Back in the 2010s, it felt like we were witnessing a race to the most "realistic" graphics possible. As consumer hardware and game dev tools got more powerful, the piss filter faded into obscurity as lens flare, more detailed textures, and a push to make the most of next-gen gaming PCs came to the fore. We saw an influx of video games striving for a hyper-realistic look back in those days, that were inevitably followed by even better-looking remasters of themselves as time went on. For a while there, more realistic meant better, but I was hoping that school of thought had disappeared.
Graphical fidelity hasn't stopped progressing, but I really thought we were past that quite narrow-minded view of "objectively" good or bad video game graphics. Now, Nvidia is preparing to boot DLSS 5 into our games, and it somehow feels like we've taken a backstep.
If you haven't heard, DLSS 5 is making its way to 50 Series GPUs at the end of this week, initially launching alongside NBA 2K27, but almost certainly coming to other titles in due course.
When I was at Gamescom last week, I saw a behind-closed-doors look at the latest form of Nvidia's upscaling tech, and I got to ask questions about how the brand intends it to be used.
One of my initial concerns during the demo was about how this Generative AI layer flattens the nuances of art direction. I don't want to see an AI filter over beloved indie games with highly stylized visual design; I don't want to see games like Dishonored pushed through an AI model to make them look more "realistic" because that would kind of be missing the point.
Thankfully, Nvidia did reassure me both that developers can opt into specific DLSS 5 support, and that it's only really being intended for games that strive for a "photorealistic" look. Thank god! But even then, I still have concerns.
I, for one, really enjoy the subtle differences in graphical stylings when looking at games that you could argue strive for some sort of photorealism. Battlefield 6, Control, GTA 6, The Last of Us Part II, and even Hunt: Showdown all have aspects of realism, but I would argue they all know where the line is.
هەفتانە هەرسکردنەکان، چیرۆکەکانی ئەو کۆمەڵگایانەی کە خۆشت دەوێن و زۆر شتی تر
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.gamesradar.com/hardware/desktop-pc/nvidia-says-its-only-targeting-photorealistic-games-with-dlss-5-but-am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-realistic-visuals-are-worse
