Gaming in 4K: Do Graphics Really Matter?

Let's Go Back to the Very Beginning

I remember the Christmas of 1982 like it was yesterday. Even though I was only five years old, I recall very clearly being totally blown away and absolutely entranced by the bips, beeps, blops, and pixels of the Atari 2600. Pitfall, Space Invaders, Kaboom, and many other titles dazzled my young mind. A few Christmas' later, it was the Coleco that ensnared us all once again. I owned almost every console and gaming system from the early 80s clear up til now. Each generation offered an upgrade in graphics from the previous and I was always intrigued by it all.

Creeping around tombs in 1982...

Now, we live in a world of 4K and soon to be 8K (?) graphics with no end in sight. Even though we may reach a point where rendering games in 24,000x16,000 pixels just doesn't make sense but for now, we are marching forward with bigger, better, badder graphics and the marketing machines around these capabilities is stunning. I will admit, I've been gaming in 4K on my PC for a few years now and have been quite spoiled. Also, gaming on a PS4 Pro on 4K HDTV is absolutely gorgeous as well. All that being said, do graphics really matter? Now, we have ultra realistic games, pixelated retro games, and a mix up of the two.

... and creeping around tombs in 2017.

 

Rock the Vote


Check out the screenshots below of a few titles we've been rocking as of late (click for a full resolution 4K version) and let us know what really matters to you. Is it a ultra-realistic, 4K high resolution graphics? A charming art style or a mix of the two? Perhaps you don't care about graphics at all all and ONLY gameplay. How about our coverage? Do you prefer 4K, 1080p or ultrawide coverage? Either way, I'm curious to know how our readers in 2017 feel about the subject.

Obduction
Cyan Studios

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
WayForward Technologies

Project CARS
Slighty Mad Studios

Owlboy
D-pad Studio

Street Fighter V (2017 Characters)
Capcom

Ghost of a Tale
SeithCG

Guardians of Ember
Runewalker