Sort of. They do add things like blur and scan lines, some even distort the frame to try to simulate the bulbous screen of a CRT. But it's a bit like that VHS filter that Gen Z is so inordinately fond of; it's artificially emphasizing the worst qualities of the medium, while still not achieving the benefits.

Plus, input lag is real. A lot of modern games are designed to take the lag between the console and the display into account, retro games aren't. Playing Donkey Kong Country on an LCD TV made me feel like my reflexes had aged 50 years, hauling out my old CRT fixed that (but made my back feel like it aged 50 years).

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I didn't consider lag. That's more than aesthetic.

[–] Ashtear@lemm.ee 1 points 3 months ago

Some filters are better than others for certain tastes. The glow effect on CRT Royale is what gives me the nostalgia buzz, but it looks much better on 4K displays. On my 1080p displays I use a package that adds a bezel for the display to reflect off of which gives me a similar effect.

I'd rather have a native CRT display, but I'm used to larger displays at this point and I couldn't physically handle anything even in the high 20 inches range.