We’ve previously reported on the games art director, Michal Stec, having said that the games optimizations would not alter the games gorgeous visuals. He said, “No. That’s the answer. We are not downgrading it. We are optimizing the game but in a way that doesn’t affect the visuals.”
But it’s readily apparent that the game has taken knock in the visual department, Studio Lead Adam Badowski has come to the defence of this alteration saying that the changes are “subjective” which is of course true. The tone of a games lighting and its exposure are indeed subjective conditions, but the objective truth is that changes were made.
An excerpt from his full comments on the matter reads, “What is subjective though is the quality of lighting and exposure in that trailer. We made a mistake that some of the scenes was rendered in dark and grey-ish colours. Such option was simply drawn by the engine. I think there will be places where the game will look stunning and noone will accuse us that it looks different than the first trailer. Unfortunately there will be also fragments where the game will look worse. It’s the same with GTA – when the squall comes and it’s all grey, especially in the forest, the game will come out as worse than the one from the living city illuminated by neons.”
As you would expect, there is truth in this, but it does highlight the fact that changes have been made and that we’ve been fed cherry picked scenes and scenery, which is sad. But with all that being said, the game is still visually stunning and remains a highly anticipated title.
[Source]