As a known Soulslike hater, even I can admit Elden Ring is a very pretty game, and it holds up exceptionally well some four years after its release. Even compared to technical marvels released in 2026, like, say, Pearl Abyss's Crimson Desert, Elden Ring's fantasy world is distinctly beautiful, especially on a good PC with all of the quality settings juiced up. That said, according to veteran Capcom artist Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, it's actually an intentional blurring of visual fidelity that makes Elden Ring so appealing to the eye.
Akiman, best known for his Street Fighter character designs, recently responded to a comparison of Crimson Desert and Elden Ring's visuals on Twitter. Translated by Automaton, the tweet reads:
