Madison Genthry 
This is a discussion that is arguably nearly as old as the medium itself – or at least since the visual aspect of gaming became a driving factor. How much of an impact do the graphics of a game have on enjoyment? Of course, the answer is entirely subjective, but it’s a discussion that plagues developers as well. In many ways, due to the variety of answers to that question across audiences, many developers find themselves in a lose-lose situation, having to make sacrifices in one area or another to deliver a quality game.
Focused, Small-Scale Showcases
There are games that show off what the latest hardware is truly capable of. You get these kinds of games every now and again, and while they’re always made redundant by the shifting goalposts and the next example to blow it out of the water, that doesn’t make them any less impressive at the time.
There are several historical examples of this back from when arcade machines were still the most popular form of gaming, but now you have games like Naughty Dog’s Uncharted or The Last of Us series that push the envelope graphically, while keeping the player on a tight and narrow path that allows the developers to put all of their resources into a more finite space than an open world.
Pure Gameplay
It might be that you’re someone who wants gaming to be something that you’re as involved with as possible. This, naturally, might mean that you put gameplay as a priority above graphical fidelity, the latter being something that you might be more interested in from movies.
This might draw people towards indie games. Indie games are still more than capable of boasting a strong and impactful visual style, but it’s more about execution and direction rather than raw graphical power. There is an argument to be made about these aspects, however.
When you visit an online casino and play games, you’re obviously there for the gameplay. But the rawest possible version of that game won’t be as fun to play as one that makes some effort to add in a visual flair or an immersive aspect.
The Overlap
It might not be applicable to talk about graphics and gameplay as being two entirely separate discussions, for there are instances where they can overlap. One popular example arose in the discourse recently around the final boss of Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The visual effects that were kicked up by the boss apparently made it difficult for some players to interact with the game properly because they couldn’t see. This was addressed in a patch and raises the question of how much is too much. Graphics, no matter how impressive they are, should always be there to complement the gameplay experience – meaning that there also has to be a thorough understanding of which priorities a game needs to put first and when more subtle visuals can be more effective.
