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So, which environments blew you away this gen?
- Thread starter cormack12
- Start date
HawarMiran
Banned
Seattle in Tlou 2
trapanesenyc
Banned
This whole section of TLOU2 .
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Jack Peterson
Banned
Anything from Uncharted 4. I think the game looks better than TLOU2...
cormack12
Gold Member
Good shouts - for me it's RDR2. Like a lot of games had the wow factor on playthroughs, but RDR2 still when I switch it on just blows me away. I think it's a combination of the lighting and the pure reality of the ground and blendings of grasses and trees. The only game that I repeatedly play and repeatedly get a wow moment each session.
DunDunDunpachi
Patient MembeR
Breath of the Wild, not necessarily because of its high visual fidelity compared to the others mentioned, but because of its map design and long draw distances. At all times, you have near-perfect information about where you are (in relation to the central Ganon zone, eliminating the needs for a compass) and can always find something on the horizon of interest. The environment struck a perfect balance between "playability" and visuals. I give all the credit to Monolith who designed the map. As someone who was mostly soured on open-world games this gen, it consistently blew me away.
teezzy
Banned
The Beach house at the end of Uncharted 4 looked really nice for an in-game explorable environment.
Goddamn. This looks real to me. My brain is too dumb to believe this is a game. On a PS4 of all things?!!
Holy shit.
Optimistic Gamer
Member
Best section of the game!This whole section of TLOU2 .
DunDunDunpachi
Patient MembeR
BB regularly impresses me with its over-the-top environment design, even to this day when better-looking games have come out since.
Business
Member
TLOU 2 Seattle and even more (late game spoilers)
RDR 2
Death Stranding, admittedly I love the "Icelandic type" landscape in general. Plus I had the feeling it was the only one that made scale well. Somehow I feel mountains are not as large as they should in RDR 2 or Horizon, they look fine from the distance but when you are close it's like they are scaled down versions of big mountains. In DS I felt I was on a real hike with correct sized slopes and mountains.
Santa Barbara at the end, because of the contrast with Seattle made me appreciate both even more, it's like you could smell the place
RDR 2
Death Stranding, admittedly I love the "Icelandic type" landscape in general. Plus I had the feeling it was the only one that made scale well. Somehow I feel mountains are not as large as they should in RDR 2 or Horizon, they look fine from the distance but when you are close it's like they are scaled down versions of big mountains. In DS I felt I was on a real hike with correct sized slopes and mountains.
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OutrageousFacts
Banned
Xenoblade X, Xenoblade 2 and Breath of the Wild.
The former and latter especially because their world is 100% "you can reach whatever you see", which just is pure adventure-feeling, but even as more typical backdrops, Xenoblade 2 had many gorgeous environments, Uraya being one of them.
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alabtrosMyster
Banned
I prefer god of war PS4
The others are too "real" in their style.
The others are too "real" in their style.
BusierDonkey
Member
Fallout 4 - Shit on the game all you want, but the artists that pieced together the world did an amazing job. I have 2500 hours in Fallout 4 and I still find new things hidden in the world when I dig into areas.
Forza Horizon 2, 3 and 4 - Given the map sizes and the speed you travel through it, the attention to detail is amazing in each installment. The coast of France, Australia, and the UK were all packaged into maps that were perfect caricatures of the real locations. They also threw a life-size Hot Wheels track on an archipelago complete with robot dinosaurs. The latest map covers all four seasons with some major changes in each season which is impressive given the size of the map.
Metro Exodus - Going from an icy bombed out city through a desert into forests, this game's world never looked anything but great.
Gears 5 - The stages were much more varied than earlier Gears installments and a lot more opened up. The draw distances and detail were through the roof as well.
Battlefront II - Almost perfectly recreates the look of the films. Planets like Endor and Sullust look incredible.
The Outer Worlds - While the game was a bit lackluster the environments in the game were beautiful and each planet you visited felt unique.
Rage 2 - Very diverse terrain coupled with open world go-anywhere. I often found myself just cruising around looking at shit.
The Witcher 3 - Majestic is a good word for this game's world.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - This entire game was a monument to the artists involved. It was like playing 60 paintings/second. The environment looked natural despite being made for a game based entirely around some very good platforming.
Titanfall 2 - The game has some very clever environments, one has you flipping back and forth through different timelines instantly. Another has you going through a factory which is assembling a fake town that you fight a boss Titan on.
Games I don't have my own shots of:
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Doesn't really need much of an explanation. Perfect representation of the era it depicts.
Breath of the Wild - While the Switch is no graphical powerhouse, in 300+ hours I never got tired of looking at this world. It seemed so organic in how it was designed, making you stumble across interesting things at every turn.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - A world built onto giant living creatures floating in a sea of clouds. The massive differences from area to area kept the game fresh over 300 hours and is among my favorite game worlds.
Xenoblade Chronicles X - The sheer size and scale of the worlds was daunting, and each area was like viewing works done by a new artist. One of the most memorable game worlds I've ever visited.
Super Mario Odyssey - The drastic changes from stage to stage from the odd nighttime Hat world, to a Jungle with a Robot-run plant nursery, to New Donk City, a world made of food, etc. The environments always kept the game moving forward.
There are so many I'm not remembering right now, but my post is already pretty damned long
Forza Horizon 2, 3 and 4 - Given the map sizes and the speed you travel through it, the attention to detail is amazing in each installment. The coast of France, Australia, and the UK were all packaged into maps that were perfect caricatures of the real locations. They also threw a life-size Hot Wheels track on an archipelago complete with robot dinosaurs. The latest map covers all four seasons with some major changes in each season which is impressive given the size of the map.
Metro Exodus - Going from an icy bombed out city through a desert into forests, this game's world never looked anything but great.
Gears 5 - The stages were much more varied than earlier Gears installments and a lot more opened up. The draw distances and detail were through the roof as well.
Battlefront II - Almost perfectly recreates the look of the films. Planets like Endor and Sullust look incredible.
The Outer Worlds - While the game was a bit lackluster the environments in the game were beautiful and each planet you visited felt unique.
Rage 2 - Very diverse terrain coupled with open world go-anywhere. I often found myself just cruising around looking at shit.
The Witcher 3 - Majestic is a good word for this game's world.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - This entire game was a monument to the artists involved. It was like playing 60 paintings/second. The environment looked natural despite being made for a game based entirely around some very good platforming.
Titanfall 2 - The game has some very clever environments, one has you flipping back and forth through different timelines instantly. Another has you going through a factory which is assembling a fake town that you fight a boss Titan on.
Games I don't have my own shots of:
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Doesn't really need much of an explanation. Perfect representation of the era it depicts.
Breath of the Wild - While the Switch is no graphical powerhouse, in 300+ hours I never got tired of looking at this world. It seemed so organic in how it was designed, making you stumble across interesting things at every turn.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - A world built onto giant living creatures floating in a sea of clouds. The massive differences from area to area kept the game fresh over 300 hours and is among my favorite game worlds.
Xenoblade Chronicles X - The sheer size and scale of the worlds was daunting, and each area was like viewing works done by a new artist. One of the most memorable game worlds I've ever visited.
Super Mario Odyssey - The drastic changes from stage to stage from the odd nighttime Hat world, to a Jungle with a Robot-run plant nursery, to New Donk City, a world made of food, etc. The environments always kept the game moving forward.
There are so many I'm not remembering right now, but my post is already pretty damned long
Lionel Richie
Member
I don't want to sound like a contrarian, but legit nothing impressed me quite like Hollow Knight:
The very subtle use of colors, the sense of place in these (mostly) tunnels, the details in the background. Absolutely perfect.
The very subtle use of colors, the sense of place in these (mostly) tunnels, the details in the background. Absolutely perfect.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Tiamat2san
Member
Gears 4 and 5
Horizon zero dawn + frozen wild
Forza Horizon 3 and 4
Red dead 2
Some God of war
TLOU 2
Horizon zero dawn + frozen wild
Forza Horizon 3 and 4
Red dead 2
Some God of war
TLOU 2
Cliff Underside
Member
You're opening a whole can of worms op, I could be posting screenshots for days:
Observer
Fallout 4
Borderlands 3
Breath of the Wild
Vampyr
The Surge
Just to name a few.
Observer
Fallout 4
Borderlands 3
Breath of the Wild
Vampyr
The Surge
Just to name a few.
SirKicksalot
Member
The worlds of Mad Max and AssCreed Origins
The glacial Neanderthal territory in Far Cry Primal
Britain and the Colosseum in Ryse
City 17 in HL Alyx
The glacial Neanderthal territory in Far Cry Primal
Britain and the Colosseum in Ryse
City 17 in HL Alyx
SupremeHoodie
Member
Breath of the wild and honestly, I really loved the world AC Odyssey was.
Naked Lunch
Member
Dark Souls 3. For the sheer variety of stunning locations.
In my opinion, From Software produces the best art on the planet - of any media. I cherish my Dark Souls artbooks.
In my opinion, From Software produces the best art on the planet - of any media. I cherish my Dark Souls artbooks.
eastwood333
Banned
Batman Arkham Night with the amazing rain effects
CatLady
Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
Later Alligator
Member
Days Gone doesn't get enough credit. it really nailed the PNW atmosphere
TLOU2 has since come out and does it better, but Days Gone was super impressive as well
TLOU2 has since come out and does it better, but Days Gone was super impressive as well
alabtrosMyster
Banned
I did it last night... Could not wait to go back to the theater! But I liked what I found there.
Jtibh
Banned
B
Best game i played this year
TrainedRage
Banned
VR Paradise - You can grab strippers tits and smack them in the ass.
GOTY
GOTY
