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[Hugare]

Have you played Rebirth yet, because it's like Remake but on steroids with how they've recreated the world. The cutscenes and character model details and animation is also mindblowing. Double the polygon count for the main character models over Remake. It's impressive considering you have all the main characters generally always present to render on screen.

I just did a segment towards the end of the game yesterday and the art direction and way they presented the story was nuts.

I have Rebirth here, but I feel the BOTW/TOTK effect: it's bigger and better, but the novelty isnt there anymore

It's an amazing game, easily my GOTY so far, but it didnt amaze me the same way as Remake in 2020.

 

[Thanati]

It's interesting you showed Halo as the screenshot.

I recently fired up the Master Chief collection and, playing it again, was still in awe at the visuals and the atmosphere of the game. I don't need crazy UE5 style graphics, what Halo (and especially Halo 3 did) were/are perfect. Give me games that have nice visuals but awesome moments and I'm happy.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Then you'll get blown away on your birthdays and on special occasions only.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

dont get blown away, but a giant 4k screen and high quality sound system get me pretty close.

often saying to myself "damn, this area looks good" or "damn, this sounds good".

 

[Hudo]

I haven't been blown away since fall 2007

Quad Core PC Q6600
GeForce 8800 GT

Crysis continued to blow me away even way past 2007. Is still one of my favorite shooters. And the German dub is really good, too!

 

[hybrid_birth]

Why don't you pray that you will become a feather in the next life.

 

[March Climber]

What you are really missing is the feeling of youth. And you can never get that back

I was going to come into the thread to say it. I'm glad you already did.

 

[Jigsaah]

It all started with me being blown away by a game. When I started playing console games in the early nineties the Mega Drive/Genesis and the SNES were pushing the limits with more and more impressive games. I remember thinking that nothing could possibly be more beautiful than Sonic 3 & Knuckles. After that, generation by generation, there were always games that blew me away. Often by how they looked, obviously.

I will never forget the first time I played Sonic Adventure. Or Halo. Yes, I was younger but I don't think that mattered much. These experiences stick with me to this day. These were launch games that made the old consoles look obsolete right there and then. We've had impressive games since, but for every generation they're fewer and fewer. Especially at launch. PS4 had some impressive looking games (TLOU2, The Order: 1886, Detroit: Become Human) but apart from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart I haven't seen anything that impresses me on my PS5.

I know we're probably not going to see these huge technical and graphical leaps again, and I also understand that looks is not everything. I enjoy small indie games as much as AAA titles, often even more. But I sorely miss that feeling of being floored by a game on a new console. That moment when I look at the console in disbelief wondering how the hell it is capable of that.

Do you guys remember the last time you were floored by how a game looked? Do you still get that feeling now and then or is it a thing of the past?

God damn.

Surprisingly, the last time I was blown away was playing Baldur's Gate 3. The world is just...art. Very beautiful game. However, the extent to which I was blown away didn't not surpass my first look at Halo or Mario 64 in the kiosks at the local Target (or maybe it was Kmart at the time). Getting older sucks in this way...you've become a bit desensitized. I try to find diamonds here and there. Remember the opening look at Watch Dogs? The Division? Anthem? These are dreams sold to us nowadays. I'm waiting for the next level before I get too old to enjoy it.

 

[Hunnybun]

I think it's perfectly possible to still be blown away by a leap in fidelity. The idea that we're too far into diminishing returns territory is nonsense imo. Perhaps not Mario 64 standards, but pretty much anything else is possible.

Personally the Rift Apart state of play where they showed the extended gameplay was amazing to me.

Before that, Unreal 5 Lumen demo was the same.

Before that, the TLOU2 showing at E3 2018 was pretty spectacular.

There's plenty of scope for huge leaps left, especially with a world's dynamism. This has just been a very very slow generation, unfortunately.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I just recently finished Paper Mario on N64 and I was "blown away". What a fantastic game. Playing Ocarina of Time now and again blown away at how the game just straight up expects you to figure things out, and if you don't, tough luck. I can imagine many kids in the N64 days just never finishing this game because they don't think to catch a fish in a bottle or something similar.

I suppose you mean graphically in modern games. Well, Returnal certainly blew me away. The Last Guardian is an emotional masterpiece that also blew me away with its deliberate engineering of the creature and emotional crescendo.

 

[solidus12]

That sequence blew me away back in the day.

 

[Danjin44]

These days people are too jaded for that.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

I got you OP...

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

This current console gen? Most definitely Returnal. I was blown away from the first minute I set foot on Atropos. I don't know how Housemarque achieved it, but everything that game had to offer resonated with me: sound design, music, world-building, combat, bosses, controls, lore, story, characters, dualsense implementation, etc. It was as if someone reached into my brain and crafted the perfect gaming experience. I was utterly obsessed with this game for quite a while after finishing it and even now I occasionally listen to the superb soundtrack done by Bobby Krlic.

 

[Jaguar Victory]

The last game I was genuinely excited where I couldn't wait to get home to play was Destiny last gen. It was just a different and appealing take on the genre. Then they milked it for the last 10 years without really doing much different.

 

[StueyDuck]

im sure if you ask the missus nicely....

 

[Belthazar]

Yeah, I also miss being blown.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Demon's Souls Remake gave me the true next gen feelings.

The fine tuned haptic feedback on Dualsense, the well-baked particle effects and lightings, and the strikingly crisp and detailed graphics - it was such a refreshing experience playing it at PS5 launch.

 

[ChoosableOne]

Despite being a fan of 'Alan Wake' might cast a shadow over your opinion on this matter, you're right. Even though we may not see as dramatic innovations as before, there are still amazing gems emerging from this industry. The first thing that came to my mind was 'Totk'.

 

[elhav]

Have you played Bomb Rush Cyberfunk?

Not yet, but I've heard it's really good. Will give it a try for sure

 

[sertopico]

Here you can get literally blown away:

 

[Pimpollo818]

I was recently blown in 2023, by games mind you, my girl still likes giving the old sausage some mouth to mouth. It was in Elden Ring: while I was disappointed by much of its world and level design, one area that floored me with its quality was the Capital City - Leyndell. It reminded me of the joy I felt exploring Yharnam in Bloodborne.

 

[Alan Wake]

Not yet, but I've heard it's really good. Will give it a try for sure

You'll like the art style at least.

 

[John Marston]

I've seen a lot of shit in my day and the last times I really took a pause and went "Whoa" was when playing Returnal and Horizon Forbidden West (Mostly for the NPC facial animations).

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Graphically the only games to blow me away this gen were Demon Souls and Ratchet Rift Apart. Played DS last night and it's still the best looking game all gen which is sad actually.

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

The next new thing blowing people away in this sense is VR. People who played Half Life Alyx always comment how amazing the experience felt, and i can understand why having tried VR a few times.

Resident Evil 7 on PSVR did that to me.

Can't say I sympathize with OP as final fantasy 16 might be my GOAT game and legit blew me away multiple times last year

 

[Joyful]

crossgen/crossplatform is the reason id wager. why push graphics to the limits of a console when you can make more money instead

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Last time graphically, probably Dreamcast launch? People will be blown away less and less as gens last longer with more cross gen periods, mid gen refreshes, and diminishing returns of what devs can do with hardware versus time and budget.

What you should focus on is getting blown away by gameplay. And don’t bother with AAA, it’s all focus group tested junk for the most part.

Play Balatro.

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

That sequence blew me away back in the day.

That and God of War 3 on PS3 were crazy

 

[Hunter 99]

For me it was seeing tekken 2 on a arcade machine in a bowling/cinema place near me.couldnt believe how amazing it looked (being I was only exposed to sega mega drive which I loved up to that point) Then I got a ps1 that Christmas and tomb raider 2 and tekken 2. Life changed.epic moment.
Of course there were more after (n64,ps2 ect) but that was my first wow I can play this arcade game on my console at home!!mind blown

 

[amigastar]

GTA VI will blow us away
Star Wars: Outlaws will blow us away
Marvel 1943 will blow us away

 

[mitch1971]

That’s a whole different ball game lol

She should never neglect the balls.

 

[GloveSlap]

I had a hand me down Atari 2600 when i was a kid before the NES came out and it was definitely cool to see pretty much the entire timeline of how games evolved. Tons of amazing moments made even better by being a kid.

 

[DavidGzz]

It's 100% our age. Nothing hits like when you're a pre-teen and teen. I'm blown away by Dragon's Dogma 2 and many games before that. It's just in a different way.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

First and foremost, get over it.

Second, if you're of a certain age, you have to accept that we've reached a certain place where graphics are good and will see more fidelity increase. What you should really be looking for is the immediacy of the experience and how the speed of HW will influence game design.

People sleep on this and are just looking to be blown away from what you see. I look at how everything moves, the density of the environment, and things like the ability to render it all seamless with little to no pop in. Those are the metric you should measure. Better costics on water is another. Look at what S42/SC is doing with ships flying over the water.

Nah, I disagree more vihamently the more I read the cynical takes. I've been around since the early onset of arcade and console 3D/polygonal GFX. We are in one of the most exciting times next to the original proliferation of 3D consoles. The jump and impact of the fidelity may not be as stark but the other parts are advancing fast. I didn't even mention what AI can do.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Nothing has come close to that game for me. When you get out of the ship, the waterfalls, the spires, the music. Not a single game compares.

 

[Come On Tars]

VR is the last frontier for feeling blown away

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Disagree about it due to being older. It's diminishing returns and a lack of ideas in the AAA space. Everything is safe. The industry is in a shit state to the point where I'm spending most of my time playing decades old games and don't feel like I'm missing much.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

From games have consistently blown me away with their atmosphere, sense of scale, awe-inspiring art and designs. Bloodborne gave me chills several times.

Hunt: Showdown was the last game that made me go "wow what the fuck. This is a new pinnacle of what gaming can be for me". I discovered it a couple years ago as someone not even interested in online gaming and I've put 1,500 hours into it and met a ton of cool people through it since. Way, way blown away.

I've been at it since the arcade and NES times.

 

[DragoonKain]

 

[solidus12]

That and God of War 3 on PS3 were crazy

The Cronos fight, Hercules, SO MANY amazing moments.

 

[Johnny Concrete]

I feel lucky for not having this problem.

I still get blown away by modern games just like in the old days of seeing Super Mario 2 for the first time as a kid or Quake (online).
I think in a lot of cases the memory of those moments are drenched in nostalgia.

 

[kikkis]

I don't think I get blown away.

 

[twilo99]

Easy fix:

Play Starfield.

 

[Dacvak]

For what it’s worth, I’d suggest playing critically acclaimed retro games you’ve never tried. I’ve been blown away by a few games I never got around to playing back in the day, like Symphony of the Night.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

I was there for this. Managed to snag it early before the release. Was visiting my brother with my dad, stopped by a best buy before the long drive back, and they went in the back and got it for me early. For an Amiga dude, the tracker music was the icing on that sick intro flyover.

 

[magnumpy]

I think you have some nostalgia based yearning for the "good old days," but were the "good old days" really that good? graphics at least and frame rates certainly are better than they've ever been. RPGs are bigger and more fleshed out than they've ever been.

it will never be the '80s again, and it will never be the '90s again, but hey you can always go back and play retro game systems in a van down by the river

 

[MagnesD3]

Elden Ring is the last time Ive had the experience you described.

 

[Companion Cube]

I think you have some nostalgia based yearning for the "good old days," but were the "good old days" really that good? graphics at least and frame rates certainly are better than they've ever been. RPGs are bigger and more fleshed out than they've ever been.

it will never be the '80s again, and it will never be the '90s again, but hey you can always go back and play retro game systems in a van down by the river

I don't disagree with the points you make and I do enjoy a modern era, engrossing, never-ending RPG now and then, and I might be posting something better for a different thread, but what blows me away is looking at the "good old days" and seeing how we could be a fan of a game and get 2-3 more entries in the series within 5 or so years of a single console generation.

Imagine the modern equivalents of a Halo and Halo 2 double whammy. Metroid Prime 1 and 2. The release of Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, and 10 happened in a span of just four years.

I understand why it's happening. But in the last ten or so years, the only studios to really spoil us with consistent high quality and timely releases are RGG and From Soft.

Excluding the excruciating wait for Elden Ring which had its own challenges with development during lockdown, these studios have got things figured out as far as what their priorities should be as developers and the enjoyment of their consumers, and they deserve nothing short of continued success and support.

76 more days until Shadow of the Erdtree. Infinite Wealth out now. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

 

[Rickyiez]

I'm being blown away more by Oled tech nowadays. Try playing Dead Space Remake on an OLED TV with HDR on.