The question was asked due to the company’s history with VR, especially when it launched the Valve Index, and then Half-Life: Alyx just a year later to show off the full capabilities of the virtual reality headset. The company also tends to have a pattern of releasing some new software – even if it is simply a collection of mini-games – whenever it launches a new hardware product.

Aside from Half-Life: Alyx, Valve had also previously showcased its VR hardware with the release of the free title Aperture Hand Lab. The 2022 launch of the Steam Deck was similarly followed up with the release of yet another free title that made use of the handheld system’s capabilities: Aperture Desk Job. The title put players in the shoes of a person with a desk job at Aperture Science, where they could complete objectives and push buttons to then get an idea of the various hardware features of the Steam Deck.

The Steam Frame was unveiled just yesterday, and is set to feature two LCD displays with a resolution of 2160×2160 each and between 72 and 144 Hz refresh rates depending on the game being played. Along with this, the headset also has dual stereo speakers and four high-resolution cameras with infrared LEDs that it uses to track the outside world. Unlike the Valve Index, the Steam Frame will be a completely mobile headset that doesn’t need to be plugged into a PC to play games.

Powering the Steam Frame will be a Snapdragon 8 Series SoC (system on a chip) and 16 GB of RAM. When it comes to storage, the headset will be available in 256 GB and 1 TB configurations, both of which will also come with a microSD slot for further expansion. Valve has stated that the battery life expected from the Steam Frame thanks to its 21.6 Wh lithium-ion battery will be around 40 hours.

It is worth noting that Valve has referred to the Steam Frame as a “streaming-first” device, which means that it is intended to be used alongside hardware that would be capable of running games from Steam. It is capable of running just about any title available on Steam through streaming, and can also pair up with older Steam Controllers, the new Steam Controller, as well as the Steam Deck.

Along with the headset, Valve also unveiled a couple of other new pieces of hardware – the Steam Machine and a new Steam Controller. The Steam Machine will be a gaming PC designed to be effortless to set up and can be used as a full-fledged PC that runs SteamOS – a custom operating system based on Arch Linux. The Steam Controller will pack in a host of new features, including high definition rumble and grip-enabled gyro, among other things.

No Man’s Sky

Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky might not have started life on the best foot forward, but it has quickly grown into one of the best space exploration games on the market over the course of many significant updates. No Man’s Sky features a huge open world filled with all sorts of planets to discover and things to do, and the VR edition adds another layer of immersion to it all – making it the definitive way to experience what it has to offer.

Inside

Combining atmospheric story-telling with clever puzzles, a stark aesthetic, and impeccable pacing, Playdead’s Inside presented one of the best side-scrolling adventure titles of all time. It’s saying something when a title of this caliber launched more than eight years ago, and nothing else in the genre has come close to matching up.

HOUSE BENEVIENTO – RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

Resident Evil Village was a theme park of horror, but no area of the game was quite as startlingly scary (especially on your first playthrough) as House Beneviento. Starting out as a quiet but creepy house full of dolls, it quickly devolves into a sequence where you’re running through the darkness while being chased by a giant, horrifying baby that wants to swallow you whole. It’s an absolutely terrifying sequence, and nothing in the game quite matches up to that focused intensity.

THE FRIGGING WORKBENCH – THE LAST OF US PART 2

The Last of Us Part 2 excels at keeping players on the edges of their seats, but while encounters against Stalkers or the boss fight against the Rat King are certainly heart-pounding moments, nothing in the game is as scary as that one damn workbench. You know the one we’re talking about. Throughout the entire game, workbenches are supposed to be a safe space where nothing will attack you, but just as Ellie begins tinkering with her weapons at that one particular bench, she’s quickly ambushed by attackers. It takes a while for your heart to stop trying to pound through your ribcage, and afterward, you never quite look at workbenches the same.

ANIMA ENCOUNTERS – THE EVIL WITHIN 2

The Evil Within 2 delivers a very distinct brand of horror throughout its runtime, and though the game is full of plenty of unforgettable moments on that front, it’s probably at its best when you’re faced with Anima. The haunting creature roaming the streets of Union is perhaps the game’s most terrifying enemy, from her ghastly appearance and the bone-chilling melody she sings to the fog that she brings with her and the fact that she can phase through walls and doors.

GETTING CAUGHT BY THE XENOMORPH – ALIEN: ISOLATION

It’s nearly impossible to think of many enemies in horror games that haunt players’ nightmares as vividly as Alien: Isolation’s Xenomorph does. The stalker foe is a menace for the vast majority of the experience, and having to avoid its attention is never anything short of being a harrowing ordeal. Always quick to react and shockingly intelligent, the Xenomorph is sure to make you jump right out of your skin every time you’re unlucky enough to be caught by it.

MR. X THROUGH THE WALL – RESIDENT EVIL 2

Speaking of stalker enemies that we still have traumatic flashbacks about, the Resident Evil 2 remake’s Mr. X is another iconic survival horror villain that has brought us dangerously close to several heart attacks. The game is filled with such moments, and none of them will catch you off-guard as violently as when the brutish Tyrant smashes through a wall to catch you unawares while you walk through the halls of the RPD building.

LISA ON THE BALCONY – P.T.

The fact that P.T. is considered to be one of the scariest games ever made in spite of the fact that it’s essentially just a demo should tell you something about how good it is at unsettling players. And that’s putting it mildly, honestly. A lot of that tension comes, of course, through Lisa, the ghostly apparition that haunts you every step of the way throughout the experience. Every appearance she makes is blood-curdling, but spotting her staring down at you from her perch up on the balcony is particularly horrifying.

AYUWOKI ENCOUNTERS – ESCAPE THE AYUWOKI

There’s a good chance that you haven’t heard of Escape the Ayuwoki, but as those who’ve played it will tell you, this is a genuinely nightmare-inducing game. It places you inside a haunted mansion where your goal is to explore your surroundings and solve puzzles so you can find a way to escape, all while constantly being stalked by a creature known as the Ayuwoki. From its unpredictable behaviour to its terrifying appearance to the game’s chilling atmosphere, every encounter with the Ayuwoki is sure to make your pulse shoot right up.

MEETING THE HUNTER – DEAD SPACE

From beginning to end, Dead Space keeps finding ways to make you jump out of your seat (or at least keep you on the edge of it), and nothing exemplifies the effectiveness of its brand of horror than your first encounter with the Hunter. Created as the result of a twisted experiment, the Hunter serves as a stalker enemy for brief sections of the game, and is, to say the very least, the stuff of nightmares. Watching it burn to a crisp later on in the game is quite a cathartic moment.

MARGUERITE BAKER – RESIDENT EVIL 7

Resident Evil 7 delivers more potent horror than any other game in the series has ever managed to do, thanks in large part to how intimately terrifying it makes every single one of its encounters feel. The Marguerite section is a great example of just that. Creeping through the old, decaying house while she roams its halls is scary enough as it is, and things only take a turn for the worse once she takes her hideous, spidery form. She’s also quite fond of jumping out at your out of nowhere when you least expect it, when is never pleasant, to say the very least.

GHOSTS THROUGH THE CAMERA – FATAL FRAME SERIES

Fatal Frame games hinge around one central concept- they force you to look directly at their scariest enemies in order to even know where they are. As a series, Fatal Frame has been inconsistent, but that one idea never quite loses its luster. Using the Camera Obscura to see what ghosts are in your vicinity is always terrifying, and it’s made even more so when you’re faced with the particularly gnarly foes.

CYNTHIA AND THE NURSING HOME – ALAN WAKE 2

Alan Wake 2 is brimming with sequences that can get your pulse racing (including plenty of jump scares), but no part in the game is as chilling as the nursing section. From the palpable atmosphere to the eerie environments you go through to how things progressively get more and more twisted as you progress further, this is where the game is at its absolute peak. Encountering Cynthia serves as an appropriately horrific crescendo for this sequence.

DON’T TURN AROUND – FROM THE DARKNESS

From the Darkness is another game that you may not have heard about, but boy can it get you to scream in terror when it really wants to. Throughout its short runtime of an hour and a half, it delivers plenty of those moments. One that stands out in memory sees you walking through dimly lit environments in search of tools, and just as you start believing that there might not be anything too dangerous around you for the time being, you turn around and are faced with a horrifying creature staring you right in the face. It’s… not pleasant, let’s just leave it at that.

LUCY ENCOUNTERS – VISAGE

Visage really came out of nowhere when it launched a few years ago, but was instantly recognized by many as one of the scariest games you’re ever going to play. That’s abundantly clear even in the very first chapter, which focuses on Lucy, a girl who died when she ripped her own jaw off after being tormented by a demon. Her backstory is a chilling one (which is putting it mildly), and encounters with her even more so.

KITCHEN SCENE – HELLSEED

Another lesser-known game, and one that’s probably more flawed than the vast majority of titles in this feature- but one that can surely get you to jump up in terror from time to time. One particular moment that is hard to forget sees you exploring a kitchen in the calm darkness, only for the music to suddenly grow startlingly intense out of nowhere. As soon as you turn around, you spot a ghastly, decrepit woman slowly walking in your direction, only for lights to completely go out for a second, before coming back on and showing you the scene of a calm and empty kitchen once again.

THE JEFF SEQUENCE – HALF-LIFE: ALYX

Despite not being a horror game, Half-Life: Alyx can be scarier than the scariest horror games out there. The sequence where you’re shuffling through cramped corridors while the undead monstrosity known as Jeffs lumbers around is probably the best example of that. This entire chapter is filled with moments that can make you jump right our of your skin, because no matter how many times you lay your eyes on him, nothing dulls the sheer terror of watching Jeff angrily advance in your direction.

Beat Saber 

Beat Saber is all about slashing your lightsaber to rhythmic beats, and while that might sound pretty simplistic at first – it makes for an incredibly fun time. A lot of what makes it so addictive boils down to the visuals and audio, which feature some clean neon-heavy visuals and catchy electronic beasts respectively. It’s a great example of how something so simple can be made so addictive with the right design choices – and Beat Saber will easely keep you hooked for hours on end.

Half-Life – Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx is a sequel to what is one of the most respected franchises of all time, so it’s obvious that it had some pretty big shoes to fill. But it’s safe to say that Valve confidently stood up to those expectations, and Alyx manages to capture the spirit of Half-Life in a new dimension. Everything from the compelling narrative to the brain-tickling puzzles and frenetic combat works flawlessly, making Alyx easily one of the best VR games that you can play right now.

Superhot VR

Superhot operates on a simple principle – time only moves when you do. That singular mechanic is what makes the moment-to-moment gameplay so good, allowing for some amazing action sequences where you dodge past bullets, throw bottles at enemies, and knock someone else out in just a few seconds. Superhot VR adds that extra level of immersion to the whole affair, making that action all the better and those time-defying stunts all the more personal.

Horizon Call of the Mountain 

Horizon Call of the Mountain was a launch title for the PSVR2, so it had to be a great experience if it wanted to drive sales for such an expensive add-on for a console. Set in the titular post-apocalyptic world of the franchise,Call of the Mountain excellently translates that open-world mechanic into a bunch of carefully curated roller coaster sequences that make this VR title an absolutely thrilling experience.

The London Heist 

London Studio’s The London Heist is a VR adventure where you get to experience some high octane chase sequences, thrilling firefights, and a constantly twisting story that keeps you at the edge of your seat at all times. It boasts some impressive production quality, and the gameplay also manages to keep things interesting with memorable chase sequences and high fidelity graphics which makes it a game worth seeing through to the end.

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky might not have started life out on the best foot, but Hello Games was able to turn the game’s fates around for the better with a constant influx of meaningful content updates post-launch. One of these updates also included the ability to enjoy the game in VR, which adds an extra level of immersion to the galactic exploration. Witnessing the beauty of procedurally generated planets is a consistently enchanting experience, and is a must-try for fans of the genre.

Gran Turismo 7

Despite some initial balancing issues, Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 7 has morphed into a big hit, and for good reason. The simulation gameplay at its core is complex in all the right ways, and that coupled with the immaculate attention to detail makes it a worthy sequel to this long-running franchise. And if you are a gearhead, you have to check out the VR mode that quite literally transports you to the driving seat of your favourite supercars  – allowing you to live out your racing fantasies to the fullest.

Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 7 made some really big changes to the horror genre, and it’s safe to say that those changes were for the better. The shift to a first-person perspective makes the survival horror experience even more immersive, and those horrors become even more defined through the VR mode. The slow pace of gameplay and the renewed focus on survival horror works surprisingly well in VR, and it’s inarguably the best way to see what the Baker Mansion has to offer.

Hubris

Hubris is a story driven sci-fi action game that utilizes the cutting edge technology of VR to make you experience an intriguing story set on a distant planet. Hubris features a fun movement system where you can climb, jump and swim through a wide array of diverse environments along with great shooting mechanics and simple crafting systems. It’s a surprisingly vast game for the VR platform, and fans of action adventure games should definitely try it out.

Lone Echo 2

Lone Echo 2 starts off from where the first one left off. The sequel puts you in the shoes of Jack, an Android working on a mining station on Saturn who is tasked with helping a crew member when an unknown anomaly appears and everything starts to go haywire. Lone Echo 2 gives you this surreal feeling of dread where you have to navigate through an empty space station and complete objectives in zero gravity whilst in VR. The game features some fluid mechanics along with interactive environments, which makes Lone Echo 2 a pretty thrilling experience.

Walkabout Mini Golf

Walkabout Mini Golf is a great game to play alone, against other players online or with your friends that lets you enjoy the sport in a wide array of distinct golf courses. It features some pretty sophisticated physics systems that makes it a game where you can really sink your teeth into, and that pursuit of perfection is duly rewarded with a steady stream of unlocks including but not limited to customization options for your avatar.

Pistol Whip

Dodging bullets and killing bad guys all the while vibing to your favorite might just be the best description for Pistol Whip. It’s a rhythm shooter with fast and frenetic gunplay where you must sync your shots perfectly to the tune of backing tracks. It pays a ton of attention to the visuals and audio, and the stylish combat along with its cool selection of stages makes this game a must-try on VR.

Red Matter 2

Developed by Vertical Robot, Red Matter 2 serves as a sequel to the original in every sense with better graphics, puzzles, environment details and improved physics. Set during a dystopian cold war era, players take on the role of a Cosmonaut trying to uncover the mystery behind the Red Matter which revolves around exploring a Lunar Base on Saturn and solving brain teasing puzzles. What makes it special is its ability to keep you engaged with its atmospheric design and engaging gameplay, which makes it a game that’s worth trying on the VR platform.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission 

Sony Japan’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a wonderfully imaginative platformer that puts you in the robotic shoes of the titular protagonist as you hop and glide through carefully crafted levels in VR. It’s a simple game with a solid set of mechanics, but what makes it special is the level of care and attention that has gone into each aspect of the experience.

Blaston

Blaston thrusts players into a deathly duel of careful dodges and strategic throws against the backdrop of a neon drenched world. It’s created by Resolution Games, and expertly manages a surprisingly deep set of gameplay mechanics with a fast and frenetic pace of gameplay to create an experience that’s really hard to put down once you get the hang of it. Blaston is also free to play, so there’s literally no excuse for you to not try it out if you have a compatible VR set.

Asgard’s Wrath 2

Asgard’s Wrath 2 thrust players into a world where they need to explore to unravel the mysteries this world holds. The gameplay revolves around solving puzzles and fighting vicious battles through its fast and frenetic action combat. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is an ambitious open-world game which excellently balances elements like exploration, combat, and progression. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is available on Meta Quest VR and comes free if you purchase a Quest 3, which makes it a must have for platform owners.

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END (PC)

Naughty Dog as a developer and Uncharted as a franchise are synonymous with pushing the boundaries of gaming visuals, and Uncharted 4 remains one of the finest examples of that. In particular, the game’s gorgeous graphics stand out when played on a powerful enough PC, shining a spotlight on everything from the beautifully rendered environments to the bevy of nuances and detail in every frame of the game, whether it’s cutscenes you’re talking about or actual gameplay.

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN (PC)

Detroit: Become Human can sometimes be a sloppy narrative experience, but purely from a visuals perspective, it deserves nothing but praise. Quantic Dream as a developer has always relied first and foremost on solid acting performances, and Detroit: Become Human’s stellar graphics and animations help strengthen that specific aspect of the experience in a way that is still rare to see in games.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 (PC)

It’s hard to believe, even now, that Red Dead Redemption 2 achieves the level of technical brilliance it does at the scale it achieves it at, to the point where it almost feels like incomprehensible wizardry. From the gorgeous and lovingly crafted environments of its massive open world to the little details and flourishes that truly help sell the game’s vision of a dying American Frontier, this is a game that never runs out of ways to impress you with how it looks.

METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS

Being over a decade and a half old at this point, you’d think that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would have lost a lot of its visual luster (as so many other games from that era have). The fact that it still looks great, then, should tell you just how ahead of its time it was when it first came out. And that’s without a single re-release, remaster, or port of any kind since its original launch in 2008. Yes, MGS4 can look even more incredible when emulated on a PC, but even the original PS3 version is still a treat for the eyes.

ALAN WAKE 2 (PC)

One of the more recent releases in this group, and also one of the most astounding. Alan Wake 2’s visual identity is unlike any other game you’ll ever play, and while it does obviously deserve credit for having conventionally impressive visuals – what with its crisply detailed environments, its impressive lighting, or even its incredibly detailed character faces and animations – what it deserves even more praise for is how effectively it gets really weird with all of it, from the surreal environments of the Dark Place to the live action sequences that are intermingled with gameplay so well you can’t help but do a double take each time they show up.

HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST + BURNING SHORES (PS5)

For as long as Guerrilla has operated, it has been putting out games that end up nabbing a place in lists such as this one. Obviously then, Horizon Forbidden West makes it in here with tremendous merit. Though it’s no slouch on the PS4, on PS5 in particular, it proudly boasts a level of artistic creativity and technical brilliance that the vast, vast majority of games can only ever dream of. Its PS5 exclusive expansion, Burning Shores, only takes that even further.

RATCHET AND CLANK: RIFT APART (PS5)

Ratchet and Clank games have frequently been called playable Pixar movies, and while there’s always been at least a touch of hyperbole to that, no instalment has ever come as close to actually looking that good as the astoundingly beautiful Rift Apart. The obsessively detailed character models, the colourful and vibrant environments that never fail to pop on the screen, the spectacular animations that are so filled with joyful personality- all of it is an absolute joy to behold.

DEATH STRANDING (PC)

The very definition of a game that is unlikely to appeal to everyone who plays it, the one aspect of Death Stranding that you’re probably never going to hear criticism for is how it looks. Its vision of a desolate, isolated, post-apocalyptic America is brought to life in stunning fashion not only through cutting edge technology, but also some of the most visually striking art design we’ve ever seen in a game. Kojima Productions’ games always have a knack for doing that, but Death Stranding is the one game that exhibits that better than most.

KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS (PC)

If ever you needed proof that you don’t need a massive AAA budget and dev team to make graphical stunners, this would be it. Kena: Bridge of Spirits flies in the face of that notion with its picturesque, fairy tale visual aesthetic, which serves as a perfect blend between technical prowess and gorgeous art design. Throughout its dozen-hour runtime, the game never runs out of beautiful things to proudly display.

GEARS 5 + HIVEBUSTERS (XBOX SERIES X)

When Gears 5 came out, it was already one of the best-looking games we’d ever played (and still is), and somehow, its Xbox Series X upgrade made it remarkably more impressive. From its icy environments to its desolate deserts to the war-torn cities that it places you in, the game never runs out of steam on the visual front. Its expansion Hivebusters in particular is breathtaking to behold, and paints an exciting picture of things to come in the future.

GOD OF WAR (PC)

God of War has been held up as one of gaming’s highest watermarks in various respects in the five-plus years since its release. Its visuals especially are an area that gets that sort of recognition, and though there’s plenty of evidence to back that even in its original PS4 release, on a suitably equipped PC, the game’s technical prowess comes into even clearer focus. No matter how many times you watch Kratos’ muscles rippling as he beheads a monster with a violet swing of an axe, no matter how many times you behold the sheer scale of the World Serpent as he towers over you, it’s hard not to be impressed by what God of War achieves.

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2 (PS5)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s visual strengths can be easy to overlook (or even entirely miss) given the sheer speed at which you’re constantly moving in the game, but taking even a second to pause and pay attention to what the game’s showing you is enough to appreciate just how good it looks. Its New York is denser and more alive than ever before, its environments are filled with tiny details that many might not even notice, its character models are excellently built (the many Spidey suits in particular deserve special praise), and it all comes together to create a cohesive aesthetic for the game that gives it a distinctly authentic Spider-Man feel.

HALF-LIFE: ALYX

By their very nature, VR games often have to make cutbacks with their visuals to be able to do what they have to do as virtual reality experiences, but Half-Life: Alyx very much wants to have its cake and it too. And it does that in convincing fashion. Whether it’s the oppressive exteriors of City 17 you’re looking at or the claustrophobic environments of the game’s panic-inducing horror-esque sections, Half-Life: Alyx never fails to look incredible. Thanks to its nature as a VR game, in fact, it looks incredible in a way that basically no other game out there does.

A PLAGUE TALE: REQUIEM (PC)

Here’s another example of a game that manages to produce astounding visuals without having been built on a AAA budget, or by a AAA team. Though not exactly a tiny indie production, A Plague Tale: Requiem’s graphics still punch above its weight in consistently surprising ways. As a story-focused game, it is, of course, more reliant on those elements than it would be otherwise, and it is exactly because of its strengths in those areas that its compelling narrative is able to stand as tall as it does.

GHOST OF TSUSHIMA DIRECTOR’S CUT (PS5)

Ghost of Tsushima will forever remain one of the best-looking games of all time. We can say that without a shadow of doubt, because it has the sort of timeless aesthetic that can take your breath away no matter how old the game may be, or even how many times you yourself may have played it. The art design does a lot of the heavy lifting here, obviously, but even on a technical level, the game is no slouch (to say the least), something that’s doubly true when speaking about the PS5 Director’s Cut release in particular.

METRO EXODUS

The Metro series has always prided itself on pushing the envelope with its visuals, and Metro Exodus certainly didn’t disappoint on that front either. From how spectacularly it realizes all of its many post-apocalyptic environments to how thoroughly it immerses players in its world with its diegetic and detail-oriented aesthetic, Metro Exodus is still one of the best-looking games out there, over four years on from its launch.

DOOM ETERNAL

There aren’t a lot of studios out there who can boast an equal level mastery over both game design and technology as convincingly as id Software can, and DOOM Eternal is a perfect example of that. Not only are its hellish battle arenas a veritable attack on the senses in the best way possible, the game also excels at making every combat encounter feel breathtakingly explosive in a way that very few of its peers are capable of.

HUNT: SHOWDOWN

Crytek is no stranger to developing visually spectacular first person shooters, but Hunt: Showdown in particular deserves a special mention. The game boasts all the technical polish and obsessive attention to detail that you’d expect from a Crytek joint, but on top of that, it’s also uplifted by some of the strongest art design we’ve ever seen in a shooter, allowing its dark fantasy horror world to come to life in spectacular fashion.

RAINBOW SIX SIEGE

Rainbow Six Siege might be nearly a decade old, but that just makes its technical accomplishments that much more impressive. From the destructibility and dynamics of its environments to the impressive coat of polish that encases every inch of the experience, there’s so much about this game that can still easily be described as best-in-class, several years on from its initial release.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Even when Cyberpunk 2077 was as broken as it famously was in the immediate aftermath of its launch, it was still easy to see how impressive it was on a visual level. Now, with three years of updates and improvements under its belt, it’s nothing short of a graphical masterpiece. No matter where you are in Night City, it’s hard not to be taken aback by how gorgeous it looks and the painstaking attention to detail it exhibits on a consistent basis.

WITCHFIRE

Witchfire launched in early access earlier this year after years of anticipation, and instantly impressed the masses in more ways than one- its visuals being chief among them. The dark fantasy aesthetic of the setting alone is enough to elevate Witchfire’s visuals in and of itself, and the fact that the game has the technical chops to be able to properly back its artistic ambitions only makes it that much more an impressive graphical ride.

HALF-LIFE: ALYX

VR may not have managed to permeate the gaming mainstream the way many had hoped it would, but in Half-Life: Alyx, we do have at least one major game that truly demonstrates just what a AAA VR megaton can look like. Not only does the game look excellent on a consistent basis, it’s also crammed full of a level of interactivity and attention to detail that you would think would have necessitated some technical sacrifices in a virtual reality game. That Half-Life: Alyx so confidently has its cake and eats it too probably doesn’t get enough credit.

BATTLEFIELD 5

For all the problems DICE’s games have launched with over the years, one area that the studio is pretty much always guaranteed to excel in is the visuals. Take Battlefield 5, for instance- a game that divided fans upon release, but in spite of its issues, stands as one of the best-looking shooters you’ll ever play. From the snow-encased Norvik to the war-torn ruins of Devastation to the wide, open spaces of Panzerstorm, every map in Battlefield 5 is gorgeous to behold.

STARFIELD

It’s fair to say that Starfield has plenty of rough edges on the visual and technical fronts, but for all of its many typical Bethesda flaws, it’s still a game that’s capable of taking your breath away with its graphics. Whether you’re looking at the futuristic city of New Atlantis stretching out in front of you or standing on a desolate planet and watching the sun rise over the horizon, from time to time, Starfield showcases just how incredible it can look when it isn’t being bogged down by technical issues.

WOLFENSTEIN 2: THE NEW COLOSSUS

It’s hard to believe that Wolfenstein 2 is over six years old at this point, because even it certainly doesn’t look its age. Though perhaps not as much of a visual stunner as something like DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is still a gorgeous game. From the detailed character models to the explosive and gleefully violent combat, there’s plenty about this game that still stands out on a technical level.

FAR CRY 6

Ubisoft has got the balance between scope and visual fidelity down to a science by this point, and Far Cry 6 illustrates that point perfectly. You’d expect that a game as massive and sprawling as this one would have to make significant cutbacks in the graphics department, but that most certainly isn’t the case here. The level of detail and fidelity that Yara’s many biomes boast is partly why exploring Far Cry 6’s enormous map is as engaging as it is.

GTFO

You don’t need a massive budget of dozens of millions to make a visually impressive shooter, as evidenced so convincingly by GTFO. Made by indie Swedish studio 10 Chambers, the co-op horror shooter flexes its technical muscles almost constantly, immersing you in is terrifying reality that much more. GTFO’s impressive visuals alone making it worth checking out, even if its uncompromising approach to difficulty might turn some people off- though of course, for many that’s exactly what makes the game as good as it is.

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

The Resident Evil franchise has always been associated with cutting edge visuals, especially in its RE Engine era, and Village, like all of its siblings, demonstrates the series’ graphical mastery every step of the way. Whether it’s the varied and horrific environments of the titular village and the areas surrounding it or the many monstrosities you clash horns with throughout the experience, there’s no shortage of things in Resident Evil Village to remind you of just how impressive a AAA flagship Capcom release can look.

DESTINY 2

As a game that’s over six years old, Destiny 2 maybe doesn’t have the wow factor that many of the other games on this list do, but the fact that it is still comfortably earns itself a spot here is testament to just how good it looks. On a technical level, the looter shooter is one of many fine examples of Bungie’s mastery and knowhow, but it’s with its stellar art design that the game really cements itself in your memory.

DEATHLOOP

Arkane Studios’ games have never really been leaders of the pack with their graphical ambitions, but even though Deathloop isn’t the most technically impressive game you’ll ever play, it’s hard not to be impressed by how good it looks. A lot of that is obviously down to its unique art style and aesthetic, but the game is no slouch on a technical front either. The end product is one that looks significantly better than you’d expect from an Arkane game.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons comes from Josef Fares, the mastermind behind popular co-op games like A Way Out and It Takes Two. The game tells a heartwarming story about two brothers working together through a vast world, and the mechanics do a good job of encouraging synergies between the player in new and interesting ways. Between this and the charming art style on offer, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons becomes a great game to play with a loved one.

System Shock Remake (2023)

System Shock is considered to be one of the most important games of its time, as it was one of the earliest pioneers of systemic game design applied in a first-person space. But even apart from it, System Shock is an impressive game with a gripping story and a detailed world with plenty of lore to surround it all. Nightdive was hard at work on a full-fledged remake of the original, and System Shock Remake was finally released earlier this year to great reviews. It does a great job of modernizing this classic with plenty of clever design tricks and changes that make this experience a more digestible one for fans accustomed to modern first-person games. 

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil series has seen its fair share of remakes in the form of the stellar Resident Evil 2 and the disappointing Resident Evil 3, but it has consistently delivered high-quality follow-ups. These include Resident Evil 7 and its follow-up Village, the latter of which represent the best of what the series offers. Resident Evil Village majestically swerves from one kind of horror to the next without any hiccups, and the action keeps pace with the changing scenery and shifting mechanics. The core gameplay of shooting down zombies is much faster than Resident Evil 7, but it retains the heft and groundedness of a survival horror game that comes together to make it one of the best in its class.