Because since RDR2 and last of us part 2 I only see that they’re going backwards or just stagnant.
The only exception is RE4 2023, that game looked really good. I don’t count Hellblade due how limited the gameplay is, it sacrificed most of its gameplay for the graphics. Is basically a movie with walking sections.
Edit: I guess guardians of the galaxy looked also really good when was released.
Technology is certainly improving and in many technical aspects, modern games are much more advanced than older ones (e.g. raytracing). Some aspects of graphical detail aren’t really dependent on technology though, but on effort and skill. RDR2 is a great example of that, as the devs really went out of their way to add incredible detail to every part of the world and especially the animations. It must have been very time-consuming and prohibitively expensive to realize that level of detail. Even back then most devs didn’t go through that kind of effort and now, with so many development studios getting closed or shrinking, most will take a much more economical approach to graphics. There are still some incredible examples of advanced graphics from recent years though, like Alan Wake 2.
They could… Scale down their games though. Smaller worlds, shorter playtime but with richer experience. That’s why I love the remakes of resident evil games. The games look very good at the release, yes they’re aren’t the biggest but give me a better impression than the other big franchises with big less focused world and worse graphics.
Yes they can, that’s how you get games like Hellblade 2. Short games often don’t sell as well though, so devs are more likely to focus on content.
That’s going to the other extreme though. I’m not asking for that, again, RE and God of War 2018 show us how it’s done.
They can do anything they want. The question is, what will make them the most money? Usually the answer isn’t short, offline games with great quality and value. It is cheap, micro-transaction maxed, whale-pilled, online service games. Graphics have become subservient to that. You’re not buying random rock skins, so why spend manpower and time on that instead of the next Dragon-balls blue skin?
And yet those games get zero money from me. Meanwhile I’m ok with giving more money to Capcom and it’s dlcs due the great RE experience.
I mean… Sure, but you’re also supporting the company that put out Street Fighter, and their monetization scheme. What game do you think is making them take in the big bucks?
I don’t care about street fighter tbh I got Tekken