I'm just glad that Hydrogen from M|O|O|N was in the Hotline Miami clip. I think a lot of people don't realize that it's originally a videogame song, and it's an absolute banger
I have to disagree with you about Dragon Age Origins. It had a few graphical issues, but for 2010, this game was a masterpiece in every sense of the word. EVERYONE loved it. Do want to be Good? Or do you want to be Evil? REALLY Evil...
I still prefer them not looking like Lego blocks drifting around in gravy. Graphics don't need photo-realism, but they also shouldn't give you an urge to gouge your eyes out
I prefer a game to have a great story and great game play to at least have okay graphics. I don't want graphics to be too grainy. It can give you headaches.
If you were born in the 1970s, all of these games look like photorealistic unimaginable witchcraft we could have only dreamed of whilst playing Arkanoid and Frogger etc. Tetris has got to be the best gameplay over graphics.
honestly I was born in 2003 but all these games look good to me. It's probably because for the longest time I couldn't play anything other than Minecraft on 30 fps on my laptop. That kind of made me appreciate all kinds of graphics, even the ones that are considered bad by many people. It's fun to see people with such an age difference see things like this in a similar way
I was thinking, my first systems were an Atari and an NES….back in the late ‘80s my little child brain would break looking at games from the modern era.
I will say that the graphics look less ropey when viewed from high up as it was intended, doesn't change that ME is technically better, but viewed from above its quite pretty (for 2010) :)
I dont disagree with gameranx, but New Vegas has such a different environment than the ruins of 3 or the pretty but also kind of generic 4. The open deserts, the cliffs, and small towns, Legion fortress, NCR bases, and New Vegas are so varied.
@@NigerianCrusadernot without mods. I adored Oblivion but the enemy scaling system just doesn't hold up at all. Fix that with a mod and fair enough. But go back to it now and it just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Sounds like you’re just trying to get likes for a tired bandwagon joke. Pokémon’s graphics were only bad recently and the gameplay has always been excellent. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
First game I thought about when I read the title: Valheim. That game has nailed the building system, leveling progression, exploration, environment, atmosphere and reward system. The creature design varies, but it's not bad imo. I've spend soo much time playing Valheim during a more difficult time and I can really recommend the game.
To me, it feels like they really didn't know what they wanted to do with their art design. It's low-res, but also tries way too hard with the visual effects. It would have been one thing to commit to the PS1 graphical style, but it feels like an unintended limitation rather than a deliberate design choice.
I honestly loved it, its like minecraft with crazy lighting mods. All the atmosphere without needing much more graphics wise😊 i also loved the physics with the trees and smoke
Dragon Age Origins' having a bunch of different beginnings was such a great idea and the polar opposite of the much more common "play the same forced intro and tutorial 50+ times" *cough* Skyrim* and I have no idea why it isn't more popular other than it must be more work
@@mtnman8783 Especially considering that Veilguard looks like the same colorful, regurgitated fantasy that studios have been pumping out lately. With dumbed down hack and slash combat as well.
How about Sid Meiers Pirates? I first played it on the Commodore 64 and later the Amiga 500 back in the day. It appeared that a new iteration/rerelease of it came out (almost) every 10 yrs or so afterwards with graphical and audio upgrades etc, with the last being in 2005 by Firaxis Games. The graphics are nothing to rave about, but the gameplay is straight forward and solid. There have been many knock offs over the years since the original was released back in 1987, but nothing captures the simplicity and replayability of the original.
I can't believe you didn't mention Rogue. It's about as graphically simple as it gets, but the gameplay was so engaging and entertaining that it inspired entire genres which are still producing best-sellers nearly fifty years later. It has to be the undisputed king of this list.
I love what Dragon Age Origins accomplished and wish more games took their approach with role playing elements and focus on story. The gameplay was satisfying with utilizing abilities in combat. One of the more underrated games in my opinion
I recently reinstalled Thief Gold to play the recent fan-made full campaign mod Thief: The Black Parade. The graphics are definitely dated, but that classic Thief style stealth gameplay is as good as ever. This all new campaign is just as good as Thief: the Dark Project, and includes the classic style mission briefings, cutscenes, . . .everything. Definitely a can't miss for Thief fans.
Wasn't too keen on the first map or the final "Maw of Chaos" equivalent level, but _The Black Parade_ game was incredibly good. I too cannot recommend it highly enough.
@@slowerthinker That was sort of a spoiler as I am only on mission 6, but no biggie. What makes this mod so special is that it's like Looking Glass Studios had been resurrected to make Thief 1.5. The team who made this mod does in fact include a couple LGS alumni, including the lead art designer.
It's a newer one but El Paso Elsewhere from last year. Simple graphics but a great shooter, bullet time and all. It also has a surprisingly deep story and the music absolutely kicks ass. A really great game that deserves a lot of love.
Dragom Age Origins may have taken me several tries to get into (mainly because I'm not a fan of the combat system) but the story made it worth it and I just enjoyed how much the story was spread across all three games
Because all its good gameplay comes from mods, maps and servers. The vanilla game has neither good graphics or gameplay, it’s honestly just a disgrace that makes at Launch bf 2042 look like Elden ring in terms of quality and quantity. And I don’t think gameranx was counting games whose “good gameplay” was done not halfway but entirely by the community and not the devs.
Honestly as long as its fun and you're able to tell what you're looking at it doesnt really matter. Plus Ultrakill runs on literally anything so it's worth it.
I'll just say, I prefer the way DA Origins looks as opposed to any other game in the series. The blood on the character models after a fight and just the darker atmosphere just pulls me in everytime. Even DA2 kept that white and painted blood red aesthetic
@@McGeezle It really depends on what you want in a game, But PZ gives probably among the most realistic zombie experiences if you put aside the graphics, Especially so if you consider the next update adding all sorts of lore things plus a ton more depth to the crafting and progression
You can't discuss this topic without Dwarf Fortress. Back when I started playing it, it was still just ASCII symbols, people just barely starting to dip toes into tilesets as a thing. The complexity that's there after 20 years of development is unfathomable, but until recently, it very much came from sacrificing graphics entirely.
@@Vixlyuu Not sure how much younger Cataclysm is, but I do remember playing the early builds of that for the first time in the same span of maybe 5-6 years too. Not nearly as complex as DF, but by far the most complex zombie game out there.
Godhand was awesome the videos very funny the gameplay was complex and enjoyable because of the over 110 moves you could combine a to a single combo and some single moves avoid attacks do guard breaks...., and the soundtrack still one of the best.
Borderlands is stylistically chosen to look that way. It was never intended to look "bad", but people think cell shading = bad. New Vegas released the same year as Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Witcher 2, which look better than New Vegas, but still play well for their respective series.
Cataclysm (both the Dark Days Ahead and Bright Nights editions) is probably one of the most in depth apocalypse survival rpgs out there. Very brutal, turn based, graphics comparable to dwarf fortress (unless you install a graphics pack). If you survive the first 50 turns you may get a chance to see the depth the game has. On a similar note and one that's technically cheating as it's getting graphical updates in the newest build, but Project Zomboid follows a similar path to CDDA/CBN of being a zombie survival game, but it has a similar level of depth. It's styled to look like the Sims 1 and 2 with a fixed camera perspective. Very tense, fun with some friends and some mods.
Yo, I heard spider software at number 7 and just about jumped outta my skin. The first CRPG I ever played from start to finish was Exile: escape from the pit. Ngl, I know it's basic as hell but I would love if it got like a mobile or switch port. I really wanna play it again.
Making my way through the video now. If Arcanum is not on the list, it should be. An excellent game that def was not ground breaking graphics even when it came out.
started with battle bit bit "made by people that love battlefield and understand how a game like that should play". If you actually listen to the stuff the devs say, they wanted to make a milsim first. Then they realised that realistic mechanics with out realistic graphics doesn't sell, so they made it way more casual. but that wasn't their main objective, and they also aren't doing it battlefield wise, because no content is being added (i asked 2 weeks ago in the official discord). and oki is still the main developer, he hasn't hired a team, witch to most is seen as a mistake.
Number one on my list, Outward. It's not bad looking but graphics clearly weren't the first priority. There's so many mechanics and things to explore in Outward it's crazyyyy. The amount of different craftable armors and weapons.
if Vampire Survivors is not ur style for the art, I recommend you guys then Holocure, has the basics of Vampire Survivors + challenge system, trading, free gacha and A LOT more, oh and did I mention is free? with cute anime girls
RE Spiderweb Software, fkn awesome products. Their current wave is - to my knowledge - all remakes of earlier titles, but considering I bought a ton of these around '97, they're due for an update. Exile 3 Ruined World remains one of my favorite titles of all time, and I absolutely ran months of DND campaigns in a setting largely plagiarized from Exile.
@@drewtheunspoken3988 I mean I get what you are saying, but Dragon's Dogma, at the time, was a spitballed idea to capture some of the Skyrim momentum. Resident Evil is well Resident Evil lol. Kinda apples and oranges to compare a experimental game to Capcom's flagship franchise.
Kind of funny that the most fun i had with games in the past years (except some games like Elden ring ord Baldurs gate 3) was with old and dated or even bad looking games. In the last 10 years i played some old games like FNV, Mass effect (not legendary) and DA:O. Especially those games are some of my favorite games of all time. Which says a lot about those because i played them years after release
Could you guys please start putting the names of the games you’re talking about back in the video chapters like you used to 🙏🏼. It makes it so much easier to know what game you’re talking about if you happen to miss it. Sometimes I’ll be fully attentive to the video and still miss it. Thanks 🙏🏼 keep up the great work!
Can a buncha people back me up on this and tell jake look man can you please write all the games titles on these lists that would help people who've never heard of these cone on man is that too much to ask ☝️🤷
Barony, is an FPS rouge-like that looks like voxel Ultima Underworld/Daggerfall. 4 player spit screen and is game play wise solid at achieving what it aims for. Fits the GP of GFX quota, check it yo.
Gameranx my proposition for you is to make your own evolution videos. Like „game graphic evolution”. I love these kind videos and I would love to watch your version :)
Demon souls- you are totally off on this one dude! The original game was praised for its dark, foreboding atmosphere, which was enhanced by its graphics. The environments were designed to be oppressive and haunting, contributing to the overall experience.
I agree, he made a lot of arguments for other games saying that those games were not ugly "per se", like it was intentional, but with Demon's Souls he didn't even consider that the graphics and atmosphere could be also 100% intentional, which is the case. In that moment it wasn't even considered outdated. The graphics were okay (of course it wasn't metal gear solid 4 or Uncharted 2) , but the "ugliness" of Demon's Souls wasn't a "let's put gameplay gameplay over graphics" case. You can't say that Undertale is simple/nes looking for a purpose, but there's some "artistic decisions" behind it, and then just deny that possibility in the case of DS. I think the intentionality is more than obvious in this one...and oh man, saying there's no "artistic intention" in Demon's Souls...well, maybe we played a different game.
Valheim is fawkin beautiful especially at night when you stop looking at your immediate surroundings and look point your gaze into the distance and the camera's depth of field focuses and makes everything surprisingly clear. everytime i do this accidentally i am repeatedly stunned by the skybox and how good the world looks when you let yourself stop looking at the forest for the trees. and omg the water, especially in a storm with the physics ...
Demon's Souls actually looks and plays noticeably better than Dark Souls 2, which was a definite downgrade despite coming out in 2014 five years after Demon's Souls.
Games truly don't need to be high polygon quadruple A graphics, some people don't have a top quality 90,000$ pc so seeing games where is accessible for everyone and most devices, gamers are gamers not freakin billionaires to suck the megocorp Titaaayyysss!
Lately I've been playing Ancient Dungeon VR. It looks like Minecraft (which I can't stand) but the game is very fun. Each run through is randomly generated. The power ups are randomized, so sometimes you struggle and sometimes you end up very powerful. The VR mechanics for knife-throwing is insanely fun and responsive.
So glad Spiderweb got some love, they are amazing games, I got them all in a humble bundle years ago but lost the Steam account... still miss them, never had a chance to play them all :)
I would include Dead Rising in the list. Even for its time the graphics were very basic especially for a Capcom game. It shines with its simplistic combat system and overwhelming number of zombies and unique boss battles. The timer system created a sense of urgency, and with using nearly anything you find as a weapon was pretty unique for an open world zombie survival game of that time.
Geneforge is NOT a game I would have expected. Nobody knows about those games. The remake kind of helped a bit. But they're underrated. Every game by the studio is made by ONE GUY. His wife is the only other employee of the company and she handles admin stuff.
Thought this was a reupload for a sec 😅
ITS THE OPPOSITE! What a twist!
i read the title quickly and i had the same tought 😆
We all still clicked lmao.
I did a double take before clicking
Its basically a reupload. Wish they did something other than lists, there are just eating a dead horse.
bethesda doesn't choose gameplay or graphics. they choose modders
It's the number one reason that they're able to retain players for years even decades
So does mojang tbf.
A forgotten mention about Salt & Sanctuary and Salt & Sacrifice is that they're both able to be played same-screen co-op throughout!!!
I'm just glad that Hydrogen from M|O|O|N was in the Hotline Miami clip. I think a lot of people don't realize that it's originally a videogame song, and it's an absolute banger
Thanks goatranx
Kenshi raw graphics might be ugly, but when you apply the borderlands-like filter from the add-ons it turns beautiful.
Perfect companion piece to the Graphics over Gameplay. Thanks Jake and crew.
Always
I was just thinking of this! as I just saw the opposing video, and was like "didn't I just watch this" oh, there's no red bar. NOPE!
@@gameranxTV Do Artstyle over Graphics.
@@TheNorth15 Sound over light. 20 Best auditory designs and OSTs.
I have to disagree with you about Dragon Age Origins. It had a few graphical issues, but for 2010, this game was a masterpiece in every sense of the word. EVERYONE loved it. Do want to be Good? Or do you want to be Evil? REALLY Evil...
20: BattleBit Remastered (2023)
19: Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
18: Cruelty Squad (2021)
17: Valheim (2021)
16: Vampire Survivors (2021)
15: Salt and Sanctuary (2016)
14: Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
13: RimWorld (2013)
12: God Hand (2006)
11: Nidhogg (2014) & Nidhogg 2 (2017)
10: Demon’s Souls (2009)
09: Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass (2018)
08: DUSK (2018)
07: Geneforge 2 (2024) or any Spiderweb Software game
06: Hotline Miami (2012)
05: Pizza Tower (2023)
04: Kenshi (2016)
03: Deus Ex (2000)
02: Stephen’s Sausage Roll (2016)
01: Dwarf Fortress (2002)
Thank you! 💯🙏💯
❤❤❤❤
Thanks, handy to have a list.
Thank youuu
Thanks 🎉
A game doesn't need to have realistic graphics to be good as long it's fun it will be a good game. That's the problem with modern AAA games.
👆🤌
I still prefer them not looking like Lego blocks drifting around in gravy.
Graphics don't need photo-realism, but they also shouldn't give you an urge to gouge your eyes out
@@boxonothing4087 Agreed I just think that the push for realism can be a little too much nowadays.
I prefer a game to have a great story and great game play to at least have okay graphics. I don't want graphics to be too grainy. It can give you headaches.
100% this! Gameplay is the most important thing and I don't care about the best graphics.
Where is EARTH DEFENSE FORCE? That game is perfect for this video and EDF 6 is coming out next month
If you were born in the 1970s, all of these games look like photorealistic unimaginable witchcraft we could have only dreamed of whilst playing Arkanoid and Frogger etc.
Tetris has got to be the best gameplay over graphics.
I remember when the box art was prettier than the actual game.
honestly I was born in 2003 but all these games look good to me. It's probably because for the longest time I couldn't play anything other than Minecraft on 30 fps on my laptop. That kind of made me appreciate all kinds of graphics, even the ones that are considered bad by many people. It's fun to see people with such an age difference see things like this in a similar way
I was thinking, my first systems were an Atari and an NES….back in the late ‘80s my little child brain would break looking at games from the modern era.
Tetris is boring and monotonous, in my opinion.
My first system was my older brother's old Atari before I got the nes! I know exactly what you are talking about
I see a "New Vegas" thumbnail, I click it! Every damn time!
Dragon Age origins had a great narrative and world building, Great medieval fantasy
👆🏻
I will say that the graphics look less ropey when viewed from high up as it was intended, doesn't change that ME is technically better, but viewed from above its quite pretty (for 2010) :)
DA:O was great but... the franchise just went down hill from there
Went back to it recently to prepare for the new game
Truly one of my favorite games of all time
Fallout New Vegas didn't need graphics, It's one of the most beloved games ever
👆🏻
I dont disagree with gameranx, but New Vegas has such a different environment than the ruins of 3 or the pretty but also kind of generic 4. The open deserts, the cliffs, and small towns, Legion fortress, NCR bases, and New Vegas are so varied.
YEP BUT OBLIVION IS BETTER
Facts
@@NigerianCrusadernot without mods. I adored Oblivion but the enemy scaling system just doesn't hold up at all. Fix that with a mod and fair enough. But go back to it now and it just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Crazy that Dragon Age is here. It never occurred to me that its graphics back in the day wasn't great. I thought it was fine.
considering that mass effect 2 and crysis were already out i would say the graphics weren't good at all
@@gianfrancoguevara5636dragon age came out a year before Mass Effect 2.
@@halfricansaint7727 what about crysis im pretty sure that game is older than dragon age and it looks way better
I remember dragon age was complimented for its graphics actually. It wasn’t praised of course, the strength was the gameplay
I'd remove DA and put in Dungeon Siege. Way better gameplay and worse graphics when compared to DA.
Pokémon chose neither.
I only play for the pokemon lol
Heretic!
Pokemon as a turn based game is one of the best out there. I think people don't understand how complex competitive Pokemon is
Sounds like you’re just trying to get likes for a tired bandwagon joke. Pokémon’s graphics were only bad recently and the gameplay has always been excellent. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
haha true if you didn't grow up with pokemon games you know how subpar they are. (same can be said about a lot of popular games tbh)
First game I thought about when I read the title: Valheim. That game has nailed the building system, leveling progression, exploration, environment, atmosphere and reward system. The creature design varies, but it's not bad imo. I've spend soo much time playing Valheim during a more difficult time and I can really recommend the game.
To me, it feels like they really didn't know what they wanted to do with their art design. It's low-res, but also tries way too hard with the visual effects. It would have been one thing to commit to the PS1 graphical style, but it feels like an unintended limitation rather than a deliberate design choice.
I honestly loved it, its like minecraft with crazy lighting mods. All the atmosphere without needing much more graphics wise😊 i also loved the physics with the trees and smoke
I personally loved it except the mistlands. Eff that place
@@TrueRedRabbit2 Yes, it can be hard.
@@TrueRedRabbit2just wait until you go to the Ashlands..
I went back to Dragon Age Origins after finishing Baldur's Gate 3. Even with outdated graphics it's still one of the best RPGs out there.
Thats because BG3 is overrated doodoo.
@@user-ni7qv1nd8o It's well rated tho, but hey I respect your opinion tho
Dragon Age Origins' having a bunch of different beginnings was such a great idea and the polar opposite of the much more common "play the same forced intro and tutorial 50+ times" *cough* Skyrim* and I have no idea why it isn't more popular other than it must be more work
What if instead of Gameranx it was Freakyranx and instead of ranking games they would get freaky with them
😅
Lmao
Freakbob Baldino
How do you get freaky with games? Unless your talking about the HOLE in the middle of the GAME DISC😅... mumble mumble, etc etc.
giggity
actually crazy how DA: Origins ended up being the peak of the franchise.
And it likely always will be
@@mtnman8783 Especially considering that Veilguard looks like the same colorful, regurgitated fantasy that studios have been pumping out lately. With dumbed down hack and slash combat as well.
7:48
Literally in the middle of hell...
The game: You feel cold.
How about Sid Meiers Pirates? I first played it on the Commodore 64 and later the Amiga 500 back in the day. It appeared that a new iteration/rerelease of it came out (almost) every 10 yrs or so afterwards with graphical and audio upgrades etc, with the last being in 2005 by Firaxis Games. The graphics are nothing to rave about, but the gameplay is straight forward and solid. There have been many knock offs over the years since the original was released back in 1987, but nothing captures the simplicity and replayability of the original.
SMP is an absolute banger.
I'm surprised Morrowind isn't on here.
For sure. Morrowind looked like garbage even at the time, but it was so expansive and deep that it didn't really matter.
Also Neo Scavenger
I remember it was demanding on hardware
I can't believe you didn't mention Rogue. It's about as graphically simple as it gets, but the gameplay was so engaging and entertaining that it inspired entire genres which are still producing best-sellers nearly fifty years later. It has to be the undisputed king of this list.
Because its graphics was pretty standard during in 80s.
I love what Dragon Age Origins accomplished and wish more games took their approach with role playing elements and focus on story. The gameplay was satisfying with utilizing abilities in combat. One of the more underrated games in my opinion
Salt and Sanctuary as well as Kenshi are both EXCELLENT games
I recently reinstalled Thief Gold to play the recent fan-made full campaign mod Thief: The Black Parade. The graphics are definitely dated, but that classic Thief style stealth gameplay is as good as ever. This all new campaign is just as good as Thief: the Dark Project, and includes the classic style mission briefings, cutscenes, . . .everything. Definitely a can't miss for Thief fans.
Wasn't too keen on the first map or the final "Maw of Chaos" equivalent level, but _The Black Parade_ game was incredibly good. I too cannot recommend it highly enough.
@@slowerthinker That was sort of a spoiler as I am only on mission 6, but no biggie. What makes this mod so special is that it's like Looking Glass Studios had been resurrected to make Thief 1.5. The team who made this mod does in fact include a couple LGS alumni, including the lead art designer.
It's a newer one but El Paso Elsewhere from last year. Simple graphics but a great shooter, bullet time and all. It also has a surprisingly deep story and the music absolutely kicks ass. A really great game that deserves a lot of love.
Dragom Age Origins may have taken me several tries to get into (mainly because I'm not a fan of the combat system) but the story made it worth it and I just enjoyed how much the story was spread across all three games
I'm the exact same. The story easily helps me get over the tb combat.
Dragon age origins is still my favorite rpg to this day. TO THIS DAY!
I don't believe you skipped Minecraft...
Because all its good gameplay comes from mods, maps and servers. The vanilla game has neither good graphics or gameplay, it’s honestly just a disgrace that makes at Launch bf 2042 look like Elden ring in terms of quality and quantity. And I don’t think gameranx was counting games whose “good gameplay” was done not halfway but entirely by the community and not the devs.
Honestly as long as its fun and you're able to tell what you're looking at it doesnt really matter. Plus Ultrakill runs on literally anything so it's worth it.
Salt & Sanctuary looks amazing! It's all hand drawn!
Yes, I was appalled that anyone would call that gorgeous artwork "bad" in any way.
I'll just say, I prefer the way DA Origins looks as opposed to any other game in the series. The blood on the character models after a fight and just the darker atmosphere just pulls me in everytime. Even DA2 kept that white and painted blood red aesthetic
Seriously surprised Project Zomboid wasn't on here
👍🏼part2
Project zomboid didn't choose gameplay or graphics
@@McGeezle It really depends on what you want in a game, But PZ gives probably among the most realistic zombie experiences if you put aside the graphics, Especially so if you consider the next update adding all sorts of lore things plus a ton more depth to the crafting and progression
Still wishing Battlebit will be released on consoles. Feel it’d have a soar in new players
Agreed. It reminds me of the Roblox mod phantom forces
I’d like to give a honorable mention to Mount and Blade Warband.
A personal favorite
Salt and Sanctuary was made by two people, I think it looks great for what they had at the time.
Kenshi is adorable
great list, but I would put Valheim way WAY higher. The clip you used with the camera shake was also a bad representation of the game.
when we're talking about gameplay over graphics, i'm surprised that minecraft and/or terraria didn't make the list but good list, nontheless
legit
You can't discuss this topic without Dwarf Fortress. Back when I started playing it, it was still just ASCII symbols, people just barely starting to dip toes into tilesets as a thing. The complexity that's there after 20 years of development is unfathomable, but until recently, it very much came from sacrificing graphics entirely.
it reminds me of CDDA
@@Vixlyuu Not sure how much younger Cataclysm is, but I do remember playing the early builds of that for the first time in the same span of maybe 5-6 years too. Not nearly as complex as DF, but by far the most complex zombie game out there.
@@ledumpsterfire6474 cool
Godhand was awesome the videos very funny the gameplay was complex and enjoyable because of the over 110 moves you could combine a to a single combo and some single moves avoid attacks do guard breaks...., and the soundtrack still one of the best.
That valheim ganeplay was so bad lol
i swear gameranx always uses the worst gameplay, but it's also hilarious, even if unintentional
So was the battlebit gameplay 😂
Where's Borderlands series? Also FO: New Vegas didn't have bad graphics for 2010 RPG and nobody complained about graphics of Demons Souls in 2009.
Borderlands is stylistically chosen to look that way. It was never intended to look "bad", but people think cell shading = bad.
New Vegas released the same year as Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Witcher 2, which look better than New Vegas, but still play well for their respective series.
Colonization is Definitely my Favorite Basic Graphics/Infinitely Fun Gameplay Ever!!!
It's giving me anxiety watching the Valheim clips with that 25 health.
Cataclysm (both the Dark Days Ahead and Bright Nights editions) is probably one of the most in depth apocalypse survival rpgs out there. Very brutal, turn based, graphics comparable to dwarf fortress (unless you install a graphics pack). If you survive the first 50 turns you may get a chance to see the depth the game has.
On a similar note and one that's technically cheating as it's getting graphical updates in the newest build, but Project Zomboid follows a similar path to CDDA/CBN of being a zombie survival game, but it has a similar level of depth. It's styled to look like the Sims 1 and 2 with a fixed camera perspective. Very tense, fun with some friends and some mods.
Isometric is a middle ground between side graphics and full 3D that can look rather good for the effort.
Yo, I heard spider software at number 7 and just about jumped outta my skin. The first CRPG I ever played from start to finish was Exile: escape from the pit. Ngl, I know it's basic as hell but I would love if it got like a mobile or switch port. I really wanna play it again.
Right there with you!
Shoutout to all the slightly dyslexic who thought this was a reupload.
Did you hear about the dyslexic occultist?
He sold his soul to Santa.
Making my way through the video now. If Arcanum is not on the list, it should be. An excellent game that def was not ground breaking graphics even when it came out.
At the time the graphics were good.
@@godoftwinkies574 Arcanum? The graphics were not good even for its day. That's the same year Halo, MGS2, and FFX came out.
started with battle bit bit "made by people that love battlefield and understand how a game like that should play".
If you actually listen to the stuff the devs say, they wanted to make a milsim first.
Then they realised that realistic mechanics with out realistic graphics doesn't sell, so they made it way more casual. but that wasn't their main objective, and they also aren't doing it battlefield wise, because no content is being added (i asked 2 weeks ago in the official discord).
and oki is still the main developer, he hasn't hired a team, witch to most is seen as a mistake.
Number one on my list, Outward. It's not bad looking but graphics clearly weren't the first priority. There's so many mechanics and things to explore in Outward it's crazyyyy. The amount of different craftable armors and weapons.
if Vampire Survivors is not ur style for the art, I recommend you guys then Holocure, has the basics of Vampire Survivors + challenge system, trading, free gacha and A LOT more, oh and did I mention is free? with cute anime girls
So glad to see Kenshi on here. Love that game!
RE Spiderweb Software, fkn awesome products. Their current wave is - to my knowledge - all remakes of earlier titles, but considering I bought a ton of these around '97, they're due for an update. Exile 3 Ruined World remains one of my favorite titles of all time, and I absolutely ran months of DND campaigns in a setting largely plagiarized from Exile.
Yay Gameranx daily post
I kind of expected Dragon's Dogma to be on here.
Dragon's Dogma's graphics were fine unless you went over it with a fine tooth comb. More than acceptable.
@@midwestyle they weren't terrible, but they were subpar compared to Resident Evil.
@@drewtheunspoken3988 I mean I get what you are saying, but Dragon's Dogma, at the time, was a spitballed idea to capture some of the Skyrim momentum. Resident Evil is well Resident Evil lol. Kinda apples and oranges to compare a experimental game to Capcom's flagship franchise.
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Vampire Survivors is just about the best value for money in gaming since The Orange Box.
Kind of funny that the most fun i had with games in the past years (except some games like Elden ring ord Baldurs gate 3) was with old and dated or even bad looking games. In the last 10 years i played some old games like FNV, Mass effect (not legendary) and DA:O. Especially those games are some of my favorite games of all time. Which says a lot about those because i played them years after release
Could you guys please start putting the names of the games you’re talking about back in the video chapters like you used to 🙏🏼. It makes it so much easier to know what game you’re talking about if you happen to miss it. Sometimes I’ll be fully attentive to the video and still miss it. Thanks 🙏🏼 keep up the great work!
Old school MMO dark age of camelot needs a spot.
Some of this games are just old. They weren't made without visuals concerns. This would be the same as adding X-Com to this list.
The GTA Games on PS2(III, Vice City and San Andreas) I consider good examples of good gameplay over graphics. 🤔
DA:O was fun to play. really enjoyed it back then.
What about SIGNALIS? The graphics are barely PS1 level, but the story, world building and survival horror gameplay are all great.
I recently played through Deus ex 1 with the GMDX mod, it's the best way to play it in 2024 in my opinion.
An epilepsy/photosensitive warning would be great.
For those wondering: Skip number 17.
Thank you
Can a buncha people back me up on this and tell jake look man can you please write all the games titles on these lists that would help people who've never heard of these cone on man is that too much to ask ☝️🤷
❤😂 Y WOULD ANYONE GET MAD ABOUT FALLOUT NEW VEGAS BEING ON THIS LIST BESIDES THE AWESOME GAMEPLAY IT DOES LOOK THAT "BAD" IN 2024
Plz JAKE , make Video on
GAMES THAT CHOOSE STORY OVER GAMEPLAY OR GRAPHICS ❤❤🎉
Barony, is an FPS rouge-like that looks like voxel Ultima Underworld/Daggerfall. 4 player spit screen and is game play wise solid at achieving what it aims for. Fits the GP of GFX quota, check it yo.
Gameranx my proposition for you is to make your own evolution videos. Like „game graphic evolution”. I love these kind videos and I would love to watch your version :)
Your guys need to stop talking about player counts. That doesnt matter and doesnt say a game is good or not. Thats stupid streamer talk.
Demon souls- you are totally off on this one dude! The original game was praised for its dark, foreboding atmosphere, which was enhanced by its graphics. The environments were designed to be oppressive and haunting, contributing to the overall experience.
I agree, he made a lot of arguments for other games saying that those games were not ugly "per se", like it was intentional, but with Demon's Souls he didn't even consider that the graphics and atmosphere could be also 100% intentional, which is the case. In that moment it wasn't even considered outdated. The graphics were okay (of course it wasn't metal gear solid 4 or Uncharted 2) , but the "ugliness" of Demon's Souls wasn't a "let's put gameplay gameplay over graphics" case. You can't say that Undertale is simple/nes looking for a purpose, but there's some "artistic decisions" behind it, and then just deny that possibility in the case of DS. I think the intentionality is more than obvious in this one...and oh man, saying there's no "artistic intention" in Demon's Souls...well, maybe we played a different game.
10 games with unique art styles that were also good games list next !
Please change the number screen background, the white is too damn bright!!!
The fact that oblivion was not on here is insane
Shit graphics but fun to play?
Is this 20 Rock Star games?
I had to mod new vegas just to make it playable , worth it though.
Bro salt and sanctuary looks great to me. God what a fantastic game.
It's a beautiful game. I recall the first time I stepped out into the area with the dark, star-lit sky, and I was absolutely enchanted.
Valheim is fawkin beautiful especially at night when you stop looking at your immediate surroundings and look point your gaze into the distance and the camera's depth of field focuses and makes everything surprisingly clear. everytime i do this accidentally i am repeatedly stunned by the skybox and how good the world looks when you let yourself stop looking at the forest for the trees. and omg the water, especially in a storm with the physics ...
It's funny you call Demon's Souls ugly. I was sold on it the first time I saw a screenshot in a gaming magazine lol
Demon's Souls actually looks and plays noticeably better than Dark Souls 2, which was a definite downgrade despite coming out in 2014 five years after Demon's Souls.
COuld you please include the systems where i can get these games next time?
Clip from Valheim at the end gave me a headache. Soooooo much screen share its unbearable... Why even put so much of it without any warning
I would have loved a God Hand sequel... for me it was unique and fun.
Games truly don't need to be high polygon quadruple A graphics, some people don't have a top quality 90,000$ pc so seeing games where is accessible for everyone and most devices, gamers are gamers not freakin billionaires to suck the megocorp Titaaayyysss!
20 games that chose gamers over journos, you should do that one.
Bruh what demons souls is beautiful and charming even more than the remake
Lately I've been playing Ancient Dungeon VR. It looks like Minecraft (which I can't stand) but the game is very fun. Each run through is randomly generated. The power ups are randomized, so sometimes you struggle and sometimes you end up very powerful. The VR mechanics for knife-throwing is insanely fun and responsive.
So glad Spiderweb got some love, they are amazing games, I got them all in a humble bundle years ago but lost the Steam account... still miss them, never had a chance to play them all :)
Playing valheim in god mode should put you on the no fly list
I think Mount & Blade deserves a place here. Lol
I got one for ya. Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom. It’s on Steam and is a lot of fun. Looks like an N64 game. There’s a demo too.
Where's incest simulator...i mean ck2😅
I would include Dead Rising in the list. Even for its time the graphics were very basic especially for a Capcom game. It shines with its simplistic combat system and overwhelming number of zombies and unique boss battles. The timer system created a sense of urgency, and with using nearly anything you find as a weapon was pretty unique for an open world zombie survival game of that time.
Dwarf fortress has a much better visual update as of late
Geneforge is NOT a game I would have expected. Nobody knows about those games. The remake kind of helped a bit. But they're underrated. Every game by the studio is made by ONE GUY. His wife is the only other employee of the company and she handles admin stuff.
Noggin movement & me both think dragonage 1 is the goat