Best Old Games with Stunning Graphics That Still Hold Up Today

The current generation is often called the era of remakes and remasters for a reason — over the past five years, so many re-releases have come out that people have long since lost count. To be fair, some games do age significantly and require an update — an inevitable process given the advancement of technology. However, surprisingly, there are exceptions — older games that still look quite impressive even in their original form. This article is dedicated to such projects: we've compiled a list of classic games that still hold up visually in 2025.

For this selection, we're limiting ourselves to games released before 2010. While many of you might not perceive late 2000s games as "old," the fact remains — they are over 15 years old, which means they can hardly be considered young.

Without a doubt, 2D pixel art has its own charm, but whether 90s games can be considered objectively beautiful is a matter of debate. However, players who criticize older releases often overlook an important detail — classic games were designed for CRT screens. Unfortunately, on modern TVs and monitors, they look noticeably worse.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a perfect example. When played on an old, bulky CRT screen, the built-in smoothing effect eliminates many graphical imperfections, and the deeper blacks of CRT displays add extra richness to the image. In such conditions, it's almost impossible to find faults with the visuals — it feels like watching an interactive anime.

Back in 2002, this GameCube masterpiece was criticized precisely for its visuals. The cartoony art style, with its vibrant colors and exaggerated character designs, felt too childish even by Zelda franchise standards.

However, time has put everything in perspective — today, The Wind Waker is primarily loved for its unique aesthetics. Thanks to cel-shading, the game resembles a modern indie adventure.

Nintendo re-released The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the Wii U in 2013, but interestingly, some fans still prefer the original due to its slightly different color palette.

Another GameCube game from 2002 that was ahead of its time. The remake of the very first Resident Evil used fixed camera angles, which allowed developers to employ certain technical tricks to achieve an unprecedented level of graphical fidelity.

The game utilized pre-rendered 2D backgrounds, hand-drawn by artists, which significantly reduced the console's computational load. The freed-up processing power was then used for rendering 3D characters, monsters, and lighting, resulting in visuals that far surpassed other games of the era. Even today, Resident Evil Remake remains one of the scariest entries in the series, thanks to its genius combination of 2D and 3D elements.

Upon release, both critics and players praised Half-Life 2 for its cutting-edge lighting technology and, of course, its facial animations. Amusingly, even twenty years later, not all AAA games can boast such realistic virtual characters as this classic Valve masterpiece. Moreover, many modern games neglect physics-based interactions, whereas Half-Life 2 still sets the gold standard for in-game interactivity.

One of the first games to actively use volumetric lighting and soft shadows. But more importantly, F.E.A.R. is mesmerizing during combat sequences. The game's revolutionary particle system was ahead of its time: bullets realistically shatter glass, sparks fly from metal impacts, and even smoke dynamically reacts to gunfire. When activating slow motion, these details become even more impressive.

It probably won’t surprise anyone that the ultimate PC benchmark of the 2000s still holds up well today — even when talking about the original Crysis, not the remaster. Yes, some of its visual effects show their age, and the texture quality leaves much to be desired. But overall, the game still looks impressive, especially considering its time.

Much like The Wind Waker, Mirror’s Edge benefits from its minimalist art style. This helps it avoid the uncanny valley effect, which often plagues games striving for hyperrealism. Additionally, Mirror's Edge stands out with its bright, crisp visuals achieved through expert use of light and shadow.

A visually stunning yet somewhat disappointing game. Why disappointing? Because at E3 2005, Sony showcased a fake trailer that was so graphically impressive that the real Killzone 2 could never live up to the sky-high expectations.

Considering it was developed for a system with only 256 MB of RAM, that disappointment was somewhat inevitable. But setting aside the botched reveal, Killzone 2 was one of the most visually striking games on the PS3, proving the immense talent of Guerrilla Games even back then.

Uncharted 2 was a true industry breakthrough and a source of pride for countless gamers. It was the first uncompromising gaming blockbuster that stood on par with high-budget Hollywood films.

If you've never played Among Thieves and decide to try it now, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised — the game has barely aged, thanks to high-quality animations (achieved through motion capture), detailed character models, and cutting-edge techniques like subsurface scattering.

Finnish studio Remedy has always been at the forefront of graphical advancements, and the original Alan Wake is a prime example. The game has undoubtedly stood the test of time.

Real-time volumetric lighting was a key feature that enhanced immersion. The protagonist’s flashlight, streetlights, and moonlight dynamically illuminated the environment, with all light sources casting realistic shadows. Of course, Alan Wake 2 looks vastly superior, but it's important to remember that the first game was developed for hardware weaker than modern smartphones.

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Which old games still look great today? What are your thoughts? Share your picks in the comments!