10 Games with the Most Realistic Graphics

Making a game look as real s possible visually has been one of the top most priorities of video game studios in the last 15 years or so. And, it won’t be wrong to suggest that video games have evolved and grown exponentially when it comes to visual appeal and realistic graphics.

This is why some of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling video game titles of the past decade have been the ones with the most realistic graphics capable enough to dive players into that world created for them.

Without a shadow of doubt, every AAA game these days is being created to harness the true potential of next-gen consoles. However, there are some titles which are better than the rest and deserve their rightful position in the top 10 games with the most realistic graphics.

So, here are the most realistic graphics to have released till date:

10. Control

Control was a sleeper hit, and a perfect example of how a supernatural story can be presented and crafted in a visually appealing and realistic manner.

The setting is the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control, a windowless skyscraper in Manhattan that houses a vast universe of telekinetic monsters and terrifying phenomena.

The players need to walkthrough and explore this building from the 50 using your own telekinetic powers in order to look for your lost brother.

This game is truly inspirational in terms of being as real as possible and creating a very unique environment, one where every single shoe mark on the shiny marble floors makes you immerse into that world even more

The game uses the ray tracing technology, which is a technique that uses rendering algorithms to digitally reproduce light and shadows in hyperrealistic ways. This technology surely cements this games place as one one the top games to have most realistic graphics.

9. Microsoft Flight Simulator

When you are striving for most realistic graphics in a game at times it is also important to take comply with the laws of physics and not create something that is just appealing to the eye but does not make sense when you start playing it. That is why the 2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator is such a worthy addition to this list.

Used widely for real-life pilot training around the world, while also being enjoyed by leisure players of all stripes, this is a game that takes one of the most amazing things a human can do – take flight – and brings it straight into your living room in photorealistic detail.

This game mimics pretty much everything about what it is like to take control of a real-life aircraft, which is exactly what makes it such a joy to play, even if it is pretty difficult.

8. Cyberpunk 2077

This might be one of the most controversial games in the recent past. People had tons of complaints with the game, especially for the glitches and bugs they had to face during their gaming sessions.

However, some people who have played the game on high end PCs and next gen consoles have found Cyberpunk immersive and photorealistic future city that the developers originally intended.

Sky City is a beauty to behold, when everything is working correctly. It is something that feels in equal measure outlandish and eerily plausible as the future of urban living, which is exactly what makes Cyberpunk one of the most realistic games we have ever played.

7. Call of Duty Mobile

Most realistic graphics in a mobile game?

A game with high end realistic graphics can only be played on next-gen consoles is conservative thinking. Creating realistic graphics in a mobile game is difficult and it can only be achieved through amalgamation of Smartphone companies and video game developers. We are glad to say that we have witnessed that.

We are talking of course, about Call of Duty Mobile, an award-winning FPS that demonstrates just how far mobile games have come, where the absolute potential of small GPUs of smartphones are being harnessed.

This is an online first-person shooter that pushes the hardware limits of smartphones to the absolute maximum, with gorgeous results.

6. Death Stranding

Death Stranding is one of the few games that genuinely appears to be consistent with the actual video footage.

Every skin cell, hair follicle, and clothing wrinkle has been detailed in the most meticulous fashion, making this a game look like a real world.

The player steps into the shoes of a courier who must deliver vital resources to isolated, cut-off communities across a post-apocalyptic world, where plague and aliens make venturing outside dangerous.

The developers scanned real-world objects such as cellphones, weapons, and furniture to ensure totally realistic approach. They have used the Decima Engine to try bringing every detail to life such as, skin and materials which have been given dozens of layers.

5. Forza Horizon 5

Many racing games have tried creating most realistic graphics but very few have succeeded.

It takes some very skilled developers to get the right balance between vivid racing, photorealistic graphics, and realistic driving mechanics that are not too difficult to learn, and Forza Horizon 5 has come very close to that.

Even if you drive your car at 200 miles per hour, that would not effect the realism and driving mechanics of the game, and that is the most astonishing aspect of this racing game.

The developer, Playground Games, achieves this through the extensive use of a technique known as photogrammetry, which involves recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant imagery and collecting as much data as possible on individual objects.

4. GTA V

No list of realistic games would be complete without mentioning Grand Theft Auto V, which is probably one of the most commercially successful console titles to ever be released, and something that was 10 years ahead of its time not only in terms of creating a realistic world but also in terms of gameplay and story-telling.

There aren’t too many games in the market that could possibly come close to GTA V when it comes to bringing the modern world to life.

Anyone who has strolled the manic and bleak streets of Los Santos (a somewhat exaggerated version of 2010s Los Angeles) will testify to the ability of this game to capture the essence of contemporary urban life in a way that few others before or since have achieved.

This is what realistic games have the power to do.

3. Ghost of Tsushima

The contender for the top spot might seem obvious to some, given how this game blew pretty much everyone away with its cutting-edge graphics.

“Ghost of Tsushima” is a PS4/PS5 game exclusive that takes place in 13th century Japan, on the dreamy island of Tsushima. You play the role of a battle-hardened Samurai who must cross the vast expanse of the island to wrest back control from invading Mongol forces.

This is a game that brings the beautiful natural setting alive in vivid technicolor, while also rendering human movements and sounds that are more realistic than anything that has been done before. This is what makes this title the most realistic game in the world today.

2. The Last of Us: Part Two

Just when we thought the first one couldn’t be topped, out comes the sequel that scooped up every gaming award in existence and was immediately subjected to a bidding war over movie rights. The Last of Us: Part Two, has all of the same great ingredients as its predecessor.

A terrifying post-apocalyptic world filled with fungus-infected zombies, hauntingly believable characters, and unforgettable vistas of a world that went suddenly, horribly over the cliff edge.

What makes this sequel stand out, even more, is the unprecedented realism it offers. The graphics and the haunting world that it renders are unlike anything we have ever seen, which only adds to the pure terror of this stealthy survival horror.

TLOU2 makes extensive use of motion capture technology from the cast hired to play the actors, meaning that pretty much every movement you see in the cut scenes is a real one.

1. Red Dead Redemption II

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterclass in games with the most realistic graphics. This is probably the most realistic video game ever made in terms of its size and detail.

RDR 2 tells us what AI can actually do. While playing the game you may feel like as if the actual world has been installed within the game. If were to ask my opinion on what does bringing a game environment to life mean, I’d say Red Dead Redemption 2.

Just when we thought what more could we get in terms of creating a realistic world than GTA 5, Rockstar gave us RDR 2. This game is simply massive, and there is not eve a single place where you’ll find anything starkly unreal.

One of the main ways in which Rockstar approaches its open worlds, including the vast expanse of New Hanover, is to develop an animation for literally everything.

This means that every flower, every cloud, every bird’s wing – all of it has its own animation to ensure that it moves in its own way, just as it would in the real world.

Another tactic that Rockstar uses to great effect in RDR2 is the player avatar itself, which will be impacted by everything the world throws at it:

Step in a puddle and expect muddy boots. Eat some stew in the pub late at night and you’ll run around with a stain on your duster for days. Bump into the same NPC more than once and expect them to give you a piece of their mind.