I've used some mods to make NMS look much more realistic. Granted, it's no Elite (and the lack of heliocentric solar systems is one of my biggest complaints against the game), but it looks way less "cartoony" for me than the stock version does.Cartoony does not mean a direct reference to a certain cartoon, but to the general feeling one gets from the graphics.
And not only from the graphics - the general setup, the way space travel is portrayed - make NMS more like a fairy tale, a peter pan in space etc, than a fully fledged sy-fy game (i cannot even call it a space game)
And yes, it is cartoony - and is really far from the realistic approach that was adopted in ED.
I've visited planets that look borderline photorealistic, especially desert planets and certain "earth-like" worlds. The more "alien" worlds may look cartoony, but believe it or not, this doesn't mean it's not realistic. Here's an actual photo taken here on earth, for example:Especially on foot, during planetary walks. The vegetation, the sky, even the animals and the vehicles.
The cartoonish appearance is not as obvious in stations, but it is there too.
Ironically (in contrast to your statement) it's the orbital stations that reminds me that I'm playing a "cartoon" game and not something more realistic.
Things like the stations and settlements sometimes reminds me of Overwatch. I love Overwatch, but it's obviously "cartoony" compared to a Battlefield game.NMS reminds me about WoW, Spore and sometimes about Zelda, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft (the ss you posted reminds me of a underwater landscape in minecraft) - granted none of those were cartoons, but all of them were more or less cartoonish.
I get it, that's their artistic / design choice and some people are totally onboard with it.
I'm not. (Even tho i kinda liked Zelda and i watched my daughter with interest playing it on her Switch)
Me neither. Space Engineers does a much better job at looking more realistic, though it too suffers from small planets that have a Minecraft-like feel at certain altitudes. However, when down on the ground, these planets look quite realistic. My biggest problem is that they are also somewhat bland. Elite's planets are the same way - realistic but bland and incredibly empty (except the occasional canyon / mountain range, something SE also has). While NMS may be far from realistic, it does bring a "joy" to exploring that I find missing in those games that focus on realism first. That said, I do not want Elite turning into NMS. Each game has its place in my library, and each one scratches a separate itch.Empyrion doesn't quite cut it either.