2022 is almost over, so we’ve decided to share with you the games that amazed us with their graphics. The following games have the best graphics, and PC gamers can use them to impress their friends. Do note that we won’t be focusing on overall optimization here. The following list is also in random order. So, without further ado, here are the best PC game graphics of 2022.
Stray
Stray is a game that pleasantly surprised us in 2022. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the game has some of the best environments we’ve seen in a video-game. This is mostly due to its pre-baked global illumination/lighting. Stray does not feature a dynamic/real-time day-night cycle. As such, the developers were able to carefully craft its environments. This is the exact same reason why Assassin’s Creed: Unity still looks incredible. Stray can also run with 60fps on a wide range of PC configurations, though it does suffer from shader compilation issues. Nevertheless, this is a really beautiful game.
Need for Speed Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound was the most beautiful racing game that came out in 2022. Powered by the Frostbite Engine, this game also uses pre-baked global illumination in order to enhance the game’s graphics. Seriously, since current-gen consoles cannot handle proper Ray Tracing effects, I’d love to see more developers embracing pre-baked techniques. We don’t need a dynamic day-night cycle in every game. Just give us beautiful games with pre-baked lighting. As I said and before, there is a reason why Assassin’s Creed Unity still looks great.
SCORN
SCORN is yet another Unreal Engine 4-powered game that suffers from shader compilation issues. However, SCORN also sports some incredible visuals. This is mainly due to its “H.R. Giger” art style. Still, Ebb Software has created an incredibly-looking title. Not only that, but SCORN does not require a high-end PC system.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues the tradition of offering top-notch graphics on PC. After all, both Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty Modern Warfare found their way to our previous “Top PC Game Graphics” lists. As we’ve said, our only gripe with COD: MW2 is its somewhat low LOD for some of its objects. Other than that, the game looks amazing, and can run on a wide range of PC configurations.
UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection
UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection had a number of technical issues on PC. However, and even though this is a remaster of a PS4 game, UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection still looks amazing. Naughty Dog has mastered the use of pre-baked lighting, and the game’s jungle areas can give you some Crysis vibes. Furthermore, the game has a lot of destructible objects, you can interact with every plant, and its characters remain among the best we’ve seen.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
In 2022, Sony released both Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales on PC. So, we’ve decided to include one of them on our list. Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales is one of the best-looking open-world games on PC, even without its Ray Tracing Reflections. Furthermore, the game does not suffer from any stuttering issues, and we have to congratulate Nixxes and Insomniac for this.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Dying Light 2 is one of those games that benefited from Ray Tracing. Although its rasterized version looks great, its ray-traced version is one/two steps above it. This is one of the few cases where the ray-traced version of a game feels like a truly next-gen version. This is mainly due to the per-pixel ray-traced global illumination and ray-traced ambient occlusion effects. Similarly to Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, Dying Light 2 is one of the best examples of the hybrid ray-tracing/rasterization rendering model.
The Callisto Protocol
The Callisto Protocol is easily one of the best looking games on PC right now. Even without its Ray Tracing effects, this is a graphical powerhouse. Its 3D models are almost photorealistic, and its environments look incredible. It also packs some spectacular special/particles effects.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Asobo Studio has created one of the most beautiful games to date on PC. A Plague Tale: Requiem looks absolutely phenomenal, with vast environments, amazing pre-baked global illumination, high-quality textures, and long draw distances. This game features the best open-world environments of any game. The only downside is its characters, which are not on par with those of The Callisto Protocol or Uncharted 4. However, when it comes to its environments, A Plague Tale: Requiem is unmatched. And then we have the incredible physics-based sequences with the rats. In fact, there are two specific scenes with the rats that will leave you speechless. Well done Asobo, well done.
Portal RTX
Well, most of you may have seen this coming. After all, we had Quake 2 RTX in our previous “Top 10 PC Game Graphics” list. Portal RTX, alongside Doom RTX and Quake RTX, showcase what Ray/Path Tracing can achieve. NVIDIA used RTX Remix in order to overhaul the graphics of this classic game, and the results are spectacular. The fact that NVIDIA will release RTX Remix so that modders can implement full ray tracing/path tracing effects in older games is also something that excites us. Portal RTX is a graphical powerhouse, and it’s something you must experience if you own an RTX GPU.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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