Thinking back to the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, no one could have ever believed what the future of gaming would hold. The potential of how far graphics would be pushed was especially unknown, and now as the world embraces the latest console generation, it seems like video games are getting ever closer to photo-realism.

Although visuals in games are pushing the envelope, you don’t need a high-powered console or a gigantic PC graphics card to experience impressive graphics. Dazzling visuals are only a pocket dial away, as your iPhone is home to many incredible games that also happen to look amazing.

Updated December 26, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: We've nixed a handful of entries from our list (most notably Fortnite, since it's no longer available on iOS!) and added a few more to make up for it!

12 League Of Legends: Wild Rift

Looking to replicate some of the success it had already gotten on PC, Riot Games had released League of Legends: Wild Rift, a stripped-down version of its popular MOBA.

But if there is one aspect of the game that doesn't look like it has been scaled back at all, it is the graphics, which look every bit as detailed and vibrant as what you would expect from a full-fledged PC or console game.

11 Sky: Children Of The Light

The studio behind the critically-acclaimed Journey had sought to once again flex its artistic muscles with Sky: Children of the Light, an adventure game where players explore a beautiful open world.

The game made its debut on iOS in 2019, before eventually getting ported over to Android in 2020, and the Nintendo Switch in 2021. It has since gone on to earn several video game awards, including a Best Mobile Game nomination at The Game Awards in 2019.

10 Inside

One of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, Inside is a 2.5D game that has you playing as a young boy traveling through terrifying obstacles and dangers, and the less known about the outcome of the game, the better.

This game launched fully on consoles with a unique and captivating art style and followed suit on iPhone with the same creepy atmosphere on a smaller scale. Being able to play full console games on mobile is a fantastic luxury and Inside is a great example of that.

9 The Room: Old Sins

This lesser-known first-person mystery/puzzle game deserves more attention because The Room: Old Sins is a mind-bending and gorgeously laid out game. Despite being often static, the game takes place in fully 3D environments where players have to manipulate objects to solve mystical puzzles to progress.

Not only are the environments wide and detailed, but the frame rate stays at a solid pace when traversing between different puzzles. Unfortunately, The Room: Old Sins is not an iPhone spin-off of Tommy Wiseau’s infamous film, but its puzzles and environments should still entice you to walk in curious.

8 Pokemon Unite

Pokemon Unite has an even slicker (and just as stylized) look to it as rival mobile MOBA League of Legends: Wild Rift, and that slickness can push older iPhones to their limits. It'll still load surprisingly well - the game's optimization could've been far worse - but if you want to have an easier time seeing every little in-game square inch of your playing field, you might want to roll with the iPad version, which also has an iOS 10.0 minimum requirement.

Pokemon Unite has been a good time for us on the iPad Air 5 especially, with the lovely screen drawing out the rich colors on a comfortably wide screen.

7 The Witness

The Witness is a critically acclaimed puzzle game that also functions as a relaxing first-person title with gorgeous visuals that you can walk around and bask in. The game mainly focuses on addicting line-based puzzles that open new areas with even more complicated puzzles. After The Witness received so much love, the iPhone port made the experience portable.

The game is fully 3D and can be explored freely. While it can be a little difficult to maneuver on the iPhone, the graphics are still fantastic for what the hardware can accomplish.

6 The Unfinished Swan

Undoubtedly one of the most creative puzzle games in recent years, The Unfinished Swan is also an unforgettable experience. Building immensely gorgeous worlds in a huge 3D space that you bring to life with bursts of ink, alongside a touching and beautiful story, this game needs to be experienced on the iPhone if you’re without a console.

It’s easy to dismiss The Unfinished Swan’s graphics as unremarkable, but look past the bursts of color to see the 3D environments explode.

5 PUBG Mobile

Along with Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds brought forth the worldwide trend of the battle royale genre, but both games offer different niches that make them each worth investing time into.

PUBG is specifically graphically impressive on the iPhone because, unlike Fortnite, it aims for a more realistic aesthetic, and it pulls it off in a flawless way. Even when crunched down to the tiniest of screens, the iPhone is still able to make PUBG play great and look even greater at the same time.

4 Asphalt 9: Legends

This long-running arcade racing series made its way to mobile devices in a big way. Asphalt 9: Legends joins the list of super fun racers on the iPhone - but this game, in particular, looks absolutely fantastic.

Smooth textures, great lighting, and detailed backgrounds set behind the blistering racing speed make it immediately apparent that the iPhone can handle some fantastic-looking games while not sacrificing fun gameplay.

3 Grid Autosport

Racing games have a great winning streak on the iPhone, and Grid Autosport often pulls into first place for many mobile fans. What separates this game from other iPhone racers is that Autosport is a fully-fledged racing simulator, full of customization options, gorgeous and detailed vehicles, and layered backgrounds to immerse players in the action.

A lot of time can be put into this game, and that’s mainly due to the graphical fidelity convincing players that a lot of love and care was put into this port. Although it’s bound to drain iPhone batteries pretty quickly, Grid Autosport is definitely worth it.

2 Genshin Impact

Receiving heavy praise especially for its incredible iPhone port, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play, fully open-world action RPG that has made waves in many ways. While not the most unique in execution, Genshin Impact makes up for it in solid mechanics, fantastic world-building, and beautiful graphics that all hold up well in the iPhone port.

It’s almost surreal to have an entire open-world at your disposal on the iPhone, but Genshin Impact realizes this potential perfectly.

1 Honkai: Star Rail

Naturally, if Genshin Impact made an appearance on this list, then Honkai: Star Rail would as well. The more recent RPG from miHoYo, Star Rail eschews the fantasy setting for something more science-fiction in premise, and if anything, that's pushed the technical feats ever further. Honkai: Star Rail's presentation is top-notch on other platforms, and its iOS port leaves very little by the wayside on the road to increased portability.