Do more realistic graphics make for more immersive games? True, a certain level of fidelity can help you more fully connect with a videogame world, but it’s seldom the whole story. The Chinese draws from archive documentaries for its convincing recreation of a 1970s oil rig, but it does at least as much with its groaning, creaking sound design – and especially its dialogue – to get under our skin. The volley of profanities let out by Caz McLeary when under threat makes him a more credible lead than the sort of tension-killing wisecracks that emerge from many of his contemporaries.
