#20. F1 24

We tend to include the F1 games in our annual lists of games with the best visuals pretty regularly, but that’s because the series has this department on lock. Like its predecessors, F1 24 is a beautiful game, touting stellar vehicle models with an impressive level of attention to detail, authentic lighting and weather effects lending new life to the courses, and more. Year after year, this series successfully delivers a realistic and comprehensive recreation of the real sport, and the presentation and visual fidelity play an important role in that.

#19. BODYCAM

Bodycam has a number of shortcomings in its current state that we’re hoping it will address over the course of its ongoing early access period, but one area where the game deserves all the props in the world is the way it looks. As its name suggests, its played from the first-person perspective of a bodycam on your character, and combines that with a hyper-realistic aesthetic that achieves quite a striking result. The game looks startlingly good at times, and we’re curious to see how it will continue to improve on the road to its full release.

#18. EMPIRE OF THE ANTS

Here’s another game coming from a small time that ended up surprising a great many people with its graphics. Empire of the Ants is a decidedly small-budget game, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from just looking at it. Sporting an impressive photorealistic style, the game transports players to a lush jungle where every single blade of grass, every leaf on the ground, every rock jutting out of the ground, and every single insect and critter that you lay your eyes on looks shockingly lifelike. Obviously, there are some rough edges here and there, but the overall result is nothing short of splendid.

#17. GRAY ZONE WARFARE

Indie studio Madfinger Games launched its multiplayer open world FPS Gray Zone Warfare in early access this year, and though there’s plenty of work for the developer to do to address feedback from the community, the game’s visuals are pretty much unanimously liked. There’s a good amount of rough edges that need sanding out, which is to be expected from a game of this size coming from a smaller team and still being in early access, but its open world map is also full of beautiful sights to see.

#16. DRAGON BALL: SPARKING! ZERO

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO brought the Budokai Tenkaichi series back with a bang this year, and though the list of things in the game worthy of praise is a long one, its graphics are high on it. As you’d expect from a Dragon Ball game, Sparking! ZERO relies more on its stylized art style than on pure visual fidelity, but one way or another, the effect it achieves instantly catches the eye. In motion, the game looks particularly amazing, and watching explosive, map-destroying fights between colossally powerful characters attacking each other with everything they’ve got never loses its charm.

#15. LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH

The Like a Dragon series has always straddled the line between high budget photorealism and mid budget stylization perfectly, and Infinite Wealth does the same, producing yet another Dragon Engine game that you can’t quite tear your eyes away from. Given the scope of the game, it’s not surprising that not everything looks spectacular- but a lot of things to do, and everything else looks at least a minimum level of good. Overall, Infinite Wealth brings its vibrant Hawaii setting to the screen spectacularly, and easily ranks as one of the year’s better-looking games.

#14. STELLAR BLADE

Stellar Blade took many by surprise for multiple reasons, but all of it could be boiled down to it coming from a relatively unknown studio with little to no AAA console experience. For it to turn out as well as it did was a pleasant surprise, then, as was the fact that it also ended up looking as gorgeous as it did. Stellar Blade touts some of the most impressive visuals we’ve seen in a PS5 exclusive game so far (especially if you play it on a PS5 Pro), with everything from the dilapidated post-apocalyptic environments and the excellently designed monsters you fight to the Eve’s slick combat animations looking pristine.

#13. DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

Like pretty much everything else about the game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s graphics divided opinion, with many expressing their dislike of the new, more stylized art style. And though it is clearly a break from the more grimdark style past games used, we fall in the group that ultimately really likes what the game looks like. The Veilguard is a visual stunner in more ways than one, with a bevy of environments that are brimming with vistas that will take your breath away, not to mention some of the most impressive lighting we’ve seen in a game this year.

#12. STAR WARS OUTLAWS

Calling Star Wars Outlaws an uneven experience would be a huge understatement, but when the game is at its best, it’s really, really good- and in the graphics department, it’s definitely at its best. Yes, the game has its fair share of visual glitches and technical hiccups, but little of it detracts from just how stunning it looks more often than not. No matter where you find yourself in its open world multiplanetary setting, Outlaws finds ways to take your breath away with its sights and sounds. Coming from the studio behind The Division, that doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

#11. DRAGON’S DOGMA 2

Capcom has an admirable habit of cranking out a steady stream of AAA megatons that somehow all look spectacular. Dragon’s Dogma 2 was the company’s big centerpiece in 2024, and though it doesn’t look as good as, say, the best-looking Resident Evil games out there, it does look really, really good. From the detailed environments of its sprawling open world, to the incredibly lifelike (and vastly varied) roster of monster and creatures that you take on, to, of course, how oppressively impressive the game’s darkness feels, there’s a bevy of things in Dragon’s Dogma 2 that illustrate just how visually impressive it is.

#10. INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE

It may have been a while since MachineGames’ last major full-fledged AAA release, but as a studio that has always delivered visually impressive games, it did not disappoint with its return to the spotlight in the final days of this year with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a game that impresses graphically in more ways than one. It crafts its period setting with great alpomb, lets players explore a vast and varied collection of beautiful and highly detailed locations, and of course, does it all while capturing that classic Indiana Jones aesthetic. It absolutely knocks the ball out of the park in this department.

#9. SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a disastrous game- there’s just no two ways about it. But even the most disastrous games tend to have at least some redeeming qualities, and so, too, did Suicide Squad. Chief among the few was how good it looked, an area where Rocksteady Studios as a developer has never disappointed in the past. The game obviously has crippling issues that make it an absolute drag to play even at the best of times, but visually, there’s a lot to be impressed with here, especially if it’s the game’s impressive cinematics you’re talking about.

#8. TEKKEN 8

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Tekken 8 one of the best-looking fighting games ever made. Coming earlier this year as one of the biggest current-gen exclusive Unreal Engine 5 games so far, Bandai Namco’s acclaimed fighter was promising to be absolutely astounding to look at in the lead up to release, and it unquestionably lived up to that promise. From the stages to the character models to the often explosive effects we see on the screen, Tekken 8 has no shortage of tricks up its sleeve to make you stop in your tracks and marvel at its beauty.

#7. WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2

Space Marine 2 is without a doubt one of the most technically impressive games we’ve played in a long, long time. For starters, it looks excellent, with gorgeously detailed environments, well-crafted character models, and excellent enemy designs. But of course, what’s most impressive about it are the many sequences and moments where you find yourself facing overwhelmingly massive hordes of enemies, when literally hundreds upon hundreds of foes are on-screen together, all barreling in your direction while you stomp around and mow them down. The fact that the game accomplishes all of that without any significant issues with its performance just makes it that much more impressive. It’s truly something of a miracle.

#6. BLACK MYTH: WUKONG

For about four years prior to its launch, every time we saw more of Black Myth: Wukong, one thing that stood out above everything else was just how stunning it looked- something that stood out that much more given the fact that the game was coming from a lesser-known Chinese studio with a nonexistent AAA track record. When it launched in August, Black Myth was thankfully exactly as gorgeous as it was touted to be. Varied environments, spectacularly designed bosses, and some of the most breathtaking vistas we’ve seen in games all year all come together in what’s easily one of the best-looking games of this generation (even if it does have the odd technical rough edge).

#5. FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH

There’s no end to the things about Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that we can praise endlessly, and its visual splendour is high on that list. Obviously, we can’t ignore the fact that the game does suffer from some graphical inconsistencies, especially when played on Performance Mode. Even at its worst, however, Rebirth has a knack of looking impressive, while at its best, it’s drop-dead gorgeous. Its staggeringly large world is crawling with beautiful sights that are begging to be sought out and taken in, while on a PS5 Pro in particular, it looks absolutely stunning with little to no caveats.

#4. SILENT HILL 2

Silent Hill 2’s remake sparked a good deal of skepticism from many, which, given developer Bloober Team’s spotty track record up to that point, was fair to understand, but the one area where even the game’s biggest skeptics knew it wouldn’t disappoint was its graphics. That’s a department that always shines in Bloober games, and sure enough, Silent Hill 2 is an absolute looker. The decrepit eponymous town and the horrors that it hide are brought to life in spectacular and terrifying fashion, while Silent Hill 2’s familiar cast of characters are given new life by the stellar fidelity that the game now boasts. And yes, the fog looks amazing.

#3. MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator took our collective breath away when it launched in 2020, and still stands as one of the best-looking games around on any platform. Appropriately enough, Microsoft Flight SImulator 2024 turned out to be somehow even more visually impressive. Marginally gains are definitely setting in, which is unavoidable, but at the end of the day, even the most jaded person can’t help but be floored by the stunning level of detail, authenticity, and photorealism with which Flight Sim 2024 brings its grand vision to life.

#2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL

Much like its predecessors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a little rough around the edges, and with its slate of technical issues and its deliberately punishing nature, it’s definitely not a game for everyone. But boy oh boy is it a visual delight. GSC Game World’s open world shooter is easily among the best-looking games to have been released this generation. It boasts a staggering level of detail and fidelity across a huge world with impressive consistency. The game deserves all the praise in the world for the lengths to which it goes to make its world feel authentic, and to immerse players in its deadly setting.

#1. SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 certainly has its critics, and there are many who argue that it doesn’t hold a candle to its predecessor in a lot of ways that really matter. One area where it unquestionably makes huge strides, however, is the graphics department. Ninja Theory as a studio has always prided itself on pushing the envelope with what it does on the technological side of things, and this time, with the financial backing of Microsoft, the developer really went all out. Whether it’s its dark and grimy setting or the incredibly lifelike characters and their facial movements, the stellar lighting and the rich atmosphere it helps create or the spectacular animations that allow even gameplay moments to look like gorgeously handcrafted cinematics- from its first moment to its last, Hellblade 2 remains a visual delight.

Gray Zone Warfare takes place on the fictional Lamong Island, a massive sandbox where a “mysterious event” has resulted in an evacuation and quarantine. Three different Private Military Companies investigate for their clients, which means delving further and discovering what happened.

There’s a lot still to be included in the game, such as the enigmatic Ground Zero, which will serve as an end-game area down the line. However, Gray Zone Warfare presents a solid gameplay base with a smattering of quests to complete, PvE and PvP modes to partake in and some interesting mechanics despite several performance issues (which the developer is working to address).

What should you know when jumping in for the first time? What are some helpful tips to keep in mind while on the ground? How does the experience differ from your average extraction shooter/sandbox FPS? Here are a few tips and tricks to remember, whether it’s your first raid or the thirtieth.

Carry the Essentials

As with any extraction shooter, ensure you carry the essentials when heading out. These include a backpack, meds, a helmet, a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, some magazines, armor and so on. Some items like food and water are acquired pretty easily on the field, so don’t worry about stocking up too heavily on those when heading out. The same goes for primary ammo and additional weapons, especially when scavenging comes into play. Ensure that you deposit valuable items, armor and weapons into your locker between raids – if you die out in the wild and the loot is lost, they’ll be necessary for the next excursion. The alternative is wasting valuable cash to replace them, which isn’t ideal.

SafeLock Box

If there are items that you desperately need to protect, use the SafeLock box. While it doesn’t have a lot of space, any loot within can’t be taken by enemy players and won’t be lost if you die. Use this for any important items you desperately need to extract and don’t want to lose. If you’re running low on space, try using an M-FAK or I-FAK since it occupies a single slot in your pockets but can store multiple healing items.

Recovering Loot

After dying – which can happen frequently, so be prepared – you have a chance to recover the loot from your corpse. While it seems like looting it before enemy players can is the way to go, you should also beware of dying again on the way back to your corpse. Dying again will cause the first corpse to disappear, which means your loot goes bye-bye. It’s also worth noting that allies in PvE can’t recover your loot if you go down, so returning to the site of death and doing it yourself is thus important.

Allied Drops

If you’re having a hard time returning to your corpse, your teammates can help by doing the next best thing. Have them right-click on your corpse, which causes the items to drop onto the floor. Even if you die again, your loot will remain ripe for the picking. Again, picking up your items and ferrying them to a safe location isn’t possible for your teammates, so get back as soon as possible, regardless of how many additional deaths it may take.

Scavenging Weapons

Food and ammo aren’t the only items you can scavenge on the battlefield – there are weapons as well. This can be important if your primary weapon runs out of ammo while in the middle of a gunfight. The AKM is currently a popular option since its ammo is plentiful in the world and there are plenty of enemies with it in the starting areas. Just beware that the sight options are limited. Alternatively, you can pick up an AKM and sell it when returning to base. They fetch a decent amount, which can go towards your next raid.

Ammo Economy

It may be obvious, but Gray Zone Warfare isn’t a first-person shooter where going in guns-blazing is advised. Assessing situations, relying on cover and the environment, playing stealthy and coordinating with your teammates can often be the recipe for success. Check your supplies regularly, including your ammo. When reloading your weapon, it will swap out the entire magazine, meaning any remaining bullets are lost. Hit the V key to check how many bullets are left in a magazine before reloading. If you hold Left Alt and press V, a weapon check is initiated, which tells you the remaining ammo in the magazine and firing mode. Make a habit of doing this whenever there’s a lull in the action.

Switching Firing Modes

Speaking of firing modes, several weapons have different types, usually full auto and single shot for the primary assault rifles. To switch between these, press B. If you’re at a distance or sneaking up on an enemy, go for a single shot to make more precise shots and thus save ammo (pressing and holding Left Alt will also help in steadying your aim). If enemies swarm you, go full auto to take them out at mid to close range. Get used to managing recoil, regardless of the firing mode, especially since it can change as the bullets in a magazine dwindle.

Stamina Management

You’re going to be running around a lot in Gray Zone Warfare, so managing your stamina is key. However, it’s also important to not continuously utilize it in a single go, instead pacing yourself, since your character will get tired more easily. Use too much stamina at a time and it can affect your aim, making for some awkward encounters if enemies suddenly pop up. Also, don’t forget to keep those food and water levels topped off at all times since they can affect your overall condition.

Healing

Perhaps one of the most notable mechanics in the game, healing isn’t determined by a traditional health bar. Instead, you have a blood count. If you’re injured, it will slowly deplete, resulting in various issues. Check your character’s status and pay attention to the colors of different parts – splints are required for bones that are yellow or orange, for example. If you’re “hurt”, as indicated by your status, some Painkillers can make it go away.

You can also use a Surgery Kit to repair damaged organs, like your liver if you’re suffering from nausea. Blood bags are also essential as they refill any lost blood. Keep an eye on your status throughout and examine your allies whenever possible to see if they need healing.

Ensure that you have some healing items in the quick-access gear slot. If you’re in the middle of a battle and can’t open your inventory, pressing 5 will use these items to heal up. It’s also possible to cancel healing animations and other actions by pressing right click, in case you’re suddenly ambushed. Some enemies (and enemy players) won’t give you the luxury of fighting back so easily, but it’s better than leaving yourself open.

Here are 15 things you should know about Gray Zone Warfare, from the basics and the complexities to ongoing issues and upcoming fixes.

Setting

The location is Lamang Island, a fictional island in Southeast Asia where a “mysterious event” has occurred. Information is sparse, and while it’s quarantined, that doesn’t stop three Private Military Companies from doing PMC things and sending their operatives to investigate. As a character in one such PMC, you must venture across the world – even as more and more hints indicate that it’s better to stay away – and find out what happened. There are different characters to interact with and a mature “engaging” storyline. It is early access, though, so don’t expect to learn everything immediately.

World Design

Lamang Island is 42km² in size with multiple key locations and landing zones. Each PMC has their own base game, helpfully stationed at different corners of this triangular map. Locations include the Blue Lagoon, Sawmill, Fort Narith, Hunter’s Paradise and the dreaded Ground Zero at the center. Things get more challenging as you venture further towards the center, though it’s currently not available in early access. The overall atmosphere is on point, though, and the locations are far from cosmetic – even the foliage can serve as camouflage if you’re crafty enough.

Vendors

Before heading out into the world, you can interact with vendors for different tasks, whether it’s conducting First Recon for Handshake and earning gear, marking caches for Gunny to receive ammo and grenades, or finding meds for Lab Rat in exchange for weapon sights. Each awards cash, reputation and XP for completing these tasks and can trade different items. Standard extraction shooter stuff, alongside a locker for storing your loot and gear.

Over 150 Quests

Early access features quite an array of content, with over 150 quests to pursue. There aren’t any “mundane item hunts or set events” per the developer (though you do recover items and hand them over to vendors, so take that as you will). While the quests provide more context on the island, alongside optional items like books and newspapers, they’re not compulsory for progressing. Pursue the story or do your own thing – the choice is yours.

PvP and PvE

Gray Zone Warfare offers PvP and PvE right out of the gate, supporting up to 48 players in a single game (16 per faction). You also have AI opponents running around and scaling in difficulty as you approach Ground Zero. Fair warning: Friendly fire is on in PvP, and there’s no penalty for teamkilling currently. You can effectively lose progress and gear if your squad insists on trolling.

PvE is a better experience since you can’t kill your squad-mates, though you can’t loot faction members (even if they’re your allies). If you want to play solo, that’s also an option, but given how challenging things can get, finding a squad is probably ideal.

Shared Progression

Another controversial mechanic is shared progression between PvE and PvP, meaning you can bring anything from the former into the latter. It may not seem like a big deal, but the issue is that of a level playing field. If players can farm their items in PvE without worrying about others, it puts PvP-only players at a disadvantage (and that’s not even factoring in exploits and whatnot). How this will change in the future remains to be seen, but diving into PvE to properly gear up isn’t a bad option currently.

Weapons

There are eight weapons in total (though there are seemingly reports of more). While that may not seem like much, Gray Zone Warfare offers extensive customization with over 400 parts. You can switch the sights, barrel, magazine, and much more. Of course, that’s only one part of the combat since there are also…

Ammo Types

There are four ammo types currently – Soft Point, which is good against targets without armor; Full Metal Jacket for penetrating through targets; Armor-Piercing for breaking through armored foes; and Hollow Point, which expand upon entering a surface, providing a solid middle ground between impact and penetration damage. Penetration is especially useful when shooting through environmental objects, allowing you to hit targets inside buildings.

Realistic Ballistics

But that’s not all – bullets can also ricochet depending on the surface, whether it’s wood or steel. Bullets also behave realistically with water. Given the gunplay, players also have to be prepared to handle recoil. The developer notes, “There can be up to a ten percent difference in recoil control with an AR15, depending on whether you are shooting with a full magazine or the last bullet.” Keeping all this in mind is crucial to success.

Stamina and its Effects

As you explore Lamong Island, you notice that excessive stamina usage by, say, running will hamper your aim’s stability and sway. Taking things at a measured pace, while considering your environment (especially higher elevations). Maintaining your energy and even arm strength is also necessary for success.

Realistic Injuries

Of course, you also need to consider injuries. You can bleed, leading to vision issues, face injuries that affect performance (from worse aim to limited hearing), and more. Bleed out, and your character enters a coma where only allies can revive you. Carrying health items and knowing when to patch yourself (or your teammates) up is crucial, and as such, running into encounters with guns blazing isn’t always the best approach.

Different Editions

The Standard Edition retails for $35 and provides a basic 10×25 locker, 2×2 lockbox, $10K currency and two each of assault rifles, pistols, stun grenades, backpacks, headsets, glasses, hats, the works.

If you’re keen on splurging some more, there’s the Tactical Edition for $57.99, the Elite Edition for $79.99 and the Supporter Edition for $99.99. Each provides additional equipment, currency, and locker space, with the Supporter Edition also offering a GZW shirt, trousers and gloves (in-game, of course). You also get a special color name and supporter badge, which is neat. What’s not neat are complaints from players who aren’t receiving the additional items, so be warned before splurging.

System Requirements

Before indulging in Gray Zone Warfare, it’s important to note the system requirements. The minimum requirements include an Intel Core i5-8600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600, 16 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, AMD Radeon RX 5700 or Intel Arc A770. Recommended requirements include a Core i7-9700K or Ryzen 5 3600X, a whopping 32 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti or Radeon RX 6800. Everyone needs 40 GB of installation space, Windows 10 64-bit with the latest update, DirectX 12, etc.

Performance Issues

One of the biggest complaints about early access currently is the performance. Madfinger Games suggests using FSR Frame Generation and Super Resolution Performance or Balanced for RTX 30 series and lower cards, while RTX 40 series GPUs should rely on DLSS. AMD GPU owners are advised to enable Frame Generation and Super Resolution with balanced performance settings in addition to FSR, while those with Intel GPUs should rely on XeSS.

When it comes to stuttering, the team notes, “Frame rate stuttering may occur during initial gameplay, including short frame lags when visiting some locations for the first time. In rare cases, those using weaker GPUs may experience longer stutters. Please be patient and do not close the game; it will stabilize, and performance should improve.” Sure, it’s early access and performance can improve over time, but it’s worth keeping in mind, even if your configuration exceeds the requirements.

The Future

Madfinger is currently working on various fixes, like GPU crashes when VRAM is full, and an initialization error on Windows. It’s also adding the option to wipe your account and start from the beginning. These will go live immediately, but it’s also working on fixing data corruption, an option to turn off hi-res textures on GPUs with only 8 GB VRAM, optimizations to improve performance and more. The next patch promises over a “hundred fixes,” though there’s no ETA on it currently.

As a tactical FPS sandbox, Gray Zone Warfare takes place on Lamong Island, which has suffered a “mysterious event” leading to its quarantine. Three PMCs move to investigate at the behest of their clients, with Ground Zero serving as the central point. Players start with different resources and tools and can extract whatever they find in the wild as loot.

Gray Zone Warfare sets itself apart from other extraction shooters is its realistic injury system, extensive weapon customization and inclusion of PvE. Though only 63 percent of its 15,697 reviews are positive, leading to an overall “Mixed” rating, it’s a step up from the “Mostly Negative” rating at launch due to various complaints. Stay tuned for more updates on the title in the meantime.

https://twitter.com/GrayZoneWarfare/status/1785730135544508800

Set in Lamang, a fictional Southeast Asian island placed under quarantine after a “mysterious event,” players control an operative for one of three PMCs sent in to investigate. Boasting tactical first-person shooter gameplay with realistic ballistics, highly customizable weapons, and a 42 km² land mass, players can engage with various characters to discover the truth. Furthermore, it features PvEvP and PvE modes.

Gray Zone Warfare will retail at $34.99 for the Standard Edition, with various supporter editions available at higher prices (head here for more details). Madfinger noted that its timeline for early access could span “several years” but said it would add new weapons, gear, and quests and expand on its world throughout. The full version is confirmed to increase in price, however. Stay tuned for more updates when it goes live.