Even during driving with high speed, the world remains detailed.
Comparison Table
Game Genre Graphics Quality Ray Tracing Open World
Cyberpunk 2077 RPG ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes Yes
Alan Wake 2 Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes No
Red Dead Redemption 2 Action ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ No Yes
Microsoft Flight Simulator Simulation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Limited Entire Earth
Horizon Forbidden West Action RPG ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes Yes
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora FPS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes Yes
Black Myth: Wukong Action RPG ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes Semi
Hellblade II Adventure ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes No
The Last of Us Part I Action ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes No
Forza Horizon 5 Racing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes Yes
Which Platform Offers the Best Graphics?
PC
High-end gaming PC offers the best graphics, because:
Supports 4K resolution;
Offers Ultra settings;
Path tracing;
DLSS;
Frame Generation;
High refresh rates;
PlayStation 5
PS5 offers great graphics with stable performance. A lot of exclusives are optimized for this hardware.
Xbox Series X
This Microsoft’s flagship console offers true 4K gaming in many titles and supports advanced graphical technologies.
Upcoming Graphically Stunning Games
There are many upcoming graphically stunning games, including those that are made using Unreal Engine 5, as well as games with advanced physics and AI-driven animations.
Tips for Enjoying Better Graphics
To enjoy the best graphics in the modern games:
Use SSD to increase loading times;
Enable ray tracing if your hardware supports it;
Turn on DLSS, FSR or XeSS to improve performance;
Keep GPU drivers updated;
Use HDR if your monitor supports it;
Play at the highest possible stable frame rate;
Conclusion
Gaming industry constantly raises the bar of graphical technologies and today’s best-looking games are absolutely amazing. You can explore neon streets of Cyberpunk 2077, ride through the amazing wilderness of Red Dead Redemption 2, fly across the world in Microsoft Flight Simulator or fight with fantastic mythical creatures in Black Myth: Wukong.
With the development of advanced rendering technologies, AI upscaling and more powerful hardware, future games will look even more realistic. Nevertheless, despite the fact that visuals become better and better, great performance and story are still the core of any good game.
