It depends on the game. One thing I miss, and this is probably just a matter of diminishing opportunities since low hanging fruit had to be picked in earlier generations, is games that are experimental and genre-producing. If we had more of those, because developers/publishers aren't chasing production values and cinematic experiences, as much, I'd be more fine with limited graphical features.
The reality though, is a lot of the graphical advancements have saved development time. Ray-tracing, mesh-shading, automated LoD management are all meant to save development time compared to the more art-intensive/asset-heavy techniques of the 8th Generation.
This of course means the barrier of entry for development is lower, and we have many more unoptimized/poorly optimized games. It also means that middle-ware has become so dominant and centralized that many games feel copied and pasted from each-other.
There are always going to be trade-offs like this in so much as game development is a profit-driven enterprise where the development process expects a return on time and resource investment.
Last edited by sc94597 - on 17 January 2026
