Best PC Graphics to date: Top 5

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
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May 13, 2009
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So, I asked this about a year ago and got the answer, try Witcher 2. What, at this time, are the best graphics?

I'm not writing of best art direction. I think Bioshock 2 prettier than 1 due to what they chose to depict. Choral growing over Rapture. It was beautiful, but not quite on par with the graphic quality of Bioshock 1.

Amazingly, today, they've managed to move even more forward. To my experience, the best so far:

5) Skyrim
4) Batman Arkham Asylum
3) Far Cry 3
2) Tomb Raider Reboot
1) Crysis 3

Am I missing anything? Let me know. Thanks!

-Mod edit: To avoid Low Content, please add why you think your game is best. Thanks!
 

shrekfan246

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May 26, 2011
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I'd only count Skyrim with texture mods, and at that point I don't think it counts anymore.

Personally, I'd probably still rank The Witcher 2 right up there. Alongside Bioshock Infinite, Crysis 3, Metro: Last Light, and... I'm not really sure what else. Maybe Sleeping Dogs, which in my opinion had one of the most gorgeous in-game cities I've ever seen, especially while driving down the streets during an in-game rain storm.

Arkham City and Tomb Raider were pretty good, but let down by abysmal optimization in my opinion, especially AC, which just tanked in DirectX 11 mode. If we included individual styles as well, I'd probably go with Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Dishonored, myself. I love their respective aesthetics, even if they're not as technically impressive.
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

I never asked for this
Sep 8, 2011
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Bioshock Infinite is so pretty. It looks like a really good acid trip. Trust me on that.

Assassin's Creed 2 is kind of old, but the aesthetics make up for it because it looks magical. Especially Venice. On the other hand AC3 is graphically superior, but the cities make it look dull.

Just Cause 2 still looks amazing. So much land, so much eye candy. So much to blow up.
 

lRookiel

Lord of Infinite Grins
Jun 30, 2011
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Someone take a look at Trine 2 on max settings and tell me it's not an absolutely beautiful game. Because I could look at that game for hours.
 

GoaThief

Reinventing the Spiel
Feb 2, 2012
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Metro Last Light should be around the #1 spot, how it's not even in the OP's list is beyond me.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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the witcher 2 and tomb raider for sure, there are plenty of other pretty games out there but these two stuck out in my head, especially dat hair :D
 

ShinyCharizard

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Oct 24, 2012
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shrekfan246 said:
I'm not really sure what else. Maybe Sleeping Dogs, which in my opinion had one of the most gorgeous in-game cities I've ever seen, especially while driving down the streets during an in-game rain storm.
Yes this. Easily the most beautiful graphical effect I've ever seen in a game.
 
Dec 14, 2009
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The game that made my jaw drop with how fantastic it looked was Bioshock Infinite.

When you crest the clouds in that shuttle the first time you seem Colombia. Just, wow.
 

Doopliss64

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Jul 20, 2011
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Crysis 3 is definitely the best-looking game from a technical perspective, but its graphics are actually pretty badly-designed. Environments are way too visually busy in a way that negatively impacts gameplay. Whereas games like TF2 take ages to make sure players are easily distinguishable from their environments, Crysis 3 takes the opposite approach and buries anything meaningful under layers of vines, underbrush, and layered hyper-realistic textures. Pretty? Yeah. It's gorgeous. It's just a shitty environment for, you know, a video game.

But I assume you're approaching this question from a technology perspective, so yeah, Crysis 3 takes the cake.
 
Feb 22, 2009
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Skyrim looks AWFUL, imo. Bioshock Infinite and the Witcher 2 also should be on the list. And I agree with Crysis 3 being there, Far Cry 3 too.
 

AnthrSolidSnake

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Jun 2, 2011
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Out of the games I've played on PC recently:

Bioshock Infinite
Far Cry 3
Metro Last Light
Far Cry 2 still looks amazing IMO
Battlefield 3

Funny enough, all First Person Shooters. And this is just recently, I could think of many more that I'd love to put on here, but you said top 5.

Also, I'd love to agree with Crysis 3, but I haven't actually played that for myself, so I can't agree unfortunately. And I did debate Skyrim, but then I realized that it only look so good on mine because of texture and shader mods, so I didn't count it.
 

Blue Musician

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Mar 23, 2010
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In no order, and more than 5, just cause:

-The Witcher 2
-BioShock Infinite
-Metro 2033 & Last Light
-Crysis
-Spec Ops The Line
-Dishonored
-The Void
 

RedDeadFred

Illusions, Michael!
May 13, 2009
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Pretty sure he means Skyrim with mods people. In that case, ya it's definitely up there. However, like many others are saying, you've missed The Witcher 2. IMO, that's the best looking game ever.
 

Lilani

Sometimes known as CaitieLou
May 27, 2009
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I don't know if it's the "best," but I was very impressed by how smooth and well-defined the models were in Final Fantasy XIV. They had a very distinct design and aesthetic, and they were very well modeled and textured. And what was more staggering was how smoothly the game ran. Skyrim sometimes chugged a bit for me when I was playing it, and some of the models were...blocky. I wasn't sure if it was the modeling or the texturing, but either way I found myself disappointed in many things I saw. FFXIV has extremely smooth models and textures, and at times particle effects out the wazoo yet everything still runs very smoothly. PLUS, it's an MMO so everybody else's actions are being calculated in real-time as well. Several of Skyrim's graphical settings I had to run on low, but in FFXIV I've got all the settings on at least medium and a few on high.

I don't really have five more, but I'd also toss in Bioshock Infinite. Like FFXIV--beautiful designs and very smoothly executed.

And I probably should note that when I say "models" I'm mostly referring to character models, because for some reason that's how I tend to rate a game's graphics. Character models are always the hardest because they have to be designed to be rigged and moved. And people especially are difficult, because they're not just about modeling a person accurately. It's about having a particular style and sticking to it (FFXIV's style was very anime as typical for a Final Fantasy game, Bioshock and Bioshock infinite are "realistic" but with just the right amount of selective detail and stylization to not be aiming for photorealism). I couldn't really tell Skyrim's style. It felt realistic, but it felt like the look of the human characters was more a consequence of how they were modeled rather than a conscious design choice.
 

Strelok

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Dec 22, 2012
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series in DX10, DX10.1 and DX11 is amazing, some of the best weather effects, Clear Sky had dynamic wet surfaces, and the first with dynamic lighting. Metro 2033/Last light in DX10 especially DX11 is amazing, enhanced PhysX really add to the experience as well. Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason is really great, the freezing and thawing effects were breathtaking, enhanced PhysX with the water cannon and bullet particle effects hitting the walls were also pretty amazing, bit of a system killer though. The king of them all is likely Crysis, especially Warhead, hard to believe that it was just a stand alone expansion that came to $30 on release day Warhead took the same visuals as Crysis and greatly improved performance, was really a great experience. Crysis 2 however looked ok, but nothing compared to Crysis and Warhead, I hope things have improved with 3 now that DX 9 and 10 have been dropped completely. Finally I would have to say Just Cause 2, the draw distance and visuals were incredible. I can't wait to see what they do with Just Cause 3.
 

Sh1nobu

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Nov 23, 2009
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People are confusing aesthetics and graphics here.

I still think the the Cryengine games have the best visual fidelity..
 

spartandude

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Nov 24, 2009
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Pure graphics
Metro Last Light
Witcher 2
Far Cry3
Crysis 3
Shogun 2 Total War (at least for an rts)

however best looking games

Witcher 2
Trine 2
Torchlight 2
The Walking Dead
Dust An Elysian Tail