Graphics shouldn’t really be the most important thing when choosing which game you want to play. Even low-poly games can be masterpieces with interesting gameplay and a touching, impactful story. But in case you just want to play a beautiful realistic horror game, here we go:
15. The Medium
The Medium - Official Story & Gameplay Trailer | Xbox Showcase 2020
The main character Marianne is in the process of grieving her recently deceased father. She received a weird phone call telling her to visit an abandoned resort where she finds out more about her past and her medium powers.
The medium is a recently released XBOX X exclusive with beautiful graphics. Marianne travels between two worlds - ours, and a hellishly grim and morbid different one. The game uses its split worlds mechanic to make some intricate puzzles. Both worlds are detailed and fun to explore, especially in the later parts of the game where the story becomes a bit more hectic.
14. Dead By Daylight
Dead by Daylight | Launch Trailer
Dead by Daylight came out in 2016 and it still stands tall as one of the best asymmetrical multiplayer games. The game’s theme is slasher horror movies, which is probably one most fit for this genre. In the game, you either play as the survivors whose goal is to stealthily escape from the killer and fix generators until the exit opens and they can escape for good. Or you can play as a killer whose goal is to hunt down and eliminate all of the survivors.
The game has very crisp graphics and also supports both 3rd person (as a survivor) and 1st person view (as the killer). There are a variety of nice and highly atmospheric maps. But the most fascinating thing in this game is how nice and detailed the killers are. Just looking at their designs makes you want to try out and learn a new killer just because they look so cool!
13. Amnesia: Rebirth
Amnesia: Rebirth - Official Launch Trailer
In Amnesia: Rebirth, you are Tasi Trianon, waking up deep in the desert of Algeria after surviving a plane crash. You don’t remember anything. You must explore the desert and retrace your steps in order to try and survive.
Amnesia: Rebirth is the newest game in the Amnesia franchise. It brings forth a very captivating story with unexpected plot twists in an unexpected setting. I wouldn’t have expected an Amnesia game to start off in a desert, but since it did so with a good reason, this game brings a bit of diversity to the franchise.
The game makes you carefully plan out how to spend your light sources in order to keep your sanity during the playthrough. The game is very dim and creepy and still keeps the classical Amnesia feel.
12. Layers Of Fear 2
Layers of Fear 2 - Launch Trailer | PS4
Take the role of a Hollywood actor who heeds the call of an enigmatic director to take on the lead role in a film shot aboard an ocean liner. You soon enough realize that you are not supposed to act out a role - you are the role. The play has been written just for you and you must be yourself and play it out.
Layers Of Fear 2 is a story-driven psychological horror game with a focus on slowly uncovering your past as you play it through. The game is relatively new so the graphics are good, but where its beauty shows most is after a slowly-paced exploration part, the game ups the stakes with some amazingly over-the-top beautiful scenes for each episode’s finale which leave you breathless.
11. The Evil Within 2
THE EVIL WITHIN 2 Trailer (E3 2017)
The Evil Within 2 is a game that takes the survival horror genre and focuses on making it as blood-curdling and gruesome as possible. We follow the story of the protagonist from the first game - Sebastian Castellanos as he descends into the nightmarish world of STEM to save his daughter.
The Evil Within 2 is an open-world game with hauntingly realistic deformed enemies and bosses. The detail and care put into the design of every enemy is remarkable. They are extremely realistic and thus extraordinarily creepy. The game focuses on gun combat which is very crisp and satisfying.
10. Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Dying Light 2 Stay Human - The Reason - Official Gameplay Trailer
Dying Light 2 Stay Human is a game that was released a few months ago. It was one of the most anticipated games of the period and as such, it is highly detailed and well made. You are thrown into a place called The City. Humanity has lost against the zombies and has fallen into the Dark Times. You are a wanderer with the power to change the fate of The City. But you have to remember - Stay Human.
Besides the obviously great gameplay that has been slightly upgraded and modified since Dying Light, Dying Light 2 really went out of its way to make an amazing and atmospheric map. The game nicely brings across the feeling you are in an apocalyptic city. You see the beautiful remnants of the past being overgrown and unkempt, yet still beautiful. The open-world in Dying Light 2 is so detailed and incredibly fun to explore.
9. Outlast 2
Outlast 2 - Launch Trailer | PS4
You're following a trail of clues that started with the seemingly impossible murder of a pregnant woman known only as Jane Doe. It leads you to Sullivan Knoth and his followers, who left our wicked world behind to give birth to Temple Gate, a town, deep in the wilderness and hidden from civilization.
In Outlast 2 you explore a religious cult’s grounds. Outlast 2 brings back the iconic use of the camera from the first game, and ups the stakes with its gore and gruesomeness. The game’s setting is dark and terrifying and the story showcases some really dark aspects of humankind.
8. Blair Witch
Blair Witch - Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer
In 1996 a young boy disappeared in the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Maryland. You play as Elis as he joins the search party to help. Soon the ordinary investigation turns grim after the mysterious force from the woods starts getting involved, leading Elis on a journey in which he has to confront his greatest fears.
Blair Witch is a game in which you are taking a linear path through the woods, exploring the dark forest while looking for clues the kid left behind. The game is very atmospheric - the realistic forest rendition can lead to some panicky situations during the high-stakes “combat” in this game.
7. Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus - E3 2017 Announce Gameplay Trailer [UK]
A quarter-century after a nuclear war devastated the Russian landscape, a group of survivors has decided to leave their underground lair in a quest to prove there are other survivors, besides the ones residing in the metro.
Metro Exodus is a highly detailed survival horror game with life-like graphics. The image quality is crisp, and the setting the game takes in is beautiful and diverse. It really brings alive the unique feeling of a Russian post-apocalyptic world.
6. Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village - Announcement Trailer
Several years after Resident Evil 7, our main character Ethan and his wife are living a happy life with their newborn Rose under the protection of BSAA. Things take a dramatic turn for the worse when in the opening scenes we see Mia killed by Chris Redfield. Ethan and Rose are getting taken away. Ethan loses consciousness and wakes to see all the armed men dead, and his daughter is nowhere to be seen. He walks towards an ominous village.
The game was released not even a year ago, and the graphics quality really reflects that. Besides the amazing story and the nicely designed villains, the game really tried to make every part of the ominous village feel different. There are a bunch of segments of the map, all boasting carefully composed scenery.
5. Back 4 Blood
BACK 4 BLOOD Official Trailer (2021) Zombie Game HD
Back 4 Blood is the successor to the Left 4 Dead franchise. It has the same premise in which you make a team of four players and go on missions filled with a HUGE amount of ridders (zombies). However, this game improves upon the older versions by adding a card system that allows for some customizations and replayability.
The classic gameplay of co-op shooter games has been modified to try and elevate the genre even more. There are a bunch of amazing-looking bosses and fun gunplay. The graphics are way better than the Left 4 Dead games since they game out a while ago, but the level design and even the design of ridders has been really improved in order to bring something new to the well-known franchise.
4. The Last Of Us Part 2
THE LAST OF US 2 Official Trailer (PS4)
The Last Of Us Part 2 is a sequel to the masterpiece of a story shown in the first game. The Last Of Us Franchise puts a lot of thought into its emotional story and well-thought-out characters. Making such an emotional cinematic masterpiece is definitely helped by the realistic graphics and the beautiful setting of the game.
The Last Of Us Part 2 takes place in a grim post-apocalyptic setting. Since the game focuses on a mixture of stealth and action combat, the level design is carefully crafted to make hiding behind obstacles feel natural. The sequel has added even more types of infected enemies, all gruesomely designed and highly detailed.
3. Observer: System Redux
Observer: System Redux - Official 4K Trailer
The year is 2084. You are a detective, in a dark cyberpunk world, that can look into the jagged memories of victims in order to solve the case and catch the elusive killer. You are a tool of corporate oppression. Feared and despised, you hack into the darkest corners of your suspects’ minds. You creep into their dreams, expose their fears, and extract whatever your investigation may require.
Observer: System Redux is a remake of the original game. It’s a psychological horror game with an emphasis on exploring the mysterious story and finding the killer in the dystopian cyberpunk world. The graphics are extremely realistic and the environment is rich and detailed. There is so much detail in the most mundane parts of the map, which really makes you feel like you are walking through a futuristic city.
2. Doom Eternal
DOOM Eternal - Official Trailer 2
Hell's armies have invaded earth. It’s up to you to conquer the demons across the dimensions in order to save humanity. The only thing they fear is… you.
Doom Eternal is a fast-paced survival horror first-person shooter. The main focus is the chaotic shooting gameplay in which you are overwhelmed by a large number of demons, and have to outmaneuver them and gruesomely end them.
There are 27 different kinds of enemies in the game, each with a few variations of itself. They all have very unique mechanics, making you have to think quickly in order to defeat them, and some very memorable hellish designs. Each enemy has a gruesome death animation if you execute them, making the game feel even more metal than it already was.
1. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes - Launch Trailer | PS5, PS4
At the close of the Iraq War, Special Forces hunting for weapons of mass destruction unearth something far deadlier – a buried Sumerian temple containing a nest of unearthly creatures. To survive the night below, they must forge a brotherhood with their enemies from the world above.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes like the other titles from Supermassive games is a cinematic experience in which you control the choices of our main characters and build your own story. House Of Ashes is the newest addition and is widely regarded as the most polished experience since Until Dawn.
There’s not much to say about the graphics since they are basically perfect. The whole game is highly detailed and movie-like thanks to the motion capture they used. The game’s plot is mostly in an underground tomb, in which you can expect a lot of sharp claustrophobic corners that help slowly build up tension as the game progresses.
