How realistic are the post-apocalyptic landscapes of video games? From The Last of Us to Fallout.

From Eurogamer: Barren wastelands. Decrepit and abandoned towns. Desolate landscapes ravaged by time and trauma. Recognisable landmarks slowly but surely reclaimed by nature after our demise. Games have consistently embraced the post-apocalyptic setting. It invites excitement, apprehension and a deep curiosity, and plays on the thought-provoking hypothetical, the 'what if?'. And when these post-apocalyptic environments and landscapes are incredibly detailed, they can result in great efficacy and power.

[UltraNova]

Am I alone in finding the fact that a 2013 last gen game (tLoU) looks better than a late 2018 one(F76), quite a bit strange and dissapointing?

Yeah one is a slightly open linear game and the other an open world but still...last gen vs current gen...

[DarkVoyager]

The game holds its own in 2018. Can’t even imagine what The Last of Us: Part 2 will be like. Also it’s Bethesda we’re talking about. Their engine the dated and Fallout 76 is one ugliest games I’ve seen recently.

[philm87]

True, but the Last of Us engine couldn't handle all the other things that go on in the Fallout games. tLoU and Uncharted games (as much as I adore them) are fairly simple and undemanding on the system, apart from graphics (and awesome story).

[UltraNova]

No. The same engine got upgraded to facilitate U4's semi-open wold areas. This goes to show that if need be this engine can be upgraded to full open world status. Just look at what Treyarch did with the COD engine in Blackout and tell me that ND cant do as well if they believe its worth it.

[philm87]

Yeah but even Blackout probably doesn't have as much stress on the system as Fallout. I agree it probably needs updating, but maybe not as desperately as some people suggest. There's still very little going on in U4's semi open world.