E-Sports titles with the best graphics

Admittedly, graphics aren’t usually the priority for most eSports games. One of the most popular eSports titles is Counter-Strike, and it’s almost minimalistic except for maybe all the shiny skins you get for your weapons. That’s because it’s much more important to get the gameplay right. As well as to consider its accessibility across the board, especially on PC, where graphical power can vary so wildly. If the graphics are too demanding, not everyone will be capable of running it, and the machines required to run the games in tournament numbers become more expensive. That’s why many of the eSports’ scene’s big titles rely on that cartoony vibe – to look good, without requiring a breathtakingly expensive set-up.

That still leaves developers a hell of a lot of room to work with. Even the most casual player could instantly tell Overwatch and Fortnite apart. The latter’s distinct style has helped it become a smash hit with younger players (along with the free-to-play model making it extra appealing for their parents). Blizzard, on the other hand, has already achieved a hell of a lot with relatively basic tools in World of Warcraft – and their visual style has really flourished in Overwatch’s diverse cast of heroes. Overwatch has such a brilliant variety of maps in which these characters come alive, and each one has a very distinct silhouette which sets them apart from the crowd.

Let’s take a look at some of the scene’s biggest titles, and just what it is that makes them so distinctive. How have these games managed to become so visually diverse without making use of the latest technology? (Spoilers. It’s all about the characters.)

League of Legends

League of Legends has always achieved a lot with a little – the game places players above the action, and only requires a paltry 512MB of dedicated VRAM to hit Riot’s recommended specs. Yet, the game has a roster of over 140 playable characters, along with a whole host of skins to further diversify it visually. League’s low graphical point of entry is doubtlessly an influencing factor in its success, making sure that even machines with the processing power of raw potato can run League of Legends.

Overwatch

Overwatch, in my opinion, is miles above a lot of the competition in terms of design. Blizzard’s experienced team have delivered a host of brilliantly diverse characters. Some of these have become icons in their own right, but somehow they’ve managed to avoid retreading old ground and have consistently delivered new heroes that introduce something new to the game. This really shines in the huge variety of skins available – some hilarious, some just downright cool as hell.

As the heroes battle it out across the globe, they visit Blizzard’s take on big cities like London and Hollywood, and each map is filled with visual flair to set it apart from the rest. Despite all this the game isn’t graphically demanding at all – sure, you’ll get the most out of it on a high-end rig, but it’s incredibly well optimised. At one point, Overwatch’s PC player count was mostly made up of people running it on laptop chipsets.

Fortnite

Love it or hate it, it seems like Fortnite is here to stay. It’s a resounding success and has transcended the gaming medium, implanting itself into supermarkets, magazines, even Marvel movies. It’s available for free on PC and basically every modern console out there, along with system requirements that make it a breeze to play. The simple visual style makes sure it looks good regardless of resolution or screen fidelity, and the system requirements are low enough to hit recommended performance on simple machines.

It looks like a slick cartoon in motion, and the visual style allows for typically violent actions to look a bit more… well, PG. It’ll fly under the radar of strict parents, and still looks visually appealing for us bigger kids, offering a nice antidote to the deluge of realistic brown/grey shooters that once characterised the market. Fortnite’s visual style is instantly recognisable everywhere now, and it’s simple enough to stay fresh for a long time – the Series X/PS5 versions come with a host of visual upgrades to bring them up to speed. The same could be said for every game on this list, and that’s another benefit of using the cartoony, animated style – they’ll all look great, years after release, time and time again.

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