Same word, different meanings. It may not be the technically correct definition of the word, but typically when people talk about “good graphics,” they’re talking about photorealism. In MrMobius’s comment, “graphics” = high resolution, photorealism, the kind of thing the comic we’re commenting under is talking about, and “design” = art direction, aesthetic.
ETA: That said, higher resolution can make already strong art direction even better. I think a large part of what makes Clair Obscur look so pretty is the juxtaposition of the surreal elements with the photorealistic graphics. Esquie sticks out to me in particular, because he looks so physically real, and also so alien.
I’m not trained in media criticism, so I’m sure someone else can phrase that better than I can
ETA more: Also, games that are designed to look as real as possible also take a lot of effort and talent. Just because Bodycam doesn’t look like a comic book or a surreal painting doesn’t mean it doesn’t have strong art direction. It cannot be easy to make a game that looks so indistinguishable from actual body cam footage.
Largely because it has such strong art direction. They really make use of the high resolution to make the humans look more human, and the non-humans look more alien
That said, if I have one criticism about the game, it’s that there isn’t really a lot of cohesion between character/creature designs. It’s the same thing that bugged me about Stellar Blade, as opposed to something like Nier Automata or Gears of War. The nevrons don’t really look like they belong in the game the way locusts do in Gears.
But I am only in Act 2. Maybe this criticism will wane as I learn more about them