Good games that are admittedly pretty ugly

Gaming
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#1

Graphics and visual direction are fairly important aspects of gaming. In the age of high definition and 4K resolution, there is no excuse for any game not to exceed the standard of adequate visual fidelity. However, these are merely superficial qualities. Games that do not meet this standard of graphical quality aren’t necessarily bad in other aspects.

Super Mario 64 pioneered the 3D platformer genre, and I am eternally grateful for that. However, the game looks like moldy cheese, even compared to its 3D contemporaries.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas could still be a contender for the greatest open-world game to ever exist, but it’s hard to believe that games like Half-Life 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 were released in the same year when you see how primitive San Andreas looks.

Silent Hill 2, while it looks this way intentionally, is still drab and unappealing. Yet, it’s the greatest survival horror experience that has never been surpassed.

Cruelty Squad is so sickeningly grotesque to the point where people were made billions just by looking at it, but it was still a high contender for game of the year last year.

Did I miss any obvious ones? What are some more examples of games that feel like a million bucks but look like they came straight from the garbage?

#2

The Dark Souls games did not look very good compared to other games from around their time but a lot of people love those games. Personally, S&M games are not my cup of tea, but if that’s your thing, more power to you!

The Katamari Damacy games all look like a holey gym sock, but they are really fun to play. Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of games that do not look good but play fine tend to be Japanese.

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#3

Fallout New Vegas. Its world is masterfully crafted and it’s a joy to explore but by god, that game looks hideous compared to others of its time. And actually, many games released even before 2010 look far better than NV. The textures, shaders and many other things are not very pleasing to the eyes, to put it mildly. Mods improve the game drastically and without them, it’s so dated and ugly at most times.

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