15 Best-Looking Video Games Of The Decade

9. Gears 5

Gears 5 open world
The Coalition

Though Sony has dominated most of the generation when it comes to cutting-edge visuals, Microsoft has been no slouch (particularly in regards to great looking racing games). The cream of the crop is Gears 5 though, which looks unbelievable whether you're playing on an Xbox from 2013 or the updated X.

Character models are a huge step up over the previous game, expressive and emotive in a way that lends real gravitas to the title's most emotional sequences (seriously, just check out the detail on Marcus). Animations are smoother than ever as well, elegant yet weighty in that classically Gears way.

It's the environments that steal the show though. Not only are they rendered realistically, with dense foliage, superb particle effects and top-notch interior textures, there's so much variety on display.

Barrelling across frozen lakes while an ice storm rages or standing in the middle of destroyed city while Hammers of Dawn rain down even more destruction in the distance remains breathtaking no matter how many times you see it.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.