Graphic highlights 2020: The 10 most beautiful games of the year
Table of Contents
1 Cyberpunk 2077 2 Doom Eternal 3 Final Fantasy 7 Remake 4 Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5 Spider-Man: Miles Morales 6 Ghost of Tsushima 7 Ori and the Will of the Wisps 8 Demon's Souls 9 Microsoft Flight Simulator 10 The Last of Us Part 2Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most beautiful games of the year as long as you play it on your PC. The console versions are unfortunately less pretty to look at. Source: CD Projekt RED We had to wait seven long years. And then, with three short-term, unexpected postponements, we were put under suspicion again. On December 10th, the agony finally came to an end, Cyberpunk 2077 found its way to PC and consoles. And what can we say: the test of patience was really worth it! The latest trick by the Witcher makers has a lot to offer in terms of play. So much that even we have only been able to explore a tiny fraction of the game world so far. But what we have seen there so far leaves no doubt: CD Projekt's action role-playing game is also a real treat in terms of graphics. Ray tracing and Super Sampling 2.0 support ensure a breathtaking look. Whether in daylight or in the neon glow of the advertising screen: Night City is bursting with life and details. It just feels like a real city - a violent, dystopian, nightmarish city that has never been seen in video games like this before. Oh yes, and the game also has the beautiful Keanu Reeves! This means that the stamp "graphic highlight" is irrevocable.Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal burns off a veritable firework of effects on your screen! Source: Bethesda Doom Eternal offers you brute action of the extra class: Here you don't care about the elaborated facial expressions and gestures of the main characters, extensive, life-filled open worlds or other bells and whistles that nobody needs anyway. Instead, the Doomslayer just pumps one demon after the other full of lead and looks pretty cool doing it. The baller orgy from id Software is based for the first time on the completely new id Tech 7 engine. And that in turn conjures up a liquid and almost hypnotic thunderstorm effect on the screen: while you send monsters back to hell, blood, lead and tatters fly around. Bombastic explosions add extra bang. If you then add the fantastically animated, repulsive opponents and the infernal, extraterrestrial worlds with their lava flows and ancient structures - a shooter package of the special class is ready. The few ugly gray interiors do not matter anymore.Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Fire free! With Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix unleashes a real graphics bomb on the gaming world. Source: Square Enix To reissue a classic role-playing game like Final Fantasy is really no easy task. On the one hand, you have to make the game fit for the 21st century. On the other hand, you can't change too much in order not to upset the fans. Square Enix managed this balancing act with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, here new and old players get their money's worth. This is also due to the fact that the developers stay very close to the original, but give it a new shine: Seeing the fantasy world around Midgar and its iconic locations in a contemporary look is a real experience - thanks to the fantastic and detailed design. The city looks lively, people go about their daily work or chat with each other. The protagonists also look good. With Tifa, Cloud and Co. you can almost count the skin pores while they fight each other in effect-packed battles with wax scorpions and other overworked opponents.Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Open worlds can be so beautiful Be: AC Valhalla not only offers authentic Viking action, but also something really pleasing to the eye. Source: PC Games HardwareYou can say what you want about Ubisoft and its Assassin's Creed series: The same thing over and over again! Boring story! Not enough stealth gameplay in the style of the series beginnings! What you can't deny the developers, however, is that they simply understand how to create a beautiful, authentic and lively game world. They did it again masterfully in the newest offshoot Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The trip to Norway and Northern England is as atmospheric as ever and brings a really convincing Viking feeling across. Whether you are cruising across the country's rivers and lakes in your longboat, storming an enemy castle with a battering ram or just stacking a few stones meditatively - Valhalla always looks really good. So good that sometimes you're just busy admiring the landscape instead of devoting yourself to the main quest.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Spider-Man: Miles Morales let the Muckies play properly on the Playstation 5 and shine with a really smart presentation. Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Marvel Games Well, admittedly: As the launch title, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales does not yet completely exhaust the hardware of the new Playstation 5. The action adventure lets its muscles flex and shows what is possible on the new generation of consoles. Compared to the already great-looking predecessor from 2018, a few improvements await you here: The view range has been increased, environments appear much sharper and more detailed. By default, the spider man does gymnastics at a constant 60 frames per second across the screen. In 4K mode, however, you get the full load of graphic splendor - with beautiful-looking lighting, color and particle effects. The snowstorm in wintry New York is even more atmospheric, thanks to ray tracing even more chic reflections are created. When the sunlight is reflected in puddles or you admire your own likeness as you climb the window front of a skyscraper, it becomes clear: Seldom has superhero action looked so good.Ghost of Tsushima
Above all, the beautiful, varied landscapes and the extraordinary setting give Ghost of Tsushima its very own look. Source: Sucker Punch The finest graphic fare from the Far East - that's Ghost of Tsushima. The open-world adventure about the samurai Jin Sakai, who has to defend his homeland against the Mongols, is a real feast for the eyes. The characters are well designed and move smoothly through the game world. Details like mud and blood clinging to your clothing add realism. The clear star of Ghost of Tsushima, however, is the island of Tsushima itself. It was implemented with a lot of dedication, is full of varied biomes - from extensive rice fields to dense red maple forests to snow-capped peaks - and is bursting with life. The light and color mood of the adventure is particularly impressive: When you compete in an honorable duel in a field of red spider lilies blowing in the wind, it is a scene that will stay in your memory - especially if you also activate the Kurosawa mode . With black and white filters and film grain, it creates an additional atmosphere.Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Is that the frog prince? The characters and worlds of Ori and the Will of the Wisps could easily come from a fairy tale book. Source: Microsoft Sometimes not much is necessary for a nice game: no motion capture of Hollywood stars and no 3D scans of real environments either. Sometimes an unusual artistic vision is enough, which is then implemented perfectly - as in the case of Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The adventure takes you back into the magical world of the eponymous forest spirit, with whom you go on a great rescue mission. In the course of this, you will not only meet numerous, beautifully designed characters who could just as easily come from a storybook. You will also discover the varied world with its dim forests, colorful oases, snow-covered peaks, dark caves and sandy deserts. Each zone is beautifully designed and bristling with animated details. Wonderful lighting and the new 3D backgrounds make Ori's world look alive and as if it were made from one piece. In short: Will of the Wisps is one of the most beautiful platformer of all time, by which the competition will have to be measured in the future.Demon's Souls
Monster makeover: See for yourself in the remake of Demon's Souls hideous creatures like the vanguard demon look really handsome. Source: Bluepoint GamesCan an eleven year old PS3 game still look good today? Yes it can! When it's reissued by the remake specialists at Bluepoint Games. After the studio had already given Shadow of the Colossus a new coat of paint, From Software's Demon's Souls received a general overhaul this year. And let's tell you one thing: It really worked! Demon's Soul on the PS5 is the most beautiful game of the Soulsborne family to date with tons of details, crisp textures and great particle effects. The game world Boletaria shines in a new light and its residents were also able to look forward to a make-over: Thanks to the new editor, your characters no longer look like ugly bridge trolls. Opponents like the Vanguard are even more terrifying. It's good whether so much opulence and blaze of color still fit into the dreary original concept of the action RPG, that can undoubtedly be discussed. There is no question that it is one of the most beautiful games of the year.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 you can admire the beauty of our planet from a cockpit perspective. Source: Tomlaut1980 / Microsoft What beautiful spots our earth has to offer, we could only see in BBC documentaries so far. However, that changed fundamentally in 2020: The Microsoft Flight Simulator sent us out into the world to admire it from above from our aircraft. The planes are of course also an integral part of the simulation. Accordingly, the various licensed models from Airbus, Boeing and Co. convey an authentic pilot feeling both from the outside and from the cockpit perspective. But the real star is the world. The Flight Simulator allows you to admire replicas of world-famous metropolises and landmarks, such as New York or the Grand Canyon, thanks to 3D photogrammetry. The lighting mood and weather effects are based on real-time data, which ensures a realistic presentation - provided that your internet supports it. Because all details of the surroundings are streamed, the quality of your connection also varies with the gaming experience.The Last of Us Part 2
The Last of Us Part 2 is not always nice to look at due to its brutality, But it is definitely staged really well. Source: Sony Computer Entertainment How could it be otherwise: Of course, The Last of Us Part 2 is also on our list of graphic highlights for 2020. The action-adventure really deserves it. Developer Naughty Dog has really carved out one of the highest quality produced gaming experiences in recent years, a title that tickled the last crumb of computing power out of the Playstation 4 and thus represents a crowning glory for the previous generation of consoles. Be it the character models, their facial expressions and movements, the beautifully repulsive infected people or the post-apocalyptic game world of Seattle, the ruins of which are constantly being reclaimed by nature: The Last of Us Part 2 looks simply breathtaking - also because it doesn't always pretty, but sometimes also tough and unadorned, depicts the hardship of the daily struggle for survival. In short: New standards are set here in terms of realistic representations in the medium of video games!Advertising: Order games now from Amazon
