Tile graphics are dead and they should be.
*sigh* Kids these days! There's nothing inherently wrong about tile-based graphics, and in the case of Underrail (being a one man indie operation) the graphics are more than sufficient for gameplay purposes - I'd even say they are good (in their frame of reference).
You don't need super-duper 3D graphics to convey atmosphere/mood or to carry a story and, most importantly, you don't need them to make a
good game. There are countless main stream games with all the graphical magic millions of dollars can muster, but which are hollow and boring, providing little beyond the eye candy, which in the end are just plain bad games. Graphics do not maketh a game, gameplay does.
I'd say Minecraft is a shining example of gameplay over graphics, one which has sold stupendous amounts of copies worldwide, proving you don't need photorealism nor the latest whiz-bang of DirectX 11 to have a good game - not even in the main stream game market, let alone in indie games.
Now, get off my lawn!
Granted, consistency in graphics is important, which some indies lack, having to scrounge their graphics from different unrelated sources. I'm glad to see Underrail doesn't suffer from that, it has a very consistent look and isn't a mish-mash of graphical styles. In addition, easy identification is of course important. That is, you can easily recognize what the graphics are meant to represent. This is fortunately also not a problem in Underrail. Everything I've seen so far has been easily identifiable for what it is.
I, for one, am eagerly waiting for the full release of Underrail and see it as a game with great potential, a game which could be the Fallout 3 that never was. (No pressure, Styg!
)