Nobody can describe what "next gen" is supposed to look like. And when they do, they whip out tech demos. Which no game ever hits, because it's just a damned tech demo.
I just find it strange how people on either side can't seem to bridge the gap in their minds.
Should we expect Matrix level visuals in the top open world games at acceptable resolutions and framerates this gen? No. But at the same time, we can and should expect them to look better than Spider-Man 2, and by a decent margin. There's somewhere in the middle that can't be that hard to picture.
Speaking for myself though, I don't think this game looks adequately next gen. I wasn't expecting a massive graphics boost, though I must say I was expecting better than this at this point in development. The thing that really rubs me the wrong way is the gameplay. Yes, Spider-Man 2018 was a great moment-moment gameplay experience, but the restrictions of PS4 hardware and it being Insomniac's first time at a Spider-Man game, or really any action game focused on CQC were obvious. But they've not taken advantage of anything beyond the speed of traversal.
We're still going to be chucking sewer lids and car doors instead of throwing cars. We're still going to be isolating single targets in the air instead of using it as it's own plane of combat. We're still fighting 10 man squads of standard thugs with color coded combat vests who can only throw one punch or stand and shoot in 10 second intervals instead of fighting hordes of super-powered freaks who can match Spider-Man's strength and speed. We're still going to chase vehicles with no interaction other than pressing circle for to clunkily dodge shots zeroed in at the head no matter the speed or positioning of the player, and then pressing triangle to stop it in a canned animation; instead of pursuing that vehicle anyway you please, webbing it to buildings or just punching through it.
Uncharted and TLOU got serious gameplay upgrades with the new gen, and I expected that here. There's even less excuse not to push on that front with a rather mediocre graphics showcase. I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but I'm looking to Wolverine for any of this stuff now. Clearly, Insomniac's not ready to leave behind the bones of a PS4 game with this sequel.