Metroid Prime 4 is #6 on Digital Foundry’s graphics of the year list, every honorable mention is a Switch 2 game or port
Metroid Prime 4 is #6 on Digital Foundry’s graphics of the year list, every honorable mention is a Switch 2 game or port
by PepsiCo_USA
22 Comments
North_Television1200
Something something art style over fidelity
Banesmuffledvoice
I’m really enjoying the game. And Retro really understands how to use HDR. Nintendo needs to expand retro because they should be releasing more games. They have so much potential.
Advanced-Patient-161
Performance is huge. The Switch 2 forces developers into optimization given where it sits power wise, and the devs who really lean into that produce better visuals.
Take a look at what’s happening with the over processed defaults from most UE5 slop that devs don’t have the budget or talent to look at, and there’s technically a lot more going on than what a PS5 Pro or even a PC’s RTX 5090 can manage, because it’s all just slop thrown at hardware and those devs sit back and “hope”.
I’ll take a platform that forces deliberate development any day, and kudos to the team at Retro. They have fantastic art talent combined with a solid graphics programming team.
mrmivo
The list:
1. Doom: The Dark Ages
2. Assassin’s Creed Shadows
3. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
4. Silent Hill f
5. Routine
6. Metroid Prime 4
7. Mafia: The Old Country
8. Ghost of Yōtei
9. Earthion
10. Dying Light: The Beast
Honorable mentions:
* Mario Kart World
* Kirby Air Riders
* Fast Fusion
* Star Wars Outlaws
* Switch 2 upgrades made by Panic Button
LunarWingCloud
Fast Fusion is gorgeous. I was blown away
Expensive_Sea_1790
It’s not just technical fidelity, the art style is genuinely evocative of some of the best science fiction art
The in-game architecture alone is better than most FPS games with twice the power
DrKrFfXx
Weak year in terms of graphical prowess.
eatdogs49
Awesome they listed Earthion. Classic Genesis inspired shmup made by Japanese OG developers.
auto_named
Playing Prime 4 at 1080p/120 on my TV was honestly one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had all year. So silky smooth.
sboyette2
Couple things to know if you haven’t watched the video, or are unfamiliar with DF:
– Only the top three games in this list are actually ranked/ordered. Slots 4-10 are co-equal runners-up
– They are deep nerds, so they award points for things like “interesting uses of well-known techniques” and “impressive use of hardware”. There are pretty and/or highly realistic games on the list, but that’s not all that’s being talked about
trippykitsy
a reminder that DF is a tech channel, not a game review channel. all the switch 2 games they have listed are technical marvels for the hardware nintendo has provided but that doesn’t mean theyre fun games, nor does it mean theyre ideal ways to play.
metroid 4 is a great looking game, but it’s… it’s not good. play 1 remastered instead, it looks almost as good and is way more fun.
mk world, kirby air riders and donkey kong bonanza are definitely better titles.
Elrothiel1981
I argue that expedition 33 looks graphically better than Metroid
The-student-
Note that 4-10 are not ordered. Only 1-3 are ordered.
Derpderpderpderpde
Suddenly Nintendo switch fans care about performance lmao
Re7oadz
This is why people dislike DF Lol..
TiSoBr
KCD2 not being on that list, let alone not an honorable mention, is incredibly sad. No game ever managed to render nature so amazingly well and above all immersive.
sklorbit
I found Shadows to be kinda ugly and generic looking. Past all the fancy rendering techniques it is a soulless looking thing.
Seanspeed
I appreciate DF a lot, but I also think this was ridiculous and clearly John and Oli just kind of outweighing the votes here against Alex.
No Kingdome Come Deliverance 2 is an especially glaring omission given some of other highly questionable choices put in like freaking Mario Kart World and Kirby Air Riders.
noyram08
I’m honestly surprised how middling the graphics are since i’ve been hearing great things about it, do they mean for a Handheld game qualifier? It looks like an early-mid ps4 game
netkcid
The top 3 feel weird…
miketastic_art
Fidelity, Aesthetics, and Technical Execution are all things Nintendo excels at. 3rd party slop exist on all platforms but it’s more obvious when your competition is TLOU
automirage04
I’m really glad to see Routine getting some love. The game looks incredible
22 Comments
Something something art style over fidelity
I’m really enjoying the game. And Retro really understands how to use HDR. Nintendo needs to expand retro because they should be releasing more games. They have so much potential.
Performance is huge. The Switch 2 forces developers into optimization given where it sits power wise, and the devs who really lean into that produce better visuals.
Take a look at what’s happening with the over processed defaults from most UE5 slop that devs don’t have the budget or talent to look at, and there’s technically a lot more going on than what a PS5 Pro or even a PC’s RTX 5090 can manage, because it’s all just slop thrown at hardware and those devs sit back and “hope”.
I’ll take a platform that forces deliberate development any day, and kudos to the team at Retro. They have fantastic art talent combined with a solid graphics programming team.
The list:
1. Doom: The Dark Ages
2. Assassin’s Creed Shadows
3. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
4. Silent Hill f
5. Routine
6. Metroid Prime 4
7. Mafia: The Old Country
8. Ghost of Yōtei
9. Earthion
10. Dying Light: The Beast
Honorable mentions:
* Mario Kart World
* Kirby Air Riders
* Fast Fusion
* Star Wars Outlaws
* Switch 2 upgrades made by Panic Button
Fast Fusion is gorgeous. I was blown away
It’s not just technical fidelity, the art style is genuinely evocative of some of the best science fiction art
The in-game architecture alone is better than most FPS games with twice the power
Weak year in terms of graphical prowess.
Awesome they listed Earthion. Classic Genesis inspired shmup made by Japanese OG developers.
Playing Prime 4 at 1080p/120 on my TV was honestly one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had all year. So silky smooth.
Couple things to know if you haven’t watched the video, or are unfamiliar with DF:
– Only the top three games in this list are actually ranked/ordered. Slots 4-10 are co-equal runners-up
– They are deep nerds, so they award points for things like “interesting uses of well-known techniques” and “impressive use of hardware”. There are pretty and/or highly realistic games on the list, but that’s not all that’s being talked about
a reminder that DF is a tech channel, not a game review channel. all the switch 2 games they have listed are technical marvels for the hardware nintendo has provided but that doesn’t mean theyre fun games, nor does it mean theyre ideal ways to play.
metroid 4 is a great looking game, but it’s… it’s not good. play 1 remastered instead, it looks almost as good and is way more fun.
mk world, kirby air riders and donkey kong bonanza are definitely better titles.
I argue that expedition 33 looks graphically better than Metroid
Note that 4-10 are not ordered. Only 1-3 are ordered.
Suddenly Nintendo switch fans care about performance lmao
This is why people dislike DF Lol..
KCD2 not being on that list, let alone not an honorable mention, is incredibly sad. No game ever managed to render nature so amazingly well and above all immersive.
I found Shadows to be kinda ugly and generic looking. Past all the fancy rendering techniques it is a soulless looking thing.
I appreciate DF a lot, but I also think this was ridiculous and clearly John and Oli just kind of outweighing the votes here against Alex.
No Kingdome Come Deliverance 2 is an especially glaring omission given some of other highly questionable choices put in like freaking Mario Kart World and Kirby Air Riders.
I’m honestly surprised how middling the graphics are since i’ve been hearing great things about it, do they mean for a Handheld game qualifier? It looks like an early-mid ps4 game
The top 3 feel weird…
Fidelity, Aesthetics, and Technical Execution are all things Nintendo excels at. 3rd party slop exist on all platforms but it’s more obvious when your competition is TLOU
I’m really glad to see Routine getting some love. The game looks incredible