What if it's targeted at kids/teens/young people and is lightweight "casual" playing experience? Wouldn't this look be preferred?
Sometimes ultra-realism takes the fun nature out of things.
Simpsons and South Park could easily use high tech graphics but the simple nature of it all is what makes it appealing . Same with Minecraft or even Zelda.
It's also easy to build expansive worlds with breakable objects that don't require tons of physics and special effects to make something like a box exploding look realistic.
Sometimes ultra-realism takes the fun nature out of things.
Simpsons and South Park could easily use high tech graphics but the simple nature of it all is what makes it appealing . Same with Minecraft or even Zelda.
It's also easy to build expansive worlds with breakable objects that don't require tons of physics and special effects to make something like a box exploding look realistic.