Summary
Video games are some of the most innovative pieces of creative technology in history. Games only first became mainstream in the 80s. Yet in two decades, they already developedopen-world, 3D graphics, the use of FMV, and much more. Two decades after that, and now games are a form of art with realistic graphics and technologies that push what a game can do.
From vast open worlds that let you explore a galaxy of generated planets to motion capture software that can mimic a human visage just as realistically as we can, it’s very clear that some games have reached some truly impressive heights, especially for their time. Here are just some of the most technologically impressive games throughout.
Updated on June 27, 2025:Is it technically impressive that there’s now a video version of this list now available? Maybe, maybe not, but the games sure are a staple of their generation.
From simulating real-time facial hair growth to depicting NPCs who react realistically to your character and their actions, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a feat when it comes to crafting an open world. The most impressive part of the game is how all these details create a realistic world that reacts to you.
It brings a fresh new world to your screen, and players have found themselves shocked by how gritty it can be. Wounds from gunshot fights look real, the townspeople each have their own schedules and lives, and the wildlife is a functioning ecosystem. It’s another step forward to simulating a totally realistic open world.
For its time, it is absolutely shocking that a game like Metal Gear Solid was made when it was. The game that kicked off the iconic franchise and helped make Hideo Kojima a household name is one that was so impressive it pushed the entire video game industry forward.
Featuring in-game cinematic cutscenes and groundbreaking stealth mechanics, it’s often credited as the father of the stealth genre and for pushing gaming to be more focused on storytelling.
Known to even stress some of the best PCs, over a decade after it was released, Crysis pushed graphics forward like no other, unlike most games that tend to lower their graphical settings and optimize them so that more people can run it.
The engine itself is a technological marvel featuring over a million lines of code, a gigabyte of texture data, and 85,000 shaders, producing some ofthe best-looking visualsto this day.
Even years after its release, No Man’s Sky has continued to receive update after update of its already very impressive sandbox setting. The engine procedurally generates billions of planets, solar systems, terrain, creatures, and more for players to explore.
Since its release, the game has been praised for being one of the most complex pieces of procedural generation, showcasing how this mechanic could create complex worlds better than any development team of humans.
Known for taking the series in a bold and fresh direction, Breath Of The Wild is a critically acclaimed game that has been praised for its impressive physics engine and wide open world. Originally developed for the Wii U, development was later shifted to the Nintendo Switch, where its hardware could better support a game as detailed as this one.
But its more impressive feat is how it pushes game design with a great physics engine that allows players the freedom to tackle any of the problems any way they want.
Half Life 2
The original Half-Life was already an impressive piece of work when it was released. However, Half-Life 2 surpassed it and more. From the fact it featured only in-game cutscenes with mo-capped facial animations, a fully-fledged andcomplex physics engine.
The introduction of the Gravity Gun to utilize the new physics engine in combat was also groundbreaking for the time and helped make the game be known as a technological landmark that seemed a decade ahead of the competition.
Although motion capture is utilized in games now, just a decade ago, it was an expensive new technology. However, that didn’t stop the developers' Team Bondi from using it to create L.A Noire, a game set in 1950s Los Angeles, where actors would have their faces mo-capped by the engine.
It would be utilized to create a cinematic experience and, for the main draw of its game, the interrogation sequences. Players would have to analyze professional actors and read these realistic facial expressions to determine whether someone was lying or not in the game.
From the grisly graphics that showcase different sorts of wounds to the numerous small details, The Last Of Us: Part 2 is one of the most realistic games to have ever come out. Characters squint when they look at the sun, enemies react and scream when one of their own gets killed, and the game boasts very realistic visuals.
Animations are done masterfully with motion capture that shows off the incredible work done by the numerous actors behind the characters. Overall, much like Red Dead Redemption 2, the game is another big leap forward for all the things video games can simulate in detail with the technology available.
