"Alloy is so ugly, if you pause at that frame she looks like a man"
"the models are horrible, look at this screenshot"
Just like in real life. You can take a video showing a gorgeous model (male or female) and pause the video numerous times at inappropriate frames which 'uglify' the person due to his facial features being currently distorted because of a sudden expression change. Happens all the time in TV and is regularly used by media when they want to paint the person in a negative light for an article headline or something.
Here's a better example.
In the 2nd pic, due to Alloy's model taking a more tiresome expression because she's sheathing her weapon (and displays discomfort while doing so) the model looks a lot 'uglier' than it actually is. No more different than a female athlete taking a tiresome expression because she's straining herself.
Here, same thing:
Alloy's features take on a softer tone, and as a result looks more charming and feminine. The picture to the right is taken at a frame where she's trying to activate a machine part and her expression is more 'uugh, let's hope ... this works ...' kinda thing.
Now let's compare to another model which was praised by many people (myself included).
Tifa looks gorgeous, but compared to Alloy, her facial features are almost non-existent. She's more like an animated doll, rather than a human being. Now I know, different art styles, but still - the models in FF7 remake are a lot less detailed when we are talking about the facial expressions they take. And as a result, they *may* look better (because their 'perfect expression' is basically engraved onto their faces), but they lack the detail of the spectrum of emotions the models of the main characters in Horizon 2 have.
So my conclusion is that the fact that we can take screenshots of next-gen character models at their 'ugliest' and post them online to laugh and whatnot, proves the amazing amount of detail those models have in their facial expressions and mannerisms. It truly is incredible once you stop and think how far we've come since our PSX/Saturn days ...
