For many video game fans, graphics and visual fidelity remain a major topic of conversation, especially with promotional or marketing trailers. While pre-release trailers are meant to get the fan base excited about a game’s eventual launch, much of the time, the visuals become a focal point of online discussion. In fact, the prospect of an eventual graphics downgrade has even been addressed by the development team, such as BioWare reassuring fans thatAnthem’s visual fidelity wouldn’t be downgraded from the initial E3 revealtrailer.
One of the more high profile instances is Ubisoft’s open world hacker game,Watch Dogs, which received an impressive E3 2012 reveal trailer. However, when the final game launched, thegraphics didn’t quite match what was initially shown inWatch DogsE3 reveal. Senior producer Dominic Guay addressed the concerns, admitting that the trailer was created prior to the Xbox One and PS4 specs being revealed and overestimating what would be available. While visual downgrades get a bulk of the commentary, the recently launchedHorizon: Forbidden Westshows that sometimes, games do in fact improve the visuals during development.
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In a thread on the PlayStation subReddit, a user known as CptnCASx took a screenshot from theState of Play demonstration forHorizon: Forbidden Westfrom 2021and managed to find that exact area in the final version. While most would agree that the State of Play demonstration was visually impressive, CptnCASx has managed to prove that the final retail version of the game has managed to push the visual details even further.
In the screenshot, which shows protagonist Aloy swimming through some ruins, players can see a big difference between the 2021 demo and the final product. The water alone shows a deeper blue with more light reflecting off of it. In addition to the higher resolution, there’s more detail work on the stone walls and the bits of nature reclaiming the building. Overall, the final version ofHorizon: Forbidden Westis certainly impressive, and the comments to this post reflect how much people would rather marketing teams approach pre-release material.
While many folks seemingly made jokes at Ubisoft’s expense, there were more than a few people who mentionedCyberpunk 2077which continues to have its own struggleswell over a year after it launched. While the game is in a much better state than when it launched in December 2020, the retail game arrived with tons of bugs, problems, and missing features which were either shown or mentioned during marketing. Features like wall running and next-gen crowds were clearly missing from the final product.
Horizon Forbidden Westis available now on PS4 and PS5.
