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RDR2 (X) vs HZD (Pro) - 4K Graphics and Details Comparison

Which do you prefer visually?

  • Red Dead Redemption 2

    Votes: 623 60.0%

  • Horizon Zero Dawn

    Votes: 415 40.0%
  • Total voters
    1,038
  • Poll closed .
DriftingSpirit

DriftingSpirit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,897


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I prefer the style and color palette of HZD, but RDR2 undoubtedly looks better overall. Just interesting to compare RDR2 to one of the best looking open world games to show how great it looks.

Here are some factors I'll throw out to hopefully add to the discussion:

Budget
Time
Manpower
Experience
Hardware
Amount of Platforms
Art Style

So, what do y'all think? Which do you prefer?
 
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CloseTalker

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,568
RDR probably looks better, but the aesthetic of HZD is so obscenely up my alley that I'll prefer it to almost any game. The art direction in that game is stunning!

It's also worth noting that HZD is closer than not to two years old when Red Dead came out. Tech and processes keep improving, so It might look a bit better if released today, who knows.

Also, the animations in HZD may be a bit less detailed, but they also don't feel like they're happening underwater and get in the way of making the game fun like RDR2's do. So that counts for something.
 
Caiusto

Caiusto

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,743
"animations"
*static photo*

Am I missing something?

-

Jokes aside, RDR2 gets the edge when it comes to the scale I guess? But I think both games are so different aesthetically that it's hard to compare.
 
SnatcherHunter

SnatcherHunter

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
13,479
Add a Poll OP.
HZD had an unique charm look to it, but I easily see RDR2 stomping all over HZD.

My jaw literelly hurts from being on the ground so much while playing RDR2.
 
CrayToes

CrayToes

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,971
Red Dead looks better, has a denser world with much more going on and is vastly more interactive.
 

BMc28

Alt Account
Banned
Oct 26, 2018
26
two totally different games. horizon is a good looking game but it is no where near RDR2.
 
Toumari

Toumari

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,303
England
200 person team over 5 years (whilst building an engine from scratch) vs 3000 team over 8 years. It's clear who wins here.
 
gadwin

gadwin

Member
Nov 1, 2017
157
Can't compare to he X, but with both games on the Pro, I still think Horizon is the most advanced and beautiful game out there. RDR 2 for sure has a bigger scale though and more things going on.
 
dobahking91

dobahking91

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,591
Without taking anything away from R*, this just shows how much impressive Horizon is.

We are comparing the first open world from GG (~250 devs) that came almost two years ago to a game from one of the top studios when it comes to open world games.
 
Certinfy

Certinfy

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
3,476
Horizon looked great, but Red Dead looks pretty much better in every way. What Rockstar created visually for an open world game is unparalleled, nothing even comes close.
 
illamap

illamap

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
466
Toumari said:
200 person team over 5 years (whilst building an engine from scratch) vs 3000 team over 8 years. It's clear who wins here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Architecture of the engine also matters a lot and even comparatively few engineers can make a huge difference esp. when not burdened by too much of overtime, and jamming a lot of engineers to graphics programming department doesn't really scale up that efficiently. That said I prefer the softer and "pastel" like art direction of rdr 2. When it comes to indoor, city and night scenes rdr 2 has clear leg up.
 
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Banned
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
Looking at comparison videos is different to how the game actually looks in person running on your TV.
I think RDR2 takes the edge. It is just so detailed and polished plus native 4k really is the icing on the cake.
RDR2 equals and surpasses more liner games like gears 4 and UC4, amazing for an open world game.
 
Soriku

Soriku

Member
Nov 12, 2017
6,896
Haven't played RDR2, but just going off that video...RDR2 seems a bit more detailed visually but I much prefer HZD's aesthetic and color palette, also the way they render the sun (see 3:08 and 6:08 in video). RDR2 looks much more muted in comparison. Edit: Snow looks pretty good though and better than HZD.

Horizon 2 should look amazing on PS5 and Death Stranding is also using the Decima Engine, the art direction is different but still looks really good, wonder how it'll up up with RDR2 as it should hopefully use a more advanced version of the engine.
 
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Tyaren

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
I don't know... :/ Yeah, RDR2 has a much bigger scale and is technically more impressive in almost every aspect, but HZD looks still more beautiful in smaller spaces and detail. I didn't come across any place this dense and detailed and visually polished in RDR2 yet:

30634094427_8a89ff2c1a_o.png


And those densely packed, even if smaller, vistas...

44875134994_22d200b46b_o.png
 
Asbsand

Asbsand

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,901
Denmark
HZD always looked too bright and wonderful for my taste. It's beautiful but it's too visually optimistic to have the kind of edge I need even in an adventure-rich game.
 
CanisMajoris

CanisMajoris

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
887
It's a contest of realistic vs stylized. I much prefer the art style of HZD, but RDR2 has more refined indirect lighting. Also realistic animations vs prioritization on user input and movement.

Amazing what GG has accomplished in their first try.
 
Yerffej

Yerffej

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,496
RDR2 does edge it out, but given the systems at play, and how much larger the world is...it's still hard to believe.
 
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Banned
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
Anthony Hopkins said:
Looking at comparison videos is different to how the game actually looks in person running on your TV.
I think RDR2 takes the edge. It is just so detailed and polished plus native 4k really is the icing on the cake.
RDR2 equals and surpasses more liner games like gears 4 and UC4, amazing for an open world game.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If RDR2 was scaled down to a UC4 style game it would still be impressive.
 
Soriku

Soriku

Member
Nov 12, 2017
6,896
Asbsand said:
HZD always looked too bright and wonderful for my taste. It's beautiful but it's too visually optimistic to have the kind of edge I need even in an adventure-rich game.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

For me I'd say exploration is more rewarding when I'm running across more fantastical looking locations.
 
1.21Gigawatts

1.21Gigawatts

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Oct 25, 2017
3,278
Munich
Will watch the video now, but without having seen it, the comparisons by "ElAnalistaDeBits" are usually completely arbitrary and pointless.
 
Benji

Benji

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Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,114
Red Dead Redemption 2 is clearly the better looking game unless from an artistic standpoint someone prefers HZD

But in terms of technical achievement RDR2 is absurd. There are times I'm playing it on the X that game borderline looks like what I would have imagined next gen looking like 3-4 years ago. Seeing it running at native 4k is insane
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
I mean HZD has the close up face conversations on lock....but that's where the wow factor for me ends, otherwise I feel the praise that game gets is overblown. Faces ? Yes....everything else? Nah God of War looked far better and this game (RDR2) looks better than both of those.
 
pswii60

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,666
The Milky Way
Toumari said:
200 person team over 5 years (whilst building an engine from scratch) vs 3000 team over 8 years. It's clear who wins here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
RDR2 did not have a 3,000 team over 8 years. 3,000 people touched the game at some point according to recent comments, but that includes all kinds of one off contractors and contributors etc. Likewise, many more will have contributed to HZD aside from the 200 full time employees at Guerilla - not to mention Sony's own internal support studios.
 
Tyaren

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
Benji said:
Red Dead Redemption 2 is clearly the better looking game unless from an artistic standpoint someone prefers HZD

But in terms of technical achievement RDR2 is absurd. There are times I'm playing it on the X that game borderline looks like what I would have imagined next gen looking like 3-4 years ago. That game running at native 4k is insane
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

What I think comes close to black magic or Rockstar selling their souls to the devil is the level of detail in the far distance. The far distance in any open world game looked pretty meh so far, but in RDR2 everything is as detailed as far as the eye can see. You can still make out the smallest bush on a hill 3 game kilometers away.
I thought that would only be possible next gen...
 
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Dantero

Dantero

Member
Jan 23, 2018
971
Horizon sure looks very good, but I have to give it to read dead 2 in every section.

The world in horizon is more fantasy like with more colors and I could see people find that more visually appealing.

My pick is red dead.
 
MegaSackman

MegaSackman

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Oct 27, 2017
17,699
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Let's not forget that you fight machines blasting everything around you including houses in Horizon.
I believe the scale puts RDR2 a step above but sometimes HZD is unbeatable.
 
Xumbrega

Xumbrega

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Oct 25, 2017
2,080
Brasil
Having played both, RDR2 is way better, they are not even in the same league when we compare the density of both games.
 
TooBusyLookinGud

TooBusyLookinGud

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Oct 27, 2017
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As hard as it is for me to say this because I absolutely adore HZD but RD2 has the edge here. The one thing that I didn't like about HZD was the water. RD2 has it beat there.

Edit:
When this video was made, I started switching between both games; RD2 on my X One and HZD on my Pro. RD2 does look better to me.
 

Deleted member 21709

User requested account closure
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Oct 28, 2017
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RDR2 is beyond HZD in how diverse, dynamic and interactive the world is. That's what makes it such a towering achievement.
 

Fafalada

Member
Oct 27, 2017
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pswii60 said:
RDR2 did not have a 3,000 team over 8 years. 3,000 people touched the game at some point according to recent comments, but that includes all kinds of one off contractors and contributors etc. Likewise, many more will have contributed to HZD aside from the 200 full time employees at Guerilla - not to mention Sony's own internal support studios.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Even if average headcount was only 25% higher (say, 250 to 200) - RDR would have 200% man-months of HZD (which is an absolutely massive difference already).
To put it differently - delta probably isn't in excess of 2000% as suggested in first post - but even if it's "only" around one order of magnitude, it makes HZD production hours look like an indie title next to a typical mainstream release.
 
Pariah

Pariah

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,944
RDR is certainly after a more realistic style. It achieves as much by creating layers upon layers of environmental details. Now, better looking is debatable. Horizon's very pleasing to the eye, with an spectacular HDR implementation, colors popping out of the screen in a form RDR doesn't do or try.

And that's not considering GOW, SOTC or Uncharted (some could say The Order too), which are above Horizon in many elements, or at least on a similar level. Somehow, RDR shows the kind of manpower you need, to create a multiplatform game looking comparable to what internal studios can develop for their specific hardware (and by this, I don't only mean SIE studios).
 
DrDeckard

DrDeckard

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Oct 25, 2017
8,109
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Horizon doesn't compare in the grand scheme if things. It didn't even look like bushes were swaying when she ran through them. Red dead takes it by a large margin if you consider the entire package. To make something look that good with such a gulf in scale.

The animation section cements it.

Red dead is undoubtedly the best looking game of the console generation imo
 
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