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When the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S finally arrived,the big selling point was ray-tracing.
Or, in laymans terms, better reflections.
The idea is that games can simulate lighting in real-time to look even more realistic than they already did.
Frankly, I dont think ray tracing ever looks better.
Realism is a dull road, which RTX is only exacerbating.
The outrage that Spider-Man 2 looked the same despite costing over $200 million sums up the industry perfectly.
Sometimes you might see things reflected in a puddle.
Its endemic of gamings future, chasing hyperrealism into the inevitable abyss when developers should instead dial things back.
Just look athow costly the PS5 Pro wasfor insignificant changes that are barely noticeable.
Its whyAstro Botstuck out so much this year weve been craving for Sony to return to that mindset.
But broadly speaking, thats not what were seeing.
Astro Bot was an exception to the rule.
Just look over the pond at Xbox withIndiana Jones and the Great Circle.
It has mandatory ray tracing: theres no option to turn it off.
The fault doesnt lie squarely at ray-tracings feet, but its a microcosm of the industry as a whole.
via Rockstar
They told a story in their visuals.
Ray-tracing is cold, mechanical, and bland.
RTX overhauls do little more than gut classic games' art styles.
Steam
