Top 10 Games with the Highest Graphics

Now, no, obviously none of these games has the $100+ price tag of an actual AAA. Hell, on most, you'll spend less than $10 on the high-resolution textures alone.

The point of this article is, though, that games shouldn't have to be full of terrible 3D models to be considered visually impressive. With the technology available now, games like Art of War are as pretty as movies for $5.00. 10. Extra Life - $0.99 No, this isn't a Nintendo game.

It's a new space-shooter from FTL and FTL: Faster Than Light developer From Software that took the game's core from their card game Souls franchise and poured it into a sci-fi shooter.

The game looks like old-school NEOGEO games and has all the charm of a specific Japanese-developed RPG series.

Initial D Arcade Stage 4

Platforms: PC Originally released on the Dreamcast and Xbox 360 in 2009, Initial D Arcade Stage 4 has finally arrived on PC in all its traditional Dreamcast 2D glory.

Originally released on the Dreamcast and Xbox 360 in 2009, Initial D Arcade Stage 4 has finally arrived on PC in all its traditional Dreamcast 2D glory. Part race-track, part third-person anime adventure, Initial D Arcade Stage 4 is a true classic.

Not only does the game look stunning, but it is filled with a fantastic soundtrack and exciting customization options for your car. It looks and sounds good, and it runs a perfect, silky-smooth 60 frames per second. It's a great racing game, with a classic feel that hasn't been equaled in some time.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Developer: Crystal Dynamics Release Date: September 14, 2018, Run Time: 4 hours, 7 minutes Platform: Xbox One, PS4, Windows PC Shadow of the Tomb Raider's use of "survival-horror" seems an odd way to categorize a game that revolves around blood-splatter and decapitations, but hey, that's the world we live in, where zombies are showing up on your favorite TV shows.

The visuals here are pretty impressive, both in terms of visual fidelity and the complex, intricate world the game takes place in. While occasionally bland (but hardly dull), the environments are certainly in focus, with just enough detail and texture to let you know that, yes, you are looking at a real place, and no, it's not some temporary polygons placed on a flat surface.

Elite Dangerous

Steam Store Page Last year was a good one for indie games (see last year's "Best Indie Games" list), and this year's releases have only continued that trend. While Elite Dangerous was always out of reach for most people, it's now available to everyone in its current state.

Using the "Fit the Score" mechanism, players can earn in-game credits for completing in-game objectives. They can use this currency to unlock cosmetics and planes, ships, and weapons, and many of these add additional tiers to the game, further increasing the scope of the universe. It's all free, and more recently, you can buy ships with real money in the in-game store.

Forza Horizon 4

A beautiful look at open-world racing and one that will inspire a lot of hot takes from naysayers. Forza Horizon 4 takes the series's two-dimensional, street racing aesthetic, then injects it with a dose of Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic madness, thanks to various ramshackle towns, strange skid marks, and fallout trails.

It's the perfect way to do open-world racing and one of the best-looking games on the PC. Divinity: Original Sin 2 Loosely based on the tabletop RPG from Larian Studios, this is a massive, sprawling RPG. Set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, this is a series in which you move through a series of maps, each one larger than Skyrim.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most highly anticipated games of the decade, and its trailers show some jaw-dropping visuals. It's a prequel to the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop roleplaying game, based on a classic anime series from the 90s.

It's been a long time coming, but Cyberpunk 2077 finally releases in 2018, with no less than famed game developer CD Projekt Red at the helm. You can learn more about the game here. Rogue Legacy Sometimes we make lists that talk about graphics, and sometimes we do not. But Rogue Legacy is so visually impressive that we just had to include it in this list.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp

The newest Animal Crossing game is the first to be released exclusively on smartphones, and it looks fantastic. While not entirely on the level of Nintendo's other mobile offerings, the graphics, at least, are truly first-rate. We've come a long way since 2D, pixellated lumps of pixel-punks.

The character designs are crisp and detailed, and everything, from the interiors to the park, looks super sweet. The most important part, though, might be that in Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, the characters are animals. So while a little cartoony, this is a cute, fun game with attractive, fun personalities. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft As you might have guessed from the name, this expands to Blizzard Entertainment's arena-style collectible card game, Hearthstone.

Hollow Knight

Image: Inti Creates Advertisement The artwork in Hollow Knight is lovingly hand-drawn, colored, colored again, with tiny, pixelated drawings so detailed you have to do a double-take to believe they're not in 3D. I love this aesthetic, and it's no surprise it's such a popular one with streamers, but I wonder if most players see it the way I do.

It isn't easy to believe what you see as a game world. It almost feels like an illustration you might see in an issue of WIRED. Don't get me wrong; it's pretty—there's just something about the natural hand-drawn textures that make Hollow Knight feel like a real world.

Path of Exile

Developer Grinding Gear Games I have been a fan of Path of Exile, a massive free-to-play online RPG since I first installed it on my laptop back in 2013. I made a mistake by using an Intel integrated graphics card rather than a dedicated graphics card, and I haven't looked back since.

While still in alpha, the graphics were already awe-inspiring, especially as the game added features and quality of life upgrades that added even more character. In particular, the opening cinematic is an unforgettable moment. The protagonist uses a plane wing for cover (and creates a sparkly rainbow portal) as a trowel strikes something that looks vaguely like an old-timey battle-ax.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Don't let the violent Westworld ripoff distract you: Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 takes you back to the golden days of the Wild West as a new player – or once again as the outlaw John Marston – roams through a massive open world. The original Red Dead Redemption set a benchmark for console-based open-world games, and its follow-up builds on the foundation, cranking it up a few notches. The result is the kind of sights, sounds, and scenes that'll leave you breathless. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice feels incredibly new – and it is. From a production standpoint, we're unlikely to see a studio like From Software, developers of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, attempt a vast, sprawling open-world anytime soon. And this isn't just about the story, either.