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As is DF tradition, we round off the year with a look at the team's personal picks for the best game graphics of 2023. Covering off the very best in both PC and console rendering, Alex Battaglia, John Linneman and Oliver Mackenzie share their thoughts on the most impressive visuals of the year, leading to an open debate on which title did it best: Alan Wake 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora or Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive?

0:00:00 Overview
0:01:55 Honourable Mentions
0:16:14 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
0:21:28 Final Fantasy 16
0:27:10 Robocop: Rogue City
0:32:56 Resident Evil 4
0:40:33 Hi-Fi Rush
0:45:45 Super Mario Bros. Wonder
0:49:45 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
0:55:50 Cyberpunk 2077 RT Overdrive
1:02:57 Alan Wake 2
1:12:29 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
1:22:43 Top Three Debate




Top 3:


1. Avatar
2. Alan Wake 2
3. Cyberpunk RT Overdrive

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

FF16 looking sexy

 

[Mr Moose]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Um, OK.

 

[Senua]

Avatar over Alan Wake 2 damn, I really have to play this because AW2 blew my mind graphically

 

[adamsapple]

Avatar over Alan Wake 2 damn, I really have to play this because AW2 blew my mind graphically

Technically, Avatar is superb. As a game, it's mediocre at best.

Both the top 2 games also have very solid console ports, while their #3 is something only doable on PC's at the moment.

 

[mansoor1980]

all top 3 games have ray-tracing , lord battaglia has spoken , PC crushes consoles

 

[Flabagast]

Avatar top 1?

 

[adamsapple]

all top 3 games have ray-tracing , lord battaglia has spoken , PC crushes consoles

Avatar has RT on consoles too.

 

[rsouzadk]

Avatar, graphics wise, is unmatched. But AW2 give it a good run overall.

 

[rofif]

FF16 looking sexy

Should win or be 2nd to pl.
aw2 is the biggest piece of tech dogshit if you play on console. Worst image quality this gen and bad performance. Pc sure. But console not even fallback for lack of rt. Just broken ssr that’s only grain

And I am not impressed by avatar at all. Forspoken looks more impressive to me. Why is not on the list at all btw. Looks great at times

 

[Senua]

all top 3 games have ray-tracing , lord battaglia has spoken , PC crushes consoles

Who knew ray tracing was visually impressive?

 

[mansoor1980]

Avatar has RT on consoles too.

PC top graphics need a separate video is my point basically.
also he placed avatar at 1 because the PC version is well optimised

 

[mansoor1980]

Who knew ray tracing was visually impressive?

other aspects of graphics are impressive too

 

[Senua]

PC top graphics need a separate video is my point basically.
also he placed avatar at 1 because the PC version is well optimised

Why are you always so salty bro. What did you want to win?

other aspects of graphics are impressive too

True there was great hair tech in Spiderman 2

 

[mansoor1980]

Why are you always so salty bro. What did you want to win?

why do u care about my opinion?

 

[adamsapple]

PC top graphics need a separate video is my point basically.
also he placed avatar at 1 because the PC version is well optimised

All 3 of them (John, Alex, Oliver) have the same result though, they all separately called it their pick.

 

[mansoor1980]

Why are you always so salty bro. What did you want to win?


True there was great hair tech in Spiderman 2

anything else?

 

[TxKnight7]

a multiplatform game at num one again?

John, Alex, Oliver said Avatar wins

I thought they will pick Alan wake 2 for sure after they said this but then Avatar came

" Alan Wake 2 is the best looking game released so far this generation " Whether you're playing on PlayStation 5 in either of its quality modes, or on a PC without hardware-accelerated ray tracing features active, you're still getting a frankly incredible-looking game"


Crazy that Cyberpunk enter the list again this year!
In 2020 the game did win
best graphics

1. Cyberpunk
2. Spiderman Miles Morales
3. Microsoft flight simulator
4. Half life Alyx
5. The last of us part 2
6. Demons souls
7. Doom eternal

 

[Senua]

why do u care about my opinion?

 

[mansoor1980]

ok

 

[Insane Metal]

Yeah that's a list alright.

 

[ungalo]

Another boycott for Hogwarts and Atomic Heart, just for that 0 credibility whatsoever.

Besides that it seems that because a game succeeded in a way you have to put it in every top even when it's irrelevant. And on the contrary because a game is considered a flop it doesn't deserve to be in any ranking regardless of what we're talking about. It's a whole other level of conformist thinking.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Actual winners

 

[Magic Carpet]

I can't watch the video, Why is Hi-fi Rush on this list? Performance?

 

[mansoor1980]

All 3 of them (John, Alex, Oliver) have the same result though, they all separately called it their pick.

like i said PC needs its own best graphics/tech video , its way ahead of consoles

 

[YCoCg]

Forspoken looks better honestly.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

PC top graphics need a separate video is my point basically.
also he placed avatar at 1 because the PC version is well optimised

The whole list is because the games are on PC.

 

[Senua]

Actual winners

 

[rofif]

Avatar top 1?

I think they are fooled by vegetation. Even in their video rocksides are flat and lack geometry. Same with rt gi. Ends up looking flat.
Where is immortals? Looks stunning. At least better than avatar.
And horizon dlc shits on avatar

read again. I edited.
Looks more impressive to me. I posted many shots and I still launch that game to look at it.

WTF IS HOGWARTS

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

What's predictable is lists like this from shills like DF.

 

[ungalo]

like i said PC needs its own best graphics/tech video , its way ahead of consoles

It's already a PC oriented top, otherwise Alan Wake 2 would not be number 2 and Avatar wouldn't be number 1. Honestly on console the foliage is still incredible but the rest not so much.

 

[rofif]

Actual winners

Replace spiderman with hogwarts and we are ok

 

[Senua]

What's predictable is lists like this from shills like DF.

 

[adamsapple]

What's predictable is lists like this from shills like DF.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I agree with their choices. This generation is about raytraced lighting and mesh shaders. Remedy and Ubisoft's in house engines have been modernized and are equal to UE5. CD Projekt Red are abandoning their engine. Hopefully they don't struggle with UE like Respawn. Jedi Survivor is a beautiful game marred by inconsistent performance.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

PS5 is better than your 16gb PC. Gotta have a proper build to be pcmr

 

[Gaiff]

all top 3 games have ray-tracing , lord battaglia has spoken , PC crushes consoles

Most AAA games ship with a degree of RT now, don't they? Avatar, Alan Wake, Spider-Man 2, RE4, Jedi Survivor, Dead Space Remake. I think Rogue City also uses Lumen for software RT? It's not AAA but still.

 

[Senua]

SNAP

PS5 is better than your 16gb PC. Gotta have a proper build to be pcmr

How much ram does your PS5 have damn. I can download more anyway.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

I can't watch the video, Why is Hi-fi Rush on this list? Performance?

$$$$

 

[Gaiff]

I can't watch the video, Why is Hi-fi Rush on this list? Performance?

Art style. Game looks incredible.

 

[Deerock71]

Is it Hogwarts? Hogwarts Legacy won, didn't it?

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Did Hogwarts get a shout? Game is great looking and dripping in atmosphere. Unfairly sidelined by the “gaming media”

 

[Stuart360]

A lot of salt in here of course but AVATAR at Ultra settings is the best looking game i have played yet.
And people mentioning stuff like Hogwarts, its not even in the same league.

 

[rofif]

Most AAA games ship with a degree of RT now, don't they? Avatar, Alan Wake, Spider-Man 2, RE4, Jedi Survivor, Dead Space Remake. I think Rogue City also uses Lumen for software RT? It's not AAA but still.

The fact that aw2 is so far away on pc it’s not pc strength. Or lack of care by remedy. Console versions of aw2 look worse than other console games. That game is static. They could figure something out but it’s just pc on low.

 

[Gaiff]

$$$$

That why you're so salty? They get paid and Sony doesn't give you a penny for all your work?

 

[Senua]

That why you're so salty? They get paid and Sony doesn't give you a penny for all your work?

I just don't get how he and his ilk don't get banned lmao. I don't even want him to be banned but I swear if I acted that way I'd be out the door with a red arse.

 

[Gaiff]

The fact that aw2 is so far away on pc it’s not pc strength. Or lack of care by remedy. Console versions of aw2 look worse than other console games. That game is static. They could figure something out but it’s just pc on low.

Doesn't the 30fps mode look fine on console? It's the 60fps mode that suffers.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

SNAP


How much ram does your PS5 have damn. I can download more anyway.

PS5 streams data from the I/O and is in a much less usage + gaming friendly OS.

 

[Negotiator101]

all top 3 games have ray-tracing , lord battaglia has spoken , PC crushes consoles

 

[Senua]

PS5 streams data from the I/O and is in a much less usage + gaming friendly OS.

Your ability to turn literally any thread into a PS5 vs PC/Xbox war is quite impressive brother