I played Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart recently because it was available free on PS+ and it is the most gorgeous game I have ever played in my life.
The graphical capabilities are astounding, the aesthetic is pleasing, and there is charm out the wazoo. You can’t look anywhere without seeing something interesting making use of all that fancy graphic tech. I kept it installed despite 100%ing it just to mess around with the photo mode.
I say this as someone who doesn't like MTX, but I've never understood how optional cosmetics ever factor into whether a game is "complete". The only way they could be seen as an important part of the game is if you play games to play dressup. Which I get if you're playing a fashion designer style game or a game thats almost purely social, but in the majority of games they don't fucking matter at all. How do people get so bent out of shape about them?
The only way they could be seen as an important part of the game is if you play games to play dressup.
You really shouldn't be but I feel you'd be surprised how many people, especially MMORPG players, care about this. I personally play GW2 a lot and since there's no gear treadmill unlocking cosmetics is one of the main goals you can actually do there, to show off your accomplishments or hard work. Ofc it's not the only thing keeping players engaged but it is a major part of it.
Besides, if it didn't matter to players then it wouldn't be monetized as much in the first place. So whenever I see this argument "well its just cosmetics so it doesnt matter:", I get kinda frustrated because obviously it matters, obviously it works which is why it's still a thing to monetize so much.
Death’s Door just a stunning game in regards to art style and music/sound design. Really creative boss battles too that never felt stale. Can be challenging.
Omno very chill game with a really cool vibe and music. No combat to speak of. Short though.
Pseudoregalia PS1-style graphics but oddly gorgeous. It’s a metroidvania of sorts with some of the best movement mechanics in recent memory. Highly recommend a look at least.
A Short Hike really cute game that is all about exploration. As the title suggests, not a very long game. On the Switch version there was a toggle to turn off a graphics filter that is reminiscent of the 3DS. I personally liked it, but I have not checked the Steam version for the same option.
Sea Of Stars releases on 29 Aug, but there is a demo available. Between the gorgeous 16bit inspired graphics, the lighting effects, and the incredible soundtrack this would be an instant buy for me if it weren’t hitting Game Pass on day one! I may still plunk down on a physical copy. Leaning towards Switch, assuming it plays as well there as other platforms.
These are maybe not what some would consider beautiful, but I love the variation in art styles and how they can be beautiful while either being simplistic or retro-inspired. All but Sea Of Stars were very cheap during the Steam Summer sale or in a Fanatical bundle that may or may not still be available right now.
I played Skyrim AE right after Horizon Forbidden West and I kept finding the simplicity and visual clarity of the game to be so damn beautiful. The game has the right amount of clutter, right amount of volumetric fogs and right amount of texture detail to be easy on eyes and believable as a consistent and functioning world.
Just unlucky, I’ve played through the game many times and some runs I get none other runs I get a lot. There is a pattern to some of them, but if you are just picking yourself it’s truly random, there’s no “loaded dice” system involved to throw the player a bone. (though you’d think there would be with how aggressive catchup is XD)
Maybe I’m still in the early stages (blacklist 10) that catchup for enemies isn’t too relevant because I’ve been smoking them (like half the map away).
Although when I do make a mistake (ram head-on against another car, hit a wall, etc.) it is plainly obvious that given enough time I’ll be able to catch up.
The later ones don’t allow that, they’ll just take off and you’ll have to reset. Some mods let you turn it off but really the game just becomes a cakewalk if you do.
I just finished Earl. Either the AI for catchup for Earl is egregious as you’ve said or the tail end of the race is mostly cornering and I’m just bad at it. I had to restart like 4 times.
Witcher 3. The scenery there is just beautiful. And you get your first beautiful scenery pretty much immediately in the tutorial, just go to the balcony in your room and look.
Monster Hunter World is five years old and holds up great.
bask in the sun halfway up the Ancient Forest with a Tobi-Kadachi (giant white electric flying squirrelsnake; chill until you hit it)
climb up to the top of the Coral Highlands cat colony and watch the sky jellyfish float by in the sunset
share a hot spring with snow monkeys in the Hoarfrost Reach
They did a great job of making the maps feel like a living system that goes on while you’re not there. (Sadly, this is much less true of the newest MH game, Rise, where the maps are full of traversal puzzles but the wildlife pretty much all exists only to attack you.)
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