• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

What was the best looking game between 2013 and 2016 (early last gen)?

teezzy

Banned
51VcnRNyhwL._SY445_.jpg
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Honestly, i can't really tell
that time of gaming was sort of forgettable to me, the only stuff from those years i felt was worth playing were some indies and a couple of good AAAs (from 2016, though)
Titanfall 2 and DOOM are my picks
acn8Qgg.jpg
orWjLaR.jpg
 

Apocryphon

Member
Honestly most of them still look fantastic today. The Order 1886 and Quantum Break are both up there. Flawed games in many respects but still gorgeous to look at. I have a soft spots for both Alien Isolation and Arkham Knight though so I'll say those.
 
It’s crazy that they got Phantom Pain to run at a locked 60 fps on consoles. I’m struggling to think of another open world game that ran at 60 frames during that gen. Great lighting, weather effects, and animations too. Game was a technical masterpiece.
MGSV is my vote. It was the first game that finally made me understand the difference of 60 fps. I only play on consoles and didnt fully understand it at that point.

Runner up infamous SS.
 
technically, probably Battlefront, 1886 or Crysis 3, i guess.

for me though, i liked the art direction in Destiny, Witcher 3 and the From games (Bloodborne, DS3/2).
 

Fbh

Member
Purely visually probably The Order IMO though they had to make a lot of sacrifices to get those visuals (letterboxing, very linear, short, shallow gameplay, etc).

As a whole package probably Uncharted 4 or Crysis 3 and The Witcher 3 maxed out on PC

The Order 1886 had multiple moments that made me question how much extra power the consoles actually had that gen.

ActiveRichFish-size_restricted.gif

FearlessIcyFattaileddunnart-size_restricted.gif

R9nh.gif

It's insane how good this game looked. If you told me those are gifs of some upcoming Ps5 or SX exclusive I'd be like "yup, checks out"
 
2015-2017 had some real bangers that hold up incredibly well. With mods they can look even better.

Crysis 3 easily for detail. The environments were straight up stunning and the character models are still among the best I've seen.

GI35AgJ.jpg


23hr2JW.jpg


OPvFQjp.jpg


Arkham Knight, the asset king. Not just the insane environment detail, but even secondary characters models were extremely detailed.

N7LZWKU.jpg


RU7J7Sr.jpg


lzG3LWC.jpg


The Witcher II: Wild Hunt - Not just a massive open world but a meticulously crafted one.

bCSBmrH.jpg


AjSvy69.jpg


BldxOqr.jpg


Dishonored 2 - While probably technically not as impressive as a lot of games even the year it released, the art design in this game was bananas. An entire mansion that transforms where you can see all the mechanisms used in the transformation with no clipping pieces was one of the highlights. Everything in this game looked like it was crafted by an architect.

YZK2vLb.jpg


M7whMuy.jpg


xvGZyou.jpg


MGS:V The Phantom Pain - In the right weather conditions this game often looked photorealistic, immediately followed by something goofy as hell.

1rX8Qnq.jpg


NItGGe5.jpg


xWnaPMW.jpg


Mad Max - This is often overlooked and while it does re-use assets a lot, the atmosphere in the game was spot-on and the lighting was really good.

ZLxssnx.jpg


i4Odg2v.jpg


TmCwTw4.jpg


Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Tons of effort into making each part of the game feel entirely unique. Artists were working overtime on this one (don't tell Jason)

gLDTezW.jpg


60eyGYU.jpg


HUhm3uO.jpg


There were so many great looking games in that short span I could keep posting images all day. Battlefront, Doom 2016, Forza Horizon 3, Hitman, etc
 
Last edited:

solidus12

Member
Nate’s model in Uncharted 4 was uneven; sometimes it looked great, other times it looked so bad with some very disturbing aliased shadows in his forehead.
 

Sleepwalker

Gold Member
It’s crazy that they got Phantom Pain to run at a locked 60 fps on consoles. I’m struggling to think of another open world game that ran at 60 frames during that gen. Great lighting, weather effects, and animations too. Game was a technical masterpiece.
Forget 60fps, they got it to run on the ps3 and 360 lol. Insane
 

DETACA

Banned
how can one create there own threads? how many posts one users requires to create there own thread?
 
It's insane how good this game looked. If you told me those are gifs of some upcoming Ps5 or SX exclusive I'd be like "yup, checks out"
I miss the look games like Order 1886 and Ryse had. It was this filmic look, with a smart usage of motion blur and depth of field focus that managed to make those games look really great.
 

TrueLegend

Member
1. Arkham Knight with Nvidia Gameworks 4K60 HDR SpecialK
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider 4K60 HDR
3. Uncharted 4 1440p30 HDR
 

Shut0wen

Member
Im gunna go with ryse, medicore game but the graphics on that game still beast most games that are out to this day
 
The Order 1886 had multiple moments that made me question how much extra power the consoles actually had that gen.

ActiveRichFish-size_restricted.gif

FearlessIcyFattaileddunnart-size_restricted.gif

R9nh.gif


The Order 1886's graphics and presentation gave me the very same feeling as seeing and playing Killzone 2 for the first time.

34148.gif
Waiting for the ps5 equivalent. Haven't bought demon souls yet so maybe thats it. Ratchet and Clank is very close but inconsistent. Some levels blow my mind others less so. Want one like KZ2 or TO1886. Maybe Spider-Man 2.
 

0neAnd0nly

Gold Member
I think the correct answer here is Killzone, and then Uncharted 4 from your list.

Though there were games that looked slightly better; The Order, and some would say Ryse (though I am not in that camp), both of those games were more cinematic experiences that used far less demanding gameplay tech as they weren’t as involved as the other 2. Far more QTE movie experience, at least to some degree.

Just IMO though, of course. I enjoy games like that BTW, not a knock but IMO it’s harder to get graphical fidelity like those in games that are much more open and gameplay heavy so it’s sort of hard for me to make a comparison.
 

Ezekiel_

Banned
Don't kid yourselves, it's The Order 1886

Honorable mentions :
Killzone Shadow Fall
Uncharted 4
DriveClub
Until Dawn
Infamous Second Son
Batman Arkham knight
 
Last edited:

Certinty

Member
Sort of surprised no one has mentioned Call of Duty Infinite Warfare. That game looks insane, especially with the variety of planets and weathers.
 

DeepSpace5D

Member
Just visually yeah probably The Order: 1886 although it had to be a pretty shallow experience to achieve it.

As a total package, easily Uncharted 4. Still looks incredible today.
 

SeraphJan

Member
I assume OP is strictly talking about Pre-mid range refresh, since PRO and X came out around 2017.

It would definitely be The Order 1886, doesn't matter how much shit people give to this game, its one of the most impressive graphic display.

Uncharted 4 is also a good pick
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom