Nyheder
Eight visually impressive games that stood the test of time
L
Lloyd Coombes
Here are some of the best-looking games from yesteryear that not only hold up today, but feel refreshingly modern too.
Star Wars: Battlefront II
It makes sense to start in “a galaxy far, far away.” Star Wars: Battlefront II’s recent resurgence thanks to the stellar Andor has shown the world just how crisp and screen-accurate this 2017 multiplayer shooter really is.
The reflections on Stormtrooper armor, the way blaster fire leaves the weapon’s barrel, and those all-important space battles above worlds we’ve all dreamed of visiting make it a truly authentic Star Wars experience, and that’s before we get to the sheer volume of content included.
With fans of all three trilogies catered for, plus content from Solo and Rogue One, it really has become a Star Wars toybox, and we’re glad to see it getting the love it deserves in 2025.
There’s so many subtle details it’s easy to miss, like the way Anakin and Darth Vader share an almost identical moveset, or the subtle changes between regiments of Clone Trooper armor. Did you know there’s even a secret dead Sarlaac hiding beneath a lake, or that General Grievous is wielding Anakin and Obi-Wan’s lightsaber hilts?
You can spend hours combing through movie scene locations and poring over character models and still find surprising new interactions. For example, blocking lightning attacks with Yoda will send some of it back at an opponent.
Limbo
Often imitated but never bested, Limbo is the indie darling that captured our hearts all the way back in 2010.
Naturally, everyone remembers the spider (which we’ve helpfully brought back from your nightmares above), but that kind of moment is only possible when a developer is brave enough to not only operate in darkness, but to commit to it throughout the entire adventure.
It’s that rare game where a single screenshot is identifiable as part of that experience, and that’s why it earns a spot on our list. Its world is so captivating, even with so little actually shown in anything other than grayscale. Its realistic physics make platforms move as our protagonist jumps from them, and areas that do have lighting (like the famous Hotel sign) feel memorable just by existing alongside long stretches of relative nothingness.
Add to that the sinewy, multiple-jointed legs of that aforementioned spider and the way it skulks from the darkness, and it’s clear that Limbo’s animations really are top-notch.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 still looks fantastic even today is a testament to Rockstar Games’ ability to eke every inch of power out of whatever hardware its games are running on.
Realism (as we’ll touch on later) is hard to maintain even a couple of years after launch, let alone almost seven years after its original console release. While Red Dead Redemption 2’s PC port has additional bells and whistles like improved shadow quality, textures, and more, it’s still the only game (to our knowledge) with horse testicles that change based on weather.
It’s perhaps a little childish to point out, sure, but it underlines Rockstar’s commitment to maintaining an incredible level of detail. Using the photo mode to get close to Arthur Morgan, you can appreciate just how Rockstar’s elegant western has aged gracefully. It’s almost timeless.
His character model is astounding: ruddy skin pocked with clogged pores, blue eyes that reflect the dancing embers of campfires and dilate according to the daylight. His beard hair grows and fills out with grey and brown. It's an entire topography that changes as you play the game, reflecting not just how you customize his appearance, but a life he lived in a world that’s filled with mud and grime and the occasional bath.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Geralt’s final adventure might be over a decade old, but The Witcher 3 endures for many, many reasons.
Its complex characters, rabbit hole-like side quests, and charmingly grumpy protagonist are all big ones, but the game still looks great too—whether you install the next-gen update or not.
Its huge world may lack the sheen of more recent RPG rivals, but the magic is in the dirt under its proverbial fingernails. Castles hold secrets, commonfolk live in modest homes, and there’s a gray sense of morality that binds the two and ensures that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, more than many games from its era, conveys its world state through its visuals.
Stand on a hill and look out over any of The Witcher 3’s huge regions and you’ll notice sunlight fade through the day and night cycle (fighting that first griffin at sunset was a visual treat). Killing a number of in-game wolves will lead to an increase in the local deer population. Leave Geralt’s trust steed Roach unattended, and she’ll go find water.
It’s a world that feels as though it keeps on existing without the player being there, and it’s well worth a revisit.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
It’s hard to believe The Vanishing of Ethan Carter launched all the way back in 2014, but this puzzle-filled horror adventure is unforgettable.
While it’s had a remaster since its initial launch, whichever version you pick up looks truly impressive even today.
Its narrow scope allowed developer The Astronauts to dial in every possible detail as it moves from a straightforward detective story into something truly striking as it progresses.
What makes it so impressive is that, despite being developed by a relatively small team, the visuals look almost photorealistic. The rust on buildings at the abandoned mine, the individual nails on railroad tracks—it’s all incredibly detailed and grounded in the familiar, thus making everything that happens beyond our reality so much more jarring (in a good way).
Metro Exodus
2019’s Metro Exodus is the trilogy-closer for the Metro series, which brings lead character Artyom from the subterranean tunnels of the first two games into the light with larger open spaces above ground.
And yet despite that change of scenery, Metro Exodus somehow feels just as claustrophobic as its predecessors at times, while its lighting model still looks modern years after launch, especially when you leave the underground areas to head out into more open zones. Oh, and that initial creature that crawls over your mask? It’s pure nightmare fuel that we still think about today.
It’s also an impressively malleable game. Kill all the enemies around, and your comrades will take note of your bloodshed, but do it quietly, and they’ll be impressed. Wound a foe, and they’ll lay down to die, but not without haphazardly pointing a weapon in your general direction and squeezing off a few rounds.
Lead character Artyom’s breath fogs up his helmet too, making you always feel as if you’re walking in his boots.
Destiny 2
Bungie’s loot-shooter sequel has seen a whole host of expansions that each layer their own style on top of what was there at launch in 2017, but it remains a real looker years later.
The original Destiny’s clean, sleek art direction set a wonderful tone and struck a chord with audiences, blending science fiction with magic and mystery the way few games can manage.
From the Hive horrors of Shadowkeep to the mind-bending The Final Shape, Destiny 2 keeps evolving, but it also remains a stunning game.
Not only does Destiny 2 feature an impressive host of details for fans to notice, there’s no game that quite mixes its influences so impressively. The armor is painstakingly crafted, the UI is one of the cleanest in gaming, and there’s no doubting the feel of firing your weapon of the hundreds available, but many of us will remember just as fondly the gothic structures on the Moon, or the high-fantasy purple-hued Dreaming City.
Europa, added in Beyond Light, even has its own weather mechanic where snowstorms will blind the player. Other areas (like the Prophecy Dungeon) are so otherworldly they’re like nothing you’ll have explored before.
Dishonored
Arkane’s Dishonored franchise has always had a striking art style since it began in 2012. Its characters’ angular faces, the oil painting-like shading, and its use of shadows to influence stealth gameplay still look great in 2025.
The sequel might even be better, taking us out of the “whalepunk” city of Dunwall and into the sun-kissed streets of Karnaca.
Here, Dishonored 2 shows us a whole new side to Arkane’s artistry in a new light (literally), with more color and vibrancy, but without sacrificing what makes it so unique.
If you sit atop an area in Karnaca, you’ll see NPCs go about their day, but Dishonored’s crowning achievement is in its incredible Clockwork Mansion mission. Essentially multiple levels in one, when you make your way inside, you’ll encounter an entire building that transforms like your favorite Autobot or Decepticon when you flick switches.
And yet it all makes sense within the level geometry, meaning it doesn’t feel as though you’re conjuring platforms or pathways out of nowhere—the whole level just feels like a fully-functioning system of gears and levers.
It’s one of the most ambitious levels we’ve ever seen even now, and that’s saying nothing of the A Crack in the Slab mission that we’ll leave spoiler-free.
Check out all of these amazing games on Epic Games Store today!