Ok, to make my point I would like to present a visual example instead of writing a huge daunting wall of text first, ok? xD Just watch a good 30-ish seconds of each linked video, if you will:
Take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh-aOHRjBug&feature=youtu.be&t=5m58s
Then compare to this: https://youtu.be/Z4FPodGR82U?t=2m
^Is it just me, or does a freaking Ps2 game, with slightly higher res textures and higher overall native resolution look WAY better in contrast to a "modern day" cartoony styled game like Yooka-Laylee? I'm not trying to downplay the latter game right now, as it looks really fun, but I find it mind boggling how we have come so far in graphical technological advancement, yet a nearly 20 year old game looks more appealing to the eye than something current... I just find it both astonishing and disturbing at the same time.
The colors, the character models, the environments: they all just POP out and look jaw-droppingly amazing on Kingdom Hearts, but with Yooka-Laylee, there is this thick muddy-looking "HAZE" pervading the entirity of the world. And this type of thing isn't exclusive to merely Yooka-Laylee either. Just look at other cartoony "colorful" games like Legend of Zelda BoTW and Ratchet& Clank (ps4). These games also have this weird haziness that mutes certain colors and creates an overall unattractive aesthetic which clashes horribly with the cartoony assets. To my knowledge, these atmospheric particle effects require not only more CPU/GPU performance to pull off at a decent frame-rate, but also require significant time and effort on the developers part in order to properly implement i the game. Why would these people put effort into making the game look WORSE, when by removing these elements, colors would look crisp and clear, and just plain orgasmic to the eyes? I understand many devs will add hazy effects like this to make the game #1 look more realistic, or #2 hide graphical imperfections like low poly character models or lower than ideal draw distances, among other things. But if an old ass game like Kingdom Hearts proves anything, its that these concerns are completely in vain for cartoony games, as the lack of these graphical effects seems to ENHANCE to the look instead of detract from it.
