Despite hitting marginal returns when it comes to graphical leaps between console and GPU generations, there are still some pretty games out there. It’s still impressive to see what developers can do when it comes to pushing the boundaries of pixels. This award, in particular, celebrates that passion and determination to push polygons to their absolute limit. A celebration of the games that push technology and marry them with their artistic vision. With that said, here is the winner of Lords of Gaming’s 2024 Golden Lance Award for Best Graphical Fidelity.
Winner – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Considering Senua’s Saga: HellBlade 2 is about the real world, portraying how real it could get with next-generation technology is not an easy task. Only certain studios like PlayStation’s Naughty Dog or CD Projekt Red have been able to scratch the surface of how real a game can look. But Ninja Theory I feel took the cake.
Senua’s Saga: HellBlade 2 is a benchmark and shows just how far graphical fidelity can go. The way the sun can make you flinch if you were to look at it, the incredible motion capture. Or even the insane level of detail in combat right down to mud flinging off a Draugr’s body or the trails of blood when you strike at them, and the most realistically realized flames I have seen in a video game are just a few things to note. But one experience I had with it was playing and my roommate walked by and asked me what movie I was watching. He had no idea I was playing anything and shows that Senua’s Saga: HellBlade 2 achieved a level of realism so indistinguishable that you need to be told “this is a video game”.
