Bodycam captured the imagination of gamers upon release on June 7, 2024, thanks to its photorealistic graphics. Some players compared the first-person shooter to a horror game due to its uncanny, realistic VFX. Sound design, object collision, body physics, and lighting also made gamers take notice of this Unreal Engine 5-based multiplayer game. In addition to these, gameplay elements like aiming, moving, and camera control follow human momentum and agility rather than solid, gamified physics.

Affordable set-ups and consoles that can run ultra-realistic games like Bodycam made these aspects a must for some gamers. Lucky for them, triple-A studios and indie developers alike are taking on the challenge of testing the limits with their games' realism.

7:22

Related

Games With The Most Impressive Graphics

Graphics aren't everything when it comes to gaming, but they sure can help, and these games are some of the most beautifully displayed of all time.

10 Hell Let Loose

Realistic Squad-Based Multiplayer Shooter

Hell Let Loose grabbed attention back in 2021 with its frightfully realistic graphics and FOV effects. Atmospheric sound design and a minimalistic UI also enhanced the 50 vs. 50 squad shooter. Movement, shooting, and special actions tied to classes all reside on a steep learning curve that gets easier with a dedicated player group.

Communication with said group is key to winning in any of Hell Let Loose’s three game modes. Commanders and officers can coordinate decisions through a “leadership” voice channel and communicate with the squad through party voice channels. PC players also have the option of talking through team and unit text chat.

9 MetaHumans

Create Fully-Rigged High-Fidelity Human Models

Although strictly not a game, MetaHuman Creator should be of interest to any gamer with a passing interest in game making or character creation. The three-studio program arms developers with an easy way of creating realistic human models with rigging. As it is an Unreal Engine framework, creators can import these models directly into Unreal Engine 5 using Quixel Bridge ready for use.

Creators can make MetaHumans from scratch using MetaHuman for Unreal Engine after playing around with sample models. Control Rig, Facial Rig, and Live Link facilitate rigging and animation, and anyone with an iPhone or iPad can use their TrueDepth camera for facial capture.

8 Ready Or Not

Grounded Police Tactical Shooter

Not to be confused with the 2019 horror/comedy film, Ready or Not is a tactical FPS that posits players as SWAT. Distinguished by realistic and fluid movements, atmospheric lighting, and detailed environments, VOID Interactive’s FPS is also surprisingly grounded when it comes to actual gameplay.

Players are encouraged to resort to less-lethal weaponry and apprehension instead of engaging in pure violence. At the same time, beanball shotguns still have a chance of killing targets regardless of where they’re aimed at. Game modes vary on the enforcement of non-lethal routes, both in single player and multiplayer.

7 The Long Dark

Fight Hypothermia & Bears In Survival Simulator

While it sports stylized graphics compared to others, The Long Dark can’t be beat when it comes to realistic survival mechanics. Trapped in the great Canadian wilderness, players must battle hypothermia, starvation, and predators. The Long Dark’s challenging difficulty curve persists in Survival mode, where permadeath is the only ending, and in Wintermute or story mode.

Wintermute is only slightly more forgiving, as protagonist Will Mackenzie doesn’t have permadeath. However, players must still learn to tend to fire, scrounge for supplies, hunt for food, and read the environment to keep Will going. The Tales from the Far Territory DLC adds more areas to the map and more story for players to guide Will through.

6 EA Sports FC 24

Legendary Difficulty Turns AI Realistic

The first title in the EA Sports FC series, EA Sports FC 24, has an ultimate difficulty setting that makes it ridiculous, even for hardcore fans. But by tweaking built-in user-sliders, football fans yearning for a good one-off or career mode can make the grind bearable.

User sliders affect player-led teams, and affect stats such as shot and pass error and speed, acceleration, injury frequency and severity, and positioning. Conversely, CPU sliders modify opponent AI behavior. CPU sliders have the same settings as user sliders, so players can compensate for whatever ridiculousness higher difficulty settings add to their foe.

5 Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Realistic Sword Fighting WIth Weight & Heft

Although released in 2018, Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis still touted for its realistic sword combat. Sword swings take into account the heft of each blow to determine the reaction of combatants. The power and speed of blows clash with all four layers of a combatant’s armor and have different effects on more than 30 target zones on every model.

That means players can’t just whale on an opponent willy-nilly, as a single blow from them could result in an opening for their foe. Players must determine if a slash, stab, or kick to the head, upper body, or lower body could create an advantage. Multiple foes can converge on players if they’re unwary, so quick mastery of combos is a must.

4 BeamNG.drive

Soft-Body Physics For Realistic Vehicle Handling

What began as a tech demo spiraled into BeamNG.drive, a racing game with soft-body physics so good that the developer created a project fork called BeamNG.tech for education and research. Gamers benefit from BeamNG’s ridiculous physics engine by getting a fun, almost sandbox-like racing game.

3:41

Related

26 Most Realistic Racing Games Ever

There are plenty of great racing games on the market, but these examples are the most realistic.

Time trials are a vanilla implementation of the game’s impressive vehicle handling, while campaigns push player skill with specific scenarios. Freeroam scratches that sandbox itch by giving players free rein over maps, gravity, and other environmental factors, and even road hazards and weapons.

3 rFactor 2

Source Game Used By F1 & NASCAR Manufacturers

rFactor 2 has been kicking around since 2013, but it’s still very active. Its engine, isiMotor2, is the basis for rFpro, a racing simulation software exclusive to motorsports companies and autonomous vehicle training. F1, NASCAR, WEC, and other major racing series still use rFpro as the engine on which they build their physics simulations.

As such, racing addicts who can’t get enough of realism enjoy accurate vehicle simulation from rFactor 2. The game also features realistic tire wear, meaning players must actively manage their tires between pit stops. Road conditions and tough AI also raise the stakes for rFactor 2 players.

2 Escape From Tarkov

Elaborate and Realistic Wound System

When squads want a hardcore, realistic FPS, they turn to Escape from Tarkov. There’s no easy way to progress through this FPS MMOROG, as players not only have to survive competing groups and individuals, but the harsh, resource-conservative world as well.

Tarkov’s health system complements its complex, hardcore mechanics. Body parts have individual health points and will remain “blacked out” if they reach 0. Surgery is the only way to fix these blacked out limbs, but it’s game over if the player’s head or thorax flatline.

1 Red Dead Redemption 2

Full Of Overwhelmingly Realistic Details

Part of Red Dead Redemption 2’s overwhelming popularity is its overall level of realism. Despite being released in 2018, the Rockstar flagship title is still touted as one of the most realistic games ever made. Gorgeous graphics aside, RDR 2’s attention to detail makes the game refreshing even years later.

Some of these details integrate into gameplay, as seen when hiding from the law in bushes or talking one’s way out of legal convictions. Gang members will also bust the player out of jail. Others details are granular, as seen in horse behavior in extreme weather and even in bees when shot at.

4:03

More

5 Games Depicting Relatively Realistic End-Of-The-World Scenarios

The end of the world is a common topic in fiction, and in gaming, but these games elevate the genre by striving for realism in their apocalypses.