Looking at the chunky pixels of Sega Rally 1995 compared to Forza Horizon makes you realize graphics are OP now. But is gameplay suffering? Let's discuss.
Looking at the chunky, pixelated racing games we grew up with versus the hyper-realistic graphics of modern Forza Horizon makes you realize one thing: tech evolution is literal black magic, and we devs have been carrying this industry hard.
A post blew up on Reddit today (scoring nearly 5k upvotes) comparing Sega Rally 1995 to the modern Forza Horizon era. Looking at that 1995 car model where you can literally count the polygons, juxtaposed against a modern shiny beast reflecting the environment perfectly, is a wild trip. It really puts into perspective how far the gaming industry has evolved and how hard those 90s devs had to tryhard just to get a car moving on screen without crashing the whole system.
The comment section was less of a flame war and more of a wholesome nostalgic circlejerk:
Back in the 90s, hardware constraints were insane. You had to optimize every single byte, otherwise your game wouldn't even boot. Nowadays? AAA studios drop massive, unoptimized, 150GB bloated messes with crazy FPS drops. They rely on massive hardware specs to brute-force their spaghetti code, and force players to use a <a href="/go/GearupBoost" target="_blank">game booster designed to reduce game ping and stabilize gaming networks for players around the world</a> just to keep their live-service garbage playable. Hell, some even slap lazy assets made by an <a href="/go/domoaiSimpleAI" target="_blank">ai generator</a> and call it a $70 early access experience.
The bottom line? Forza’s graphics are visually OP, but Sega Rally proves that pure, solid gameplay is what makes a game timeless. Devs, please, for the love of God, just optimize your code. GG.
Source: Reddit
