Rocco Schiavone
Member
They are not shills. But extremely nitpicky when It comes to Sony games. Especially Battaglia.
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Digital Foundry's Best Game Graphics of 2021 - PC, Xbox, PlayStation - Another Amazing Year!
- Thread starter Arioco
- Start date
S0ULZB0URNE
Member
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Lets see they tried to disprove PS5 higher clock advantages by using a overclocked GPU in a PC then taped off a SSD to disprove PS5 fast SSD usefulness. I don't recall them going to this extreme to disprove any Xbox Series X advantages.
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Sadly Xbox 100% went after Richard and recruited DF to be pro Xbox and have shown the transcript to
Mod of War
for proof
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Sadly Xbox 100% went after Richard and recruited DF to be pro Xbox and have shown the transcript to
DF reading above post:
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FrankWza
Member
Dontkidyourselfjimmy
Member
Glad to see the ascent on the list. Such a well realised and gritty detailed world. Very impressive for a small developer
Zathalus
Member
So they went after Richard, does that mean he accepted that? Some people at Microsoft claiming they have Digital Foundry in their pocket does not actually mean they have Digital Foundry in their pocket.Sadly Xbox 100% went after Richard and recruited DF to be pro Xbox and have shown the transcript to
It seems completely counter to all the videos they have posted over the last year, pointing out all the times that the PS5 has won comparisons and heaping praise on Sony games. Heck, they didn't even cover Psychonauts 2.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
You didn’t PR it enough. Surely you can dig into the marketing terms chest and apply it like trying to apply a 2020 game on a 2021 list… oh wait.
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Dr Bass
Member
This video just reminded me how ridiculously awesome Returnal was as an experience. I've been saying Metroid Dread was my GotY with Returnal a close second but wondered if that was a bit of recency bias. Seeing this made me change my mind. Returnal was my GotY for sure. Incredible stuff.
Ratchet being the best visually is a no brainer but that Lego game looks kinda amazing too ...
Ratchet being the best visually is a no brainer but that Lego game looks kinda amazing too ...
DarkMage619
$MSFT
DF does good objective work. Anything else is pure conspiracy theory stuff. Many also fail to mention how many head to heads where the PS4 beat the X1. DF again told it like it was.
FrankWza
Member
Marlo wouldn’t have gone after Cheese if he didn’t think he could flip him against PropJoe. And I’m pretty sure cheese was his nephew on his mommas side.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Gold Member
I mean, it kind of makes sense that R&C won. On a technical level, it's not held back by 8th-gen hardware the way other games like FH5 and Halo Infinite are, and artistically it's a fantastic looking game matching well with the technical capability.
But it not being shackled to 8th-gen allowed them to tune the engine specifically for PS5 and it shows. That IMO helps give it the edge over otherwise equally amazing-looking games like Psychonauts 2, Kena and Forza Horizon 5. GGs Insomniac
But it not being shackled to 8th-gen allowed them to tune the engine specifically for PS5 and it shows. That IMO helps give it the edge over otherwise equally amazing-looking games like Psychonauts 2, Kena and Forza Horizon 5. GGs Insomniac
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Zathalus
Member
The point still stands, there is precious little evidence that DF is pro Xbox, no matter what some at Microsoft think.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Gold Member
The accusations will never end; some are just hellbent on believing DF are paid off by Microsoft, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. The Overton Window for people who believe it is literally "DF says something decent about Xbox = shills!" at this point.
But anyway, I can understand why MSFS wasn't considered, given it came out in 2020 originally. And Psychonauts 2, in spite of a really cool artstyle and overall aesthetic, in terms of technical features it doesn't have much on games like R&C or Returnal, that's just a fact. And games like FH5, they look fantastic, but technical-wise is lacking features R&C has like in-game RT, and it does suffer from some pop-in issues probably inherent to the engine, while R&C doesn't have that type of problem.
I think based on those grounds, R&C deserved the win. If I were choosing my own best-looking games of the year with both technical and artistic preferences in mind, I wouldn't pick R&C alone it'd be a cross between R&C, FH5, MSFS, Kena and maybe Psychonauts 2. But if just talking on the pure objective, technical side of graphics, it's a somewhat easy choice of R&C Rift Apart IMHO.
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Also during the said transcripts I shared it also shows Xbox brass saying John was the least likely to be swayed (though without digging through messages I can not remember the exact wording) as they knew John wouldn't be "bought"
The "recruiting" began with the Xbox One X deep dive and its not like they were 100% bought to sell Xbox they were just swayed to be more pro Xbox and of course they accepted the money
DeepSpace5D
Member
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in 120hz mode using quality mode 40fps remains the most impressive visual experience I’ve seen in a game this year, so I can’t argue with their choice.
Pretty much all great looking games on this list.
Pretty much all great looking games on this list.
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Zathalus
Member
So they threw money and first look opportunities at Richard in the hopes that he will be pro Xbox?
I'll be honest, it doesn't appear to have really worked. They still seem to call it like it is.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
MasterCornholio
Member
I think it might have changed how they look at things. But I don't believe they are dishonest with what they show us.
I believe
HeisenbergFX4
knows what I'm talking about.
Fredrik
Member
Nah, both have a preference and it’s so easily seen, but who cares we all do
Really, having a deep interest in anything and be completely unbiased is impossible as far as I’m concerned. I mean it’s like loving food but not have a favorite dish or playing the guitar and not have a favorite guitar brand, it’s just not happening. People just need to accept it and watch more than one outlet doing comparisons and stop being so bothered about wins and losses.
DarkMage619
$MSFT
My point wasn't that R&C wasn't worthy of praise only that there were other technical achievements that were done on console that were also worth having a discussion about. That's why I brought up MSFS because it was never on console before. It being on PC previously wasn't the point.
I'm still pretty skeptical that there were no technical accomplishments made in Psychonauts 2 I swear one of the final levels had raytracing seeing how the reflections were handled. I suppose it could have been cube maps. It certainly wasn't screen space. I wish they had done a video.
Next year should be pretty interesting because I am not aware of anymore 1st party MS games going to X1 so they'll be able to leverage more of the systems potential. Looking forward to the Forza/GT comparisons for sure. I suspect there will be more accusations hurled as soon as the video hits.
Markio128
Member
It’s all in good jestRiky:
remember_spinal
Banned
Redfall will probably be comparable to deathloop graphics wise.
It’s really just starfield or Forza (if theymake 2022)
eNT1TY
Member
I totally missed this game, i need to play this.The Ascent made the list?
Perfectly balanced as all things should be.
Topher
Gold Member
Nah, both have a preference and it’s so easily seen, but who cares we all do
Great post.
ReBurn
Gold Member
Those shots aren't representative of gameplay, but it is a great looking game.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Amazing how little it matters when games are optimized lolAnd all that without VRR.
Physiognomonics
Member
Indeed. If you use DRS well you shouln't need for VRR and DRS should kick in instead.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yeah but if you use DRS, so many users on this forum only define a game by the lowest recorded DRS metric, not realizing what the point of DRS is in the first place
.VRR is also useful for other things like eliminating tearing. It's a pretty useful feature to have. Here's hoping the PS5 also gets it soon.
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Fredrik
Member
Lol I’m just thinking at how my own brain works, for all things in life, the only time I don’t have a preference is if I’m just not interested. I don’t have a preference for mushrooms for example, except that I prefer if they don’t come near my foodGreat post.
Elbow Identity Shallow
Member
These things are always about opinions but I can't really disagree with what the DF team say here.
It's always difficult to put games in order for me though as I'd likely keep changing my mind but I'm really happy to see Returnal getting the attention it deserves, not only does it look and play wonderfully but it's actually doing things with particles that I've seen being done before. So much of the content that doesn't actually look like particle effects is built with particles and it gives it such an unusual look.
I think there's never a time that I've not been looking forward to Housemarque's next game but that's probably never been more true than it has been since I played Returnal.
I really can't disagree with the other two games in the top three either and like Returnal it's not just about being technically competent, it's about making the available technology work in a way that really enhances the art style of your game and fits in with it.
I'm still really disappointed that Ratchet & Clank is the only game on consoles (I think) that includes a 40fps mode. I honestly thought that it would be standard wherever possible as it feels so much better than 30fps but the required resources are so much lower than 60fps or higher. Realistically though, it's only been about six months but I really hope that even if nobody else bothers, at least Sony's first party studios start to include it as standard moving forwards when it's workable.
It's always difficult to put games in order for me though as I'd likely keep changing my mind but I'm really happy to see Returnal getting the attention it deserves, not only does it look and play wonderfully but it's actually doing things with particles that I've seen being done before. So much of the content that doesn't actually look like particle effects is built with particles and it gives it such an unusual look.
I think there's never a time that I've not been looking forward to Housemarque's next game but that's probably never been more true than it has been since I played Returnal.
I really can't disagree with the other two games in the top three either and like Returnal it's not just about being technically competent, it's about making the available technology work in a way that really enhances the art style of your game and fits in with it.
I'm still really disappointed that Ratchet & Clank is the only game on consoles (I think) that includes a 40fps mode. I honestly thought that it would be standard wherever possible as it feels so much better than 30fps but the required resources are so much lower than 60fps or higher. Realistically though, it's only been about six months but I really hope that even if nobody else bothers, at least Sony's first party studios start to include it as standard moving forwards when it's workable.
Fredrik
Member
Still haven’t played Returnal but yeah it looked awesome here, been waiting for a proper price drop, it’s just too expensive when it’s 50/50 chance I’ll hate the game because of the save/progression system.
Arioco
Member
Sadly Xbox 100% went after Richard and recruited DF to be pro Xbox and have shown the transcript to
What?!
Could you elaborate, please? What transcript?
Aguero9320
Member
Pretty much agree. Ratchet looks great (but is an average, by the numbers R&C game).
Kena? Nope. Cutscenes look decent but the in-game graphics?
Not seen Returnal, and will never play it - not my thing. At all.
Flight Sim the obvious omission.
Kena? Nope. Cutscenes look decent but the in-game graphics?
Not seen Returnal, and will never play it - not my thing. At all.
Flight Sim the obvious omission.
It would be odd to have a 2020 game in the 2021 best graphics of the year list.
Krappadizzle
Member
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Nah, both have a preference and it’s so easily seen, but who cares we all do
xrnzaaas
Member
Ratchet & Clank gave me an instant jawdrop as the first level is glorious with the enormous amount of detail, crazy good looking characters and nice details on even more distant objects. Definitely deserves the award for best graphics and what's awesome is that it still looks great even in performance mode.
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MasterCornholio
Member
I mean every year there's top ten lists for graphics so Ratchet @ Clank was bound to be talked about again since the visuals were very good. I don't see anything wrong with that to be honest.
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Syphon Filter
Member
this year was awful just like last year.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
VFXVeteran
Banned
Agree. Very unimpressive year for graphics in gaming.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Gold Member
Well, GT7 is still cross-gen while the next Forza will be current-gen only. By that factor alone Forza should have the advantage, especially if the in-game visuals are close to the in-engine reveal from last year.
Aside from that, I guess DF could have taken titles like MSFS into consideration but maybe they'd of felt it redundant due to covering it back in 2020 when it first came out for PC? Not saying I agree with that as a reason to not take it into account this year but I can totally understand if that is a reason why.
Yeah, I think this is the main reason why MSFS wasn't placed in there, it is technically a 2020 release going by first appearance on PC, and they really loved it for its technical prowess back then (particularly on high-spec'd PCs, and IIRC they revisited it again when RT was added).
Oof if true. It's not like the One X needed the equivalent of a campaign contribution to gin up good word for it, the tech spoke for itself and if DF did by chance happen to rag on it for contrived reasons they would've damaged their own credibility. But MS trying to throw some money around so they can be more positive about the brand isn't a good look. Hope whatever members of the team trying to do it have changed and broken away from that mentality (if they're still at the division, mind).
That said, I can definitely understand things like inviting the group out to test the hardware early, which would naturally rub on their good side and get them to talk more positively. But stuff like that, publishers and platform holders do it all the time. It's why Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and others do influencer sponsorships, give review press early copies of games, give the press perk kits etc. Some might do it more than others, though, and while it's logical to say (due to less built-in nostalgia and a pretty rocky 8th-gen) Microsoft might do it a bit more than Sony (and Sony more than Nintendo), I'd like to think all three are a ways off from abusing that practice compared to certain dubious 3P publishers.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Gold Member
She needs teeth whitener...
...and maybe Invisalign. I don't care if she's a wombat, fix that grill.