What are some of the most polished games you've ever played?

[Pez]

I've been playing Persona 5 Royal over holiday break and am constantly impressed with how polished the game is from a UX perspective.

The only other game that comes to mind recently would be Breath of the Wild.

What games have you guys played where every piece of the game was perfectly designed and fleshed out?

 

[JigglesBunny]

Since OP already took BOTW, Super Mario Odyssey is just polished to perfection. It's insane how well it all just works.

 

[Jencks]

Super Mario 3D World

 

[Yuntu]

The 3D Mario games. They are about the only games I would call "perfectly designed and fleshed out". Other games always have a quirk or something that I don't like in terms of polish.

edit: Of course not counting Sunshine.

 

[Adrifi]

Dark Souls. I still think it's the GOAT in terms of game design and polish, it's like pretty much everything just makes sense and works, although it's not flawless.

 

[Dancrane212]

INSIDE.

There was like maybe one texture that you could see an odd effect on as it passed by on screen.

That's it.

 

[Zach]

INSIDE.

There was like maybe one texture that you could see an odd effect on as it passed by on screen.

That's it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, INSIDE.

 

[GamerJM]

Basically all of the Mario platformers that came out after Sunshine. Even the NSMB games, despite all their faults, are extremely polished.

I'm also going to say the Cave shmups that I've played, Mushihimesama Futari and DoDonPachi. Those games are like, the absolute best versions of themselves.

 

[JangleLuke]

Yoku's Island Express and Steamworld Dig 2 both come off as "very polished" to me going off recent memory.

It helps that their game feel is polished to a shine.

 

[7thFloor]

INSIDE.

There was like maybe one texture that you could see an odd effect on as it passed by on screen.

That's it.

Click to shrink...

Good pick actually

 

[BadWolf]

REmake.

 

[Deleted member 54073]

Last of Us Part 2

 

[Ahti]

Inside.

btw.: BOTW had subpar performance with significant frame drops when it was released.

 

[Deleted member 67044]

The Last of Us Part 2. Naughty Dog is impeccable.

 

[Violence Jack]

Nier Automata
Both Last of Us games
Bloodborne
Both Portal games
Super Metroid
The Infamous games (matter of fact, all Sucker Punch games)

 

[jotun?]

Dark Souls. I still think it's the GOAT in terms of game design and polish, it's like pretty much everything just makes sense and works, although it's not flawless.

Click to shrink...

Have you forgotten about the second half of the game?

 

[TaterTots]

Half-Life: Alyx. The game runs well on older/lower end hardware, which is great for VR and it has a polish to it most other VR games don't have.

 

[dom]

Cyberpunk 2077

 

[Ales34]

I think the recent DOOMs are very polished games.

 

[thechicco96]

God of War(2018)

 

[Deleted member 59126]

Anything that Nintendo releases. Also FromSoft, Naughty Dog, and Rockstar.

 

[Dr Pears]

Portal 2 so polished i think it can be played forever and not feel outdated

 

[Bitanator]

Hollow Knight

 

[Wispmetas]

There are so many thankfully.

 

[JED BARTLETT]

Overwatch, it's probably not much fun anymore but it's polished to within an inch of its life.

 

[N.47H.4N]

The Last of Us Part II for sure the top, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, What Remains of Edith Finch and Inside.

 

[HououinKyouma]

Overwatch, it's probably not much fun anymore but it's polished to within an inch of its life.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, good choice here.

 

[TsuWave]

Part II

 

[BlackBoyFly]

Saw the thread title and P5 Royal immediately came to mind. Game is just so good from top to bottom. I'd also include TLOU2 in the list for this Gen. Maybe God Of War as well. For the previous Gen I'd give it to Halo 3, Uncharted 2 and Mass Effect 2.

 

[Squarealex]

13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is kinda nice.

 

[Mirage]

INSIDE.

There was like maybe one texture that you could see an odd effect on as it passed by on screen.

That's it.

Click to shrink...

I was coming in here to say this.

 

[Barn]

Sayonara Wild Hearts. Visually, aurally and gameplay wise, it felt like there were no rough edges to speak of.

 

[Deleted member 19533]

Breath of the Wild has obvious frame rate issues and has poor IQ with a lot of aliasing. In what world is that polished? Did you play on CEMU? Nintendo's stuff is usually extremely well polished in general though.

 

[Adrifi]

Have you forgotten about the second half of the game?

Click to shrink...

You mean the better half of the game?

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Doom Eternal and Doom 2016
The Last Of Us 2
Red Dead Redemption 2
Diablo 3
Overwatch
Most 3D Mario games

 

[Ossom]

Ghost of Tsushima. I love so many of the design choices. Like having the wind subtly direct you to your destination if you need a reminder or vendors' icons being gold instead of white to indicate that you have enough resources for them to upgrade your gear.

 

[Deleted member 2809]

Dark Souls. I still think it's the GOAT in terms of game design and polish, it's like pretty much everything just makes sense and works, although it's not flawless.

Click to shrink...

Come on son

Doom eternal is good. This game runs so well, the optimization is nuts. The only problem I've had with it is a sound bug that was probably related to my CPU/sound drivers/hectic action.

 

[Adrifi]

Come on son

Click to shrink...

You have convinced me.

 

[HTupolev]

Dark Souls isn't polished at all. It gets by through having enough slack to its mechanics that you just sort of shrug and embrace the jank.

I actually think in some regards, it's as good of a game as it because it's not polished. It strikes me as exactly the kind of situation where some devs would second-guess their way into an inferior product if they'd had time to tighten things up.

 

[hydruxo]

Dark Souls. I still think it's the GOAT in terms of game design and polish, it's like pretty much everything just makes sense and works, although it's not flawless.

Click to shrink...

I think Dark Souls would be one of the absolute last games I'd call polished. Game is rough in a lot of areas and I think even some of the biggest fans of DS would tell you it isn't a polished game.

 

[Speevy]

Aside from a few emulation bits coming from the PS4 to the PS5, Naughty Dog games are impeccable.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

REmake.

Click to shrink...

This is a good one. Game is timeless

 

[Powdered Egg]

Persona 5.

This game has one of the most polish, swag, and confidence I've seen in a game. They went in the the soundtrack too.

The studio put that out like there was no competition.

 

[Punished Dan]

RDR2 is up there for certain.

 

[Dogui]

When i think of polish, i think of stuff like Megaman X or Super Mario World.

 

[anaa]

INSIDE.

There was like maybe one texture that you could see an odd effect on as it passed by on screen.

That's it.

Click to shrink...

came in here for this one, polish on this game is unreal. Zero fat in the design as well. short, focused, just varied enough, and a jaw dropping finale.

 

[bionic77]

Super Mario World, Link to the Past and Super Metroid all feel timeless to me because in large part of how polished and well designed they were.

 

[Deleted member 1839]

Anything that Nintendo releases. Also FromSoft, Naughty Dog, and Rockstar.

Click to shrink...

Looks at Hyrule Warriors, Pokemon, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem and the like

Do you mean Nintendo EPD? Because some of the stuff published by Nintendo I definitely would not call polished.

 

[dsosarod]

I came here to say Mario Odyssey and RDR2. but they have been mentioned, so now I am also saying that I think mentioning Inside and Sayonara Wild Hearts is kind of cheating since those game are less than 1 hour long.

It would be a disgrace if they are not super polished seeing that there is much less to work with and take care of than many other games mentioned here.

 

[honavery]

Most first party Nintendo games. Doom Eternal as well, still kind of floored by how good it looked and how well it ran on my launch PS4.