I agree, the IQ is really something. I only notice slight aliasing issues in some scenes. I think, one trick they use is that their "thin" geometry elements are actually relatively thick (electricity power lines for instance in the distance).
What impresses me the most in this game is the character animation (not the facial animation). Some(!) of the movements are really natural to me and they are to me believable in some cases. And that is really astounding to me, as even in super duper expensive AAA large scale Holywood production, I typically immediately notice that the animations of CGI characters are not natural and just look uncanny. I guess the reason is, that the UC4 characters have some of very small detail/variation movement on top of the "main" movement (if this makes sense
) Shows to me that artistic talent makes a difference. Of course, the animations are not perfect, there is often warping and so on going on...but this is imo the price you pay for playability and controls. The controls actually feel quite precise and direct to me, better than I remember from the beta.
Wrt to environments: I guess, that here there are some clear astounding looking environments and settings. Some just look breathtaking, similar to The Order 1886. One particular setting (I guess chapter 6 or so) which I do not want to spoil had a first "looks photorealistic" impression on me, similar to some stuff in BF:SW.
Others scenes on the other hand can look underwhelming, I agree. Most difficult settings are imo the ones which are lush green in bright sun light...these seem to be quite difficult to get to look good. I do appreciate the scale and draw distance however with the detail in the background.
What I do not like so much is that some characters when walking around seem to be not grounded (missing shadow under their feet), which then gives the impression that they are somehow floating above ground or just look very weirdly not belonging to the scene at all (right during the first 5min when the nun walks around).
But yeah, another hidden star is imo all the little physics detail with a lot of things just seem to be alive to me (so much stuff is reacting "physically").
The game itself on the other hand starts quite slowly, as all people have pointed out. But I do like it, as it somehow grounds the characters and the story. Best looking CGI character and also most interesting character is also this female mercenary Nadine (which was also part of one early trailer). She (especially her hair imo) is extremely well modelled and it is just a joy.
Can't wait to see what happens next
