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Best looking open world game this generation; Horizon Zero Dawn Vs. Red Dead redemption II
- Thread starter RevengeTaken
- Start date
Question is best looking, not best looking for the budget. Both sold for $60 after all.
I played both on base PS4 and RDR2 is a better looking game.
RDR2 on X is my pick. Its the best looking game of this generation.
Horizon is damn good too, but it feels too sterile and lifeless at times. Still up there with the best tho.
Also horizons facial animation looks horrible as well. Its puzzling how the rest of the game looks so good, while facial animations are ripped straight from bethesda games.
Horizon is damn good too, but it feels too sterile and lifeless at times. Still up there with the best tho.
Also horizons facial animation looks horrible as well. Its puzzling how the rest of the game looks so good, while facial animations are ripped straight from bethesda games.
I couldnt disagree more. I would give the edge to RDR2 due to its realistic looking natural lighting vs the more fantastical and exaggerated look of Horizon's world, but the difference between the two games isnt as stark as you are making it out to be.
Around 70% of Horizon's world is set in a forest and yet every time i entered a new forest, the game managed to make it look different. I never thought it looked repetitive. RDR2 simply has more variety, but Horizon looks amazing in pretty much every area apart from maybe the opening area which looks drab and boring.
Here are some of the shots I took of areas that just made me go whoa i need to take a screenshot. notice how different they all look and more importantly feel. i added no post processing effects.
Again, to me RDR2 is the greatest looking game ive ever played but two years ago when I first played Horizon, it had the best cinematography, best art direction and best atmosphere of any game i'd played this gen. it was like playing a movie created by hollywood cinematographers and CGi artists.
I think it's very close between these two. What puts RDR2 over the top for me it's its lighting and weather systems. It's simply mind-boggling the amount variation these two systems bring to the game. And it looks stunning almost 100% of the time.
PS: Man, people really show their biases in this kind of threads.
PS: Man, people really show their biases in this kind of threads.
You just made me buy it from the sale. Damn it.Shadow of the Colossus sure is a beauty, and very underrated in that regard. I remember Digital Foundry stating in their video about it that it was also in their mind one of the visually most impressive open worlds so far.
Here's a collage of some photos that I took of the game:
I just recently played this and the whole DLC section is straight up a masterpiece IMO. I've never played anything that captured the feeling of a snowy landscape so well. This shit straight up looks CG. The animations, the art work, the snow crunch. Horizon as a franchise went from "I guess I'll play it eventually" to
"I will buy a ps5 day one if Horizon 2 is on it. No questions asked"
From the guy himself, HZD's art director, mission statement for HZD was basically to make a game that looks like NatGeo's documentaries - that "enhanced" , better than real-life look. They never aimed for verisimilitude.
Are you referring to the screenshots/gifs specifically? Or the game itself?
Cause I'm quite surprised by the amount of comments complaining about RDR2s lighting, it has one of the most impressive (and most beautiful) lighting systems I've ever seen in a game - if not the most impressive I've ever seen.
Red Dead Redemption 2. i've played both and Horizon looks gorgeous
but Red dead? the Animations, The landscape, Weather changes, The snowy mountains then back down to a swamp pit...Its just beautiful.
Half the time i didn't want to do anything in the game but ride my horse and hunt. I can only imagine what the PC release will look like.
but Red dead? the Animations, The landscape, Weather changes, The snowy mountains then back down to a swamp pit...Its just beautiful.
Half the time i didn't want to do anything in the game but ride my horse and hunt. I can only imagine what the PC release will look like.
Oh I agree with you, RDR2 is incredible. Sorry, my original comment lacked an /s.
Just before those pics were posted someone mentioned that the lighting and art direction in RDR2 were not great. Crazy huh?
Lmao, I Was about to jump on you as well. Yeah, I don't see how anyone could call RDR2's lighting poor. It's probably its strongest graphical trait along with its insane LoD system.
This is a great post. I think it would be a crime to just keep the discussion limited to RDR2 and Horizon when it comes to best looking open world games of this gen especially since so many other games do things better.
Days Gone has some of the best weather effects I've ever seen and the way the horde moves is literally out of World War Z.
SOTC has some of the best art and grass i've ever seen. it looks like a painting 99% of the time.
The draw distance and architecture in AC Origins' Roman and Greek cities is right up there with RDR2's St. Denis even if the NPC quality and animations dont match.
AC Unity has some of the best lighting and architecture in a game ever. Easily the most densly packed city as well.
Spiderman at Dusk is some of the best lighting ever. The camerawork, lighting and cinematography during cutscenes and action sequences like the final battle is easily the closest we have come to CGi.
Even Anthem despite its bugs and downgrades looks absolutely amazing due to its artstyle and world design. It's amazing that the game lets you fly around in its massive map.
Death Stranding and Ghost of Tshushima are going to end up fighting for the top 2nd or 3rd spots by the time this gen is done. Kojima is going for a stylized but realistic look similar to RDR2 and Ghosts is going for a Horizon like exaggerated look. It will be interesting to see where they end up. I dont think i've ever seen anything quite like this though so i dont know how to even compare it to RDR2 or Horizon.
Horizon certainly does come out nicely in screenshots but I don't think it holds up as wellin game. The pop in and static environment at times are things that don't show up in stills.
Havingsd that fighting a Thunderjaw or multiple Frost Claws at once in motion with the beautiful motion blur and zero frame rate drops is probably the most next gen experience I've had.
Havingsd that fighting a Thunderjaw or multiple Frost Claws at once in motion with the beautiful motion blur and zero frame rate drops is probably the most next gen experience I've had.
From a technical standpoint it's obviously RDR2.
From a "my jaw was on the floor" standpoint, HZD. That game looked fucking magnificent. The art style and color use just make it look so awe inspiring at time.
Odyssey had this same affect on me (As did Origins). Sometimes I would just stop and take picture for ten minutes.
Games sure have come a long way my friends.
From a "my jaw was on the floor" standpoint, HZD. That game looked fucking magnificent. The art style and color use just make it look so awe inspiring at time.
Odyssey had this same affect on me (As did Origins). Sometimes I would just stop and take picture for ten minutes.
Games sure have come a long way my friends.
HZD looks wonderful but RDR2 on an X borders on "must be seen to be believed" territory at times. traipsing through Saint Denis at dawn and nighttime is always a treat.
love Horizon's use of color though. lots of bright blues and reds that really jump off the screen.
love Horizon's use of color though. lots of bright blues and reds that really jump off the screen.
I like H ZD more, by a tiny margin. Mostly because of the stunning art design that made a lot of scenes look breathtaking. Also, it's HDR is very good and the colors look great.
RDR2 is amazing though and more advanced I'd say.
RDR2 is amazing though and more advanced I'd say.
Artistically Horizon. Technically RDR2.
Horizon has a clearly distinct and detailed artstyle that could only be done with a pure fantasy setting. It's biggest downfall is a few cases of bad animation transitions and some dead faced characters.
RDR2 is technically more impressive based on the details the engine takes into consideration and basically trying to mimic a more grounded and real world setting. Having to mimic life also means less creative freedom, so everything is beautiful in that way. Would love to see Rockstar try something a bit more surreal or based in fantasy with their tech.
Horizon has a clearly distinct and detailed artstyle that could only be done with a pure fantasy setting. It's biggest downfall is a few cases of bad animation transitions and some dead faced characters.
RDR2 is technically more impressive based on the details the engine takes into consideration and basically trying to mimic a more grounded and real world setting. Having to mimic life also means less creative freedom, so everything is beautiful in that way. Would love to see Rockstar try something a bit more surreal or based in fantasy with their tech.
Yeah agreed. RDR2 is probably the more technically impressive game but I preferred the visual styling of HZD more.
I like the more natural look of RDR2 more, so technically and artistically this. Horizon still looks stunningly beautiful in many areas.
Horizon looks incredible, but RDR2 on Xbox One X might just be the best looking game I have ever played -- open world or linear.
Even when people say 'technically impressive' they are really comparing production values, in other words the $ difference.
And based on the numbers in public rdr2 has like a year worth of AAAs combined beat, let alone any one game.
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I don't think there's a clear winner here. Both are the best looking open world games this gen so far and the "best" one will be down to art style preference.
I prefer HZD's art style but that doesn't mean it has better graphics than RDR2, just that I prefer it.
Also I don't like RDR2 so there's that as well
I prefer HZD's art style but that doesn't mean it has better graphics than RDR2, just that I prefer it.
Also I don't like RDR2 so there's that as well
Username and avy combo had me dead at this post.
Not that you're wrong though, shit looked amazing.
OT: Its Horizon for me, I think thats the overall best looking game I have ever played.
Will hold the crown until TLOU 2 dethrones it.
RDR2 is definitely more impressive and with a far bigger attention to detail. It's incredible, but the team size and budget matched what we got.
It's amazing to me how good Horizon looks for its team size and budget compared to Rockstar, though. It's a technically impressive game - though less so than RDR2 by a decent margin - but it has superb and consistent art direction. Because of its hyperrealism, I was so often taken aback by its beauty.
The biggest tell in this comparison, though, is this: which game has more facets where you say, "man, if this game just did _______ better it would look perfect"? I think the easy answer is Horizon Zero Dawn. If it just did water better, if it just did rain better, if it just did animation or foliage interactivity better, etc. The game is stunning, but it has more compromises than RDR2.
It's amazing to me how good Horizon looks for its team size and budget compared to Rockstar, though. It's a technically impressive game - though less so than RDR2 by a decent margin - but it has superb and consistent art direction. Because of its hyperrealism, I was so often taken aback by its beauty.
The biggest tell in this comparison, though, is this: which game has more facets where you say, "man, if this game just did _______ better it would look perfect"? I think the easy answer is Horizon Zero Dawn. If it just did water better, if it just did rain better, if it just did animation or foliage interactivity better, etc. The game is stunning, but it has more compromises than RDR2.
I voted for HZD. I think RDR looks incredible, but I preferred the art style and environments in HZD. I was also blown away by the HDR, while RDR2 was a huge let down on HDR.
RDR is visually flawless. Horizon has ugly water, weird/unappealing night time lighting and robotic character animations in cutscenes.
That makes soooo much sense. It reminded me of those nature reels they play on TVs in a store, where you're like "how does this look better than real life?!".
Like many others have indicated, I'd say RDR2 wins hands down from a technical/realism standpoint, but HZD wins from an artistic standpoint.