Ray Tracing is one of the main features for this generation of games. The first time I came in contact with this technology was with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for PC, and a bit later in Ghostwire: Tokyo. Both games were very eye-candy material with RTX On, at least on my opinion.

But we all know it comes with its costs. Ray Tracing is very demanding, and some people avoid it because it consumes a lot of GPU power and according to them, it's not worth the FPS drops.

What do you think? Do you enjoy Ray Tracing in games? Do you feel any major differences by the presence or absence of this technology in games?

My experience of raytracing is limited to PS5 with its relatively limited RT capabilities, so I haven't seen it at its best, but in PS5 games where its an option I typically turn it off as it tends to kill performance for only a minor visual gain.

My brother shared me his experiences on PC as I watched him a few times toggles with the options and I just haven't been as much impressed by such a "cornerstone" feature of this generation than some would like to suggest.

The fact such a feature can kill the performance of a game so drastically is also a killer to the possibility of enjoyment really.

I dont know much about it. I usually hear about what stuff is after someone confirms that the new Nintendo console doesnt have it and people freak out. The Switch 2 doesnt have VRR, hall effect sticks......never heard of it, but people sure are upset they are missing.

The Switch 2 apparently supports Ray Tracing. It's running the new Star Wars game, which requires RTX, from what I've heard.

Yeah, Ive only heard people mentioning it with like reflection in mirrors and stuff... I have no idea.

When it's used effectively, absolutely. Some games advertising RTX make awful and/or barely perceptible use of it, but in other games it can be completely transformative. When the PS6 and equivalent Xbox release we should start seeing more of the latter.

Nvidia confirms the Nintendo Switch 2 has DLSS and real-time ray tracing - TheVerge

Ray-tracing is nice, when it doesn't cause a significant hit in performance. But they've been chasing it for decades, and it's very resource-intensive.

Hall-effect sticks use magnets, which are supposed to eliminate the wear and tear that comes from the mechanical parts in contemporary sticks that cause drift. Neither the PS5 nor the standard Xbox controllers have hall-effect sticks. With that said, I've had the same Switch Pro Controller for 8 years and it still works perfectly. 

VRR is supposed to reduce screen tearing or stuttering. Not too sure how it works. The Switch 2 is supposed to support VRR in handheld mode, but not docked.

Not really.
As long as the solution is good or resources are well implemented in base graphics, it's actually better than simply having RT.

Current-gen consoles are poor at it, so it's not a good representation of RT's potential, like on PC. That said. Developers have been so good at faking it for a couple of decades that the hype does not warrant the result. Even if consoles were nearly as good as a PC. I'd be more impressed if it was used on games, not just chasing realism.  Show it in a colorful, charming game that takes advantage as a mechanic. Shiny things no longer impress me. Taking advantage of new hardware into new gameplay mechanics does like Rift Apart with the SSD.