Note: This article has been translated from Italian by ChatGPT and may contain errors.
Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in graphics and technical data; I base my opinions solely on the limited perception of my imperfect visual system and, of course, the video games I have personally seen (so the PC platform is excluded, as it would make little sense in any case). In this list of titles, you will find those that, in my subjective opinion, have been the games capable of defining their respective generation in terms of visual aspect: graphics.
Nintendo 64 Era – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
From what I know, the Nintendo 64 was considerably more powerful than the PS1. I don’t have extensive knowledge of that generation, as I played a few titles on the Nintendo 64 and a few on the PS1 (played on the PS2). However, my memories lead me to award The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a title that could boast one of the most vibrant and beautiful worlds to see at that time, probably the most lively and beautiful of all time in that period. The follow-up Majora’s Mask had a nearly identical technical aspect, but my choice, also out of nostalgia, falls on Ocarina of Time.
PlayStation 2 Era – Resident Evil 4
Xbox? PlayStation 2? GameCube? Which was the most powerful console? Well, who cares. From my point of view, Resident Evil 4 in the GameCube version (though I played the Wii version) was probably the most visually impressive work of that period. A visually stunning game for its time.
PlayStation 3 Era – Heavy Rain
Here, the choice becomes difficult, as both the PS3 and Xbox 360 had technically incredible games, while Nintendo with the Wii decided to take a completely different path. The skill of Naughty Dog in the graphical field cannot be denied, and despite noticeable aliasing, The Last of Us is one of the best video games of the PS3 era in terms of visuals. As for attention to detail, digital acting, and facial expressions, it arguably represents the pinnacle achieved in those years, deserving a mention. Still, my choice falls on Quantic Dream work: Heavy Rain. Its nature as an “interactive film” certainly allowed it to maximize the power of the PS3, giving us a title that is still visually pleasing to watch. Did Beyond: Two Souls do better? Honestly, it doesn’t come to mind, but maybe it maintained more or less the same quality.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Era – Red Dead Redemption II
On the PS4 and Xbox One, graphically exceptional games were released, considering titles like Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Part II, or Ryse: Son of Rome. However, I have no doubts about which title is the best: Red Dead Redemption II, played on the Xbox One. Never before RDR 2 had an open world with such graphic quality been seen, capable of rivaling the mentioned works (and perhaps even surpassing them in some aspects). The overall visual impact of RDR 2 is simply impressive. From a technical standpoint, it’s perhaps the only game of that generation that still surprises me today.
And PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X?
I intend to buy a PS5 shortly, so I can’t express my opinions on the new consoles yet, but from what I’ve seen, there don’t seem to be titles capable of fully exploiting these platforms… for now. The leap from the PS4 and Xbox One seems almost non-existent, especially since most of the released titles are cross-gen. We’ll see what the future holds when developers start seriously working on games exclusively for the PS5 and Series X. Because that time may have also come…