5 games that set a benchmark for visuals

Visuals in games have improved drastically over the years. What started as two bars and a dot made of pixels has evolved far enough that we sometimes see visuals breaking the barrier between real and virtual. With each new generation of gaming hardware and innovation in technology, it will truly be a fascinating ride to see how far visuals in gaming can go.

Currently, several gaming titles in the market offer phenomenal visuals, making it hard to determine which is the best among the best. Thus, we present five games in this list that are considered to be some of the greatest in terms of in-game graphics.

---

5 games with phenomenal visuals

1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Image via CD Projekt Red)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the game adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s legendary grim dark fantasy novel series. Released by CD Projekt Red in 2015, this open-world title is a visual masterpiece.

From dense forests to teeming cities, every nook and cranny of this game world depicts awe-inspiring details. However, it’s not just the environment that takes the spotlight. Character models in this game have also been painstakingly created, featuring expressions genuine enough that you can witness their feelings coming to life before your eyes. Dynamic weather, along with day and night transitions, also adds to an exceptionally immersive gaming experience. Moreover, CDPR launched a free next-gen update that pushed visual fidelity even further.

---

2) Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Image via Rockstar Games)

Released in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar Games’ massive open-world masterpiece that takes you into the Wild West as an epic visual exploration of outlaws and gunslingers.

The graphic details in Red Dead Redemption 2 are simply mind-boggling. Every detail about the game world, starting from how sunlight filters through the trees to how mud sticks on your horse’s hooves, seems unbelievably real. The world feels so alive that during your playthrough, you might stand on a hill and pause, just to appreciate the game’s beauty. With its remarkable graphics and unprecedented degree of immersion, Red Dead Redemption 2 establishes a new benchmark for what can be achieved in terms of visuals for open-world gaming titles.

---

3) Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn (Image via PlayStation)

Horizon Zero Dawn is an action-packed masterpiece developed by Guerrilla Games. In this post-apocalyptic world, robotic dinosaurs have overrun the earth. Launched in 2017, this visually attractive action-adventure title takes its players through vast deserts, thick forests, and old ruins.

One of the things that makes Horizon Zero Dawn stand out is its art direction and attention to detail, considered one of the best among all Guerrilla Games projects. The mechanical beasts that trudge across this landscape are amazing pieces of engineering: each one has different traits and unique appearances. As you venture through this game’s universe, you will be fascinated by effects like dynamic weather conditions, global illumination, and more.

---

4) Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 (Image via CD Projekt Red)

When it comes to visual fidelity, Cyberpunk 2077, is still considered one of the paragons of the modern gaming industry. The game had a very rough launch, failing spectacularly on almost all the promised aspects. However, over the years, the team at CDProjektRED persevered and turned the ‘broken’ game into a visual and immersive masterclass. The recently launched Phantom Liberty DLC of Cyberpunk 2077 is a good example of the title’s brilliance.

This DLC has been racking very positive reviews all over the charts, and being praised for its incredibly detailed visuals, especially in the character model of the celebrity cast, Idris Elba. Cyberpunk 2077 is made with REDengine 4. It is the fourth iteration of CDPR’s internal game engine. The game allegedly pushes the engine to its absolute limit, for rendering all the crisp and highly detailed graphical fidelity of Cyberpunk 2077.

---

5) Crysis

Crysis in all of its remastered glory (image via Crytek)

Crysis is a technological masterpiece that changed the future of the gaming industry. One of the things that set it apart was its visual realism, which was way ahead of its time for a science-fiction shooter title.

Although different from many other games in terms of rendering environments like sunny jungles on fictional islands and cold expanses of an alien ship, Crysis looks great even today. Even the effects of the smoke and fires created when you take on those futuristic enemies will leave you awestruck. What is most mesmerizing about Crysis is that its visuals hold strong, despite being released almost a decade ago.